Exploring hypnosis and hypnotherapy.

Hypnosis is the act of intentionally repressing the conscious mind and bringing the subconscious mind to the forefront. Most people can be hypnotized by others, and almost anyone can hypnotize themselves -- called self-hypnosis or auto-suggestion.

You have, undoubtedly, seen a hypnotist making someone quack like a duck on stage for its entertainment value. While that is certainly possible, it is not the form of hypnosis which we approve, or which we recommend. That type of entertainment hypnosis, in our opinion, is a bit like giving a loaded gun to a child to play with. It has also tainted the entire practice of hypnosis.

We view hypnosis as a healing art and a method of expanding our consciousness and our awareness. Therapeutic hypnosis also known as Naturopathic hypnosis, can be used for weight loss, smoking cessation, pain management, elimination of irrational fears, called phobias, elimination of disease causing mental conditions, and much more. Naturopathic hypnosis also has many more consciousness expanding functions.

Hypnosis is real.

The human mind has two states -- conscious and subconscious. There are those functions of the mind and body which we control through our will such as reading, walking, and talking. There are also those functions of the body which happen automatically. We breathe, we blink our eyes, our heart beats, we digest food without consciously thinking about it.

Some of these subconscious function occur in the brain. Creamy and breathing are examples. Some of subconscious functions occur locally or in the spinal column. The reflex to remove a finger from a flame occurs in the spinal column. Our body moves the finger even before the brain registers the pain. Our heart beats its particular rhythm as a result of localized electrical impulses. This is not to say that messages are not sent to the brain, and even to the conscious mind while these things are occurring.

There is also ample evidence to suggest that the brain or the mind can exert influence and control over otherwise automatic, subconscious bodily functions. With proper training, we can exert some control over the automatic and beating of our heart. Although we breath automatically, almost anyone can consciously regulate the rate at which they breath.

There is clearly a link between the subconscious or autonomic bodily and mental functions and those which are volitional. Through hypnosis we can intentionally control both conscious and subconscious function.

A Brief History of Hypnosis.

Fritz Anton Mesmer (1783 to 1815) was the originator of what we call today, hypnosis or hypnotism. It is his name which gives us the term mesmerism. Interestingly enough, Mesmer was a medical doctor and his original application of mesmerism was used to treat illnesses, believing that most, if not all illness was the result of an imbalance in the body's electrical fields which manifested themselves as disease.

Despite conventional medicine, there is still a substantial population which believes that a proper balance of energy within the body can eliminate the symptoms of organic disease. There is certainly some evidence that one’s state of mind can directly affect one’s health.

Mesmer's work was followed up on and expanded by James Braid (1795 to 1860), a Scottish medical doctor who coined the term hypnotism which was actually a shortened version of the term neuro-hypnotism which meant "sleep of the nerves."

It is interesting to note that hypnotherapy and hypnosis in general was originally developed as a medical therapeutic process. It wasn't until much later that hypnosis became a carnival sideshow attraction and a form of entertainment.

Today, both the allopathic (MD) and osteopathic (DO) medical professions recognize hypnosis as a valid form of therapy. Hypnotherapy is used for such objectives as smoking cessation, weight control, and pain management. In the many instances, hypnosis has been seen as defective as drugs for pain management and relief.

Even today, some practitioners credit the balancing of bodily energies through hypnosis as a way to ameliorate the effects of disease caused by microorganisms, viruses and injury. We must date however that there is insufficient clinical evidence to state that conclusively. However, there is substantial anecdotal evidence to support the position.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending upon your point of view, hypnotism and hypnotherapy are largely unregulated in the United States and Canada. There are a few sanctioning bodies for hypnotherapy practitioners. And still, there seems to be no prohibition on using hypnosis as a carnival sideshow act. As a result, the efficacy of hypnotherapy is, all too often, discounted by some physicians and certainly some, if not a majority of, medical patients.