Hypnosis - A Brief History

The word hypnosis is derived from the Greek 'ypnos'no food. This was due to conditioning and
which translated means sleep. Hypnosis though is areconditioning. Because of this Pavlov became
trance like state and not sleep because the subjectinterested in hypnosis which he believed ran parallel to
can talk and stays alert. Ancient civilizations used ahis experiments. Hypnosis gained a measure of
type of hypnosis for many group rituals such asrespectability during the war where it was used to put
chanting to a steady drum beat which was used insoldiers back into action.
many religious ceremonies. Back in the 1600s peopleAlthough not an accepted practice many psychiatrists
experimented with animals. Chickens were calmedused the technique to help many soldiers whose
hypnotically by various methods such as balancingillnesses were caused by wartime trauma to function
wood shavings on their beaks. Farmers learned toagain. The American Medical Association, in 1958,
hypnotize hens to make them sit on eggs which wereapproved a report on the medical uses of hypnosis.
not their own.Research on hypnosis was encouraged as some
Volgyesi, a Hungarian hypnotist, hypnotized all theaspects of hypnosis are unknown and controversial.
animals in the Budapest Zoo back in the late 1800s.Shortly after this the British Medical Association
Nobel Peace Prize winner Ivan Petrovitch Pavlovexpressed similar views and not long after that the
noticed , in 1904,that dogs given a signal before foodItalian Medical Association For The Study of Hypnosis
would, after a time, salivate when given the signal withwas founded.