A brief history of hypnosis

Hypnosis is natural.

The Ebers Papers, one of the oldest known human writings, cite the use of hypnosis in the treatment of human illness as early as 1500 B.C., although it wasn't until 1958 that the British Medical Association officially approved hypnosis as a form of treatment in all areas of medicine and surgery.

Over the centuries, hypnosis has been dogged by many misconceptions, often due to its misrepresentation in books, movies, and plays, or at the hands of charlatans and quacks who practice privately, or utilize hypnosis as a form of entertainment. Hypnosis therefore has been associated with magic and the supernatural, although nothing could be further from the truth.

Hypnosis is a very natural state of consciousness that we've all experienced. When you need to awake at an unusual time and then wake up even before your alarm goes off, you've responded to a post hypnotic suggestion. When a mother sleeps soundly through a violent thunderstorm but is immediately alert when her small child moans, this also is the result of a post hypnotic suggestion. At these times, conscious critical thinking is temporarily suspended, yet is still available at a moment's notice should the need arise. A person in hypnosis remains aware of their surroundings, but is simply more receptive to acceptable suggestions.