The application of hypnosis as a powerful therapeutic tool can be traced back to be as old as man himself. Hypnotherapy has since then being used as a technique to modify & heal the subject’s emotional attitude & behavior & bring in a deep sense of relaxation. Additionally, it has also been applied for treating a wide range of dysfunctional habits, disorders, anxiety & most importantly to make the subject stress-free.
Although hypnotherapy has been used under varying names across the centuries, each had been meant to serve the same purpose. The use of this technique can especially be traced back to the mysterious religions & sleep temples of ancient Greek & Roman culture. Though the Greco-Roman society is popularly known for practicing trance-inducing rituals, it was common with numerous other pre-literate societies.
Records suggest that the common technique of healing practiced by the priests, involved interpreting the dreams of the help seeker by putting him into a suspended state of consciousness or what is called a trance like sleep today. Though it was a common practice with priests during this period, it was most often used by the Shamans, medicine men & witch doctors. The actual motivation behind what had been practiced of this technique in the past was mostly the conviction, imagination & strong belief being fostered into the one seeking healing.
As opposed to the Greco-Romans, the Egyptians & Hebrews practiced the hypnosis method in the form of incubation. Their technique was mostly based on producing an ecstasy-like state which we today know as self-hypnosis. The “Aesculapian Sleep Temples” came much later in the history books somewhere around 500 B.C. This particular period also saw the introduction of the term “suggestion”, a term frequently used by modern day hypnotherapists.
While the hypnosis technique saw a frequent mutation in its form down the history lane, each of it was based on a common theory of mind to body connection. An age-old belief goes that, the well-being of thoughts, body & emotions have a strong influence on each other. This can be verified by the fact that a stressed mind provides the lead to a wide range of physical & psychological dysfunctions & disorders. Thus, although hypnosis has taken up numerous forms along the years, they are all meant to serve the same purpose.