Last updated: 15 December 2015

Authored by: Clifford Mee

In this message, I thought I’d share with you 9 fascinating facts about hypnosis…

1. Hypnotism as a tool for health may have originated with the Hindus of ancient India, who often took their sick to sleep temples to be cured by hypnotic suggestion, as in ancient Egypt and Greece.
2. One of the earliest recorded descriptions of hypnosis was found in an Egyptian tomb written on papyrus dating back to 1500 BC.
3. Sigmund Freud used hypnosis with his patients while developing his theories on psychoanalysis.
4. Hypnosis was used in World War I and World War II to treat soldiers with combat neuroses. It was also used to replace anesthetics when supplies were low.
5. In 1958, the American Medical Association approved a report on the medical uses of hypnosis.
6. The American Psychological Association endorsed hypnosis as a branch of psychology in 1960.
7.  The Roman Catholic Church banned hypnotism until the mid-20th century when, in 1956, Pope Pius XII gave his approval of hypnosis. He stated that the use of hypnosis by health care professionals for diagnosis and treatment is permitted.
8. In the mid-1840s, Dr. James Esdaile  performed over 2,000 painless operations (including 300 major surgeries and 19 amputations) using his brand of mesmerism while stationed in Hoogly, India.
9. Anesthesiologists at the University of Liège in Belgium have performed over 4800 surgeries, mainly in ENT and thyroid treatments, over the past 10 years using hypnosedation.

How can you use these facts? 

Here are a few suggestions:

•  As conversation starters. 
• To give hypnosis credibility. 
• When speaking before groups. 
• In promotional literature. 
• To silence the critics. 

Add a few more to your collection.

You never know when you’ll need one!