I thought I’d tell you a bit about another important historical figure in hypnosis. His name is James Esdaile and he was a surgeon in the mid 1800’s who reported that he performed 345 major surgeries in British India. He used Mesmer techniques to induce hypnosis for anesthesia so his patients didn’t feel pain during and after the surgery. These were days before chemical anesthetics existed. (Another Doctor of the time, John Elliotson used Mesmer’s techniques on one 1,000 patients.) Mesmer’s techniques were widely regarded to work because of the skill of the hypnotist, not anything to do with the ability of the patient. One of the disadvantages was that it could take hours and days to get the patient into this hypnotic state.
Today he is honored by having a state of very deep hypnosis, some argue an altered state, called the Esdaile state. Here clients are in a peaceful completely relaxed state, feeling no physical sensations, unable to recall any pain after emerging. It is so wonderful that sometimes clients have to be coaxed out of hypnosis because they love being in that state so much they are hesitant to emerge!
I’m Roberta Fernandez, a Board Certified Hypnotist and Certified Trainer at The FARE Hypnosis Center, helping you take back control by unlocking the power of your mind to reach your goals of any kind.