Changes

The [[words]] 'hypnosis' and 'hypnotism' both derive from the term "neuro-hypnotism" (nervous sleep) coined by the Scottish surgeon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Braid_(surgeon) James Braid] around 1841. Braid based his [[practice]] on that developed by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Mesmer Franz Mesmer] and his followers ("[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesmerism Mesmerism]" or "animal magnetism"), but differed in his [[theory]] as to how the procedure worked.

The [[words]] 'hypnosis' and 'hypnotism' both derive from the term "neuro-hypnotism" (nervous sleep) coined by the Scottish surgeon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Braid_(surgeon) James Braid] around 1841. Braid based his [[practice]] on that developed by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Mesmer Franz Mesmer] and his followers ("[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesmerism Mesmerism]" or "animal magnetism"), but differed in his [[theory]] as to how the procedure worked.

Contrary to a popular misconception - that hypnosis is a form of unconsciousness resembling [[sleep]] - contemporary [[research]] suggests that it is actually a [[wake]]ful state of [[focus]]ed [[attention]][2] and heightened suggestibility,[3] with diminished [[peripheral]] awareness.[4] In the first book on the subject, ''Neurypnology'' (1843), Braid described "hypnotism" as a state of physical relaxation accompanied and induced by mental concentration ("abstraction").[5]

Contrary to a popular misconception - that hypnosis is a form of unconsciousness resembling [[sleep]] - contemporary [[research]] suggests that it is actually a [[wake]]ful state of [[focus]]ed [[attention]][2] and heightened suggestibility,[3] with diminished [[peripheral]] awareness.[4] In the first book on the subject, ''Neurypnology'' (1843), Braid described "hypnotism" as a state of physical relaxation accompanied and induced by mental concentration ("abstraction").

<center>For lessons on the [[topic]] of '''''Hypnosis''''', follow [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Hypnosis '''''this link'''''].</center>

==Characteristics==

==Characteristics==

[[Skeptics]] point out the difficulty distinguishing between hypnosis and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo_effect placebo effect], proposing that hypnosis is so heavily reliant upon the effects of suggestion and [[belief]] that it would be hard to imagine how a credible placebo control could ever be devised for a hypnotism [[study]].[6]

[[Skeptics]] point out the difficulty distinguishing between hypnosis and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo_effect placebo effect], proposing that hypnosis is so heavily reliant upon the effects of suggestion and [[belief]] that it would be hard to imagine how a credible placebo control could ever be devised for a hypnotism [[study]].[6]