Mesmerism is a treatment invented by Dr. Mesmer who believed that he had a curative power based on animal magnetism. He used to say that only those people who possessed strong animal magnetism could heal sick people. Though Dr. Mesmer never used hands passes, many mesmerists used them.
Hypnotism, as a term, didn’t exist back in that time. In 1841 James Braid witnessed strange situation: his patient fall asleep after staring to a bright medicine lancet. Dr. Braid thought that is was a peculiar effect produced by staring at a bright object long enough. He has named what he saw “Hypnotism”.
If you want to compare mesmerism and hypnotism, then you should have some basic knowledge about hypnotherapy, or medical hypnosis.
Mesmerism produced natural anesthesia
According to James Esdaile, who was a surgeon, he used mesmerism in a hospital to produce anesthesia. A somnambulistic mesmeric sleep could be achieved by hand passes without any verbal suggestions.
The depth of hypnosis doesn’t depend on a hypnotist or some special hypnosis technique. To use hypnosis for pain control during surgery, the very suggestible patients have to be selected carefully.
The main difference between mesmerism and hypnosis is a theory behind these two wonderful therapies. Mesmerists believed that they had a power, and hypnotists believe that the power is within a person who wants to be hypnotized.
Please understand that both mesmerism and hypnosis were discovered and used to use by medical doctors to treat their patients. Of course, there were stage performers who demonstrated the power of mesmerism and hypnotism.
Not everyone can become a good hypnotherapist
Can anyone become a mesmerist? Yes, but you have to posses strong animal magnetism.
Can anyone become a hypnotist? Yes, every normal person can learn how to hypnotize people, but not everyone can become a good hypnotherapist.
There are always people who proudly say that they don’t go under hypnosis. Well, it is true, some people are not hypnotizable at all. Actually, it means they have some fears toward hypnosis, that is why they resist hypnotist’s suggestions.
There are some people who are not easy to mesmerize, but the truth is every normal person is susceptible to mesmeric influence. It can take several seances to produce deep mesmeric sleep that is enough for painless surgery.
Another difference between mesmerism and hypnosis is that mesmerists use only hand passes and gaze without any verbal suggestion. The hypnotherapists use verbal suggestion to induce hypnosis.
There is one more difference between mesmerism and hypnosis, according to XIX century masters: mesmeric power affects patient’s nervous system, but hypnosis seems to influence patient’s brain activity.
I am sure that there are some hypnotists today who use mesmeric passes. Nothing is wrong with that. Only one thing is important: The power is within a patient, not a hypnotist or mesmerist.
Any hypnotist can use mesmerism for better results.
By the way, the more scientists study hypnosis, the less peculiar Dr. Mesmer’s theory of Animal Magnetism becomes. The connection between mesmerism and hypnosis is real. A combination of hypnotherapy and mesmerism can only win!
I think that a successful hypnotherapist posses some animal magnetism, which makes him great mesmerist in the first place!
If you are interested in learning mesmerism, you are welcome to contact me for a FREE consultation. All your questions regarding my hypnotic service will be answered by me personally. You can schedule your first appointment with me during or after the consultation.
My name is Alexander Ivlev. As a certified hypnotist, I help people relax and feel better.