Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-01-01
HYPNOTIC SLEEP.
DOCTORS CAN USE IT TO ADVANTAGE
IN THEIR PROFESSION.
One st. Louis Physician Tells His Patient
that Quinine is sugar, and She
Believes Him.
lErom the chicsro Herald


St. Louis physicians are taking to hyp-
notism.
That is, they are beginning to see that
hypnotism may be made great aid in the
practice of medicine, and they are begin
ming to experiment with it.
DIR. Ludwig Bremen, one of the most
distinguished neurologists of this city, has
done little private experimenting with
hypnotism, but has not yet ventured to
apply hypnotic methods to his practice.
DIR. J. X. Bauduy has made only one ex-
pertinent in hypnotism. That was unsuc-
cessful. He worked on a man for fifteen
minutes, and then the patient got out of
the chair, laughed and stretched himself,
as wide awake as ever.
DR.. Frank Fry says frankly that he is
afraid to experiment with hypnotism.
By one practitioner Of st. Louis hyp-
notism is successfully used as an aid in the
treatment of disease, and it is matter of
pride to the city that the success and
writings of this practitioner have been
mentioned and copied in the medical
journals of the East and of Paris.
The Chronicle of that city refers to DIR.
Benno Won Steinmeitz.
The doctor has used this power of pro-
ducing sleep in number of cases, both as
an aid in the cure of the disease and as
method of relieving pain in surgical oper
ations. Perhaps the best way to tell about
this remarkable power, and the results &C
complished by it, is to give, in the doctors
own words, talk on the character of hyp-
motto sleep, and the results he has at
tanned by its use. He says: at is the
submission of the mind to stronger will
power, and therefore person who is ac-
customed to giving up is the most easily
hypnotized. And the more completely
the patient gives up and allows his will to
be merged into that Of the physician, the
more successful will be the results OBJ
tanned. Since my first successful case l
have attempted the treatment in forty
eight cases, and have influenced twenty-six
of these.
"Ot course l pick my cases, selecting for
this treatment those most likely to be ben
Gifted by it. Hypnotic sleep, or sleep pro-
duced by superior mind influences, is a
remedy, like any other remedy, and, like
them, it is not a cure-all. No man can
cure or affect an organic disease by it.
The lungs of a consumptive could not be
made sound again nor smallpox cured by
its use.
"Pll tell you about my first successful
case, which probably is also the most re-
markable ever had, in showing the power
of sleep in preventing pain. 1t will help
you to better understand It's nature. |
had tried to influence numerous patients,
without success-owing, probably, to lack
of confidence in myself-and was about to
give it up, when one day boy Of about II
came to me to have tumor removed from
his forehead.
"The tumor was about the size of a
hens egg and had to be cut from the sur
rounding TISSUE which would, of course,
be very painful. l placed the boy in a
comfortable position in the operating
chair and talked to him of sleeping, tell
ing him that he would go to sleep, and at
last | succeeded.
"Then l took my instruments and began
the operation, talking to the sleeping boy
all the while, telling him it wouldn't hurt
him. cut the tumor out, sewed up the
incision, and then told the boy to wake up.
"He did, and he wouldn't believe that
the operation was ended uutil / had
showed him the tumor, and he had felt to
see if the lump was gone, and had looked
at the place in looking glass. He said
he didn't feel it at all. Now, isn't such
simple remedy that is such an aid as that
valuable one? All l had to do was to
put him asleep by mind infuence-no
chloroform or ether needed-teil him
wouldn't hurt him, tell him to wake up
after | had finished, and he wouldn't be-
lieve had done anything.
"After this case, which gave me conf
dence, [ was successful. OF course there
are different degrees of hypnotic sleep, as
there are of sleep, as you understand the
term. At the first seance a patient does
not generally yield so entirely to its influ-
ence as afterward.
"The first manifestation is drowsiness
or stupor, and the patient will deny hav
ing slept. When more under the influence
the patient cannot open his eyes if you
say he cannot; deeper still, an arm can
be put in any position, and the patient
cannot move it if you say he cannot, al
though you may see that he tries.
Il have started patients to revolving
their arms, and they couldn't stop. /
have told them to get up and walk, and
they did so, but when told them they
could not take another step they could
not. 1t is simply body governed by
mind outside of that body. 1t is auto
matte obedience. A curious fact is that,
upon awakening, my patients generally re-
member what they did, but always think
they did those things from their own will,
to please me.
'The patient, while under the influence,
believes me absolutely. l have given
patient water while asleep, and told him
it was milk, and he drank it for milk. /
gave woman quinine and told her it was
sugar, and she smacked her lips over it.
When she awoke she made face and
said, My mouth is bitter There is prac-
tically no limit to the receptions that
could be practiced upon the patient while
he is under your Influence, but | do not
allow myself to practice them, and need
less deception should be forbidden by law
Hypnotic sleep is an aid in the cure of
disease and should be used for that alone.
What have / cured with it? Well had
woman come to me once with severe
pains in her head, breast, arms, feet ard
calves of her legs. Iplaced her under the
hypnotic influence and told her that the
pain in her head would go away. &C
companied my words by stroiing the seat
of the pain. The woman awoke relieved.
At the next seance by the same treatment
l removed the pain in her arms and chest,
and at the third completely cured her.
"Another case was that of a man who
worked in tobacco factory He came to
me complaining of pains in the region of
his heart, which he had had for a wear,
and which had been treated without sue
cess. 1 put him to sleep and suggested the
disappearance of his pains. He was re-
lieved, but the pain came back the next
day and so did he. 1 put him to sleep
again and told him that, as his internal or
gans were in perfectly healthy condition,
the pain could not come back 1t is now
four months since that time and the man
feels perfectly well.
II have cured rheumatism, neuralgia,
headache and similar troubles in the same
way.
"Of course it is not desirable to try to do
too much at once, or to keep the patient
asleep too long, or no good effect is pro-
duced. The sleep sometimes has an ex-
hausting effect upon the patient, and it is