Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-14
CURING BY HYPN0TISM


hypnotic sleep: "You are no longer
nervous You do not feel the need of
employing your hands uselessly. And
you will know, when you awake, that
the habit is ridiculous"
To the washington physician there
came a woman who had been con-
stantly on the go throughout the social
season. Physically, she was so nerv-
GUS that her hands trembled, and her
mental distress was acute. She had
become possessed of the haunting idea
that she was always going to be late
for the next particular function which
she was to attend. That idea got pos
session of her nerVe-racked brain and
never left her. 1T is easy to conceive
of the tortures she SUFFERED and how
she increased them day by day in her
unceasing rush and haste. When she
first went to see the doctor she could
not sit still, but paced up and down
the room while she told him of her
trouble.
lie made her sit down, and with
few passes over her eyes put her to
sleep, saying to her in a distinct, COM
manding voice: you have lots of time
for everything you want to do. At any
time that you feel you have too many
engagements you will break those
which are too much for you. You will
never hurry any more. You will never
run from your door to your motor car.
You will In all things be calm and
restful. You have lots of time-lots of
time" This formula was repeated to
her through eight or ten treatments
until one afternoon, when she was
awakened, she said carelessly: "Pve
no intention of going to the IS ball
tonight. I've been doing too much,
and I'm going to take my time here
after" From that minute she was
cured.
Another case was that of n member
of congress who had been through a
hard fight all summer and autumn for
his nomination and election. 1t was
his first term In the house of represen-
tatives and he had continued to work
long hours every day after reaching
Washington. In his state he was
known as a speaker of unusual ability,
and he had planned to make his ora
torical debut on the floor of the house
during the consideration of certain
bill. AS the time came near for the
delivery of his speech, which he had
prepared and committed to memory
he lost confidence, and there came into
his mind an awful dread of failure to
impress his hearers when he spoke
This dread grew upon him so that
finally he was convinced he would fail
This fear was the direct result of his
failing nerves and the high pressure
under which he had been working for
eight months. He went to the ply
stefan a week before the time he had
set for his speech, and after five treat
ments his self-confidence returned. He
made the speech, which resulted in his
gaining an enviable reputation as an
orator.
There is In the popular mind an inn
preston that hypnotism is harmful
thing because 1t puts persons mind
under the domination of another's
thoughts and ideas. tbs also believed
by many that to submit to hypnotism
is to weaken ones will power and
force of character. AS a matter OF
fact, il has been scientifically proved
again and again that the hypnotist cam
not make the patient commit any act
or entertain any thought contrary TO
that PERSONS ideas of morality or
principle Nor does hypnotism impair
the will power. Hypnotism can be,
and sometimes is, abused by the pro-
fessional faker and operator, but, in
the hands of physician, II is merely
cure for ailments that cannot be
reached by other means. 1t is the art
of inducing sleep and then making the
patients mind so receptive that IL
will retain the healthful, helpful advice
telegraphed to 1t by the words and
thoughts of the physician. The only
opportunity for hypnotism to impair
the will power arises when a person
makes a habit of submitting to the
same operator for purposes OF exhibit
ton and freakish tricks. In this way.
in the course of time, the person hyp-
Noticed does train his mind sto GER
tain extent to do whatever the hyp-
notist suggests. But in all the his
tory of the art there are only two
authentic cases where the hypnoticts
succeeded in using the persons hypno-
tiled for criminal purposes. In both
cases the persons had made a habit of
submitting to hypnotism by one opera
tor for more than two years.
The physicians who make a speciality
of this hypnotic treatment do not as a
rule continue it on any one person for
more than a few weeks. II beneficial
results do not come from it within a
month, or six weeks at the most, 1t is
generally regarded as impossible to
make the desired progress. A woman
patient is never hypnotiZed unless ac-
companied by friend or member Of
her family.
The great power of hypnotism over
the physical functions of the body has
been demonstrated by a Pittsburg
physician, who put a patient into a
hypnotic sleep and told him that he
would suffer no pain when his tooth
was extracted. The tooth was pulled
out, and the patient suffered abso-
lutely no pain at all. Whether it can
ever be used instead of an anesthetic
in surgical operations of grave char
acter is one of the problems of the art
which will have to be worked out in
future years.