Psycho Th Erapeutics - Forgotten Books

PSYCHO THERAPEUT ICS

TR E A TMENT BY HYPNOT I SM A ND S UGGE S T I ON.

54mgC . L L O Y D T U C K E Y , M . D .

cfieconb Qbifion, yeo iseb anb i ameb .

Q,

LONDON

B A I L L I E R E ,T I N D A L L , A N D c o x ,

zo 21 , K ING WI LLI AM ST R E E T , S T RA ND.

1890.

P R EFA C E T O T HE S E C OND E D I T ION.

I N bringing before the profe ssion a second edition o f

P sycho-Therapeutics,’I must thank my c ritics for the

kindly'

manne r in which they rece ived the book a few

months ago . It professed mere ly to b e an introduction

to the subject, and it seems to have fairlywell fulfilled its

purpose .

T he pre sent edition , while claiming only the mode stposition of its predece ssor, is considerably enlarged, and

contains additional chapters on the physiology and psycho

logy of hypnotism, on simulation , and on my personalexperience , which will, I hope , render it a useful hand

book for practitioners who have not the time to devote to

more e laborate and systematic works .

Dr . William Habgood has kindly assisted me by te

vising the proofs .

C . LO T o

january, 1890.

P R E FA C E .

I N bringing forward this little book on Treatment byS uggestion , I fee l that , though I must crave indulgencefor the shortcomings o f the write r, no apology is necessaryfor introducing so important a subject .T he Nancy treatment has during the last few yearsattracted so much inte rest among men o f science and

members o f the medical profe ssion on the C ontinent ,that it seems strange the knowledge o f it in thiscountry is almost entire ly theoretical. T he systemo f

psycho-the rapeutics has so far attained its fullest deve lopment in Holland , where in every large town it is followedby at least one we ll -qualified practitioner ; while inGe rmany, R ussia, Sweden , and indeed eve ry Europeancountry, its position is secured by the support o f leading

physicians, and by the succe ss attending the ir practice .

In eve ry country, I be lieve , the introduction o f the systemwas at first opposed by persons who feared the popularization o f so potent an agent ; but as the beneficial resultso f the treatment became manife st, Opposition decreased ,and has - now almost died out . This is doubtle ss duechiefly to the fact that the treatment has notbeen allowedto fall into the hands o f ignorant and unqualified practitioners, but has been accepted bymen o f high characte rand profe ssional repute . T he dangers of hypnotismhavebeen proved c himerical ; in prope r hands no unde sirablemedical results can occur through its practice , and the reis, I be lieve , hardly one authenticated case o f its be ingused for a criminal purpose in the countries where it is

vi i i P REFA CE.

most frequently employed by medical men . More thanthis can hardly b e said for any system of medical treatment .But while maintaining that hypnotismhas been verylittle used for criminal purpose s, we should b e foolish toblink the fact that

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it might conce ivably, under certaincircumstances, be a dange rous weapon in unprincipledhands, and that its inj udicious use might lead to physicalandmental ills ; but such evil results are in a very greatmeasure preventible . Wherever hypnotism has beenlarge ly adopted as a valuable aid in the treatment ofdisease , its importance has been formally recognised , andits employment by C harlatans, e ithe r as a toy at publicexh ibit ions, or in unauthorizedmedical practice , has beenproh ibited by law .

Medical e lectricity is only now emerging from the limboo f quackery, because for years the medical professionallowed it to be exploited by profe ssors,

’who used it asa universal remedy in all case s, suitable and unsuitable .

T he Nancy systemhas been suc c essfulIon the C ontinentbecause it is practised there by qualified physicians andsurgeons, whose knowledge and expe rience has taughtthem whe re the treatment would b e like ly to succeed, andwhere it would prove ineffectual. I here advocate its usenot as a universal remedy or as a supplanter o f ordinarymedical treatment, but as a powerful auxiliary in combating many forms o f disease not readily reached byothe rmeans .My be st thanks are due to Dr. Donald Baynes for his

kindne ss in correcting proofs .

C . L. T .

GR E EN S T R E ET ,

GR OSVENOR SQU A R E ,

jan. rst,1889.

C O N T E N T S .

C HA PT E R I .

I N T R O D U C T I O N .

H istoryand Bibliography of Psycho-T herapeutics

C HA PT E R I I .

E xamples showing the Power o f the M ind over the Body.A ne sthesia produced by the Imaginat ion without Chloroform.

— Cures effec ted by the Imagination and by MentalEmotions.

— I llness and Func tional D isorders induced byMorbid D irec tion o f T hought.— Organic Changes possiblefromthe same Cause .

—I llness, and perhaps D eath, causedby S uggestion o f S ymptoms.

— A uto-Suggestion.— S imulated

D eath .- Cures at S hrines and Holy P lac es.

— T ouching forKing

’s E vil .— Modern I nstanc e o f E fi

’

i cacyof R oyal T ouch

C HA PT E R I I I .

Power of M ind and Body increased by Concentration o f A ttention and E nergy.

— S uppression of one Faculty tends toincrease the D eve lopment o f others.

— Concentrat ion o fM indOn one Idea in S omnambul ism, and Performance o f T asksimpossible when awake — S ome T ragical R e sults o f NaturalS omnambulism. A rtific ial or Hypnotic S omnambul ismmay b e turned to T herapeutic Purposes.

— Natural S leepmaypass into Hypnotic S leep and v ice ven d — T he Facultiesmayb e aroused and intensified in Hypnotic Somnambul ism

C ONTENTS.

C HA PT E R IV.

PA GE

Dr. Liébeaultof Nancy.- Description o f his T reatment S ystemfree fromMystic ism.

— Curative S uggestions— E xplanationo f the Phenomena.

—Definition o f Hypnotism— A bsoluteS leep or U nconsc iousness unnecessary for Curative T reatment.— T heory o f Professor Charcot not accepted by theS chool of Nancy.— Proportion o f Persons hypnotizable andD egrees of Hypnotic I nfluence — Phenomena o f S omnambulismoutside the Sphere o f Psycho-T herapeutic s

C HA PT E R V.

Psycho-T herapeutics not an exc lusive S ystemof T reatment.S ome D iseases found to benefit fromit. -Organic Processesaffec ted by Hypnotic S uggestion — Bl isters and S tzlgmata socaused — T reatment espe c ial ly useful in Neurotic D iseases.

— Hysteria,Hypochondriasis D ipsomania, and the Opium

Habit.— Moral D eprav ity. Double Consc iousness— P er

manenc e o f Cures.— Hypnotismdistinc t fromMagne tism.

Possible abuse o f Hypnotismnota Bar to its U se in M ed icalT reatment . R estric tions and Precautions ne cessary

C HA PT E R VI .

S ome Points in the Physiology and Psychology of Hypnotism.

A uthorities and the ir T heories— E xpec tant A ttention, Suggestion, and Inhibition — Induc tion of Func tional A phasia,and what i t teaches.

— E xagge ration or S uppression o f

certain S enses and Func t ions in the Hypnotic S tate — A utomatismin Hypnotismand in Pathological S tate — Amnesia.

-Hypnotismcompared with the A c tion o f Poisons — T heDouble Brain, its S ingle A c tion inHealth and possible DualA c tion in D isease and in the Hypnotic S tate .

— Cases illustrating this.— T he I nduc tion of A utomatismwithout Hypnotism

C ONTENTS .

C HA PT E R V I I .

R eality of Hypnotic Phenomena.— S imulation T ests.

—Prac ticalD irec tions for Medical Hypnotism— A bsence of PersonalE lement in the Nancy T reatment— Me thod o f Fasc ination.

-Voisin’s success in Lunacy.— Fore l’s Opinion ofthe T reatment.—Hypnotismbest appl ied by the Family Physic ian.

S ome diseased Condi tions benefited by Hypnotism. Med ical E ducation essential for its suc cessful Prac tice .

— A ids toHypnotism

C HA PT E R V I I I .

Part I .— S ome cases successfully treated by Hypnotismand

Suggestion by Fore ign A uthors : 1. Aggravated Hysteria ;2. Hysterical A phonia ; 3. Chorea ; 4. Hysteria ; 5. Pseudo

paralysis ; 6. Writer’s Cramp 7 . R heumatism; 8. A rticularR heumatism; 9 . Neuralgia o f F ifth Nerve ; 10. S c iatica ;11. Noc turnal E nuresis ; 12. Amenorrhoea ; 13. Menorrhagia ; 14 . Partial Hemiplegia ; 15. Hypochondriasis ; 16.

Puerperal Mania ; 17. Hysteria and the Chloral Habit ;18. Moral D epravity ; 19 . Neuralgia and Hemiplegia ;20. Headache and Dyspepsia ; 21. Chronic A lcoholism;22. Neurasthenia and Defic ienc y of S aliva ; 23. C onfine

ment 24. Loss o f S pee ch for E ight Years

Part 11.— S ome cases treated by the A uthor 1. Insomnia ;

2. Neurasthenia ; 3. Wri ter’s C ramp ; 4 . T abes D orsal is5. T orticollis 6. T raumatic Headache ; 7. Chronic D iarrhoea ;8. Paroxysmal S neezing ; 9 . Chronic Constipa tion ; 10.

Sapra-orbital Neuralgia ; 11. Spinal Irritation ; 12. Func

tional Heart-trouble ; 13. S ymptoms dependent on OrganicHeart D isease 14. E nuresis Nocturna 15. Gouty S c iatica ;16. Chronic R heumatism; 17. Nervous D yspepsia ; 18.

Amenorrhoea ; 19 . Func tional Dysmenorrhoea ; 20. PostParturit ion T roubles 21. D ipsomania 22. Moral Case 23.

Inc ipient Me lancholia

A ppendix : Notes.— Dr. Yung

’s E xperiment with ‘Magne tized

Cards.

’—JamesBraid ofManchester.— Duration o fHypnotic

xi

~xii C ONTENTS.

S leep.-Dr. Luys’R otating M irror, and D r. Ochorowicz

’s

Hypnoscope .— T heor

°

y of Professor Delbaeuf.— S ome P henomena of Hypnotic S omnambulism.

—Dr. Liébeault’s

Classification of Hypnotic S leep.— D r. Grazzini’s Case o f

S omnambul ism.— Me thod of Public Performers— R esolu

tions adopted at the Paris Congress— InternationalS tatistics of Hypnotism— E xperiments in A uto-S uggestion.

Hypnotnzation of A nimals.— Hypnotlsmand T hought T rans

ference — C hristian S c ience Healing

PA GE

T R E A T M E NT BY S U GGE S T I ON.

— o o !o!o o

C HA PT E R I .

I NT R O D U C T I ON .

“

I T is de sirable to clearly set forth the genesis o f psycho‘

thempeutics, le st , as some time s happens, unassumingmerit b e deprived even o f the honour o f discove ry , and

“othe r claims arise to obscure those o f the real founde rs'

o f the system .

P e rhaps themost unfounded claimis that o f the magnetizers, who assert that they have kept the subject beforethe public by the ir expe riments and entertainments . Thiscontention is easily answered , for, in the first place , themethod practised by Dr . Liéb eault, and de scribed in the sepage s, differs in nearly eve ry re spect fromthat employedby such persons ; and secondly, the ir performance s haveneve r done anything e lse but degrade this branch o f

medical science , and turn the medical profession againstit. T he ir me thod is unchanged since th e beginning o f

the century , and they have hardly even added a new trickto the ir stock-in- trade .

S o low had the e stimate o f the scientific value o f

induced-sle ep fallen , that in 1874 the French medicaldictionarie s threw doubts on its existence , except as apathological curiosity

,and the English encyclopaedists

followed much the same line .

S ince the year 1875— when Dr . C harle s R ichet

14 TREA TMENT BY SU GGESTI ON

began to write on the subj ect o f hypnotism— the re hasbeen no lack o f scientific inve stigators on the C ontinent.Among the most distinguished o f these are C harcot inP aris, and He idenhain at Breslau , and they have demonstrated beyond the possibil ity o f doubt the genuinene ss o fthe phenomena o f induced somnambulism. But long erethis— in 186o— Dr. Liéb eault had opened his public dis

pensaryat Nancy, and had e laborated his system ,which

he caused to b e known as Treatmentby S uggestion.

In 1866 he published a book on the subj ect , in whichhe gave to the world a full de scription o f the means usedby him , and an account o f case s succe ssfully treated .

*

But little notice was taken o f it at the time , and even inNancy

,where Dr . Liéb eault lived a re tired life , devoted

to the poor among whom he practised , he was regardedas , at the be st, an amiable but mistaken enthusiast . In1882, P rofe ssor Bernhe im, o f the Faculty o f Medicine atNancy, began to inve stigate the system, quite as a sceptic,so he te lls us, and , be ing soon convinced o f its value ,introduced it into his hospital clinique . In 1884 he

brought out his classical work on sugge stions!Dr. Be rnhe imwas we ll known in the medical world,and his book attracted general attention on the C ontinent.H is example was soon followed by other physicians andwriters o f eminence , among themP rofessors BeaunisIand Liégeois ,§ o f Nancy , D e lb oeuf, ” o f Liege , Burot andBourru , o f R ochefort , Fontain and S igard , o f BordeauxfilFore l , o f Zurich , and Drs. Despine , o f Marse ille s, VanR enterghemand Van Eeden , o f Amsterd ,\Vetterstrand,o f S tockholm, S chrenck-Notzing, o f fi ring etc . T he

literature o f the subj ect published in French alone duringthe last five years would make a fair-sized library ; and

Du S omme il etdes E tats A nalogues, considérés surtout au pointde vue de l

’ac tion du M orale sur le Physique ,’Paris, 1866.

1’ De la S uggestion, et de ses A pplications a la T hérapeutique,

’

ovoqué,’Paris, 1886.

S omnambulrsme dans leurR apports avect la Médec ine légale ,’P aris, 1888.

De l’Origine de s E ffe ts curatifs de l

’HypnOtisme ,’Paris, 1887.

1[ E lements de Médec ine S uggesuve,’Paris, 1887.

TREA TMENT B Y SUGGESTI ON. 1 ;

almost every large town on the C ontinent has its practitioners o f the system, who nearly all have written aboutit more or le ss extensive ly . Also, a journal’“ is -publishedmonthly in P aris, in which its late st deve lopments are

fully de scribed and discussed . Two valuable books haveappeared, in 1889, in German , ‘

Der Hypnotismus,’ byDr . Albe rt Mo ll, o f Be rlin , and a smaller work by Dr .Fore l .1‘ They form an admirable complement to theFrench writings, as they approach the subject in acharacteristically thorough and Teutonic manne r .S o far as I know, there is in E nglish no literature onhypnotism treated therapeutically. From time to timearticle s have appeared in the medical and scientificjournals, e specially in Brain, the journal o f the Neurological S ocie ty, and the journal of M ental S cience, the

organ of the Medico-P sychological S ocie ty, and in Mind,alluding to its progre ss abroad , and giving reviews of

some o f the fore ign books re lating to it. T he S ocietyfor P sychical R esearch has in this branch o f science , asin the e lucidation o f somany other psychical phenomena ,done most valuable work , which has so far rece ived ve rymuch le ss attention than is its due . T he writings onhypnotismby Mr . F. Myers and the late Mr . Gurney, inthe P roceedings o f the S ocie ty, are mode ls o f scientificand literary ability . In 1888 the present writer contributed a paper on the subje ct to the Nineteenth C entury.

But Dr . Hack-Tuke was its first English medical exponent, I be lieve , and in his deeply interesting work,‘ Illustrations o f the Influence o f the M ind upon the

Body,’he led up to the very thre shold o f its therapeutical

application .

To Jame s Braid, the Manche ste r surgeon , is due the

credit o f having se en the germs o f truth which lay hiddenand obscured in the writings o f Mesme r and the animalmagne tizers . He attempted to explain by physical laws

R ev ue de I’Hypnotisme, Paris, 170, R ue S . A ntoine .

1' ‘D er Hypnotismus se ine Handhabung und se ine Bedeutung,

’

S tuttgart, 1889.

16 TREA TMENT BY SUGGESTI ON.

the effects produced by me sme rize rs,’and he ridiculedthe notion o f the re be ing any such thing as a magneticfluid or current. H i s disgust for the mysticismo f mesmerismdrove him, perhaps , too far towards the otherextreme , and made himmore rationalistic than the factswarranted him in be ing . Although he publicly demonstrated his systemo f healing— which he practised withmuch success— and wrote several works upon the subject ,it appears to have died with him, and it remained for Dr .Liéb eault to arrive at the truth o f psycho-the rapeutics.I be lieve that all great discoverie s are led up to by

previous half-discoverie s ; and it doe s not de tract fromDr. Liébeault’s credit that he started with a large amounto f evidence on the subject collected by e arlier observers,anymore than Darwin’s claimto b e the first evolutionistis weakened by his having drawn on the material suppliedby Lye ll, Hooke r, and amultitude o f others . Liébeault

’s

genius taught himto arrange and systematize the factscollected by his predece ssors, and to find the true explanation o f phenomena which they had misunderstood . Andhis patience and steadfast courage led h imto persevere inhis work, unde terred by opposition or neglect, until nowwe find himthe founde r o f a school which , as I have said ,has its repre sentative s all over the C ontinent— acute andclear-sighted men o f science , o f a class quite unlike ly toentertain the fanciful theorie s o f me smerism, on the one

hand , or those o f faith healing,’on the other .

I ne ed hardly saythat medical hypnotismhas nothingin common with spiritualism , and it is a curious thingthat in this country some persons se emto think themassociated .

There is no more connection be twe en hypnotismandSpiritualismthan there is betwe en china and me taphysics,and all the fore ign physicianswho practise hypnotismgive

,

as far as I know, thoroughly rational and material explanations o f its phenomena , and re fuse to connect the treatment in any waywith any one sect or line o f thought .

‘Neurypno logy,’London, 1843 ; T he Power of the M ind over

the Body,’London, 1846.

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18 TREA TMENT BY SUGGESTI ON

if some time s he is wrongfully accused o f having pro

duc ed baneful effects, he is indemnified at others byhaving marve llously good re sults ascribed to very simplemeasures.

T here are few case s o f this kind more remarkable thanone re lated by Mr . Woodhouse Braine , the we ll-knownchloroformist . Having to administer ether to an hystericalgirl who was about to b e operated on for the removal o ftwo sebaceous tumours fromthe scalp, he found thatthee ther bottle

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was empty, and that the inhaling-bag was freefromeven the odour o f any ane sthetic. While a freshsupply was be ing Obtained, he thought to familiarize the

patient with the proce ss by putting the inhaling-bag overher mouth and nose , and te lling her to breathe quie tlyand deeply. After a few inspirations she cried , Oh , Ifee l it ; I amgoing o ff and a moment afte r her eye sturned up, and she became unconscious . A s she wasfound to b e perfectly insensible , and the e ther had not

yet come , Mr . Braine proposed that the surgeon shouldproceed with the operation . One tumourwas removedwithout in the least disturbing her, and then , in order tote st her condition , a bystander said that she was comingto . U pon this she began to show signs o f waking, so thebag was once more applie d, with the remark, S he’ll soonbe o ff again ,

’when she imme diate ly lost sensation,and

the operation was succe ssfully and painlessly comple ted .

This girl had taken e ther three years before , so that ex

pe ctation and the use o f the apparatus were sufficient toexcite her recollection , and call back the effects o f the

drug as then experienced .

It is told that when S ir Humphry Davy was inve stigating the prope rties o f laughing-gas— as nitrous oxidewas then called— he proposed to administer it to amanwho was suffe ring fromtic do loreux, but be fore doing sohe tried his temperature by putting a thermome ter intohis mouth . T he man took this instrument for some new

and subtle remedy, and in a fewminute s exclaimed thatthe pain was cured . T he same be lief in the efficacy o f

TREA TMENT B Y S UGGE S TJoN. 19

the thermome ter remains to this dayamong the unedu

cated , as a friend o f mine found to his cost when he washospital-clerk to a we ll-known physician . It was his dutyto take each morning the temperature o f every patient ;but on one occasion , be ing pressed for time , and knowingby experience that a ce rtain patient’s temperature wasalways normal, he saved a few minute s by leaving it untried . Later in the day, when the physician asked thisman how he fe lt , he replied that he wasmuch worse , asmight b e expected considering the way in which he wasneglected . On inquiry it came out that the potent charmo f having the glass tube in his mouth for thre e minute shad be en omitted , and myfriend got a reprimand .

While in Jamaica , I knew a young lady who had formonths been confined to her b ed or couch , unable towalk a step , fromapparent paralysis o f the lowe r ex

tremities, which entire ly defied the treatment used . One

morning news was brought to her that her brother, towhomshe was devotedly attached , had fallen fromhishorse , and was lying in a critical condition some mile saway in the mountains . S he immediate ly got up

,herse lf

he lped to saddle a horse , rode to the scene o f the accident ,and nursed her brother night and day for a we ek . S he

was comple te ly and permanently cured o f the paralysis,

which o f course was me re ly functional and hysterical,by the nervous shock which had brought her will intooperation .

A somewhat similar case came under myobservationsome years ago. A clergyman in whose house I wasstaying had long be en a sufferer fromchronic rheumatism

,

through which he was so disabled that he could only walkvery slowly and with great inconvenience . On this occasionhe was lying on a sofa , fromwhich he c ould .see throughan open door and across a hall into another room, wherehis wife happened to b e . By some care le ss movementshe upse t a table the re , and , as if bymagic , he Sprang tohis fee t and walked rapidly and with a perfectly even stepinto the opposite room, exclaiming, T here goe s all the

2— 2

20 TREA TMENT BY S U GGE S T I OI V.

ink that was in the house , and I have to write my sermonIn this instance , however, the cure was as epheme ral as

the emotion which had caused it but it is not improbablethat a continued excitement might have prolonged thepower o f easy motion , and so have broken down andcaused absorption o f the adhe sions and exudations whichproduce the pain .

At a wate r-picnic some months ago , a young lady complained o f terrible neuralgia . Fromsome cause the boatbegan to rock violently, and she became extreme ly nervous .Her fear o f be ing upse t comple te ly drove away the neuralgia

,which did not return , at least on that occasion .

It is known that sufferers fromsea- sickne ss almost invariably be come quite we ll inmoments o f danger ; and wecan often lose the sense o f pain by occupying our mindwith some affair o f great intere st.A rudimentary knowledge o f e lectricity is sufficient toassure us that the vast maj ority o f popular e lectricalappliance s— such as be lts and pads— are absolute ly inert ,and that the good they undoubtedly achieve in some case sis due to the ir stimulating effect on the imagination .

*

C hole ra-be lts , camphor-bags, and such-like preventive s,’probably act in a similar way. There fore , though the seand kindred contrivance s do not ope rate in the expectedmanne r, I should b e sorry to saythat they do not serve auseful purpose by inspiring confidence and keeping alivehope , they often enable the ir possessor to go unharmed inthe midst o f contagion , or he lp himto overcome diseasefor there is no more effectual depre ssant , no surer harbinger o f disease , than fear . Much o f the immunityfrom infection enjoyed by physicians and nurses is duepartly to the pre -occupation o f the irminds, which leavesno roomfor se lfish terror , and partly to the confidence

begotten by long familiarity with dange r.T he plan o f substituting a harmle ss draught for the

narcoticmixture without which a ne rvous patient thinksVz

'

de le tter by Dr. S teavenson in Lancet and British M edicaz'

journal, Oct. 16, 1889.

TREA TMENT B Y S UGGE S TI OIV. 21

himse lf unable to sleep, i s, as we all know, continuallyre sorted to, and is an instance o f the beneficial employment o f the imagination .

On the other hand , it is possible for an apparentlyquite healthy person to deve lop, by pure imagination ,the symptoms o f serious illness . Laymen who dabble inmedical science

,and medical students at the beginning o f

the ir course , are apt to imagine that they have one orother o f the disease s they have been studying— heartcomplaint be ing perhaps the most usual ; and of thisthey do frequently deve lop some of the subjectivesymptoms .A friend o f mine te lls me that once only in his life has

he suffered from laryngitis and loss o f voice . This waswhile attending Dr. S emon’s lecture s on disease s o f the

throat . It mayhave be en a mere coincidence , but thathardly explains the frequent instance s o f medical menwho have succumbed to the disease which they havemade the ir special study, e.g. , P rofe ssor T rousseau fromcancer o f the stomach. It is probable that the mindbe ing continuously fixed on one special organ , predispose sto disease o f that organ .

Hypochondriasis is, as we know, a condition in whichthe patient fee ls the working o f his internal organs, and ismorbidly conscious o f them. It tends to grow worse ,because his attention becomesmore andmore fixed uponfunctions which ought to b e performed automatically, andunle ss some powerful mental stimulant is applied , organicdisease is some time s actually set up . Dr. R usse ll R eyno lds* has collected and classified seve ral case s o f

paralysis dependent on functional cause s, which we recured by careful treatment directed chiefly to the moraleo f the patients. He points out the difficultie s attendingthe ordinary treatment, and shows how necessary it is tocounteract the morbid ideas which are often at the rooto f the mischie f. Most o f the cases to which he referswere cured , but some resisted all forms o f treatment .

British M edicaljournal, vo l. 483, 1869.


Dr. Jame s R eynolds" relate s a case o f a woman who diedin the B irminghamGeneral Hospital fromthe effects o fhysterical paraplegia ; the necropsy showed that therewas no o rganic disease . He thus summarize s the dange rso f this condition : ‘

I f the nature o f the malady be mistaken , and the stimulus o f the will b e habitually withhe ldfromthe inactive muscle s , the nutrition o f that part o fthenerve centre which preside s over those muscle s become simpaired , and what was at the beginning amere pe rversiono f function is finally conve rted into real organic disease .

’

Dr. R usse ll R eynolds thus concludes h is paper: I be lieveand know that many case s o f apparently grave disorderso f the nervous centre smayb e removed entire ly ; and thatin other instance s, when the ideal affection is graftedupon organic le sion , much may b e done to remove the

forme r, and afford somuch o f the stimulus o f hope , thatthe cure o f yet grave r symptoms is brought within therange , not only o f possibility, but o f probability and o f

actual fact .’ There are many people , o f both sexe s, whonever hear o f a disease without fancying they have it .T he illness o f a royal or distinguished suffere r, the progress o f which is daily recorded in the newspapers , willsometimesbecome almost epidemic ; thus throat specialistscan te ll some curious storie s o f the increase o f imaginaryand real throat affe ctions during the illness o f the lateEmpe ror Frederick ; and a short time ago , it will beremembe red , measles became for awhile a fashionablemalady . That fear will promote disease has been abundantlyproved during outbreaks o f chole ra , small-pox, theplague , and other epidemics. P se udo-hydrophobia is arecognisedmalady, and no doubtmany supposed cure s o fhydrophobia have in fact been cure s o f this fear-inducedimitation.

We some times come across people who te ll us theyhave no time to b e ill and ce rtainly reports o f longevityshow that rust destroys more than use , and that hale oldParalysis and other D iseases of Motion dependent on Idea,

’are,

p. 632.

TR E A TME NT BY SUGGESTI ON. 23

age is more frequently attained by those who have ledbusy live s than by idlers . Idlene ss is a we ll-known factorin producing all kinds o f ailments , real and imaginary, o fmind and body, perhaps because the idle man, fromsheerlack o f intere st in life , devote s too much attention to hisown organism.

Imagination , combined with ‘direction o f consciousness ’ (S ir H . Holland) to a part , will produce re sultswhich have been notice d by many pathologists . JohnHunter said he was confident o f producing a sensation inany part o f his body simply by concentrating his attentionon it . S ir H . Holland observe s* :

‘ In hypochondriasis,the patient , by fixing his attention on internal organs,create s not mere ly disordered sensations, but disorde redaction in them.

’ And again When the re is liability toirregular pulsation (o f the heart) , this is brought on and

increased by a simple effort o f attention .

’

A medical friend o f mine ,who is affected with insuffic iencyo f the mitral valve s, te lls me that he is hardly everinconvenienced by it , except when he has to examine apatient with heart-disease . H is attention is then drawnto his own weakened organ , and he suffers frompalpitation .

Dr. Forbes Winslow, speaking on this subje ct , saysj'

It is a We ll-e stablished fact that alterations o f tissuehave be en the result o f a morbid concentration o f theattention to particular organic structures . C ertain fe e lings o f uneasiness or even pain originate in the mind asuspicion o f disease existing in particular parts o f the

body, it mayb e in the lungs , stomach , heart , brain , liver,or kidneys . S ome slight irregularitie s and functionaldisturbance s in the action o f the se organs be ing noticed ,are at once sugge stive (to the hypochondriac) o f seriousand fatal disease be ing e stablished in the part to whichthe attention is directed . T his deviation froma normalstate o f ce rtain functions frequently lapses into actual

M ed ical Notes and R eflections,’London, 1839.

‘l' Obscure D iseases o f the Brain and M ind,’London, 1860.

34 TREA TMENT B Y SUGGESTI ON.

structural disease , as the effect o f the faculty o f attentionbe ing for a lengthened period concentrated on this action .

T he continuous direction o f the mind to vital tissue simagined to b e in an unhealthy state undoubtedly cause san exaltation o f the ir special functions, and an increase o fsusceptibility, by (it may b e pre sumed) concentrating totheman abnormal quantity o f blood , this be ing followedsucce ssive ly by (1) undue vascular action , (2) capillaryconge stion , (3) an exce ss in the evolution o f nerve force ,and (4 ) appreciable structural alterations .’ Dr . Hack Tukesays I f twenty persons fix the ir attention on the ir littlefinger for ten minute s, the re sult will b e that most o fthemwill feel decided sensations there , amounting insome to a mere sense o f we ight o r throbbing, and inothers to actual pain .

’H e endeavours to explain this by

supposing that the act o f attention excite s an increasedflow o f blood to the part , and consequent increased vascularityo f the sensory nerve -ganglia , so leading to subjectivesensation or that the sympathetic nerve -centre s becomeexcited , and the vaso-motor nerves influenced thereby soas to cause in the finger temporary vascular change swhich invoke sensation . He puts for ward also a thirdhypothe sis, which is inte re sting fromthe re lation it bearsto that given by P rofessor De lboeuf, o f Liege (see

page 166) —that fixing the attention on a part o f the bodyfor some time renders us conscious o f the working o f

functions which are usually performed automatically andunconsciously. S ir Jame s P aget thinks that by nervousexcitement the temperature mayb e raised to at least 101(fromthe normal and P rofe ssor Wunde rli

’

ch sayson the same subje ct

'

l'

: In hysterical neurosis e levationso f the temperature even to exce ssive he ights mayoccurwithout anymotive at all .’ Dr. Wilke s re late s case s o f

extreme anemia caused by depre ssing emotions ; andthis agree s with the experience o f all medical men,

asdoes also the opposite observation , that pleasant emotions

0p. cit.

f M ed ical T hermome try,’New S ydenhamS oc ie ty, 1871 .


cheerful and we ll-balanced mind, he is pretty sure , for atime at least , to de teriorate in health . The re is a storyo f such sugge stions be ing made , for a practical joke , atthe expense o f a stalwart farmer, who , having been assuredby seve ral persons that he seemed in a bad way, did reallytake to his b ed and go through an unmistakable attack o fillne ss . This , o f course , was a crue l and unwarrantablejest—yet a somewhat similar effect is occasionally produc ed by we ll-meaning persons, who are in the habit o fcommiserating the ir acquaintance for not looking we ll .Dr. Hack Tuke give s an instance o f death itse lf be ingproduced by sugge stion . A Frenchman o f rank was condemned to death fo r some crime , and his friends, willingto avoid the scandal o f a public execution , allowed himto b e made the subj ect Of an experiment . He was toldthat he must b e bled to death . H is eye s were bandaged ,and his ‘

arm having be en lightly pricked , a streamo f

warmwate r was made to trickle down it and fall into a7basin , while the assistants kept up a running commentary

on his supposed condition . He is ge tting faint ; the t

heart’s action is becoming fe eble r ; his pulse is almostgone ,

’ and other remarks o f the sort . In a short timethe miserable man died with the actual symptoms ‘ o fcardiac syncope fromhemorrhage , without having lost adrop o f blood . (Vide note in Appendix , pageThe re are some authenticated case s of apparent deathbe ing produced by auto-sugge stion . We hear o f thisbe ing accomplished by Indian fakirs and othe r re ligiousenthusiasts in Eastern countrie s . Braid cite s a remarkable , and , he be lieves, thoroughly we ll-authenticated instance o f a distingui shed holyman, who , to convince theMaharajah R unjeet S ingh* that he posse ssed this powe rover himse lf, apparently died , and was laid in a sealedcoffin within a vault , the entrance to which was also

T his c ase is re lated in med ical de tai l by D r. McGregor in his

H istory o f the S ikhs,’p. 227. He was an eye-witness o f th e disinter

ment. T here are other cases o f a similarc harac ter,and apparently we ll

authenticated, but further sc ientific investigation o f the subjec t isdesirable .

TREA TMENT B Y SUGGESTI ON. 27

sealed and guarded by soldie rs . After six weeks, the

time appointed by himse lf, he was taken out o f the

tomb in the presence o f the R ajah and o f several crediblewitne sse s , English as we ll as native , and found to displayeve ry appearance o f death . Having been gradually te

vived by his own servant , the still ghastly-looking, corpselike creature sat up and spoke , his first words be ing ad

dre ssed to the doubting R ajah : Do you be lieve me now?’T he be st warranted E uropean case o f the sort isthat o f C olone l Townshend , re lated as follows by Dr .C heyne : ‘He could die or expire whenhe pleased , and

yet, by an effort or somehow, he could come to life again .

We all three fe lt his pulse first ; it was distinct,though small and thready, and his heart had its usualbeating. He composed himse lf upon his back, and layin a still posture for some time . While I he ld his righthand , Dr . Baynard laid his hand upon his heart, and Mr .S krine he ld a c lean looking-glass to hismouth . I foundhis pulse sink gradually , till at last I could not fee l any,by the most exact and niC e touch ; Dr . Baynard couldnot fee l the least motion in the heart , nor Mr. S . discernthe least soil of breath on the bright mirror . Then eacho f -us by turns examined his arm, heart , and breath, butcould not , by the nicest scrutiny, discove r the leastsymptomo f life in him . We reasoned a long time aboutthis Odd appearance , and , finding he still continued inthat condition , we began to conclude that he had indeedcarried the experiment too far ; and at last we we resatisfied that he was already dead , and we re j ust readyto leave him. This continued about half an hour. Aswe were going away we perce ived some motion about thebody, and , upon examination , found his pulse and the

motion o f his heart gradually re turning ; he began to

breathe heavily and speak softly . We were all astonishedto the last degree at this unexpected change .

” E

T he starting-

point o f the movements o f the heart is the exc i tationproduced by the pressure o f the b lood on the sensory or c entripe talnerve -fibres o f the endocard ium. I f the contac t o f the blood wi th theendocard iumbe prevented, the heart c eases its pulsation, the physio


As sickne ss, and pe rhaps even death , mayb e producedby suggestion , so may b e , and very often is

“

, produced thecure o f sickne ss . Towards this, however, auto-sugge stion,though itmight do much , doe s actually little or nothing,the natural reason be ing that the mind o f a sick person,when le ft to itse lf, i s prone rather to sugge st morb id thanhealth-inducing ideas, and so operate s for mischief rathe rthan in the direction o f cure . Every physician knowshow, by dete rmined hope fulness and cheerfulne ss, asufferer from functional, and even from curable organicdisease , mayfacilitate the work o f healing, and mate riallyhasten his recove ry .

In all ages wonderful cures , real amid a multitude o f

shams, have been wrought at holy place s dedicated tovarious saints o f various cults . Among the throngs o f

pilgrims to Mecca , to the sacred rivers and temples o f

India, to the shrine s o f Buddhist hagiology, there are

some who, having made the outward journey wearily andpainfully, do indeed turn homeward with the gift o f health .

A proportion o f those who have l imped or been carried toLo urde s and to a hundred ofli erholy place s of the C atholicC hurch do leave behind themcrutche s that they no longerrequire . S ome o f the suffe rers who worshipped the HolyC oat at Treve s did truly re ce ive in re stored health thereward o f the ir faith . S ome weare rs of re l ics and amule tsare really the better for possessing them. T he cheered ,uplifted, and convinced mind works, some time s withstartl ing rapidity, on the diseased body.

For this same reason , touching for the king’s evil didno doubt e ffect many cure s. T he royal progresse s wereannounced some time be forehand , and the sufferers along

logic al cause o f the reflex ac tion hav ing been removed. I f the c hest,and consequently the heart, b e compressed by a series o f forc ed ex

pirations and by hold ing the breath , so as c omple te ly to empty thelungs, and bring the muscularwal ls o f the heart into c lose contac t,we may suc ceed in stopping its beating. T he performanc e o f thisexpe riment is not recommended, as itmight have a fatal issue . Vide

an artic le on‘La mort simulée ,

’ by Dr. G. T ourdes,‘D ic tionnaire

E ncyc lopéd ique des S c iences Médicales,’Paris, 1875.

TREA TMENT BY SUGGESTI ON 29

the ir route had often weeks in which to cherish the ex

pectation o f healing, in itse lf so beneficial ; and in thosedays o f faith , when a be lie f in the divine right o f kingswas universal and strong, the touch o f the royal handmust , except in the most hope le ss case s , have had astimulating effe ct which mayoften have caused a healthfulreaction . Even in our own time s, a royal touch

, ac c ompanied by kindly words , has good effect . We read in thelife o f Victor Emanue l) “ that in 1865, when the cholerawas raging in Naples , and the panic-stricken inhabitantswere migrating by thousands from the city, the king,wishing to give his people courage , went the round o f thehospitals. He stood be side the sick-beds , and spokeencouragingly to the patients .’ Be fore one o f thosealready marked fo r death , the king stopped , and takinghis damp , frozen hand , he pressed it, saying, ‘Takecourage , poorman, and try to recover soon .

’T he warm

grasp o f the hand , the strong cheerful words, the recognition o f the king’s face , had an agitating effect on thedying man . That evening the syndic visited the king,and said »: Yourmaje sty’s coming is a joyful omen . I amhappy to te ll you that the doctors report a diminution o f

the disease in the course o f the day, and yourmaj esty hasunaware s worked a miracle T he man you saw thismorning stre tched for death is out o f danger this eve ning.

T he doctors say the excitement o f your pre sence causedthe salutary crisis .’ In C arpenter

’s P hysiology-

j: nume rous

Life o f Vic tor Emanue l ,’by G . S . Godkin, vol. p. 213.

1‘ ‘On the Influenc e o f the Ne rvous S ystem on the Organic

Func tions,’chap. v.

,ninth edi t ion. Perhaps the most strikingexample

o f the power o f the will and imagination to affe c t func tion, and e ven toinitiate it, is afforded in a fe w rare but we ll -authenticated cases

colle c ted by Dr. Dungliso n (‘

Human Physiology,”

vo l. i i . , se venthedi tion) , and quoted by C arpenter, in which strong desire to furnishmilk

,c ombined w ith c ontinued irritatic n o f the nipple by the infant

’s

mouth, has brought about a se cre tio n o f mi lk in the mammaryglands

o f chi ldless and unmarried women, and even o f men. T he no t un

c ommon oc currenc e o f pseudo pregnancy , with produc tion o f all the

subjec tive and many o f the o bje t ttve symptoms o f re a l pregnancyunder the stimulus o f a strong de sire for c hi ldren, affords evrde nc e o f

the power o f auto-sugge stion. T he historical case o f Que en Mary is afami l iar example .

30 TREA TMENT B Y SUGGESTI ON

examples are given demonstrating the influence o f the

mind and imaginative facultie s on the . difierent bodilyfunctions, and we have only to consider a moment torec all many personal experiences pointing in the samedirection .

TREA TMENT B Y SU GGESTI ON 31

C HAPTER I I I .

P ower of M ind and Body increased by Concentration o f A ttention and

E nergy.— S uppression of one Faculty tends to inc rease the D eve lopment o f others — Concentration o f M ind on one Idea in S omnamb ulism,

and Performanc e of T asks impossible when awake — S omeT ragical R esults o f Natural S omnambul ism.

— A rtific ial or HypnoticS omnambul ismmaybe turned to T herapeutic Purpose s— NaturalS leepmaypass into Hypnotic S leep and vice ven d — T he Facultiesmayb e aroused and intensified in Hypnotic S omnambulism.

I HAVE endeavoured to show how much the imagination(in its wide st sense ) mayhave to do with our health o f

mind and'

body; and I shall now try to point out thatthe effects o f ‘directed consciousness are greatly in

creased under ce rtain conditions, when the mind is sowithdrawn fromthe conside ration o f all extraneous ideasas to b e absolute lyconcentrated upon one Object .We have se en how concentration o f mind-faculty

,

whethe r se lf- induced or brought about by some shockto the system, or some powerful external influence , canmodify functions, and both produce and cure disease— some time s gradually, but often , in the case o f shock orsudden and overpowering influence , with a rapidity whichseems almost miraculous .We all know, and frequently by our own experience ,that mind -concentration , brought about by some strongmotive , will enable us to performmental or bodily actionso f which we would generally b e incapable . Through ita man will achieve feats o f strength far beyond his ap

parent muscular powe r, or will go boldly through dange rsfromwhich he would shrink if he paused to considerprobable consequence s . Or he will , in a limited time‘execute a prodigious amount o f inte llectual work, possibly

I ,l

. 0“

t

TREA TMENT BY SUGGESTI ON

o f such startling exce llence that he himse lf, in afte rmoments o f le ss intensity, will b e amazed at his ownperformance . Of course , concentration , if sustained atsuch a pitch , would in time b e the ruin o f mind andbody ; but we know that it is a nece ssary factor in theaccomplishment o f all great things, and that there canb e no succe ss in life for those who cannot command itto amode rate degree . Of this , we se e a striking instancein C oleridge , who , with all his wonderful genius, broughta surprisingly small quantity o f work to completion , forwant o f this mind -directing powe r. T he less we have o f

it, themore ourmental action tends to become automatic .T he mind o f a person unused to exercise it drifts un

directed and undisciplined fromone idea to another ; hecan hardly follow a line o f thought to its conclusion , andhis talk, and probably his actions, will b e as inconsequentas his wandering fancie s.

A s a rule , happily , the organic functions which carryon life are pure ly automatic ; but , as we have seen ,

it ispossible to concentrate the attention upon them,

and soaffect the ir operation , some time s beneficially, but farmorecommonly with de triment to the health o f mind andbody . Those bodily movements over which we havefull control are also generally performed automatically .

U nder ordinary circumstance s , we give no consciousthought to our steps in walking, to the motion o f ourhands while at work ; these are nearly as automatic ashealthy breathing. S o likewise , in a gene ral way , is theoperation o f the sense s . We se e , hear, fee l without anyeffort o f our will , unless some specialmotive impe ls us toexercise it . We concentrate ourminds upon sight whenwe strive to see aminute , or indistinct , or distant objectand upon hearing when we listen for a faint or eagerlyexpected sound . I f such concentration is continuouslybrought to bear upon any sense , it will in time conveyautomatically the more intense impression which hasbe en exceptional . Thus , in savages and in trave llers andse ttlers in wild or dangerous regions, the sense s o f sight

34 TREATMENT B Y SU GGESTI ON

some time s exists through a dream—when the sleeperknows that he is dreaming, and will even try to prolonghis vision if it be de lightful, and dispe l it if painful. S uchan exertion o f will is impossible in

’

somnambulism.* I rr

this state all fancie smustappear realities . T he imagination is, as I have said, concentrated upon one Object , andso comple te ly that actions are as effectually performed as ifd irected by strong will-powe r. But an onlooker can easilyperce ive , by the expression and posture o f somnambulists,that the disce rning and judging facultie s are in abeyance .

In somnambulism actions o f extraordinary difliculty,such as could not b e performed by the sleepe r during hisw aking hours— except , perhaps , through mind-concentration caused by some overpowering impulse or motiveare accomplished with pe rfect ease . P ersons in this cond it ion will walk on the extreme edge o f a precipice , climbd ange rous he ights , get out o f a house through an upperstory window. There are numerous instances of this onrecord , of which I will quote two or three . Dr . P aulG arnier‘l

' gives one o f a patient , a dentist’s assistant , of

feeble bodily and mental health , who frequently fe ll into astate o f somnambulism. On one o f the se occasions hee scaped by a window from the ward of the HOtel Dieu , inwhich he was unde rgoing treatment, and, though a

peculiarly unathletic person , walked easily and fearle sslya long the sloping parape t o f the facade— a feat which atrained gymnast could hardly have accomplished . He

awoke in the course o f this dange rous pe rformance , andhad to b e rescued bymeans o f a ladde r. W ith the re turnO f consciousne ss reason awoke , and he unde rstood thehorror o f his position . While blindly obeying his impulsehe had acted automatically, and fear, which is a producto f reflection and association o f ideas, I had no existencefor him .

I n dreams, doubtless, it is possible only when the sleeper is c loseupon waking.

t S omnambulisme devant les T ribuneaux,’Paris, 1888.

1: Infants, in whomof course ne i ther is possible , will, if allowed,gras at the flame of a candle , or a sharp instrument ; and youngc hil ren will fearlessly putthemse lves into positions o f great danger.

TREA TMENT BY SUGGESTI ON. 35

A patient o f my own, a youngman twenty years o f age ,not an habitual somnambulist , but a suffe rer from nightmare produced by chronic dyspepsia, on one occasion,

while Spending the night in an hote l, dreamed that he wasc onfined in a dungeon fromwhich he must escape . T he

dream no doubt passed into somnambulism ,for unde r its

influence he broke his iron bedstead— a feat of strengthwhich , waking, he assuredly could not have accomplished— and tore up his b ed-clothe s . His amazement was greatwhen he awoke in the morning amid the ruins o f his ownc reation . He remembered his dream , but had no re c o l

lection whatever o f the acts into which he had be en ledby itDreams thus merging into somnambulismmayproduce

tragic re sults . Dr. G . T ourdes“ re late s how aman sleepingbe side his wife dreamed that she was a robber whomhe

must kill . He accordingly attempted to suffocate her

with a pillow, and it was with great difficulty that she

succeeded in awaking him, and so saving her life .

In 1843 a young man was tried for the attemptedmurde r o f an innkeepe r at Lyonsxr He had arrived at theinn towards nightfall , and was allotted a room. In thedead o f night loud crie s were heard fromthis room, andthe landlord , rushing in to see what was the matte r, wasset upon by his gue st and seriously wounded . It wasasce rtained that the youngman was a somnambulist , whohad dreamt that the landlord wasmurdering the occupantso f a roomnear his own , and that he was defending them.

He was, o f course , acquitted . A case is also recorded byDrs. Guyand Ferrier, in the ir

‘Forensic Medicine .

’ Twomen, be ing in a place infe sted by robbers , engaged thatone should watch while the othe r slept . But the watche r,falling asle ep, and dreaming that he was pursued, shothis companion through the heart .’We have many instance s o f mental work be ing ac

A rtic le ‘S omme il,

’ ‘D ic tionnaire E ncyc lopédique des S c iencesMédicales.

’

1' ‘D ic tionnaire E ncyc lopéd ique des S c iences Médicales,

’artic le

‘S omnambul isme ,’by D rs. Ball and Chambard .

36 TREATMENT p r SUGGESTI ON.

complished during somnambulism . P rofe ssor Woehner“

o f Gottingen , after vainly trying for several days to writea Gre ek poemon a given subject , composed it succe ssfullywhile in this condition, which probably was brought aboutby the mental strain of his

,

previous futile elforts.1'

A clear case o f somnambulismwas that of a clergyman ,whom his wife saw rise from bed in his sleep , go to awriting-table , and write rapidly for some minutes . Thisdone , he returned to bed, and slept on untilmorning. On

awaking, he told her that in a dreamhe had worked outan argument for a sermon , o f which he now retained norecollection whatever . S he led him to the writing-table ,and showed him the written shee t, upon which he foundhis argument worked out in the most satisfactorymanne r.I t rare ly happens, howeve r, that solutions o f problems ,poems, etc ., written by persons in this state , have anyvalue . They may begin we ll , but generally drift intononsense , probably because the mental concentration hasbeen dispe lled by some new idea crossing the first , anddisplacing it .Habitual somnambulismmay b e natural— that is , may

exist without any actual disease , though it is hardly everfound inpersons o f robust bodily and mental constitution .

It is not uncommon in de licate or ne rvous children andyoung pe rsons, but if with advancing years the mind andbody gain strength, the tendency to it is like ly to decreaseand finally disappear . A ccidental somnambulismis directlyproduced by illness or mental strain , and may occur innormally healthy persons o f great inte llectual power .When the state is habitual o r frequent, the somnambulistmay b e said to lead two live s, one almost distinct fromthe other, and to have two entire ly unconnectedmemories .Memory, as we generally understand it, is dormant duringsomnambulism . T he sleepe r remembers nothing thathas occurred during his waking hours, and, when he

D ic tionnaire E ncyc lopédique,’etc .

1‘ Coleridge

’s poe tical fragment, ‘

Kubla Khan,’was probablycom

posed in a dream not in somnambulism—as he remembered and

wrote It down on awaking.

TREATMENT BY SUGGESTI ON 37

again awake s, has no recollection o f his ac tions duringthesomnambulistic state . Yet, in his next attack of somnamb ulism, the memory of these is like ly to come back to him .

T he effect of natural or accidental somnambulism onthe health is anything but beneficial . An attack is generally followed by fee lings o f wearine ss and discomfort ,for which the subject is at a loss to account . T he conc entrated mind-power doe s not operate in a beneficialdirection , but impe ls the sleeper to b odily or mentale ffort like ly to have an exhausting and hurtful effect uponhim. But the artific ially

-producedmental condition seenin hypnotism can b e turned to therapeutic use s, and b emade to fill a void which no other plan of treatment c anreach . Dr . Bernhe im considers hypnotic sleep analogousto th e natural state , with the important difference that innatural sleep the subje ct is only in re lation with himse lf,whe reas in the artificial state he is in re lation with theoperator, who is therefore able to direct the thoughts intothe channe l he wishes . That it resembles natural sle epis proved by the fact that it is possible in ce rtain case sfor one to pass into the other . Dr . Van Eeden toldmethat a patient o f his , a gentleman , wearied by long waiting and exhausted by the heat , fe ll asleep in the waitingroom . T he doctor came in , and , see ing himasleep, said,Don’t wake , but come withme intomyconsulting-room .

’

T he patient got up and , with assistance , did as he wasde sired . After the treatment was over he was led backin the same way to his forme r ‘

seat in the waitingroom, and allowed to finish his sleep . He soon awoke ,apologized to the other patients for having slept , and

expressed surprise that his turn had not yet come forsee ing the doctor . Great was his astonishment when hewas told that the séance had taken place and was finishedwithout his knowing anything about it . Dr . Maury,* whocannot be accused o f be ing too easily influenced, give ssome instance s in which , while sitting by his firesidedozing after dinne r, he had heard, as in a dream , the

Le S omme il et les R eves,’Paris, 1865, p. 429.

38 TREATMENT BY SUGGESTI ON

words uttered by his wife and friends, and had followedout the train of thought sugge sted by themin his dreams ,and had even acted upon suggestions so madefi" I f a

person is very tired it is frequently possible to obtainan answer to a question whispered in his ear withoutawakening him . Dr. Hack Tuke and Mr. Braid giveseveral examples o f this in the ir writings.Braid

, for instance , te lls o f a naval officer who was thesubject o f many practical joke s. He entertained and

acted upon any idea which was suggested to himwhenasleep without awaking. On one occasion , while lyingin his berth , he was told that his ship was in action , andthat his men we re fighting all around him His faceimmediate ly assumed an expre ssion of martial excitement, and he wielded an imaginary sword . H is friendssupplied details o f the fight, te lling himthat the battlewas going against them, and that his deare st companionswere be ing killed then his expre ssion changed to one o f

fear . Finally, when told that all his friends were slain ,and that the rout was complete , he leaped fromhis placeand fled with an aspect o f terror . I have myse lf spokento and rece ived answers from nurse s who had fallenasle ep , worn out by long hours o f watching ; and exampleso f such automatic answering must b e familiar to mostpeople . On the other hand , patients in the hypnoticsleep sometime s pass into the natural state , when they areno longe r in re lation with the ope rator, but follow the irown ideas in ordinary dreams .As in natural somnambulism a person mayb e able todo things he is at other times incapable o f, so in the

artific ially-produced condition he can sometimes b e made

to exce l himse lf. Dr. Beaunis found in experimentingwith the dynamometer that the muscular power could b e

He relates how, on one oc casion, he was sitting in h is easy-chairhalf awake, when his wife spoke to h im. He was awakened by thewords, and remembered them, butwas quite unable to te ll whe ther hehad uttered themhimse lf, or whe ther they were his wife’s. On thisheremarks, Howmany ac tions and ideas are daily suggested to us byothers which we actupon, thinking they are our own


greatly increased at times by sugge sting in the hypnoticstate increased strength and effort ; and one frequentlyfinds the grasp o f an enfeebled patient can be perceptiblystrengthened by similar suggestions . T he therapeuticbearing of this experiment is easily seen.

Dr . Grazzini, of Florence , has kindly sent me somecopie s o f drawings done wh ile in a state of hypnoticsomnambulism by an uneducated man who in wakingmoments hardly knew the use o f a pencil . These copiesare faithfully and we ll executed , but probably the manwould have been quite unable to initiate a design . T he

faculty o f imitation was strengthened by the hypnoticcondi tion , and at the same time he concentrated all hisattention on the figure s, and took infinite pains to re

produce them . I have frequently told somnambulic subjects that they are to write such and such a sentence onawaking with the ir left hand , and have invariably foundthe task accomplished fairly we ll , though in many instance s I have seen the same person before the operationdec lare it impossible , and be unable to make an intelligiblele tter. This may prove a practical hint in the case of

left-handed children .

An artist under the same circumstances would no doubthave produced a drawing in his usual style ; and amusician, in a similar way, if asked to play, would pe rformsome familiar air. Whateve r a man’s natural dispositionmight be , it would come out if he were in a state o f profound hypnotic sleep but we shall see that suggestionin this condition has power to modify even life -long habitsand deep-roo ted tendencie s.*

Frequent repe tition of the suggestion, espec ially if done with

confidence , has whatmaybe called a cumulative ac tion, expressed byProfessor B e lbe uf in a kind of mathematical formula. T his, ofcourse , is also the case in ourwakingmoments, and is well understoodand turned to ac count by advertising tradesmen. T he announcementin confident language on every blank wall that Johnson

’s soap is the

b est,’becomes, by constant repe tition, almost an axiom, and we are

inc lined to accept its truth. I n the same way it is told of George I V .

that fromconstantly repeating the story of his be ing atWaterloo, heat length got to be lieve that he had reallytaken part in the battle .


Dr. Liébeault o f Nancy.—D escription o f his T reatment— S ystemfreefromM ystic ism— Curative S uggestions— E xplanation o f the Phenomena.

— D efinition of Hypnotism— A bsolute S leep or U nconsc iousness unnec essary for C urative T reatment.— T heory of ProfessorC harcot not accepted by the S chool o f Nancy.— Proport ion of

Persons hypnotizable and Degrees o f Hypnotic I nfluence — Phenomena of S omnambulismoutside the Sphere of Psycho-T herapeutics.

I HOP E to have shown in the preceding chapters thatDr . Liéb eault’s systemis the outcome o f the collectionand classification o f many isolated facts previouslyneglected ormisunde rstood . That cure s have been andstill are worked by such means as are implied in faithhealing , the mind-cure , etc . , and by charms and re lics , isbeyond doubt ; but it is not in the supernatural that weshould seek for the explanation o f them. They all pro

ceed fromthe same cause , and on the same line s . We

have , firstly, the patient's strong de sire for cure ; and ,

secondly , his firmbe lief in the eflicacyo f the means used ;while to the se maygene rally b e added the pre sence o f asympathe tic and impressive environment . T he reasonable and de liberative side o f the patient’s brain issuppre ssed, while the emotional or instinctive side isdeve loped , and in proportion as the latter is predominantthe

'

greater generally is the succe ss o f the treatment .T he Nancy school Obtain

,in suitab le case s, as good

re sults as it is possib le to expect ; but they work on

scientific principle s and by recognised laws .A brief account o f the treatment practised at Nancy,

and o f the theory which explains it,will

,I think, make

this clear .I f the visitor to Dr . Liéb eault’s dispensaryb e one who

42 TREA TM E N T BY S UGGESTI ON

ne rvous headache . T he part o f the head affected is gentlyrubbed, so that the patient

’s attention shall b e attractedto it , and he is told that the pain is to disappear— that hewill awake fee ling his head cool , clear, and comfortable ,and that the re is to b e no re turn o f the trouble . I n

ordinary cases the whole proce ss will not have lastedmore than five minute s when Dr. Liéb eault brings it to ac lose by arousing the patient , which he does by tellinghimto open his ‘

eyes and awake . This is generallyenough ; he awake s as fromordinary sleep, and is told tovacate the armchair in favour o f the next patient . Whenasked how he fee ls , he will generally reply that he isbe tter, and ve ry Often that the pain has entire ly vanished .

H e is quite his natural se lf, and can leave the roomato nce and go about his work as usual . Long acquaintancewith the systemprevents an inhabitant of Nancy fromregarding it as anything remarkable , and a sick pe rsonconsults Dr . Liébeault j ust as he would consult any otherphysician

,with the simple idea that the treatment will do

himgood. He doe s not trouble Mmself withme taphysicaltheorie s, but is content to know that some acquaintancehas been cured o f a complaint similar to his own , andthat he himse lf hope s to b e re lieved in a few days .I f the hypnotic sle ep has been profound , itmay b enece ssary twice or thrice to repeat the order to awake ,and even to enforce it by fanning the patient , or blowinggently upon his eyes ; but the simple command is nearlyalways sufficient .There ce rtainly is nothing mysterious in all this, and

Dr. Liébeault se ems to take pleasure inmakinghis wholemode o f treatment clear to any serious inquire r, and ingiving the rational explanation o f everything that he does.

He directs the patient to fix his attention on a certainpoint in order to strain the accommodation o f the eyesand tire the sight . T he effect o f the strain is to causedilatation of the pupils and consequent dimne ss o f vision .

T he fee ling o f heavine ss in the eye lids re sults from the

fatigue of keeping them Open in a strained position , and

TREA TM E NT BY SUGGESTI ON 43

the assertion that the eye s are becoming tired and the

sight dim is the refore founded on physiological data, andis not guesswork. T he eye s be ing tired , the natural impulse is to close them , and this act calls up a previousassociation o f ideas connected with fatigued or confusedsight . That association points to sleep, towards whichthe patient is rapidly led, aided by the monotonous tone sof the operator sugge sting it to him, and by his mindbe ing fre e from all disturbing thoughts , and his ne rvesfrom all external stimuli . He falls asleep , in fact, muchin the same manne r as one doe s when reading a dull bookor listening to a not too brilliant discourse . Dr. Maury,*

in his we ll-known book on sle ep and dreams, says , T he

less the mind is occupied with ideas the more easily canthe thoughts b e directed into any given channe l . I f

nothing claims our notice or holds our attention , thece rebro-spinal system, forwant o f that gentle stimulationwhich is nece ssary to it, falls into a state o f semi-torporinseparable from atony of the ne rvous system .

’

In the chapter on sleep in C arpenter’s Physiology,’

various conditions are mentioned as be ing favourable toit, one be ing the de sire for it, another the expectation o f

it . We expect, from previous experience , that if we liedown in a ce rtain place , sleep will follow. T he faculty ofimitation he lps to bring it about ; when we see othe rsdo zing we naturally incline to follow the ir example , andat night the consciousness that all around us are asleepdisposes us to se ek the same condition . Talking aboutsleep is apt to induce somnolence , j ust as talking aboutfood may provoke hunge r. And a monotonous sound ,such as the droning voice of a speaker, or the breaking ofgentle waves upon the seashore , tends to encourageslumber. Thus it will be seen how close ly the artificialme thod I have de scribed follows natural rules . Thisme thod may fail, j ust as we may fail to obtain naturalsle ep, or may battle it ofl

'

should we desire to remainawake . I f a patient wishes to re sist the somnolent in

Le S omme il et les R éves, Paris,’1865.


fluenc e , he can do so by refusing to concentrate his

thoughts, or by inducing some physical discomfort— forinstance , by placing himse lf in an uncomfortable position .

S trong emotion, such as ange r or fear, will prevent thehypnotic sleep ; so will seve re pain , hunger, thirst, andindeed anything which preoccupie s the mind or agitate sthe nervous system . C onstitutional idiosyncrasie s affectthis as they affect the natural sleep. T he naturally re stle ss sleepe r will b e re stless , and he who commonly goeso ff as soon as his head touche s the pillow will quicklysuccumb to the hypnotic influence . T he extent to whicha person is influenced varie s according to hismental andphysical condition . I f he is o f re stless and flightytempe rament , it may be impossible to fix his attention foreventhe fewminutes that are nece ssary, and no effect is produc ed— except , perhaps, an inclination on his part totreat the whole affair as a j e st , and a consequent irritationon the part o f the doctor . But in ordinary case s someeffect is certainly produced , if not on a first visit , still onsubsequent one s . This effect will vary in various patients ,some fe e ling only a heaviness and torpor , with a disinc lination to open the eye s, while others fall into a moreor le ss profound sleep , or into a state of somnambulism .

Dr. Liébeault divide s the sleep into six difl'

erent stage s,*

but as the se reallymerge imperceptibly into each other ,the division is pure ly arbitrary, and is made for convenienc e in classification . Theymayb e shortly summedup as : 1 . Light sleep ; 2 . P rofound sleep ; 3 . S omnambulism.

T he first and second stages close ly resemble and are

analogous to ordinary sleep ; but the third is sui generis,and will require a few words late r on . Though it isanalogous to natural sleep, there is one ve ry important factwhich shows that the conditions are not identical . I f ano rdinary sleeper is spoken to , he is gene rally aroused bythe stimulating effect o f the sound conveyed to the brainthrough the auditory nerve s, but one in the hypnotic

S ee A ppendix, p. 17 1, note 7.

TREA TMENT B Y SUGGESTI ON. 45

state may be talked to without be ing disturbed— the effectwill, on the contrary, b e soothing. He is, in fact , en

rapport with the outer world , though only to a limitedextent , whereas in natural sleep he is en rapportonly withhis own consciousne ss .U pon this difference depends the possib il ity o f applyingcurative sugge stion . C arpenter (op. cit. ) says that thevery closure o f the eye s renders the othe r sense s moreacute and we have seen that the inactivity of one senseis nearly always compensated for by increased sensitivene ss o f the others. Now in the hypnotic state all thesenses are more or le ss torpid and in abeyance untilcalled into play by the operator . P hysiologists supposethat during activity the nerve -centre s are continually discharging ne rvous energy in all directions in re sponse tostimulating impre ssions rece ived through the senses butin sle ep a state o f inactivity is induced , and the nervousforce accumulates in the brain-ce lls . Natural sleep come sas a consequence o f fatigue , and because the store o f

ne rve -energy is nearly or entire ly exhausted. During itscontinuance a fresh store o f nerve -energy will b e laid up,and if it b e undisturbed , the store will go on increasinguntil sufficient is acquired for comple te nerve recuperation . This point attained , the sle eper, if in good mentaland bodily health , will awake naturally, and fee l no furtherde sire for slumbe r. But as the hypnotic state may b eproduced at any time in the twenty-four hours , and longbe fore any perceptible inroad has beenmade on the storeo f ne rve -energy laid up during the previous natural sleep , .

it follows that during the artificial sleep the re may b egreat accumulation and exce ss o f ene rgy. All this can b econcentrated and directed into any channe l the physicianmay de sire ; and this concentrated and directed ne rveforce must naturally affect the systemmore powerfullythan any ordinary nervous impre ssion . This fact mayexplain the rapid production o f conge stion to a givenpart (alluded to in C hapter and also the sensation o f warmth usually experienced in any part to


which the attention has been drawn . It also accountsfor the success o f the treatment in paralysis o f longstanding.

We mayimagine in such a case , and the surmise wouldprobably b e physiologically correct , that the ne rvouschanne ls are blocked to ordinary impulse s sent to themfromthe brain , but that the extraordinary impulse froman accumulation and concentration o f nerve -force is sufficient to break down and overcome the obstruction ; as adamwhich easily withstands ordinary currents is sweptaway upon the bursting o f a re servoir, by the rush o f

water .define s hypnotism as the production of

psychical condition in which thefacultyof receiving impressbysuggestion is greatlyincreased. But this is only halftruth ; for not only is the receptivity increased , butpower to act upon and carry out the sugge stion is increased likewise . S ugge stions have all the force o f commands, and the patient will strain every nerve to obeythem. I f he is told to move a paralyzed limb, or tospeak after months o f loss o f voice , one can see whatintense effort he puts into the attempt to comply . Astammere r making such effort will speak fluently, and adeaf person will distinctly hear a whisper . To expre ssadequate ly the cause o f such effects , the word

‘sugge stion ,

’

in English at least , is far too weak, and there fore somewhat misleading.

T he increased force o f sugge stion doe s not depend somuch as one might suppose on the profoundness o f thesleep . In the case o f deafne ss , re ferred to above , thehypnotic effect was extreme ly slight ; and , on the otherhand , I have heard a person in a state o f decided somnambulismargue with the operator as to the correctne sso f his asse rtions. In applying sugge stion , all that isnece ssary is a state o f increased receptivity o f ideas sugge sted by the operator, and an ignoring o f othe r impressions . This attained , itmatters little froma therapeuticpoint o f view whe the r light sleep, profound sleep , or som~

TR EA TMENT BY SUGGESTI ON 47

nambulism,is produced . Myown experience , like that o f

all observers whom I have known , is that good results areeffected when there has been no loss of consciousness,and even when the patient denie s having fe lt any hypnoticinfluence ) “

C onsciousne ss is lost only in the advanced stage s of

profound sleep, and even when this has occurred there isremembrance on waking o f eve rything that has happenedduring the sleep . A patient in profound sleep maybe que stioned , and will probab ly re turn answe rs, unle ss

the question b e put too brusque ly, when it will b e like lyto wake him,

or too gently, when he mayshirk replyingfor a person in this state dislike s be ing disturbed , and ise specially unwilling to exe rt his reflective facultie s. Neve rtheless, if questioned as to his complaint , he will givetruthful replie s, and thus may he lp the physician in hisdiagnosis and treatment .Bernhe im seems to accept the theory o f Herbert

S pence r,1~ and of most psychologists, that two sorts ofnervous action go on within the brain— the one automaticand instinctive ; the other rational, volitional , and de lib erative . Hypnotismsuppresse s the latter (the E go o f

some psychologists) , and allows full play to the former .It follows that where the second kind o f ne rvous actionprevails in an individual , he is le ss liable to b e acted uponby external impre ssions, and is less the creature o f impulsethan one in whomthe first kind is predominant . T he

more aman’s actionsa re the result o f impulse rathe r thano f reason , the more susceptible he is to external impre ssions, and therefore to sugge stive treatment l

A gentleman, whomI amtreating for various nervous affe c tions,always denies having slept , and protests that he has remained c on

sc ious o f everythinggoing on around h im. Yet if I put some smallartic le , such as a paper-knife , into his hand during the sleep, and tellhimto hold it tightly, he wil l do so , and on be ing aroused wil l showsurprise at finding himse lf grasping it.

IPrinc iples o f Psychology.

’

He who obe 5 h is inst inc ts, and instantly knocks down a manwho has insulte him( this be ing a pure ly automatic ac tion), wouldthus b e a be tter subjec t for hypnotismthan he who del iberately calls apo l iceman and goes in for damages.

TREA TME N T BY SUGGESTI ON

This brings us to the que stion , Who are the bestsubj ects for the treatment, and how far is it applicable tothe bulk o f mankind PP rofessor C harcot asserts that it is suitable , and indeed

po ssible , only for hyste rical subjects . He divide s thehypnotic sleep into three we ll-defined stages : 1 . Le thargy;2. C atalepsy ; 3 . S omnambulism ; and contends that the reis a regular sequence in the se , and that , according to thewill o f the ope rator, one or other can b eDrs . Liéb eault, Bernhe im, Beaunis, and others o f the

Nancy school deny the existence o f the se three stage s.T hey assert that the ir expe rience in treating hypnoticallya vast number of patients leads thein to the conclusionthat nothing re sembling themhas been or can b e evokedspontaneously. They conside r, in fact, that P rofe ssorC harcot has introduced a new hysterical condition intothe S alpétriere , and that this has become as it were aninstitution o f the place which every new-comer hastens tocomply with . They support this assertion by showingthat when they in the ir Nancy practice explained tohyste rical patients the effects produced by C harcot , thethree stages , never before manife sted, were forthcoming .

Bernhe im has we ll said : Méfiez-vous de la sugge stionand an English physician has given an equally sage warning :

‘Take care , or you will find what you are lookingfor.

’-r C harcot has thus entered the fie ld we ighted with a

He obtains a state of le thargyby fixing the patient’s eyes on a

given point, or bygentle pressure on the eyeballs. T his state resemblesnatural profound sleep. I t passes into the second stage when the eyelids are opened : cataleptic rigid itymaynow be produced in a limb,and i t mayb e bent or placed in anyposition. Moreover, emotionscorrespond ing with the position are evoked. I f the subjec t is put intoa pugil istic attitude , his expression will become fierce and de terminedif into one of prayer, i t wil l wear the aspec t of devotion. T he thirdstage is produced fromthe first or sec ond by gently rubbing the topo f the head , when the cataleptic c ond i tion will vanish

,and other

charac teristic s will appear, chief amongwhich are abnormal acutenessof the senses, and obedience to suggestion. T he readermust be struckby the artific ial nature o f the se stages.

1' Braid was at one timemisled into supposing thatby touching the

phrenological bumps he produc ed corresponding effec ts. For instance , if he touched the ‘bump’

of D estruc tiveness, the subject immediate ly proc eeded to hit outand to destroy whatever was within his

50 TREA TM E N T B Y SUGGESTI ON.

is that he approaches the subject with only one end i1i~

view— the re lie f o f disease . I f the theorie s he has deducedfromobse rved facts (for every man who is not a mereempiric must hold theorie s) do not, after close r Observation , continue to corre spond with them, the theorie s arethrown ove r, and not the facts, as too often happens .T he Nancy school may the refore b e called practical andtherapeutic, in distinction from C harcot’s , which is

theore tical and experimental.T he following table , taken fromP rofessor Beaunis’s’

work, prove s what a mistake it is to suppose that onlyIhysterical persons are influenced by the treatment .P atients submitted to hypnotization by Dr . Liéb eault in?

1880

Not influencedDrowsinessLight sleepHeavy sleepVeryheavy sle epS omnambulism(slight)Ditto (advanced)

P rofessor Beaunis shows as follows the percentage ofthe different stage s o f hypnotismat diffe rent age s :

not only have the y been kind enough to express appre c iation of whatthey have see n, but they have prac tical ly shown it by at onc e trying;the method in the ir o wn prac tic es. Doc tors are naturally only toopleased to adopt a new treatment whic h has be en proved use ful andwhich vtill he lp themto deal with many trouble some cases ; but itrequire s to be presented to themin amanner fre e frommystic ismandexagge ratto n. T he enthusiasmthe good Dr Liébeault shows is a parto f h ts c hatacter, and lends a great c harmto hisadvoc ac y o f hypnottsm;b ut d1sc retion is the be tterpart for h is followers, and I think they fullyreabre lh lS. I


nambu $253; Heavy Light Drowsi U ninflu.

ltsm. sle ep.

sleep. sle ep. ness. enc ed.

The se statistics re fer, o f course , to Nancy, and , as hasbeen already pointed out, that town is pervaded by anatmosphere o f hypnotismand sugge stion . ButmyfriendDr. Van Eeden assure s me that at Amsterdamhe findsthe proportion o f the uninfluenc ed but little large r. T heproportion o f somnambulists, however , is undoubtedlymuch greate r at Nancy than we could expect to find it inEngland . Among ove r two hundred patients I have asyet found only about twenty .

And here a word on the subject o f somnambulism. Asnatural somnambulismis nearly always associated withmental orbodily weakness, so the artificial varie ty is, I b elieve , found chieflyin patients whose minds are weakenedby hysteria or an allied nervous condition , or whose bodie sare enfeebled by phthisis or some other wasting disease .

It is an abnormal product o f hypnotism, and, intere stingthough the phenomena mayb e froma pathological andpsychological point o f view, theyare no more a part o fsuggestive treatment than an exhibition o f the poisonouseffec ts o f drugs is a part o f ordinary medical practice .

They he lp to e lucidate points in the treatment , and the refore must b e studied , but experimentation upon themisoutside the scope o f the physic ian , as such .

*

S ee A ppendix. Hypno tismbe inga new thingin E ngland, the knowledge o f It se ems ch teflyC o nfined to the o ry, and one has to hearmanyfanc i ful and exagge rated statements. Fo r 1nstance , in an artic le on thesubje c t in the S aturday R ev iew o f D e c embe r 8th , 1888, dproper o f a

paper o f m1ne in the Nineteenth C entury tor D ec ember, the writer,

4— 2

T REA TM E NT B Y SUGGESTI ON

ev idently amedical man, states that a person once hypnotized is at

the merc y o f the operator, who can repeat the operation atwi ll, evenwithbut the consent of the pat ient . Further, that anyone can easilyhypnotize a person who has once submitted to hypnotism and again,that :a pe rson once hypnotized is unable to look people in the fac e

wi thout fe e l ing an irresistible desire to sleep. I have made inquiriesamongmypatients of bo th sexes, some of whomhave been hypnotizedmany times, and have fallen into the profounder degrees o f sleep.

T hey can all certainly look me in the face for any length of timewithout fee l ing in the least degree sleepy ; and they all te llme thatuntil they entire ly give up the irminds to the operation no soporific

efi'

ect is produced. Most misleading conc lusions have been drawnfromexc eptional cases, such as that o f the S oho sleeper.’ T hese belong in no sense to hypnotismas a therapeutic system, but are

examples o f hysteria. Constantly hypnotizing a weak-minded personfo r experimental purposes wil l probably bring about amorbid stateof brain, and such abuse of a therapeutic agent can only b e deprecatedand discouraged .


C HAPTER V .

Psycho-T herapeutics not an exc lusive S ystemof T reatment.— S omeD iseases found to benefit fromir.— o rganic Processes affe c ted byHypnotic S uggestion.

—Blisters and S tigmata so caused.—T reat

ment espec ially useful in Neurotic D iseases.—Hysteria, Hypochono

driasis, D ipsomania, and the OpiumHabit. —Moral De pravityaDouble Consc iousness.

- Permanence o f Cures— Hypno tismdis

tinc t fromMagne tism— Possible A buse o f Hypnotismno t a Bar toits U se in Medical T reatment.— R estric tions and Precautionsnecessary.

WE are now in a position to speak of sugge stion as amode o f treatment and cure , and we will first conside r towhat class of diseases it has hithe rto proved applicable .

And here I may say that , although Dr. Liéb eault rare lygivesmedicine s, but obtainsmost o f his remarkable re sultsby the suggestive treatment pure and simple , his followersby no means dispense with those remedies which the te

searche s o f gene rations o f able men have put within the irreach . In suitable case s they make use o f die tetics, drugs,e lectricity and massage , and the combination o f the semeans with suggestion often give s better results than anysimple treatment .T he sugge stive method is e specially applicable to chronic

c omplaints . R heumatic and gouty pains often yie ld to it,as do also many disease s o fmal-nutrition , such as ane miaand general debility.

’ In derangement of the functionsin women it acts ve ry beneficially, both in checking ex

c essive loss and in promoting a prope r flow ; also in te

lieving or curing periodic sufferings of all kinds. I n

chronic constipation and diarrhoea it has exce llent effects,and patients usually find that the inte stinal functionsbecome regular through its use . I ndeed, therapeutic

( 54 TREATMENT B Y SUGGESTI ON.

suggestion give s a healthy tone to the organic systemgenerally , and tends to regulate all its functions . A consideration o f the experiments o f Bernhe im, Delb e uf, andothers will rende r this statement more comprehensiblethan itmayappear on the surface .

S ugge stion is extreme ly use ful in cramp fromthe ove ruse of ce rtain muscle s, such as is commonly found amongwrite rs and te legraph clerks. It is ve ry succe ssful also insome cases of old -standing paralysis, and especially so inth e infantile variety. Many practitioners speak highly o f1ts curative power in nervous affections o f the eyes, e.g.,

hysterical amaurosis , and it is found beneficial in a few"

forms o f deafness. In fact , wherever we find chronicdisease re sisting the usual me thods o f treatment , sugge stion may b e thought o f as a useful ally .

P erhaps some readers will conside r the scope he regiven to sugge stion too wide , but I am c onvinced thatits inte lligent use by the medical attendant will b e foundbeneficial in many case s whe re drugs do not act satisfactorily, or to re inforce the action o f drugs . For instance , it may b e desirable to give ipecacuanha , but there tching following its administration mayrender its useimpossible at an important time or a mild cathartic mayinduce colic , often half imaginary ; in such case s hypnoticsugge stion mayb e use ful to calmover-sensitiveness . Inhowmany diseases, such as typhoid and rheumatic fevers ,are the attendant weariness and restle ssne ss among themost distressing symptoms ! These may often b e re

lieved by this treatment , which is here advocated , notas a speciality, but as an auxiliary in practice to eve rymedicalman . P rofe ssor Bernhe imuse s it practically foreve ry case in his wards, and finds it of immense value incalming nervous excitability, improving general nutrition,and producing refreshing sleep. T he sick, and thosereduced in strength , are exceptionally good subjects forhypnotic suggestion , and therefore offer a particularlyfavourable fie ld for its employment . In many chroniccases it seems to give the patient a fresh start, and puts

TR E A TMENT BY SUGGESTI ON 55

the system in a condition favourable to the action o f

other remedies—such as massage . I am certain that itw ill , in many instance s, b e found a valuable adj unct tothe We ir M itche ll me thod , and will supply the mentaland moral e lement which is sometime s required in thistreatment . S ome patients are irritated rathe r thansoothed b y‘

massage , and for the se hypnotismwill act asa preparatory step . S everal we ll-known physicians, Speaking to me on the subject o f hypnotic sugge stion ,

have :

told me that they find suggestion sufficient in the ir

practice , without hypnotism, and have given several instanc e s in which pseudo-paralysis and hysterical trouble sgenerally have yie lded to the ir we ll-timed assurances .But I maintain that if simple sugge stion c an work thusbeneficially, its e ffects must b e greatly increased byhypno tism, and that with

'

this aid it will some time s produce re sults which it would b e impossible for it to achievealone, even in the most able hands . It is, as I havesaid e lsewhere , through unwonted concentration o f the

imaginative powers upon a given point , that sugge stionworks , and for most persons intense concentration isdiflicult— indeed , almost impossible to attain to in the irnormal state . S ir Jame s C richton Browne , in his elo

quent address before the British Association at Leeds, in1889 , laid particular emphasis on th e important rdle playedby the imagination both in health and disease , and beggedhis audience to employ this power and direct it intoprope r curative channe ls.In cases o f ‘railway spine ,

’and o f disorders re sulting

fromshock and concussion generally, it affords hope o f

relie f and cure ; and in such case s the patient should b eallowe d to remain in the hypnotic state for a considerabletime , as, no doubt, the re st to the ne rvous systemandfre edom frompain and irritation are important factors inthe cure . There is no question o f the value o f suggestion 1

in the treatment o f such ne rvous conditions as insomniaand hysteria , and o f such disease s as require above allthings mental calming and repose . It is often impossible

56 -TREA TME NT B Y SUGGESTI ON.

inmany case s o f ch ronic disease to say howmuch o f thesuffering depends upon organic disease , and how muchon reflex disturbance and functional derangement . Thisis we ll seen in disease s o f the heart where often thedistre ss o f the patient is quite out o f proportion to theamount o f le sion . In such case s the neurotic symptomsmay often b e re lieved by hypnotic suggestion .

Its power over the organic proce sse s has been c learlyshown by many expe riments,made e ither on students ofthe systemor on patients, with the ir own previous consent .A patient in the hypnotic sleep 15 told that he has burnthis hand or some othe r part o f his body he not only f

’

fee ls heat and pain in the place indicated, but it frequentlyhappens that the spot becomes red and inflamed , andexhibits all the objective signs o f conge stion , and even o finflammation , vesication , etc . T he suggestion o f the

operator has, through the patient’s imagination , beenable to affect the vaso-motor functions o f the sympatheticnervous system. This experiment and others of a likenature open up a wide fie ld o f pathological intere st ; forif suggestion can cause an increased flow o f blood to apart , and local conge stion and inflammation , can it notalso dissipate and cure the se conditions when they occurin disease ? C linical experience answe rs in the affirmative .

P rofessor Delb e uf, of Liege , desiring to ascertain thepositive effect of hypnotic sugge stion in the treatment o fa burn , and be ing o f course unable to find two persons of t

identical constitution and condition generally, used theingenious device o f producing, with caustic , two exactlysimilar burns on the same pe rson— one on each arm— ando f treating one wound by curative sugge stion , combinedwith the usual remedie s, and the other with the usual remedie s only . Having induced hypnotic sleep , he suggested tothe patient that the one armshould be cured painlesslyand without any suppuration and it did in fact heal , bysimple separation o f the slough and healthy granulation,ten days earlier than the other, which went through thesuppurative process, accompanied by inflammation and


experiment on anothe r patient , and in forty-e ight hoursproduced a blister,

’

which followed the same course .

’

. P rofessors Bourru and Burot , o f R ochefort , succeededin causing he morrhage fromthe nose , by sugge sting thatit should take place , in a young soldier o f epileptic andhysterical constitution they even fixed the hour when itshould come on. On this same subject Dr. Mabille , o f

the lunatic asylumat Lafond , produced instantaneously,by sugge stion

,hemorrhage fromdifferent parts o f th e

body, exactly similar in character to the stigmata o f somemedie val saints.I n B ine t and Féré

’s

‘Animal Magnetism’(Kegan

P aul , Trench and C o . ,London

, the above andseve ral other similar experiments are re lated ; for instance ,how Dumontpallier succeeded in raising the local temperature seve ral degree s, and how Bourru and Burot wrotehis name with the blunt end o f a probe on both arms o f

an hysterical male patient , sugge sting to him, This afternoon , at four o’clock, you will go to sleep , a nd blo od .will

then exude fromyour -arms in the line s which have beentraced .

’T he patient fe ll asle ep at the appointed hour,

and the le tters appeared on his left arm, marked in re lief,and o f a bright red colour, with here and the re minutedrops o f blood . But no such sign appeared on. the rightarm

, which was paralyzed.

C harcot (the writers go on to say) and his pupils atthe S alpétriere have often ,

bymeans o f sugge stion , pro;duc ed the e ffects o f burns upon the skin o f hypnotizedpatients (pp. 198, Féré adds that he has demonstrafed that any part o f the body o f an hysterical patientmay b e made to change in volume by simple directedattention— thus showing what influencemayb e exe rted bya simple phenomenon o f ideation on the vaso-motor centre s .B ine t and Fere cannot be accused . of undue credulity.

They refuse to accept as proof any phenomenon whichhas not been subj ected to the most searching scientificte sts ; and they are so imbued with the theorie s o f P rofessor C harcot, that they fail to see the therapeutic appli


cab ility of hypnotic suggestion, except,in hysterical

case s .T he e ffects o f sugge stion are not necessarily temporary,and immediate , butmayb e caused to appearhours , days,and , in some case s,months after the suggestion has beengiven. Bernhe imcite s several'

instancesOf this prolongedor defe rred action , applied to the physical or the , psychical

side . U nde r the physical heading I should place the production o f such an objective symptom as a blister or

ecchymosis ; and under psychical , a sensory impre ssion,

such as the appearance o f an halluc ination at a givenhour, or the performance o f a suggested action afte r ace rtain interval. For instance , a soldier, a patient o f Dr.Liébeault, while in a state o f hypnotic somnambulismwastold that on a ce rtain day in two months

’ time , at 10o’clock a .m he would come to Dr. Liébeault’s consultingroom, and would there see the P re sident o f the R epublic ,to whomhe would make a profound obe isance . T he

”

P re sident would then advance towards him, would addre sshim in complimentary language , and confer upon himadecoration , which he himse lf would fasten to the recipient’sbuttonho le . On the day appointed a considerable audience .

consisting both of doctors and patients, was assembled inthe consulting-room, and at 10 o’clock pre cise ly the

soldier appeared . A s he entered his expression changed ,b e regarded the bookcase , and bowed low in its direction.

He then advanced , bowed to Dr. Liéb eault, and stood atattention, with a gratified smile on his face , and lookingdownward at his buttonhole . In a fewmoments he madeanothe r profound obe isance , muttered some words andwalked away, much to the astonishment o f those pre sent ,who were ignorant o f the meaning o f this pantomime .

"t

Dr. Beaunis te lls a similar story o f a young womanwhom, while she was in a profound hypnotic state , he 1

assured that on the following New Year’s Day she wouldsee himenter her room, and would hear himsay, B on

jour, mademoiselle.

’ This suggestion was made in July,Quoted by Bine t and Fere, op. cit., p. 245. . 1

“


and on the following rst o f January the young ,

Womanwrote to the doctor, saying that she could not understandhow it was that he had entered her room that morning,had gre e ted her, and then walked out immediate ly. S he

remarked further that he was dre ssed in the same clothesshe had seen him wear in the month o f July. At thattime Dr. Liébeault happened to be in P aris, while theyoung woman was in the East o f France .

De fe rred suggestions , like nearly all suggestions givenin the advanced stage of hypnotism , are almost invariablyfollowed by amnesia. T he subject when awaked has norecollection whatever o f the order rece ived by him , norwill it recur to his consciousne ss until the moment forperformance has arrived . I f he is then que stioned as to hismotive s for such an action , he will probably reply that hedid it upon an unaccountable impulse which he could notwithstand . In very rare case s indeed, there exists forsome time beforehand an impression that at a c e rtaintime a specified act must b e done , or a specified wordspoken . Occasionally, to o , the hypnotic subject mayre cognise the impulse as having be en dictated to him bya past sugge stion ; but gene rally, as I have said , it will beregarded as quite spontaneous, and not to b e accountedfor) “

S uch phenomena throw a strong light on many storiesof supe rnatural apparitions, and show how use ful hyp- t

notismmayprove in the hands of compe tent obse rve rsas a key to psychical problems . Here we find an ideaimpre ssed on the unconsciousmind,’ and lying dormantfor months, brought into action by the simple e fflux o f

time , as certainly as a piece o f clockwork can b e set torun down at a fixed hour. I need hardly add that suchexperiments as the foregoing are succe ssful only in a ve rysmall proportion o f cases, and probablyonly in

‘educated

subjects .Fulfilment o f a sugge stion , the prompting o f which has

88furtherinstances are given by Fore l in his ( S tuttgart,

1 9

TREA TMENT B Y SUGGESTI ON 61

e ither not been consciously heard , or has been instantlyforgotten , is notwithout its analogy in ordinary life . We

must all acknowledge that we occasionally think, speak,and act in what seems a motiveless manner, and yet, bycareful introspection or tracing back, we shall probablyfind that our thought , word or action has its source insome forgotten or apparently unnoticed incident , whichhas left its impre ssion upon our brain-ce lls. T he braince lls, once stimulated , may under ce rtain conditions, asin de lirium, prompt the utterance of sounds apparentlyforgotten or unrecorded . Thus, we find pe rsons on the irdeath-bed, or in fever, speaking a language which theyhad forgotten since childhood ; like an e lderly S cotchphysician, a friend o f mine , who for an hour before hisdeath talked only in Gae lic , the language of his childhood ,which he had not spoken for fifty years. There is a we llknown story o f a se rvant-girl, who , in the de lirium o f

fever, continually repeated passage s fromthe Greek Testament, which her e ars had unconsc iously taken in yearsbe fore , when she had been in the servic e o f a cle rgyman .

And all persons entrusted with the care o f lunatics mustknow what unseemly and even vile expre ssions may, inthe paro xysms of insanity, be uttered by young, refinedand virtuous women , whose live s have been care fullyguarded from evil influences . T he vicious word or phraseheard by themlong ago , perhaps in early childhood, while

passing along a stree t , or standing at a window, thoughuncomprehended at the time , and apparently unremem.

bered , was, neverthe less , recorded in the brain-ce lls .I twill thus b e seen that sugge stion is an exceedinglypowerful agent— effective in the hands o f the expe rimenta~

list, and e fficacious also in those o f the physician. Whenwe c onsider that the knowledge o f this treatment has onlybecome general with in the last four or five years, wemust acknowledge that its progre ss, and the number o fdiseases which it affec ts, are both remarkable . Butwemust also acknowledge that it is no universal remedy,warranted to act like magic on all diseases. I n some


case s it is v verless, -Or comparative ly so . I t c annotre store a joint altered by chronic rheumatism or gout, nor

put right an internal displacement , nor can it removecancer or other malignant disease ; ne ither will it cure

paralysis agitans, glaucoma, advanced Bright’s disease ,or diabe te s . Ne ithe r can it mate rially benefit case s '

of

phthisis or organic heart disease . though itmaydo muchto re lieve the sufferings incidental to all painful affections .

’

I thas been but little employed in acute illne ss. I be lievethat most o f the C ontinental practitione rs o f the systemuse it chiefly at consultations in the ir own rooms, whe re ,of course , suffe re rs fromacute disease s are not like ly to .

pre sent themse lve s . It has occasionally been used inchildbirth , with beneficial re sults but in surge ry it is notoften employed . NO doubt a few susceptible pe rsonsmightbe painle ssly Operated upon while unde r its influence but

as a rule , the natural agitation o f a patient before anoperation would so distract his attention as to renderhypnotism impossible ; whereas chloroform and o the rane sthe tics are easily administered,’ and are commonlyc e rtain in the ir effect . P rofe ssor Be rnhe im,

howeve r,use s sugge stion in conjunction with chloroform, and

'

finds

that his patients take the ane sthe tic be tte r, and require amuch smalle r quantity, than whe n it is administeredsilently in the usual way. This is the expe rience o fmanyc hloroformists .S ugge stionmaybe use fully employed instead o fnarcotics

in temporarily re l ieving acute pain , by inducing sleepwhich will not be followed by the de le terious consequenceso f such drugs. It is also used in cases where the sleepitse lf is remedial, as in threatening conge stion o f the

brain , de liriumtremens, and in insomnia, when it existsas an independent c ondition and not as a symptom o f

disease .

But it is in the so -called ‘neuroses ’ that suggestionobtains itsmost brilliant succe sse s— in functional epilepsy,S t. Vitus

’s dance , asthma , palpitation , nervous headache,Spinal irritation, neurasthenia , ovarian pain , and themany

TR E ATMENT BY SUGGESTI ON 63

forms o f dyspepsia . Nervous disease is , unfortunate ly,ever on the increase ; and the study of its symptoms, itscure and prevention , must increase to keep pace with it.

As civilization advance s , humanity deve lops ‘ne rves,’

which , in this sense , may be said to have no existencein the savage and barbarous states . T he vice s and virtuesof civilization tend alike to increase our sensitivene ss.

Drink, narcotics, the abuse of tobacco, social excitements,inte llectual culture , the ever- spreading de sire to be or ‘dosomething remarkable— the se and many othe r stimulatinginfluence s are pe rpetually at work to promote nervedisease among us. I n large cities e specially

,where men

live under artificial conditions and at high pre ssure , wefind in all classe s o f the community affections pre sentingsilbje

‘

ctive symptoms quite out o f proportion to the Ob

jective signs . It would b e inte re sting to asce rtain whatproportion neurotic affe ctions bear to organic disease s in acity doctor’s day’s work. P robably one half at least .Many o f us when fre sh fromthe hospital are vexed andsurprised to find howmuch o f our practic e i s made up o f

such cases . They are really among the most painful anddiflicult complaints a physician is called upon to treat ,for they generally indicate a weak and depre ssed state o fvitality, in which the slightest suffe ring is fe lt with iatensified force . Take the medical nomenclature endingin algia cardialgia , cephalalgia , gastralgia , myalgia,neuralgia—what visions o f suffe ring do these words callup !

Though these‘

affections often depend upon organicdisease , theymore frequently have the ir source in n erveirritab il ity and functional weakne ss . How they perplextheable practitioner, who fe e ls quite at home with a caseo fscarle t-fever or inflammation o f the lungs ! Nervousdiseasegenerally —hysteria and hypochondria in the irmany forms- are spoken o f contemptuously by some pathologists, whoare impatient o f subj ective symptoms which have no

apparent objective reason for existence . There fore wemust n ot b e too seve re on the friends o f hyste rical and


nervous patients who , pe rhaps after long endurance o f

the ir complaints , grow intolerant , and , it may b e , inc redulous o f the ir sufferings . It is natural to ascribe to

imagination an ailment for which ne ithe r friend nor

physician can find any comprehensible cause ; yet theseso -called fanciful ailments may be as real as typhus , andentail a thousand time s more suffe ring on the patient .Bodily weakne ss, unaccountable pains, depression of

spirits , a we ight o f mise ry acc ompanied by the c onv1c

tion that no power on earth can lift it, a sense o f be ingneglected by friends, or o f be ing to them a wearine ss andtrouble— all the se sufferings o f mind and body are realenough and hard to bear, whatever the ir original causemay have been .

There is no doubt that they are sometime s broughtabout bythe patient

’s own fault . They may spring in thefirst instance from indulgenc e in bad habits , fromidleness, from a tendency to foster and dwe ll upon morbidideas in short, they frequently are diseases caused by theimagination, which is quite a distinct thing fromimaginarydiseases. Indeed , there is no imaginary disease ; he whopersistently imagine s a disease in himself has one , thoughpossibly not the one he imagine s . For the imaginationwh ich can furnish its owner with a bodily disease is itse lfnot in a state o f health . Who with healthy, we ll-balancedmental powers could or would bring upon himse lf a sickness by auto-sugge stion ? No one can be a hypo chondriac at pleasure ,

’aptly says Lavegne .

\Vhen one o f those hypochondriac s,’write Binet and

Féré , whomwe are aptto callmalades imaginaires, comesto seek the he lp o f med icine , complaining o f subjectivepains and uneasiness, what do we often reply ? “ It isnothing ; it is mere ly fancy ; try not to think about it; ”and he is sent away with some anodyne or simple remedy .

This invalid , who has sugge sted to himse lf his disease ,and who really suffers fromit , become s convinced that itis not understood , and that nothing can be done for him.

T he more he trusts his physician, the deeper is this

66 TR E A TAI E N T BY SUGGESTI ON.

to twe lve days , and that without the acute mental suffering which is commonly fe lt when an enslaving habit isquickly broken o ff. Drs. Van R enterghem and VanEeden (o f Amsterdam) likewise te ll me that they havehad great succe ss in overcoming the semoral disease s. AtNancy I had the opportunity o f se e ingmany such case sin proce ss o f cure . One man came to Dr. Liéb eaultc omplete lyshattered by indulgence in tobacco , which b e bothsmoked and chewed . He was a railway porter, a big,strongly-built fe llow, but he was weak and shaky throughhis exce sse s . His dige stion was faulty, his tongue thicklyfurred , and he had no appe tite . H is pulse was slow andintermittent ; he fe lt giddiness on movement , and hissight frequently vanished through incipient amaurosis.P ersons whose ne rvous systems are broken down in thisway are very easily hypnotized , and Dr. Liéb eault soonhad thisman in a state o f profound sle ep . H e then toldhimthat he was to give up smoking , that a pipe was tob e to h iman obj ect o f loathing, and a quid o f tobaccoeven more offensive . Also , that if he did indulge in one

or the other, .pain and sickne ss would b e the result , andthat he must not even fe e l a desire for the indulgence .

T he patient came da ily for several mornings , and dailyshowed an increasing improvement , till in a we ek he wascomple te ly cured o f the symptoms o f nicotine poisoning .

H e would , o f course , have be en cured by voluntary ab stention from tobacco, but I doubt if the beneficial effectw o uld have be en so rapid— and no one se e ing the manwould have cred ited himwith the mo ral courage anddetermination necessary for breaking o ff a long- c he rishedhabit . It is told o f the younger Dumas that he wasformerly an inve terate smoker, and on one occasion ,fe e ling out o f health , went to consult his doctor withthe usual cigar in his mouth . T he physician , one inwhomDumas had entire confidence , having heard hissymptoms, told himplainly that smoking was de structionfor h im, whereupon the great write r immediate ly flungaway his cigar, de claring that he would never smoke


another— and he has kept his word. But how many aregifted with such re solution P"

In the R evue de l’Hypnotisme, 1886-1887, some papersappear by Dr. Voisin , Of the S alpétriére , showmg the

efficacy o f sugge stion in the treatment o fmoral obliquity ;and at the C ongress o f the French Association for theAdvancement o f S cience , he ld at Nancy in 1886, papersdealing with this subject we re read by several physicians o feminence . Dr . Voisin give s instance s o f female prisone rs,formerly considered incorrigible , who, after a course o f

sugge stive treatment (combined with the re ligious andmoral instruction which , alone , had unfortunate ly provedineffectual) , became modest , cleanly, and industrious .S ome o f the se re formed women have been placed in situations o f trust , which they hold satisfactorily.

Many such cure s are thoroughly authenticated , andthe numbe r o f recorded case s is be ing rapidly augmented .

In a most inte re sting article by Mr. F . W . H . Myers,1'

Dr. E . Dufour, the chief physician o f the S aint- R obertAsylum(Isere ) , is quoted as follows : Fromthis time our

Opinion is se ttled , and we have no fear o f be ing dece ivedwhen we affirmthat hypnotismcan render service in thetreatment o f mental disease .

’ ‘In common with mostinquirers , Dr. Dufour finds only a small proportion o f

lunatics hypnotizable ,’ says Mr. Mye rs, ‘but the effect

produced on the se is uniformly good . His be st subj ectis a depraved youngman, who , aftermany convictions forcrimes, including attempted murder, became insane .

’ Dr .

A near re lation of myown has re c ently been undergo ing hypnotictreatment atNancy, for the cure o f the tobac co habit, and h is experi

enc e is inte resting. A fter be ing a great smoke r fo r years he formedthe resolution o f giv ing up the weed

,as he found that it was c ausing

nervousness and palpitation. D r. Liéb eault never induc ed in himmore than a sltght drowsine ss, w ith inab llttyto Open the eyes, and yetth e e ffe c t o f sugge stion was immed iate and remarkable . T obac c oalmost at onc e be came d1staste ful to h im, and he has never fe lt theleast inc l ination to resume the habi t. Probably in this case the

patient would have been able to re formh1mse lf unaided ; b ut Dr.

Liébeault saved h imfroma good deal o f suffering, and very like lyfromsome re lapses.

Multiplex Personal ity Proceed ings o f the S oc ie ty for PsychicalR esearch,

’vo l. iv.

,1886-7.


Dufour assure s us that this difficult subject has become areformed character through the influence o f hypnotism.

P rofessor Fore l , Medical S uperintendent o f the

C antonal Asylumat Zurichf" give s a case o f re formationin a confirmed drunkard, seventy years o f age , who , aftertwice attempting suicide , was placed under his care . He

spent nine years in the asylum,during which he gave an

infinite amount o f trouble , drinking himse lf into a state o f

insanity wheneve r an opportunity offered , and inciting theother patients to rebe llion .

In 1887, Fore l hypnotized this apparently incorrigiblesubj ect , and treated himby sugge stion. H e provedsusceptible , and after a few sittings became an utterlychanged character. H e proved his re formation byvoluntarily giving up the small quantity o f wine which hadb e en allowed him, and joining the Temperance S ocie ty,which hitherto he had vilified and Opposed . It was nowsafe to allow himfull l iberty, as the formerly attractivew ine -shops were no longe r anytemptation to him. Dr.

Fore l adds, that during the last nine months he has beeno ccasionally hypnotized for purpose s o f demonstration ;but requires no further anti -alcoholic suggestion .

In such examples one would say that there are two

separate entitie s dwe lling within a single bodily form,

and that one o f these can b e brought out and deve loped ,while the othe r is so absolute ly suppre ssed as to appearnon-existent . T o some extent this is inde ed the case witheverybody . T he be st o f us c an fe e l a suppre ssed evilse lf struggling at time s to get the upper hand the worstare dimly conscious o f some crushed-down be tter se lfstriving within them— howeve r rare ly and fe ebly . It isin a weakened or diseased brain condition that thispsychological fact becomes startlinglymanife st . Dr . W .

I re land'

j‘ give s the case o f a youngman o f good characte r,

who , after an epileptic se izure , took posse ssion o f ac arriage which he found in the stre e t , drove to his father

’s

0p. cit.

l' T he Dual Func tion o f the Double Brain.

’


grave a mile and a half away, gathered some flowe rswhich grew there , and took themhome to his mothe r.S he was naturally alarmed at his conduct , and bade himtake the carriage back to its owner but instead o f doingthis he le ft it at a livery-stable in his own name . When herecovered h is ‘normal state o f health it was found that hehad no recollection whateve r o f this circumstance . Onanother occasion , again after an attack, he engaged himse lf as a sailor, but was soon found by his shipmates tob e utterly ignorant o f seamanship, and extreme ly strangeand flighty in manner . In a short time he recove red hisusual consciousness, and was amazed to find himse lf onboard ship and far fromland , for he had quite forgottenthe series Of events which had led himthere . It wouldb e interesting to see what view a judge would take o f the

legal responsibility incurred in such a case .

But farmore remarkable are the case s o f Louis Vand Fel ida X T he former is we ll de scribed by Mr.F.W . H . Mye rs* (op. cit) . Louis V was born in 1863hismothe r was a woman o f ill-characte r, and as a naturalconsequence , he fe ll early into evil ways . At the age o f

ten he was sent to a reformatory , where he showed h imse lf docile and obedient . Four years late r he was frightened by a viper, and this fright brought about a serie s o fconvulsions and hysterical attacks , which le ft himwithhysterical paralysis o f the lower limbs . H e became worse ,and in 1880 was sent to the asylumat Bonneval , suffering fromperiodical epileptiformfits, and fromparaplegia.He was now a quiet , we ll-manne red b oy o f seventeen ,and the change in himfor the worse was as yetmere lyphysical . He had, inde ed, forgotten how to read and

write , but this was probably to b e accounted for by wanto f practice , for he distinctly remembered his life beforeentering the reformatory, and was deeply ashamed o f it .He was employed at tailoring for two months ; then hehad a severe attack o f hyste ro-epilepsy, after which he

Fully described inmedical de tail by Dr. A . T . Myers in journalof M ental S cience, 1886.


slept for several hours . He awoke fromhis sleep entire lyfre e from paralysis, and got up , intending to work in thefie lds , as he had been used to do at the reformatory ,whe re he now be lieved himse lf to b e . He walked withcomparative ease , though somewhat unce rtainly, a c on

sequence o f muscular atrophy fromdisease o f the limbs .He recognised no one about him, and had entire ly goneback to the time before his fright. H is disposition wascomple te ly changed . Frombe ing quie t and tractable ,he had become quite the reverse , and he was found out

in a theft . In 1881 he escaped fromBonneval , and aftera few years, which he Spent partly in drifting about fromhospital to prison , partly as a private o f marines, he wassent to the asylumOf R ochefort , having been convictedo f a theft , but j udged to b e Of unsound mind . Here he

came under the care of Drs. Bourru and Burot , who carefully obse rved his case , as Dr. C amuset at Bonneval andDr. Jule s Voisin at B icetre had already done .

At R ochefort he deve loped hemiplegia Of the right side ,with consequent indistinctness and difficulty of spe ech ,notwithstanding which

, he was extreme ly impudent andabusive , and ready to expound his theorie s , which we reall adverse to e stablished authority. He could now re

membe r only de tached vicious periods Of his past life .

C ontact with me tals (me tallo-therapy) was tried uponhim silver, lead , zinc, and coppe r had little or no effect ,but when a bar o f stee l was laid upon his paralyzed armthe hemiplegia shifted fromthe right side to the left,which became insensible . S uch a physical change is notuncommon , but the coincident mental change was un

expected and startling . Louis V had become anothercreature . T he insolent and unmanageable patient wasnow gentle , modest , and re spectful . H is speech was oncemore distinct, but he now declined to give any Opinionon important matte rs, declaring himse lf unable to judgeo f themwise ly. H is experiences as amarine we re abso

lutely forgotten , and he remembered only the morereputable epochs of his life .

TREATMENT B Y SUGGESTI ON. 7 1

These two contrary conditions , evil and good , were byhis physicians called his first and second state s, and fromthem seve ral intermediate and varying state s could b eproduced . H is fifth state was e specially curious . Bybe ing placed in an e lectric bath , or having a magne tapplied to his head

, he could , for a time , b e wholly curedo f paralysis. He became light and active as a healthyc hild , and on que stioning himit was found that he hadindeed gone back to childhood . He was again at thereformatory, and all h is life afte r his fright fromthe

vipe r was an utter blank . But let himb e in any wayreminded o f that circumstance , and he fe ll at once intoan epileptiform condition, which left him in his ‘

first’

o r second state .

Louis V is now no longe r at R ochefort , and ao

c ording to the last account o f h im, his health and psychical status are both much improved .

T he physicians who have had charge o f th is extraordinary case agre e in supposing that the various obse rvedc hanges point to a dual action o f the brain , and the un

stable preponderance o f one hemisphe re . T he imperfe ctspe ech , and violent , insolent conduct associated with theright hemiplegia, in contrast with the clear speech andse lf- controlled demeanour which accompanied the le fthemiplegia , show the contrasting tendencie s (in thiscase ) o f the supremacy o f the right and le ft hemisphere srespe ctive ly.

S uch marked effects o f brain duality se ldom appearSpontaneously, except among the insane , idiots, andsuffe rers frombrain disease or de lirium. Dr . Ire landgive s a case o f double personality, which he has witnessed in an idiot b oy named Finlay. This lad wouldtalk to himse lf, and argue as if two pe rsons we re discussing a que stion . S ome time s he would thrash himse lf,saying, Finlay is a bad boy to-day ,

’ and then wouldcryoutwith pain in his own pe rsonality. In some cases,where insanity follows upon injury or disease o f one -halfo f the brain , the patient is consc ious of the struggle for

72 TREA TAI EN T B Y SUGGESTI ON

mastery which is be ing carried on within him. T he

organismwhich remains sound controls the insane impulse s o f that po rtion which is damaged, . until at last itbecomes tired out, and partake s o f the common inte lle ctual ruin .

A most remarkable case o f double personality is thato f Félida X which is fully de scribed by Dr . Azam,

‘

P rofe ssor in the U niversity o f Bordeaux . Felida wasborn in 1843 , o f respectable parents . Fromchildhoodshe showed ame lancholy and re served disposition . S he

was subj ect to hemoptysis, and dwe lt continually on herbad health . At the age o f fourteen and a half, her firsttransformation occurred . Afte r a sudden pain in herhead , she fe ll into a short trance , fromwhich she awokecomple te ly me tamorphosed . S he was now bright andlive ly, very loquacious, and even noisy . Her healthseemed improved , and she did not complain o f anyailment . But afte r a few hours, she again fe ll into a

trance , and awoke to find herse lf in her first or normalstate . Henceforth she passed her life alternate ly in oneor the other o f those two conditions . For some timethe second state did not occupymore than a tenth parto f her existence , but by 1875 the relative duration o f thetwo state s , which had be en changing by degree s, hadbecome reversed , so that she was nearly always in the

second state . In this latter.

condition, her memory o f

the past is comple te , but in her first state all that hasoccurred in her second is utterly forgotten . Henceensued some curious complications ; for instance , whilein her second state , she showed a very decided pre

ference for a youngman , whomin her first she comple te lyignored. On one occasion she was attending the funeralo f a friend, and while re turning home in the carriage ,she had an access o f trance , which lasted only a fewminute s, and aroused no remark . S he awoke in her first

Hypno tisme ,_

Doub le Consc ience ,’etc . ,Paris, 1887. One o f the

most interest ingh istories everwritten, ProfessorA zambe ing amastero f style as we ll as a sc ientific observer o f the first rank.

74 TREATMENT B Y S U GGE S TI ON.

changed an enthusiastic Bonapartist into an equallyenthusiastic R epublican , who furthe rmore recognisedher conversion. Vive Gambe tta cried this lady . Ave il seems torn away ! Howmistaken I have been abouthim T he effects o f such an experiment as this are o f

c ourse superficial and transitory, but such incidents pointto possible inducedmoral change s, whichmayb e rendere ddeep and pe rmanent.T he head-maste r o f a boys’school te lls me that he isobtaining good results in the suggestive treatment o f

moral disease and o f mental torpor, and some o f hispupils declare that when they have been hypnotizedthe ir sums ‘come easier ’ to themthan usual . S ometime since I was called upon to treat a case of moralperversity— a young girl, who has greatly improved unde rthe influence o f sugge stion . From be ing idle and re

b ellious, she has , so I amtold by her teachers , becomedocile , and has deve loped a decided aptitude for study.

A ‘chronic ’medical student , in about his tenth year,who consultsme occasionally

,assure s me that my treat

ment ‘winds up ’his inte lle ctual machinery , so that hecan work seve ral hours a day afte r each visit. But asthe gentleman is only slightly hypnotizable , I do not takemuch credit to myse lf for th is good effect .It should be clearly understood that the use o f hypnoticsuggestion as an educational influence should b e care fullyrestricted and never allowed to interfere with the he althydeve lopment o f individual character. It should b e re

served for case s whe re there is inhe rited or acquiredvicious tendency, and should even then b e re sorted to

o nly when othermeans have be en fairly tried and foundineffectual . We know that in some young pe rsons the reis a comple te breakdown o f the moral se lf, while in someothe rs it seems entire ly absent , and it is for childreno f this debased or de te riorated type— such children asabound in our reformatories— that this moral treatment11 prove most useful . I would e speciallymention its

power to cure the inherited craving for alcohol, which so

TREATMENT BY SUGGESTI ON. 75

frequently appears in the neuropathic children o f drunkenparents .Many persons have objected to the educational use o f

hypnotic suggestion , on the ground that it is a tampe ringwith the fre e -will o f those influenced . It is true enoughthat the will should not b e weakened, but who would saythat it should not b e interfe red with ? I s it not a factthat all education and allmoral training are an interferencewith fre e -will? T he child who de lights in school-workne eds no coercion to application . T he child— if such aone there b e— who has nomoral faults whatever, requiresno exho rtations to unse lfishness, truthfulne ss, and othe r

good qualitie s . But most children pre fe r play to work .

S ome will te ll a lie to e scape punishment all , so it se ems ,have a varie ty o f failings and bad habits , so that re

formative and preventive means must b e used to trainthemto industry, truth-te lling, and general exce llence o f

conduct . It is, as I have said , only when those ordinarymeans have failed that hypnotic sugge stion should b eemployed , and then it should work on the same line s asall j udicious education the child should not b e made toobey like a slave or an automaton , but should b e guidedby sugge stion , as by a wise teacher, to practise auto

suggestion , and thus, by his own will-power, to aid in theovercoming o f bad habits and the acquiring o f goodones .At the Nancy C ongre ss , Dr. Liéb eault and others gaveinstance s o f dull

,idle , and unmanageable children who

by sugge stion (combined in some case s with j udicioushome influence ) were made mode ls o f industry and goodbehaviour . A schoolboy who had habitually kept at thebottomo f his formwas by this treatment so incited towork, that he soon occupied a place at the other end .

Anothe r child , seven years o f age , so obtuse as to b ealmost an idiot ,* was so benefited by suggestion, that in

S ee also page I 34 . I n cases of comple te idiocy, suggestionmayb econsidered powerless, the difficulty o f exc i ting and concentrat ing theattention be ing almost insuperable .

76 TREATMENT BY S U GGE S TI OJV.

thre e months he could read , write , and understand thefour rules o f arithme tic .Dr. Hack Tuke , speakingo f moral insanity (journal of

M ental S cience, we ll puts it when he says that incase s o f this de scriptio n , where , perhaps , the dispositionand actions o f one member o f a family will by the ir perversity bring untold suffering on the re lations, there isundue ” deve lopment o f the lower or automatic functions,whilst the higher centre s are de fective , and that it shouldb e our obj ect to correct this disproportion by suppre ssingsome functions and deve loping others. I f (he goe s on tosay) , the horse s drawing a coach run away in consequenceo f the drive r be ing drunk, it is not the horse s we shouldblame for the accident but the incapable driver who isno longer able to hold the re ins . \Ve know that badne ssmay proceed from two cause s , which Dr. Tuke callsmoral resolution— positive ly bad , andmoral irre solutionnegative ly bad . It is probable that in e ither case , ifthe offende r were caught young

,hypnotic sugge stion

would prove a valuable adjunct to other re formativeagencie s.In course o f time the new personality, induced by suggestion and encouraged by re ligious ministration andteaching, will displace the old , and a comple te moralrevolution will b e the re sult .In these case s a state o f double consciousne ss ,* such as

one some time s se e s in natural somnambulism,was pro

bably induced. A subject o f this kind maylive two alternate live s, one good , the othe r evil ; a

nd in one o f thenlives she will b e unconscious of herfictions in the othe r(Forbe s Winslow, op. cit. , p . In some instance s botho f these utterly different line s o f conduct will appear sorational that it is difficult to decide which is natural tothe subj ect-

r

One is frequently asked whe ther the cures worked by

Writers on somnambul ismgive many instances o f this doubleconsc iousness.

1‘

T he story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ’might be founded on one

of these cases.

TRE ATMENT BY SUGGESTI ON. 77

suggestion are o f a permanent characte r . T o this I reply,they are . as permanent as cure s effected by any othermeans . R e lapse s occur inmany disease s , no matte r whattreatment has be en employed ; some times through somecarelessne ss on the part o f the patient or o f those whohave charge o f him . A pe rson who is cured o f rheumatismto-day, mayto -morrow get fre sh cold and develop a newattack, or othe r symptoms . But with proper attention ,and the customary precautions as regards die t , re st , temperature , etc .

, the succe ss o f this treatment is not transitory . T he improvement effected by its means is often somarked and so rapid that patients are tempted to discontinue its use , and re turn to the ir ordinary habits beforethe cure is perfected and the habit o f disease broken , forge tting that when a diseased condition has existed fc rsome time it probably has taken firm hold on the system,

and is not to b e dispe lled in a day. S udden cure s are aptto b e fallacious , as are such cure s by othe r mode s o f

treatment and though brilliant re sults are some time sattained they can never b e counted upon , and thereshould be no disappointment when improvement is a littlede layed.

On the very thre shold a difliculty may occur ; thepatient will perhaps appear insusceptible . This ne ed notcause discouragement , for in many case s the hypnoticinfluence is not fe lt until afte r thre e ormore séance s. But

very few pe rsons remain insusceptible* to it ; and whenS e e tables, page g

g

. A n apparent trifle mayc ause one operatorfai l where ano the r wi l l suc c e ed at onc e . I know a ve ry able fore ign

fiysic ian w ho c ompi y failed to influence two E nglish patientsbecause he sme lt o f lie

,and so cal led up disturb ing emotio ns in

the ir minds. I was onc e unsuc c essful wi th a gentleman, who afterwards told me the reason o f my fai lure . He imagined , asmany do ,that it is e ssential for the ope rator to possess great strength both ofmind and body. When I touc hed his eyes to c lo se them. he observeda sl ight tremo r inmyhand, and attributed this to a physica l ormentalweakness, wh ic h, he argued, must prevent my influe nc ing h im— a

stranger, and a sti ongman o f high inte l lec tual capac itv. T he ideac alled up a r tanc e

,wh ich rendered hirn insusc eptible . S ubse

quent ly, when had explained to himthagmy personal attributeswere

,in thismatter

,o f no c onsequenc e whatever, he easily fe ll into a

profound hypnouc sleep. T here is, however, a proportion o f sane


once it is e stablished , the hypnotic state is afterwardsmore easily induced , and tends also to become moreintense , though this doe s not nece ssarily follow .

It is very diflicult to eradic ate'

a deeply-rooted popularbe lief, and it is not very easy for a practitioner o f the

suggestive systemto avoid be ing called a magne tizer,since artificially induced sle ep is the common pre liminaryo f the treatment . But , as I have already stated , Dr .Liéb eault and his disciple s absolute ly reject the fancifultheorie s regarding animal magne tismwhich were he ldfifty years ago . They contend that no unusual gifts are

needed to practise the system, and that the chief requisiteis confidence . (T he above note shows how want o f confidenc e may b e dete cted by the patient , and how the verysuspicion o f it will cause failure .) With wider experiencecomes increased confidence in one’s se lf and in the system,

followed naturally by increased success .But majus remediummajus venenum is a true saying,and it would b e an exception to all rule if such a powerfulremedy as sugge stion were not liable to abuse . Whendynamite was discovered , no one denied that the lawless and desperate would , if possible , turn it to badaccount, yet it was not tabooed for this reason , but itsmanufacture and distribution have be en surrounded byprecautions and restrictions, and it is allowed to occupyits prope r place in applied science ln the hands o fminersand engine ers. S ir jame s S impson was not preventedfrommaking public h is grand discovery o f chloroformbecause nervous people were afraid it might b efo r evil purposes ; no r is itsyear a c ertain percentage outrage s are

committed by its aid . P oisoning by arsenic , corrosivesublimate , and digitalis some time s occurs, and yet thesedrugs occupy a prominent place in the pharmac opoe ia .

pe1sons— perhaps 10 per cent .— who are to all inter. and purposesunhypnotizable . T his a susceptibfl ity seems to depend upon id iosmcrasy, and is ne ither a sign of command ing inte l l igenc e nor the

reverse .

TREA TM E NT BY SUGGESTI ON

For it is found that although the se powerful agents aresome time s used to infl ict harm, the evil caused by the irillegitimate employment is so outwe ighed by the ir usefulne ss that no one would think o f suppre ssing them. S o

with hypnotism. I ts powe r for good is undoubted ; itfills a place that nothing e lse can fill so adequate ly, andused with prope r precaution and unde r necessary restrictions it is perfectly safe .

Dr . S émal, in the discussion on hypnotism in the

Be lgian Academy of Medicine (June 3oth , havingcondemned the prostitution o f the systemby trave llingprestigiatenrs and C harlatans , Spoke strongly in favouro f having it included in the medical curriculum o f the

universitie s , as be ing the only legitimate means o fmakingit known .

‘This course ,’he said ,

‘would prevent itsbe ing used empirically and stupidly, and would ke ep itas a powe rful therapeutic agent in the hands o f the

medical profe ssion as long as the art o f healing ispractised .

’

T he exploitation o f hypnotism as an exhibition atpublic entertainments has been already prohibited bylaw in Switze rland , Holland , and other countries, andwhen the true position o f this treatment is understoodamong us, the same restrictions will probably b e enforcedin T he performance o f experiments in public

,

’

write B iné and Féré (op. cit) , should b e condemned,j ust

as we condemn public dissection o f the dead body, and

vivise ction in public. It is certain that there are stillgraver objections to hypnotic exhibitions , since they are

liable to produce nervous affe c tions even in those who donot propose to b e the subj ects o f experiment .’ S uch ex

periments, I maintain , are always use le ss and often crue l ,besides be ing an offence against the dignity o f humanity .

T he contortions and exclamations o f a patient unde rchloroform are often interesting , and might by some

One o f the objec ts o f the International Congre ss o f physic ianspracnsing hypnotism,

which was he ld in Paris in 1889 , was to pass astrong resolution dealingwith this question, and calling upon Governments to renderpublic exhibitions o f hypnotismi llegal.

TREA TM E NT B Y SUGGESTI ON

persons b e thought amusing, but we should hardly chooseto excite themfor the gratification o f idle curiosity or theentertainment o f the multitude .

S ince the foregoing page s were written , a remarkabledeve lopment o f hypnotismhas taken place in this country,but unfortunate ly not altoge ther in the right direction .

S everal Hypnotic S ocie tie s have been'

founded fo r theinstruction o f the public in the ‘art and mystery ’

o f

hypnotism, and it seems impossible to take up a newspaper or magazine without finding some re ferencegenerally a misleading one— to the subj ect . It is to b efeared that the interest o f the public in this branch o f

science is somewhat outrunning that of the profe ssion— a

most unfortunate circumstance .

By allmeans let people b e made aware o f the existenceand nature o f an influence to which most o f us are sus

c eptib le and some to a dangerous degree , for to b e forewarned 18 to b e forearmed , and we shall not have foolishpersons playing with such an edged tool if they know howserious may b e the consequence s of the ir trifl ing . Aparagraph which late ly went the round o f the papersshows how ignorance may lead to awkward results . Acouple o f young men went to a café after attending amagne tic performance , and one o f them, full o f whathe had seen , proposed magne tizing the barmaid . S he

consented , and he imitated the ‘passes ’made by thelecturer. Ve ry soon the subj ect fe ll into a hypnotictrance , from which ne ither o f the young men couldarouse her. Like Ali Baba’s brother, they had got intoforbidden regions, and did not know the password whichshould let them out . T he police were sent for, theyoung woman was taken to the hospital , where afte r atime she awoke , and the ope rator was arrested andlocked up .

T he following case has recently come unde rmyownnotice , for myadvice was sought by the much -perplexede xperimenter

S e e le tter o n this subjec t bythe author in TIze Lancetand BritishM edzealjournal, Oct. 1sth , 1889.


the least part o f the treatment , and in fact it bears thesame re lation to the Nancyme thod , as the administrationo f chloroformdoe s to a subsequent surgical ope ration .

T he practice o f hypnotic sugge stion is surrounded by

pitfalls which only the operator with a medical trainingc an avoid , and the re sults o f the treatment are only o f

scientific value if they have been checked by inve stigatorsaccustomed to gauge the value o f evidence . At the present time , when the treatment is, we may say , in its

infancy, we want every fact scientifically investigated , and

therefore it is o f immense importance to re strict thefie ld o f hypnotismto trained medical workers .’ I f Dr .E lliotson, a physician o f rare ability and aman o f unimpeachab le probity, had acted with the discre tion shown byBernhe imand other fore ign physicians , he would probablyhave arrived at the truth , which it required anothe r

gene ration to extract froma mass o f superincumbentrubbish . By disregarding professional Opinion , andallowing himse lf to be lieve anystory which dishonest orincapable observers told him, he not only re tarded theprogre ss o f the systemthe deve lopment o f which he hadat heart , but rendered it difficult formedical men in thiscountry to practise any psychical treatment , even at thisd istance o f time .

S ome pe rsons, e specially some young women , are so

susceptible , that one has only to get the ir consent and tobid themgo to sleep to induce a condition o f profoundsomnambulism. In such case s ‘

expectant attention ’

alone seems sufficient , and it is matte r for surprise thatwe do not find more people falling into spontaneoussomnambulism, as the condition is so easily induced .

It is the se subj ects o f unstable cerebral equilibriumwho aremost liable to dange r fromthe abuse o f hypnotism,

and it is these , consequently , that we should e speciallyseek to protect . I need hardly say that the use o f

I refer of course tomed ical hypnotism,w ith which I amchiefly

interested. T he sc ientific value of work done by suc h trained observersas Messrs. Gurney and Myers has been already referred to.

TREA TME NT BY SUGGESTI ON

hypnotism towards the accomplishment of a crime ormisdemeanour should be regarded as a se rious aggravation of the offence .

C harcot in France , Ladame in Switzerland , and S emalin Be lgium, have done much to stop the public exhibitionof hypnotismin those countrie s , by demonstrating thephysical andmental evils which have be fallen the subjectso f such performance s . Those who witne ssed a so -calledente rtainment o f this kind given in London last year,must remember how fatigued and languid , or excited andhysterical, were many o f the subj ects . T he aimo f apublic entertainer is to excite wonde r or mirth in the

minds o f his audience , and so long as he can evoke asuflic ientlystartling note , he care s little , even if he fullyunderstands, that the instrument he plays upon is thede licate organismo f the highe r brain centre s ) “

There has be en a great deal of corre spondence inthe daily pre ss about hypnotism and sugge stion duringthe last few months, and one write r in an evening pape rcomplained that afte r be ing hypnotized she fe lt for sometime a disagreeable sensation , as o f be ing drawn to the

Ope rator .’ I be lieve that such a sensation, unle ss suggestedduring hypnosis by the operator, could only b e the re sulto f hysterical imagination, and I have never seen anything o f the kind in my practice . S uch a statement ,howeve r, emphasize s the importance o f the rule , thathypnotismshould b e practised only in the pre sence o f

witne sse s , and that the patient should b e thoroughlyawakened be fore leaving the consulting-room. T he be st

A pprehension o f danger rests very frequently upon the misconception that loss of volition and amnesia are ord inary ac companimentso f medical hypnotism. S uch an idea arises fromwitnessmg publicperformances, and i t is difficult to eradicate . T he physic ian who

employs hypnotismas a remed ial agent ne ither seeks to obtain somnambulism— in which state alone are the patients’memory or willpower seriously afl

'

e cted— nor, as amatter o f fac t, does i t oc cur, exc ept

in a small proportion o f cases. T he condition ordinari ly attained, andhere I can speak frompersonal experience , is one o f gentle le thargy,very simi lar in charac ter to that agreeable state be tween sleepingand

wakingwhic h most o f us experience when, after be ing called in the

morning, we give ourse lves five minutes’grace before ge ttingup.

6— 2


guarantee against the abuse o f hypnotismwill b e itsrecognition as a branch o f medical treatment , to b e usedbymedicalmen with the same caution as anaesthe tics andpoisons in general .T he practitioner who uses hypnotismshould do so with

the same precautions which he adopts in administeringan anaesthe tic . C hief among the se are obtaining the

formal consent of the patient , and , when expedient , o f“

his friends, and never operating save in the presence o f atleast one witne ss . Thus he will guard himse lf and hispatient fromall possible imputation o f wrong-doing or

abuse o f power. I need hardly add that a patient desiringhypnotic treatment will , if commonly prudent , use discrimination in choosing a physician , and will avoid placinghimse lf under the influence o f one notknown to him, atleast by reputation .

T he dangers of hypnotismare , I be lieve , exaggerated .

T he stories told o f persons obtaining undue influenceover others by its means are mostly fables , which ex

perienc e shows to b e impossible . P rofe ssor Bernhe imasse rts, and is borne out by other observe rs , that no onecan b e hypnotized against his wish , and that in fact it ishis own will which sends him to sle ep . Neve rthe le ss ,there is no doubt that after a time the ou-coming o f sleepis less under the patient’s control, and when , as we see

some time s at Nancy , a person is continually be ing hypnotized by the same operator

, the hypnotic state can b ereproduced with surprising readine ss . I be lieve that incertain hysterical cases there arises a craving for this , asthere might for any other sedative ; but such a cravinghas little chance o f be ing encouraged if the sugge stivepractice is confined to its proper sphe re . A physiciandoe s not go on pre scribing narcotic drugs because apatient has a craving for them, but, on the contrary,forbids the ir use when they cease to be beneficial .T he physician practising suggestion may protect hisove r-sensitive patients fromthe dangers o f be ing hypnotized by a stranger . He has only to impress upon them ,

TREATMENT BY SUGGESTI ON

while they are in the hypnotic state , that no one can produce any such efl

'

ect upon themwithout the ir free willand formal consent. T he most practised operator wouldtryhis art in vain upon one so protected , as Drs . Liéb eaultand Bernhe imhave repeatedly and as I myse lfhave seen .

I mayfitlybring this chapte r to a close with a quotationfromP rofe ssor Bernhe im’s oft-referred- to work It isthe duty of the physician to se lect what is useful insugge stion , and to apply it for the benefit o f his patients .When , in the pre sence o f sickness , I think that the ra

peutic suggestion has a chance o f success , I should conside rmyse lf to blame as a physician if I did not proposeit tomypatient , and if I did not even make a point o fge tting his consent to its employment (op. cit. , p .

T hese physic ians were in the habit Of hypnotizing an hystericalpatient, who used to fall into somnambulismas easily in the hands o f

one as in those of the other. On one occasion, while she was in thisstate , Dr. Bernhe imtold her that she was not to be influenced by Dr.

Liébeault. S he awoke qui te oblivious o f this suggestion having beenmade , and soon afterwards went to Dr. Liébeault, who was ignorant ofwhat had taken plac e , and asked himto hypnotize her as usual . T o

the surprise of both patient and doc tor, all h is attempts to do so were

futile , and i t was only on communicating the fac t to D r. Bernhe imthat his colleague found its explanation.

86' TREA TM E JVT BY SUGGESTI ON

C HAPTER V I .

S ome Points in the Physiology and Psychology o f Hypnotism.

A uthorities and the ir T heories— E xpec tant A ttention, S uggestion,and Inhibi tion — Induc tion of Func tional A phasia, and what 1t

T eaches.— E xaggeration or S uppression o f c ertain S enses and

Func tions in the Hypnotic S tate — A utomatismin Hypnotismand

in Pathological S tate .- Amnesia.

— Hypnotismcompared with theA c tion of Poisons— T he Double Brain, its S ingle A c tion in Healthand possible Dual A c tion in D isease and in the Hypnotic S tate .

Cases illustrating th is.— T he I nduc tion of A utomatismwi thout

Hypnotism.

T HE study o f hypnotismwill doubtle ss do much toadvance our knowledge o f the higher brain functions ,and it is well to bear in mind that , as the phenomenadepend upon an induced psychical condition , they maynot b e explainable by any physiological me thod which weat pre sent possess . C harcot , R iche t , Be rnhe im , He idenhain , Hack Tuke , and others have , howeve r, done mostuseful work by building up a working hypothesis, which

l o o

se rve s as a standpomt for future investtgators.

Expectant attention , sugge stion , and inhibition are

the processe s which afford an explanation o f the c ommone st phenomena .

Expectant attention se ems to b e a nece ssary psychicalpreparation , for an ordinary person may gaze at an obj ectfor an indefinite time without producing hypnosis , unlesshe expects such a result to ensue . Were this not so ,spontaneous somnambulism(as in the case reported onpage 172) would b e o f very common occurrence .

Brown S equard and other neurologists show that whenone ce rebral centre or function is used to exce ss, theothe rs become , for the t ime be ing, paralyzed or inhibited .

A slight continuous stimulation o f one sense is promulgated fromits centre to those surrounding it— includingthose o f higher cerebration : volition

,attention , c o -ordi

nation of ideas, and memory— and causes the ir temporary

TREATMENT B Y SUGGESTI ON 87

inhibition . This is seen in eve ryday life . When readingan intere sting book we greatly exert our intellectual andemotional facultie s, and consequently impre ssions on

other sense s are not registered or noticed . A noise in thestree t is unheard by us ; a coal may fall on the hearthrug,and we ne ither see the accident nor are afl

'

ected by thesme ll o f burning wool ; even bodily pain and mentalsufferingmayb e forgotten or benumbed while the attention is thus absorbed . Everyone knows how gentlefriction o f a skin-surface , in neuralgia or headache , willoften act in the same way , by ove r-stimulating one sensorycentre and rende ring inactive that which registers the pain .

He idenhain attributes the hypnotic state tomonotonousgentle stimulation o f a sense , causing inhibition o f the

h ighe r ce rebral functions . A monotonous sound or scenewill thus induce drowsine ss or sleep, and a suddenintense stimulation , such as a sudden noise or flash o f

light , will cause an awakening.* This is seen atmagne tic

séance s, where the sleepers are commonly aroused by thesound o f a gong.

T he subj e ct who has been hypnotized by the method o ffascination see s nothing but the eyes o f the ope rator,which shine forth with exagge rated size and brilliancy, andis unconscious o f eve ry other sensory impression. In theadvanced hypnotic state s , not only the higher inte llectualcentre s are inhibited , but even those concernedwith direc tingmotor and sensory influence s , and the subj ect lie s asine rt and unconscious as one suffe ring fromce rebral compre ssion or haemorrhage into the ventricles , or as an animalfrom which the lobes o f the brain have been removed .

T his fac tmayhelp to explain an oc currence such as the following,whic h was reported in several papers last March, and which a localmed ical man kindly authent icates forme . A miner in the R honddaValley, who many years ago lost his sight and speech in an explosion,recently recovered his sight through be ingpresent in amine while a

large quantity of dynamite was exploded, and standingas c lose to thecharge as was compatible with safety. ‘E xpec tant attention

’had

probably some share in his cure , as he had been told it would beeffec ted by this ‘

counter- irri tation .

’His speech did not re turn on

that oc c asion, b ut some weeks later, when he fe ll into a v iolent passion.

Charcot yer contra gives a case of ‘psychical

’aphasia following a

v iolent fit o f rage .

8 8 TREATMENT BY SUGGESTI ON

As in the former condition , the' patient , on rec overing

c onsciousne ss, may continue the speech or occupationwhich was interrupted by the inj ury, so the hypnotized

person , on be ing aroused , will some time s carry on a

phrase or an action from the point at which it wasb roken o ff by hypnotic influenc e— thus showing how com

pletelythe brain, as the organ o fmind , has been paralyzed .

But whereas in the coma of disease the ‘

paralysis is absoluteand complete , in induced somnambulism it is partially ore ntire ly removable at the command of the operator . He

c an arouse any centre tomore than its normal functioningactivity, so that the subject, who a moment before wasinsensible to the fume s o f strong ammonia he ld close tohis nostrils, will now recognise the fainte st odour ; and hewho now lies in a condition o f muscular impotence will,at the word of the operator, pe rform extraordinary featso f strength . T he same holds good with the expression o fthe emotions. Froma state o f abjectmisery , the subjectmay he suddenly transported to one o f bliss, and b e itnoted , that he shows both conditions far more markedlythan he would do if awake ; for in the normal state ouremotions are subject to that inhibitory influence whichwe call se lf-control , and which is non-existent in the somnambulic subject , over whomeach passion , each emotionthat is called up, has for the moment an undividedsway.

I f I amtold to raise my arm, the order is conveyed tothe auditory centre , and thence re fe rred to the ganglionicce lls o f the cortex , in which the highe st functionsattention , volition, comparison , etc .

-maybe supposed tore side ; if endorsed by the will, it is despatched throughthe motor centre s, basal ganglia and spinal cord , to themuscle s , which pe rform the required action . Even ifmywill re fuse s to obey the orde r, it may happen that aninvoluntary stimulus is sent downwards

,sufficient to

c ause some slight muscular movement , which , however,is promptly checked by the inhibitory action o f the

highe st centres . But suppose the order is given in animpe rative tone to one accustomed to obey the voice

TREATMENT BY SUGGESTI ON .

aud itorycentres, where it is taken in , direct to the motorcentre s, and through the basal ganglia to the muscle s o f

the arm. In such a case , a like order has been so fre

quently followed by its execution that the two havebecome cause and efl

'

ect,and the action is automatic orcerebro-reflex, and almost beyond the man’s control . Ahypnotized subject is in much the same position his

inte llectual centre s do not work, and an order sugge sts itsfulfilment , without , and inde ed sometime s contrary to ,volition and reason .

A severe mental shock will some time s induce thisautomatism ; the various duties and actions o f everydaylife will then be gone through as in a dream , and oftenwithout leaving any recollection o f the ir pe rformance .

A severe blow on the head will occ asionally bring about alike condition— as in the case o f a gentleman , aged twentyone , a patient o f mine , who was thrown fromhis horsewhile hunting. H e subsequently recollected riding at thefence at which he came to grief, but had totally forgotteneve rything that followed until the end o f the run , whichlasted for about fifteen minute s after his fall . Yet I havethe report o f eye -witne sses , who state that he was up in amoment , mounted his horse , and joined the fie ld as ifnothing had happened ; but that he wore a dazed expression ,and made uninte lligible answers to the remarks addre ssedto him. He is always a plucky rider, but on this occasionhe surpassed himse lf, taking a dangerous fence which onlyone othe r horseman attempted, and which he would probably have avoided had his reasoning faculties been atwork . He fe lt a severe pain in the vertex , which hadbe en struck in his fall , and for a few hours remained in asomewhat dazed condition .

There is nomemory o f acts done in the somnambulicstate , because that association o f centre s and balancing o fone mental function by another which constitute ideation ,Oland H and V, Heart and vesse ls. T he l ines show the assoc iation o f one centre With the othe rs

,and the arrows indicate the

d irec tion taken bynervous impulses. Hypnotismmayb e supposedto cut o ff or inhib i t some o f these assoc iations, e .zz the volitionalfromthemotor.

TREATMENT B Y SUGGESTI ON 91~

se lf-control , attention , volition , comparison, and memoryare for the time be ing rendered inope rative . A patientunder hypnotic influence may b e compared to a complicated machine , which is thrown out o f gear, and yetcan b e so adjusted that some parts can b e made to actindependently o f the others .As regards the physical basis o f the phenomena, littlehas as yet be en discove red . He idenhain supposed thatthere must b e anemia o f the brain , until he found thathis brother could b e hypnotized as easily as usual immediate lyafte r taking a physiological dose o f amyl nitrite .

Other observers consider that there i s a condition o f

cramp o f the arteriole s o f the brain . We have probablyno drug which acts exactly in the same way as hypnotism ,

othe rwise we might use it as a vehic le for sugge stion ,e specially in the case o f patients who are insensitive to

the hypnotic influence . C annabis indica pre sents ce rtainanalogous symptoms,“ and apparently expose s its consumer to an exaggerated action o f suggestion . But thereis this important difference . In hashish intoxication ,the sugge stion is simply a natural sensory impre ssion ,rece ived spontaneously, and greatly exaggerated . T he

hashish-take r see s a small shee t o f water, and in his

I f the following sto ry is correc t (and I have no reason to doubtmyinformant) , the ac tion of chloroformmay, under certain c ircumstances,b e considered analogous to hypnotism. A tone o f the largeme tropolitanhospi tals there existed, about thirty years ago , a c lub o f medicalstudents, called the ChloroformC lub,’the chie f objec t of which wasto test the ac tion o f narcotics, and espec ially o f chloroform. T he

membersmet in each other’s rooms, and c onsumed physiological doseso f various drugs. On this remembered occasion chloroformwas the

narcotic c hosen,and one o f the members was, as usual, told ofl

' tokeep sober and watch his companions. But the temptation provedtoo great forh im, and he also inhaled a considerab le dose of the poison.

Into this roomfull of drug-exc ited youngmen came a latememberwhowas extreme ly unpopular with th e others, and one of themshouted,‘Here’s Let us kill h im!’ T he horrible suggestion at oncetook po ssession of the whole party. T hey flung themse lves on the

new comer, and a tragedy would c ertainly have followed , had not

some students in another roomheard the vic tim’s cries of terror.

T hey, of course , rushed in, and made a forc ible rescue . T he afl'

airwas hushed up, and the c lub d issolved ; but some of those who tookpart in the episode , which in its we ird horror reminds one o f the situations o f T heophile Gautier, are now respec ted members of the pro

fession, and will remember the occurrenc e.

92 TRE A TMENT BY SUGGESTI ON

drug- induced dreams it become s a magnificent river, avast lake , or boundless ocean . H e b ears an Italian organbeneath his windows , and imagine s himse lf listening tothe orche stra at Bayreuth .

In alcoholic and other forms o f intoxication, the re iscommonly an exaggerated automatic action , as seen inge sture , speech , and general demeanour, with corre sponding inhibition of the higher and controlling centre s , andincreased readiness to act upon sugge stion ; whethe r it b ese lf-supplied by the sense s, or from without , by the bystanders . It is known that epileptics are extreme lysusceptible to suggestion , and any action sugge sted to oneimmediate ly after an attack would probably be executedautomatically

,without volition , and without subsequent

re collection o f its performance . This point is noticed byDr. Gowers, and is interesting, as these subj ects are

peculiarly susceptible to hypnotism, perhaps because the ircerebral centre s are abnormally easy to dissociate andthrow out o f gear.*

With our present knowledge , it seems impossible toexplain certain phenomena connected with advancedhypnotism. S ome o f the se , which have often beenattributed to clairvoyance , are undoubtedly the re sult o fexagge rated perception . T he subject will, unde r the

stimulation o f sugge stion , read figures or le tte rs at anamazing distance , will distinguish persons by a sense o f

touch to o de licate to exist when the other facultie s are atwork , will fee l the apparently imperceptible currents o f

air set in motion by ‘magnetic ’ passe s , and will c omprehend and act upon hints and whispers which are

inaudible to the ordinary listene r. Why should the

A c cord ing to R iche t (op. cit. ) the normal sleep of young childrenis almost somnambulic, and in support o f this theory b e instanc es thecase of h is l ittle boy, aged 5, who remains profoundly asle ep when hisfathergoes in atnight to caress him, b utwho murmurs a we lcome andre turns the embrace . T he next morning the child is unconsc ious of

what has passed. I tmust b e the experience of all observers that notonly in such a matter, but in other everyday oc currences, a child isfrequently in a cond ition resembling hypnosis, and this perhapsexplains the fac t that children are suc h satisfac tory subjec ts forhypnotic treatment. T he balanc e o f the faculties has not yet beenattained , and thus re-adjustment is easi ly afl’

ected .


hypnotized subj ect b e deaf to all sounds except the voice

of the ope rator, and hear and obey that voice , though itb e but the faintest whisper, and the surrounding soundsa perfect babe l ? T he waking o f a tired mother at thefeeble st cryo f her infant , though loud noise s are unnoticedby her, and that of N e lson

's signal- lieutenant at the wordS ignal,

’ though the roaring o f cannon had failed toarouse him, mayafford an analogy, if not an explanation .

A peculiar specie s of phenomena is that in which alette r, o r word , or obje ct , is e liminated fromthe consc iousness o f the patient. For instance , A B is told thaton awaking he is to write certain words , say AlexandraP alace ,

’without the letter a . He will do this , and in sorapid and business- like a manner, that the obse rver (whohad be tter try to do the like ) , must b e convinced o f thegenuineness o f the experiment . Or he is forbidden touse the pronoun I , when he will b e at extraordinary painsto avoid the word , and will not once b e be trayed intoemploying it , though , as in the case reported by Max

Desso ir, he may use its equivalent in some fore ignlanguage . T he subject may b e wide awake and per

fectly reasonable in all othe r re spects , but th is idée fixe isfirmly implanted in hismind , though he is absolutely uhaware o f its presence . I f shown his copy in which thele tter a or the pronoun I is missing, he will se e nothingwrong about it , and the de lusion remains until he is toldto return to his usual state , when the absurdity o f the

thingwill b e at once apparent , and he will pe rhaps denyhaving written the incorrect words or sentences .S everal varie tie s o f aphasia mayb e functionally inducedby suggestion . T he subject mayb e rendered incapable o f

uttering a sound (comple te motor aphasia) , or can b emadeto reply to eve ry que stion by ameaningless formula, as insome o f the pathological case s cited by Trousseau and byGowers . He may b e conscious or unconscious o f the

absurdity, j ust as in the pathological entity, and the condition mayb e modified in various directions . He may, forinstance , b e unable to pronounce the le tter e, but able towrite it, or vice versa. We know that aphasia may occur


from functional cause s, as from a strong emotion,when

o ne is rendered speechle ss by te rror, indignation , or ove rwhe lming joy or surprise and the induced aphasia o f

hypnotism seems to re semble this variety rathe r thanthat which some time s occurs in the course o f typhoidfever and fromreflex disturbance s . T he subject is we llworth the attention o f physiologists , and its studymaythrow light on some morbid conditions connected withspeech . T he differentiation is very much fine r than anything o f this nature to b e se en in disease , and require scorre spondingly fine analysis . Dr. Gowers remarks onthe deficiency o f facts and the redundancy o f theorie sconnected with this subject . Hyppotic experimentsmayhe lp to increase the former and prove or disprove the

latter.Violent emotion maycause othe r effects than transientloss o f spe ech . Dr. C harc oti give s the case o f an ihtelligentman, who , after a violent paroxysm o f rage , lostthe memory o f visual impressions . Though he could se e

objects, theyall appeared strange to him, and he couldnot re cognise his friends, nor even his own face in theglass . Injury to certain parts o f the brain , e specially thelower parie tal lobe , may induce this psychical

’or mindblindne ss ,

’and this condition can b e exactly simulated bysugge sting it to a sufficiently sensitive hypnotized subj ect .T he association be twe en the visual centre and the higher

Dr. Ire land (op. cit. , page 273) c ites a case of suddengifto f spee chunder the influence o f exc it ing emotion. A well-known merchant inLondon had a son about e ight years of age who was perfec tly dumb ,so that all hope o f h is e ver speaking had long been abandoned . T he

boy was inte lligent and had no other infirmity. D uring a water-partyon the T hames the father fe ll overboard, and the hitherto dumb -boycried out Oh

,save him, save him Fromthatmoment he spoke

nearly as we ll as h is brothers, and afterwards became an ac tive partnerin his father’s business.

1'

By hypnotic suggestion reading may be rendered impossible(alexia). T he subjec tmayalso b emade incapable of writing(agraphia),and can even be prevented fromexpressing himse lf by signs (amimia).S ewing, drawing, and indeed every ac tion, may b e tabooed by thesame means. (S ee Der Hypnotismus,’by Dr. A . Moll , page 92.

Berlin,

' I Quoted in Landois and S tirling’s Physiology.’


inte llectual centre s in which memory re sides is inhibitedin both cases ) “

That sugge stion acts by partially or wholly inhibitingthe perceptive centre s seems demonstrable ; but how itdoe s this cannot at present b e explained . There is , o fcourse , great scope for se lf-deception in hypnotic ex

periments ; but if subj ects o f proved integrity are chosen(hyste rical women and young boys are not so trustworthyas inte lligent artisans) , and if they are kept in ignoranceo f the phenomena which the operator de sire s to obtain ,simulation ne ed hardly b e feared . Negative hallucination ,as de scribed on page 168 , is a complex condition , which Icannot explain , as some would do , by calling it mereclever acting. S ome time s , indeed , I suspect unconscioussimulation on the part o f the patient , as in the case o f

E. H who , when told not to se e Dr. F -carefullyavoided looking in his direction , and refused to answerwhen he spoke to her, except once , when she lookedpuzzled , and answered him while looking towards me .

S he assuredme that Dr . F was not in the room, buthad been called away to see a patient this I had sugge stedto her in the hypnotic sle ep. On be ing told byme to seeDr . F she immediate ly looked at him, and expre ssedsurprise at his sudden re turn . But inmost case s the blotting out is comple te , and the subj ectmayeven b e pinchedor pricked by the person designated as invisible withoutfee ling anything, and the invisibilitymaybe extended toany article which he (the subject) take s in his hand .

S uggestion alone is sufficient to explain the succe ss o fa vexatious experiment practised on a P arisian accountant,who was told that two and two make five , and acted uponthis information with startling results next day whilemaking up his accounts .Partial or c omple te loss or impairment of all the spec ial senses

mayb e induced in a similar wayby suggestion e.g.,the subjec tmay

b e rendered unable to perc e ive the odour o f viole ts, while notic ing all

o ther scents, or to see red, whi le other co lours remain d istinc t. T he

hypothesis that c ertain c e lls o f the cortical perc eptive c entres are

difl‘

erentiated in the proc ess o f evolution to reac t to the spe c ial stimulusof certain sounds, odours, or colours, and that these are inhibited, is atempting one .

96 TREA TMENT B Y SU GGESTI ON

T he induction by sugge stion alone o f pseudo-paralysis ina limb is a curious phenomenon . I can say to E . Fwhom I have frequently put into a state o f advancedsomnambulism, You cannotmove that armor that leg,’and so evoke the idea o f powerle ssness, that for a fewminute s the limb remains motionless, then with a sensation as o f pins and ne edle s,

’power come s back to it , andshe can move it fre e ly . Max Desso ir de scribe s how heinfluenced a postman whomhe could not hypnotize in

any usual way . H e told himto make the movementsrequired in stamping le tte rs, and when he had done thisfor some minute s, cried in an authoritative tone ,

Nowyou cannot stop doing that T he idea was fixed in theman’smind , and, in fact , he could not leave o ff. Duringhis performance o f an act that with himhad becomeautomatic, the highe r centre s, be ing inactive , were easilyinhibited , and the hypnotic condition was then inducedby suggestion .

T he case o f Mrs. M a hospital nurse , is typicaland intere sting. S he was first hypnotized by me inOctober, 1888 , and since then I have hypnotized herfrequentlv

-pe rhaps fifty time s— generally to demonstratevarious phenomena to medical friends . S he is a persono f little education , but has good natural ability, and is aclever nurse . I find her a somnambulist o f an advancedtype , with no memory on waking o f what has occurredduring the hypnotic sle ep. A s she was a good andwilling subj ect , I used to gether to obeymysugge stionspost-hypnotically ; but on one occasion she took offenceat some remark of a bystander, and told me she wouldnever again do anything o f the kind . Henceforth herreply was always N0 when I asked her to do anything onwaking , and such suggestions were never carried out .After some months, however, I persuaded her to withdraw her opposition , and she now again goe s throughthe little te sts which I propose . I find, as B ine t andFere have observed in some o f the ir case s, that thissubject is quite unconscious o f obeying any initiative

TREA TM E N T B Y SUGGE STI ON

continue it . Though she laughs and prote sts, and is ap

parentlyin full posse ssion o f her facultie s, She cannot leaveo ff the movement until I give her permission to do so .

Dr. Ire land , writing on the double brain (op.

quotes large ly fromDr. Edgar Bérillon’s book .* This

author certainly has the courage o f his convictions, forafte r giving many examples o f the double brain action , here cords expe riments which satisfy himthat through theagency of hypnotismwe can induce th is double action.

For instance , he will speak into the right ear o f a subjectin a profound state o f hypnosis, and de scribe to her anamusing scene at a theatre ; then into the othe r ear hewill pour some tragic tale . T he right side o f the facewill expre ss pleasurable fe e l ings , whereas the left Sidewill, at the same time , wear a look o f grie f or te rror.Dr. Bérillon defie s anyone in an ordinary state o f health ,or even in hysteria , thus to produce the simultaneous expression o f a double set o f emotions. H e make s thefollowing inductions ‘

1 . That hypnotismc an suppre ssthe physicalmotor and sensory activity o f one hemisphereo f the brain . 2. That it can give to each hemisphe re adifferent degree o f activity . 3 . That the two hemisphere shaving an equal degre e o f activity, we can create fo r themat the same time manife stations varying in the ir seat ,the ir nature , and the ir charac ter.

’

That a transference o f functional activity fromone Sideo f the brain to the othe r maysome time s b e effected byhypnotism se ems to b e Shown by the case o f LouisV (de scribed on page This subj ect was easilyhypnotized , and in the hypnotic state would lose the

right hemiplegia fromwhich he was suffering, and walkquite naturally . When he was hypnotized , both his eye swere shut, as in natural sle ep , and if e ither o f them wasforcibly opened the corresponding Side o f his body b ecame cataleptic, while if both we re opened the wholebody took on this condition . I f the right eye was openedwhile he was talking o r reciting in the hypnotic state , he

‘Hypnotisme E xperimental, la D ualité C érébrale , e t l’lndépen

dence fonc tionne l des deux Héniisphére s Cérébraux,’Paris, 1884 .

TREA TMENT B Y SUGGESTI ON ’

99

not only became cataleptic on the right Side , but alsoaphasic , and the physician in attendance , Dr. jules Voisin ,came to the co nclusion that this action produced an inb ibitory effect on the left hemisphere , and consequentlyand inclusive ly on the normal centre o f speech . Whenthe eye was again closed , he took up his speaking orreciting where he had left o ff. T he opening o f his lefteye in h is first state had no effect in his speech but inhis " second state ,

’during which his words and mode o f

expre ssion were extreme ly childish , opening the left eyestopped spe ech , whereas Opening the right eye producedno effect . This, according to Dr . Voisin

’s theory, supported to a ce rtain extent by Drs. Burot and Bourru ,showed that the spe ech centre had shifted side s . Inhisfirst state Louis V used chiefly the left hemisphere

o f his brain , and in his‘second state the right he

Sphere , which be ing le ss educated than the other,counted forthe imperfect character o f the spe ech produduring its preponderance .

Dr . W . Ire land ,’ in his delightful volume o f e ssays

dealing with abnormal mental conditions, give s someintere sting example s o f double consciousness occurring inthe course of disease from poisoning . H e re fers tohashish-eaters be ing some time s conscious o f a doubleindividuality, and he quote s the we ll -known case o f a

drunken porter who, when sobe r, used entire ly to forgetwhere he had left his parce ls, and remembered it onlywhen he was again intoxicated ; that is, when the brainwas again in the same specific state which it had beenin when he committed the action . Dr. Ire land alsomentions the sensation o f double pe rsonality sometime s experienc ed by a person suffering fromsevere illne ss, whohas appeared to himse lf as two different individuals, oneo f whomsuffered , while the other looked on and pitied him.

T he brain is, o f course , a double organ , anatomicallyand physiologically, and though in normal life the two

hemispheres are so functionally associated that they act‘T he Blot on the Brain,

’E dinburgh, 1885.

too TREA TM E N T B Y SUGGESTI ON.

as one , such cases as those I have cited seemto showwhatmost observers are agreed in concluding , that unde rce rtain conditions the partnershipmayb e dissolved , andone side may act independently o f the other. In somecase s o f insanity the patient has be en observed to ask

questions and reply to them, as in two different capacitie s,and Dr. Ire land suppose s that in such instances the twohemispheres are acting alternate ly . He suggests that theexistence o f such conditionsmayprove a keyto the explanation o fmany cases o f spirit-posse ssion ’and hallucination.

T he left hemisphere ismuch more used than the right ,and in general is proportionate lymore deve loped , thoughin left-handed persons the reverse is said to b e the case .

But although we mayordinarily use only one half o f ourbrain for certain actions, we can sometimes, in case o f

nece ssity, educate the neglected half to act when the otheris inj ured . We maythus explain those curious instance sin which , after an illness , previous education is forgotten ,and the patient has laboriously to learn eve rything overagain— to re -educate his brain , o r rathe r to educate thatportion o f it which hitherto hasbeen comparative ly unused .

Hypnotic suggestion , circumspectly used ,might doubtle ssafford valuable assistance in such brain education .

T he disassociation o f the two side s o f the brain,and

the transfe rence o f preponderating influence fromone tothe other, ce rtainly seems to afford a plausible explanation o f many o f the phenomena o f advanced hypnotism.

But it is not so easy to attribute to this disassociationand transference the the rapeutic and othe r effects ob servable in the minor degre e s o f hypnotic influence with whichthe practitioners o fthe Nancy school are satisfied . P hysiological theorie s change as knowledge increases, and whenthey are proved to b e erroneous they are apt to dragdown in the ir fall the practice which has be en foundedupon them. There fore , while avoidingmere empiricism,

it is safe not to depend to o much on anyas yet unverifiedtheory o f hypnotic sugge stion . Within the next few yearsa flood o f light will assuredly b e thrown upon this subj ect .


Be rlin , etc . , will soon supply the necessary therapeuticte stimony— if, indeed , it has not already done so —andwe shall see hypnotic sugge stion take its place in the

armamentariumo f the medical practitioner in Spite o f thedifficulties thrown in its way by charlatanismand impostorS past and pre sent .T he argumentumad hominem is , as R iche t" te lls us ,undoubtedly the be st to use ; and as medical men are

o ften exce llent subjects, it has sometime s been mygoodfortune to convince a friend , and at the same time benefita patient , by putting amember o f our profession into oneor other stage o f the hypnotic state .

That Simulation and imposture are frequently practi sedat public entertainments ,’I amnot concerned to deny ,though , as Dr. de Watteville remarks , it is easier to procure a genuine ly susceptible subject than to take the

trouble o f training a confederate . P ublic pe rformers are

generally care ful to have with themsome subj ects whomthey have frequently hypnotized , so as to b e prepared forcontingencie s .I readily admit that the desire to please and to appearinteresting will , e specially among hospital patients, leadto a good deal o f Simulation , intentional or unintentional.But in private practice and among inte lligent patients,Simulation is a bugbear o f which we need take littleaccount . With experience , to o , come s the ability todetect deception , and the practised hypnotist is on thewatch for it,t and is very acute in perce iving its slightesttokens . And in fact , the patient is, as a rule , more rathe rthan less influenced than he supposes . He will frequentlysay that he has in no way lost control over his thoughtsand actions , and will be surprised to find that he cannot

L’Homme et l’I ntelligence .

’

C harcot has de v ised an ingenious instrument, bymeans of whichthe trac ings given by the involuntarymoveme nts o f the armin simulated catalepsy can be compared w ith the very regular and e ven trac ingmade on a revolving c yl inder when the subje c t is in the genuinehypnotic state . T his c ontrivanc e mayprove use ful in the de tec tion o f

fraud. ( Vide D iseases of the Nervous System,

’vo l. i i i . )

TREATMENT B Y SUGGESTI ON 103

open his eye s, or that his armhas become immovable atthe operator’s bidding. T he ve ry way in which he trie sto open his eye s is characteristic o f an altere d condition .

Instead o f using the levator palpebrarum,h e wrinkle s his

brows and ene rge tically employs the fro ntalis . I f at lasthe succeeds, it is only afte r great exertion , and the eye l idopens in a peculiarly Slow and heavy manner. In thesame way, if, after be ing a l ittle more influenced , he istold that he cannot bend or otherwise move his arm, he

w ill make violent efl'

o rts to do so with the wrong se ts o fmuscle s, and will perhaps at last , with difficulty, effect apartial and jerkymovement in the desired direction .

It is but fair to ask one’s se lf, Whyshould a patientmake pre tence about hypnotism any more than aboutother medical procedure s ? I f we give a prescription toremove neuralgia or rheumatic pains, we do not accuseour patient o f simulation when he re turns and te lls usthat the mistura ferri or soda salicylas has re lieved or curedhim , but rather attribute this good result to our remedy,and congratulate ourselve s o n its succe ss . T he therapeutie te st is a perfectly fair and correct one , and as it isne ither ne ce ssarynor de sirable to produce the physiologicalaction o f drugs when we give themas curative agents , soit is ne edle ss to evoke o r expect the phenomena o f le

grand hypnotisme in case s whe re we use suggestion as aremedy . A knowledge o f the physiological action o f adrug is necessary, as, without such knowledge , we shouldbe using it empirically and a familiarity with the phenomena o f advanced hypnotismfurnishes us with a key tothe action o f suggestion , as in the phenomena o f poisonswe find one to the action o f drugs .T he me thod I usually adopt to produce the hypnotic

state is that practised by Liéb eault, and is undoubtedlythe easie st andmost rapid . T he treatment is psychical,and attention to detail is absolute ly nece ssary to succe ss .T he existence in the patient o f any Opposing idea , as o f

fear— or o f a spirit o f ridicule , or. o f decided hostility— or

a consciousne ss o f bodily discomfort , will rende r futile all

104 TRE A TMENT B Y SUGGESTI ON

attempts to hypnotize him— atleast at the firsttrial . H ismind must b e at rest , his position comfortable , and theenvironment should b e such as would favour the advent o fordinary sleep . It is some times he lpful to hypnotize one

o r two patients in the pre sence o f a newcomer, so as toarouse his imitative faculty and'

dissipate any nervousfee ling he mayhave . A nd some friend should always b epresent during the entire operation .

T he patient reclines on a couch or in an easy-chair,and I stand or S it beside him,

and hold the first twofingers o f one hand at a distance o f about twe lve inc he sfromhis eyes, at such an angle that his gaze Shall b edirected upwards in a strained manner . I direct himtolook steadily at the tips o f those finge rs, and to make hismind as nearly blank as possible . After he has staredfixedly for about half aminute , his expression will undergoa change— a blank look coming into his face . H is pupilswill contract and dilate several time s , and his eye lids willtwitch spasmodically . These Signs indicate a commencinginduction o f the de sired psychical condition. I f the eye

l ids do not close Spontaneously , I shut themgently , andthe progre ss o f sle ep is generally he lped by verbal sugge stions, such as Your eyes are becoming heavy theyare ge ttingmore and more heavy ; myfingers se emindistinct to you (this when the pupils are observed to dilateor contract) a numbne ss is stealing ove r your limbs ;you will b e fast asle ep in a few minute s ; now sleep .

’ Itis some time s an assistance to layone

’s hand gently, but

firmly, on the forehead .

In ordinary cases, the operator will find that thehypnotic condition has by this method be en induced infrom one to three minutes, and he may now ascertainwhat degre e has be en arrived at. T his depends chiefly, ifnot entire ly, on the temperament o f the subject , and Iconsider it impossible to fore te ll with any certainty whatstage o f hypnotismwill b e reached by any person whohas never yet be en hypnotized . I do not, as a rule ,makemany sugge stions at a first sitting, b ut I gently rub the

106 iTR E A TM E N T B Y SUGGESTI ON .

patient to keep it there . I f the cataleptic state has be enreached , it becomes stiff and rigid in that position , andwill remain in it for an indefinite time corre sponding tothe subject’s muscular deve lopment . I f the armshows notendency to drop , a rotary motion mayb e given to it , andthe patient told to continue thismovement . I f the thirddegree is reached , he will do so until he is ordered tode sist . T he te sts o f somnambulismmaynow b e applied .

T he first o f the se is to Speak to the patient and get himto '

reply. Another person is then told to addre ss him,

and if the questions he mayput fail to e licit any response ,it will b e evident that the subject is en rapportwith theoperator only , and other tests may b e used , such astickling the nostrils with a feathe r to demonstrate thatanmsthesia exists, and prove the depth o f somnambulism.

Finally , if all the se te sts point to decided somnambulism,

post-hypnotic sugge stions may b e made . T he patientmay, for instance , b e told to Sit on a certain chair, toopen some book at a particular page , or to write a sen

tence leaving out a specified le tter. Negative hallucinations, de lusions o f the sense s , etc .

,can also b e sugge sted .

I ne ed hardly insist that such tests and experiments are

quite inadmissible without the previous consent o f thepatient and the pre sence o f his friends.Hypnotism, as I have already said , ismere ly a psychicalpreparation or vehicle fo r suggestion , and this conditionbe ing induced , it remains for the treatment to b e applied .

T he sugge stions vary, o f course , with the nature o f the

malady to b e treated . I f headache is the chie f symptom,

the head is gently rubbed, while the disappearance o f the

pain and its non-reappearance are suggested . I f sciatica,the course o f the sciatic nerve is rubbed , and the sub sti

tution of warmth for pain is sugge sted. I f insomnia , thepatient is told to fee l sle epy at a certain time , and to sle epsteadily through the night . I f constipation, amotion issuggested at a specified hour— for instance , afterbreakfast.In treating rheumatic affections, the parts are we ll rubbedand the j oints and muscle s exercised bymovements . In

TREATIVENT BY SUGGESTI ON 107

neurasthenia and Spinal irritation , the spine is rubbed and

kneaded . In cases o f amenorrhea , the advent o f the periodis sugge sted at the time when , by inquiry, it is found tob e due .

‘

In moral case s, such as dipsomania, a dislike o f stimulants and a fre edomfromcraving or discomfort is suggested , as also are se lf-control and a de sire for cure . T he

training and tact o f the physician find full scope in theapplication o f suitable sugge stions , and also in the

recognition o f the amenability o f a case to this treatment .T he re sults are often more pronounced andmore rapidthan in most line s o f treatment, and a patient mayawake re lieved or cured o f a long-standing pain or loss o ffunction but it is we ll that ne ither patient nor physicianshould expect too much , and marve llous cure s are apt tob e Short - lived . T he re should , howeve r, b e a steady improvement fromday to day, and if, after a few trials , nochange is observable , I generally give up the case , as be ingunsuited for the treatment . Dr. Liéb eault allows only afewminute s for each case , b ut in many instances it se emsto me de sirable to let the patient re st for twentyminute sor longe r , for wemaywe ll suppose that during that periodsuggestions are working unde r a favourable condition o fthe ne rvous system.

"6 T he treatment should b e repeatedat inte rvals o f notmore than two or three days ; other

Prof. Wood, o f Phi lade lphia, writing to l e Lancet, Jan. 1 1th ,

1890, on hypnotic sugge stion, wh ich he has rec ently stud ied in Paris,and has introduc ed into h is hospital prac tic e , seems to c onsider thatthe hypnotic sleep alone is frequent ly suffi c ient to promote cure

,and

to think that Bernhe imis wrong in attributing eve rything to sugges

tion.

’ I entire lyagree With Dr. Wood that in c ertain c ases o f hysteriaand nervous exhaustion and irritabi lity the physiologica l rest enjoyedduring hypnosis is a powerful and, perhaps, sufi

’iC ie nt fac tor in the

cure ; but it is impossible , e ven in these cases, to e l iminate curativesuggestion, for whe re it is notexpressed by the physic ian i t is under

stood and supplied by auto s- uggestion by the patient D r. Wood’sremark that the atmosphe re o f the Nancy and P aris ho spitals is‘heavywi th faith ’

appl ie s, fortunate ly , to all institutions where cure

work is carried o n. I n London,atpresent, we have not the advantage

o f th is me teo rologic al cond ition, but the re sults are suffic iently satisfac tory in suitable cases.

108 TREA TMENT BY SUGGESTI ON.

Wise incipient improvementmay be checked by a freshre lapse .

I find improvement progre ssive , and cure permanentwhen once achieved . But in many patients there is atendency to give up when a certain amount o f progre sshas be enmade and this tendency should b e strenuouslycombated . In moral cases, it is absolute ly nece ssary tohave the patient under trustworthy observation , SO as toguard against deception and re lapse . I now refuse totreat such case s unle ss the friends are able to give propersupervision ; and even after the cure appears comple te ,the patient , S O I conside r, should be told to reporthimse lfat regular inte rvals for at least a year, for repe tition andre inforcement o f the suggestion.

My practice is to make three or four attempts tohypnotize , and if no effect is produced I fee l that thesubject is not susceptible . In this re spect I confe ss Ilack the confidence and perseverance o f Dr . Moll , whoseems to think that eve ry one can b e hypnotized , by onemethod or another, in course o f time . He re lates howhe tried one patient forty time s ! An expe rience whichspeaks equally for the faith and pe rtinacity o f patient andphysician . I have occasionally , in special case s, madefive or six attempts, but so far I have almost invariablyfound that if no effect is produced at the third Sitting it isuse le ss making further attempts— at least for some timeto come . It is quite probable that circumstance s maychange , and subsequent attempts b e successful . One fre

quently finds the degre e o f hypnotic effort varies . Forinstance , I hypnotized Mr. R in November, 1888 , andnoticed that he fe ll into the fourth stage . He was sufferingfromchronic bronchitis, and was in a low, depre ssed state

o f vitality gene rally . S ubsequently I could never inducemore than the second degree , for as his health improvedhe became le ss susceptible .

A s regards personal qualification , I should say that tactand confidence are the only requirements. Differentpatients require to b e approached in different ways, and


All classe s o f society are represented in this table , whichdoe s not profess to b e anything but a record o f a somewhat limited personal experience . T he English unedu

cated classe s have an invincible distrust to nove lty intreatment, and to this I attribute my almost comple tewant o f succe ss hitherto in public institutions . On mostoccasions, when I have talked to the patient and got himto come tomyhouse , he has been easily hypnotized , andI have no doubt but that when hypnotismbecome s arecognised treatment in hospitals, English experience willnot differ wide ly fromthat o f Nancy . One o f the somnamb ulists is a doctor in large general practice . Myoldest patient was a gentleman o f e ighty-two , who fe llinto the second stage , and was cured in a few days o f anattack o f gouty sciatica, which had always previouslylastedfor weeks. He has been my patient for Seven or e ightyears, so perhaps the therapeutic test is admissible he re .

My youngest patient was a child o f five ,who fe ll into profound sleep at once . Most o f the somnambulists are

women o f neuropathic predisposition , but very few o f

themhad ever had any attack o f ordinary hysteria , andmany o f themare hard-working clerks or good householdmanagers. Five o f the se , however, are boys o f ordinarytype s apparently, and three are adult men o f perhapsmore than average ability and inte lligence . T he profoundsle epers were generally epileptics or persons o f phlegmatictempe rament. I have never se en any untoward symptomsarise frommedical hypnotism, and I can hardly conce ivesuch a thing possible with ordinary care and gentleness .I amquite certain that the patient has in no way fe lt subsequently influenced by the operation, except in the dire ction sugge sted by me and wished for by himse lf. T he

Nancy treatment is e ssentially impersonal , and it is the

patient who hypnotize s himse lf under the suggest ion andguidance o f the physician , and the curative effect gainedis the re sult o f concentration and direction o f the patient’sown facultie s and functions . T he somnambulistmight , Ibe lieve , be made , by frequent induction o f hypnosis, to do


foolish , and even criminal acts, but no sugge stion made toan ordinary subject w ill b e executed unle ss it b e in ac c ordance with his wish . For instance it would be use le ss tosuggest to a staunch te e totaler, in any stage o f hypnosisshort o f somnambulism , that he should drink brandy . T he

sugge stion would de feat its end by arousing indignationand disgust. S uch a sugge stion , opposed to his moralsense ,made to a somnambulist ,might b e obeyed even thefirst time , but it would probably require frequent repetitionto break down resistance and overcome his individuality.

I f the me thod described for producing hypnosis fails,or lose s its effect , I use a modification . Instead o f the

fingers the patient mayb e told to look at a bright metaldisc or coin , or the skin o f the forehead mayb e gentlyrubbed while the gaze is fixed on a distant object . S ometime s ve rbal sugge stion tends to keep a patient awakeinstead o f inducing sleep, and in many instance smethodswill have to be devised to me e t different idiosync rasie S tT he method of fascination is, I consider, inapplicableand objectionable in ordinarymedical practice , as it introduce s too much personal e lement into the operation , andinduce s a state o f comple te automatism , in which the

subje ct’s ego , or personality, is entire ly suppre ssed (B ine tand Fere) . It is practised by looking fixedly and pertinac iously into the subject

’s eye s at the distance o f a few

inches, and at the same time holding the hands. In afew minutes all expression goe s out o f the face , and thesubject se e s nothing but the operator’s eyes, which Shinewith intense brilliancy, and to which he is attracted asa ne edle -to amagne t .Voisin adopts this plan with insane patients

,and some

time s succeeds when he has failed by all othermethods . Insuch cases, o f course , any means are permissible , as byhypnotismand sugge stion he has succe eded in cuttingshort attacks o f mania, and curing various intractablemental conditions .Dr. Voisin’s practice require s a few words o f explanation . Many observers contend that as hypnotic sugges


tion is e ssentially a psychical treatment , and dependentfor its success on healthful stimulation o f the brain centres ,it is inapplicable when the c entral organ is diseased . Itis ce rtainlymost difficult to hypnotize thementallyaffe cted,whe the r the condition b emania , dementia ,me lancholia, oridiocy . Neverthe le ss Voisin finds he succeeds in about ten

per cent. o f case s . But his physical strength , enthusiasm,

and patience enable himto do what few men would careto try. He

'

will spend an hour a day attempting to hypnotize one patient , and will fe e l amply rewarded if aftertwenty operations he achieve s an alleviation or cure .

When he read his paper be fore the British Medical Association at Le eds , in 1889 , his listeners could only ex

pre ss astonishment at his me thod and its re sults . Dr .Voisin has done much good work in other branche s o f

medical science , and practise s with such openne ss andpublicity at the S alpétriere , that no one can fail to b eimpressed by his te stimony .

P ersonally, I have succe eded in somewhat benefitingme lancholia in two or three cases, and in removing slightbut trouble some and long-standing de lusions in se ve ralinstances ; and in a case o f re tarded brain deve lopmentin a boy considerable improvement is obse rvable ; butin mental disease s generally, I have as a rule failedto produce the slightest hypnotic influence .

Dr. Fore l , o f Ziirich , finds he can hypnotize evenmorethan ten per cent . o f the insane who are confined in thepublic asylum, o f which he is superintendent , but he ex

presse s great disappointment w ith the re sult (op.

Even when he has obtained advanced somnambulism, so

that the patient has proved anae sthe tic , and susceptibleto negative hallucinations, he has often failed to removea fixed de lusion . Fo r instance

,Madame A fancied

herse lf Madame B S he was very susceptible tohypnotism, and Dr. Fore l assured her in the somnambulic state that she was Madame A and not B

She only Shook her head , and even in this state re fusedto part with her de lusion . Dr . Fore l , however, obtains


and slightly as regards the local symptoms after amonth’streatment . S uch case s give strength to my contention,that the treatment should b e employed by the attendantphysician , and not as a speciality by a hypnotist. Theyrequire time , and the patient is apt to re sent a longcourse o f visits froma stranger, whereas he would b eonly too pleased to see his own doctor as often as was

nece ssary .

I have failed to get any improvement in a case o f

paralysis o f the right armdependent on spinal sclerosis ;nor have I been more successful with an old standingright hemiplegia, with late rigidity, in a young man of

twenty-one , dating from an attack o f infantile c onvul

sions, and dependent on cerebral le sion .

‘ I gave up acase of congenital chorea , as it was impossible to te ll ifthe patient— a boy a

'

ged e ight , o f weak inte lligence , butgreat cunning— were really influenced , or was only pretending . I amunable to saymuch o f its use in epilepsy.

In some case s the fits have diminished in number andintensity at first , but they have generally reasserted themse lves . S everal time s, however , I have persuaded the

patient to leave off taking bromide s, and have generallyfound that hypnotic sugge stion , as long as it is used , willenable the sufferer to dispense with drugs . I n case s o fbromism. this is by nomeans a small gain . I have triedhypnotismas an aid to treatment in stammering, but Ihave not been impressed with its value . P robably, in

The improvement I have seen result fromsuggestion in two cases

of locomotor ataxy would encourage me to trythe treatment in organicc erebro -spinal d iseases. Drs. Fontan and Segard , Professors at the

Med ical S chool of T oulon,have published in the ir E lements de

Médec ine S uggestive c l inical notes o f a case o f disseminated sc lerosisof the cord . T he patient improved so much under hypnotic treatment that doubts were thrown on the accurac y of the d iagnosis but

the man re turned to the hospital the following year and d ied there of

acute tuberculosis. A careful necropsy was made , which revealedvery extensive patches of sc lerosis, chiefly in the left lateral column,

and rendered the improvement somewhat extraordinary. A s Bernhe imsays, there is, no doubt, a great deal o f sympathe tic and func tional disturbance of the ne ighbouring centres and struc tures in many formsof c erebro-spinal d isease , and it is this e lement which can b e reachedbysuggestion.

TREA TMENT BY SUGGESTI ON

the case o f young children , it would prove useful beforethe habit has become permanent and fixed . In in

c ipientme lancholia, and in depre ssion o f spirits short o fthis condition , I have found it o f service ; but hitherto Ihave failed to notice much effect fromit when the condition was o f long standing. On several occasions I havesucceeded in removing false ideas, as in the case o f agentleman who was afraid to enter a dark room in cousequenc e o f having be en frightened by ghost stories whena child . One frequently findsmorbid fixed ideas dependupon a sugge stion made in early life , and the se are we llmet by a course o f counter-sugge stion . Hypnotismintroduces one to curious historie s, and I unde rtook, with someconfidence , the case o f a gentleman , aged fifty

,who for

thre e years has suffe red froma curious antipathy, ap

parentlyhalf-mental and half-physical . He is unable toremain in the roomwith his younge st son , a bright , inte lligent boy o f twe lve , on account o f the fee ling o f restle ssne ss which come s over him, followed by flushing o f

the face , noises in the ears, confusion o f thought , andpalpitation o f the heart . He is perfectly sane , and holdsan important financial position , and there is absolute lyno cause to account for the sensation .

* T he fee ling isconfined to this particular boy . At first I found it

T he subsequent history o f this case is of interest. I n D ec ember,1889, the gentleman came to see me

,not as a patient, butas esc ort to

a lady who wished to b e hypnotized. T he lady was nervous, and Mr.

X offered to let me demonstrate the process on him. T o our

mutual surprise he yie lded to the soporific influenc e , and fe ll into thesec ond stage of hypnotic sleep, after look ing at a bright disc he ldabove his eyes for a c ouple o fminutes, and I was atonc e able tomakesuggestions c ombating his de lusion. He experienced less d iscomfortthan usual fromhis son’s presenc e that evening, and there was no

difficulty in hypnotizing himsubsequently. He can now,after twenty

operations, remain in the roomwith the boy for two hours ata timewithout suffering, and I have no doubt b ut that he wi ll b e entirelyre lieved of his trouble in a fewmore sittings. T he morbid idea was o fthree years

’persistenc e , was steadi ly inc reasing in intensity up to the

time o f his be ing first hypnotized, and was a cause o f serious d istressand worry to him. I had endeavoured to influenc e h imno less than tentimes previously with absolute ly no e ffe c t, and I attribute myultimatesuccess to the fac t that his mind was taken off its guard ; and the

nervousness, and unc onsc ious resistance , which had prevented any

8— 2

1 16 TREATMENT BY SUGGESTI ON

impossible to influence him sufficiently to maste r thiside

’efixeIn many forms o f genito-urinary trouble s I have found

sugge stion a useful auxiliary in treatment , nor is this to b ewondered at when we consider the amount of functionaldisturbance which is pre sent in the se case s . In manyforms o f rheumatismthe effect o f hypnotic treatment is atfirst sight surprising . It very frequently removes pain evenin chronic rheumatoid arthritis . There is a great deal o fneuralgiamixed up with most kinds o f rheumatism, andsuggestion enable s us to me e t this and at the same timeto bring about an alteration in the local blood-supply,e specially if aided by friction .

I have succe eded on two or three occasions in breakingdown adhesions about rheumatic joints without pain ,when the patient would not allowme to touch theminh is normal state .

In various small surgical procedure s , such as lancingwhitlows, opening abscesse s, etc .

,I have found hypnotism

a use ful anaesthe tic ; and it is evident that in certaino pe rations in which chloroform is inadmissible , e itherfromthe condition o f the patient or fromthe locality o fthe operation , hypiiotismmayb e a valuable substitute d“T he casual and care le ss application o f hypnotic sug

ge stion will b e no te st o f its value , and handing it ove r tounscientific and unqualified persons will certainly end ind isaste r.I fmedicalmen will employ the Nancyme thod o f treatment in the ir ordinary practice , they will find it a ve ryuseful auxiliary in many

.

trying, painful, and tediouscase s .T he medical world is familiar with instance s where a

hypnotic effec t when he came as a patient, were no longer existentwhen he re turnedmere ly as a spec tator.

R eaders o f fic tion wi ll remember that Dr. OliverWende ll Holmeslearnedly d iscusses a somewhat simi lar train of symptoms, uponwhichhe founds his nove l, A Mortal A ntipathy.

’

I t has been used in this wayat the Paris hospitals, and notably ino ne case of ovariotomy atthe Hote l D ieu.

118 TREATMENT BY SUGGESTI ON!

prac tice . I n thiscase and all others I find the patient'

s co -operation isabsolute ly necessary to suc cess, and I have always failed to produceanyeffec t upon himand others when I have e ither asked themto resist, or when there has been some disturbing emotional e lementpresent. T his is an important fac t in face o f the statement some timesadvanced, that after be ing hypnotized the patient is unable to resistsubsequent attempts. I speak here only of medical hypnotism.

T hough I have fai led to find the inhalation o f chloroformofmuch use ininduc ing hypnosis in the four or five intrac table cases where I havetried it, such has not been the experienc e o f some other observers.

D r. A bdon S anchez Herrero, Professor o f Clinical Med ic ine in theU niversity o f Valladolid, contributed to the congress a paper on

Forced Hypnotisation C omptes R endus,’p. He,followingup

the experiments o f Dr. R ifat, o f S alonica, found that there is a Shortperiod during the inhalation of chloroformwhen the subjec t is as opento outside suggestion as in somnambulism, and this stage is, he says.at the end o f the period of nervous exc itement, and before that o fde l irium— a Spac e o f very Short duration, some times only o f a few

seconds. Dr. Herrero experimented on six patients, whomhe hadpreviously found to be abso lute ly insusceptible to hypnotism afterrepeated and long-continued attempts. He failed in the first twoc ases owing, as he thinks, to allowing the favourablemoment to passb ut in the other four he was suc c essful in hitting upon the exac tperiod of

‘suggestibility .

’T o the first he suggested ready susc epti

b'

ity to ordinary hypnotismthe fol lowing day, and as a re sult thehit “

erto intrac table pat ient was hypnotized by a fewminutes’simplefixation of the eyes the nextmorning. He suggested to the other threepatients daily increasing susc eptibil ity to the ac tion o f ch loro form, and

finally the produc tion o f anaesthesia and unconsc iousness w ithout thedrug. I n each case he was suc cessful within a week in reduc ingthequantity o f c hloroform to the vanishing-

point , and in induc ingwhatwas prac t ical ly hypnotic somnambulismby simple suggestion. Dr.

Herrero has continued his researches and fee ls himse lf justified inasserting that in chloroformwe have an aid to hypnosis whic h willenable us to hypnotize th e most intrac table cases, and he proposes itas an alternative to the terribly fatiguing and somewhat repulsiveme thod pursued by Dr. Voisin

,at the S alpétriere , in cases o f insanity.

T his paper throws a light on the induc tion o f ane sthesia in Mr.

Braine’s case (quoted p. and also on Bernhe im’s assert ion that hefinds the ac tion o f chloro formgreatly re inforced by suggestionsmadewhilst administering the anae sthe tic .

I should here like to add a word of caution which is renderednec essary by the extensive advertising o f hypnotismas a panacea fordrunkenness. I amthorough ly conv inced o f the value o f hypnoticsuggestion as an aid to mora l reform

, and I look forward to a timewh en i t wil l b e used at all re treats for inebriates and other re formativeinstitutions ; but I re cognise its l imits, and I know that its indiscriminate employment wi l l only bring disappointment to the patientsand d iscred it to the system.

When we consider that hypnotizing simply intensifies to a notableextent the influence of suggestion on the bodily func t ions andmentalcharac teristics, we see how its curative scope is nec essari ly limited bypathological and other c ondi tions, and how illogical it is to expec tmirac les in the wayofmoral reformation fromit alone . Granted the

patient has preserved some degree of se lf-control and has a strong

TREATMENT B Y S UGGE S T I ON. 119

desire to b e cured, i t is possible that successmayresult fromthe use o fhypnotic suggestion even when the surroundings continue unsatisfac

tory. U nder such c ircumstances I know that publicans have be encured without leaving the irbusiness, and soldiers without quitting the irregiment b ut I regard these cases as exceptional, and in longstand ing or inherited dipsomania I consider removal fromtemptationan essential cond ition o f suc c ess.

A fter a period o f treatment, varying in difl'

erent cases, a new per

sonalityor c onsc ienc e is produced, and the patient can re turn to hisformer assoc iat ions and friends so protec ted as to be safe fromre lapse .

T he time nec essary for restraint or c lose observat ion is fromthree tosix we eks, and after that he should b e under observation for at leasta year, and the sugge stion should be repeated at lengthening intervalsduring that time . I t is by no means ne c essary that the patient shouldspend anyportion o f the time in a re treat if e ffic ient control and ob ser

vation c an b e exerc ised by a trustworthy re lation, friend , or attendant .Wemust remember that atfirst every public -house offersa sugge stion todrink

,and every boon companion cal ls up assoc iations o f ideas con

nected with former se lf- indulgenc e, and opposed to the suggestions wehave endeavoured to implant.I was induc ed last year to undertake the case o f a medical man,

whose surroundings were extreme ly unsatisfac tory, but the patient expressed a great desire to b e cured, and proved a very susc eptible sub

ject. D ipsomaniac s are notoriously untrustworthy, and in a few days Ifound on inquiry that h ispro testations were false , and that h e hadmadeno attempt to avoid temptation, but rather put himself in its way.

U nder suc h c ircumstanc e s the treatment had not a chanc e , and as he

refused to submit to restraint I at onc e abandoned it.I n another case , which has sinc e turned out most suc c essful , the

gentleman had a re lapse atthe end o f a week, in c onsequenc e o f be inginsuffic iently guarded fromspec ial temptation. He at onc e toldme o f

h is fault, and explained how d iffi cult he had found i t to ac tagainsthypnotic suggestion and take the first glass o f spirits. I t was a realbattle , so he said, with his new consc ienc e , in which consc ienc e nearlywon the day. A fter a month’s hypnotic treatment he seemed positivelyproof against temptation, and ll could trust h imanywhere alone .

I t is now a year sinc e the treatment was commenced, and he has re

mained a consistent abstainer, though he has paid me four or fivev isits for renewal and re inforcement o f the anti-alcoholic suggestions.

T he four other cases I treated in the first half o f last year have beenequal ly suc c essful, and in none o f themhas there been a re lapse fromthe beginning.

T he above observations apply w ith inc reased cogency to treatmento f the morphia habit by hypnotic sugge st ion. I t is we ll known thatthis habit is more de eply impressed on the systemthan alcoholism

,

and that morphinomaniac s are even less trustworthy in the ir resolutions and protestations than drunkards. I n treating themorphia habitit is therefore necessary to have the patient under very effic ient ob servation, and i t is desirab le to induce the most advanced degree ofhypnosis possible , in order that suggestionmayactwi th themost c omplete effec t.


C HAPTER VI I I .

Part I . —S ome cases suc c essfully treated by Hypnotismand S ugges

tion by Fore ign A uthors : 1. A ggravated Hysteria ; 2. HystericalA phonia ; 3. Chorea ; 4 . Hysteria ; 5. Pseudo-paralysis ; 6. Wri ter’sCramp ; 7 . R heumatism 8. A rticular R heumatism 9 . Neuralgiao f F ifth Nerve 10. S c iatica ; 11 . Noc turnal E nuresis 12. Amenorrhoea ; 13. Menorrhagia ; 14 . Partial Hemiplegia ; 15. Hypochon

driasis 16. Puerperal Mania 17. Hysteria and the Chloral Habit18 . M oral Deprav ity ; 19. Neuralgia and Hemiplegia ; 20 . Headache and D yspepsia ; 21. Chronic A lcoholism; 22. Neurastheniaand D efic iency o f S al iva ; 23. Confinement under Hypnotism;24. Loss o f Speech for E ight Years.

Part 11.— S ome cases treated by th e A uthor : 1. I nsomnia ; 2. Neur

asthenia ; 3. Writer’s Cramp ; 4 . T abes Dorsal is ; 5. T orticoll is ;6. T raumatic Headache ; 7 . C hronic D iarrhoea ; 8 . ParoxysmalS nee zing ; 9 . Chronic C onstipation ; to . Supra

-orbital Neuralgia ;1 1. Spinal Irritation 12. Func tional Heart-trouble ; 13 . S ymptomsdependent on Organic Heart D isease ; 14 . E nuresis Noc turna ; 15.

Gouty S c iatica ; 16. Chronic R heumatism 17. Nervous Dyspepsia ;18 Amenorrhoea 19. FunctionalDysmenorrhoea ; 20. Post-P artnrition T roubles ; 21. D ipsomania ; 22. Moral Case ; 23. Inc ipientMe lancholia.

I N this chapter I propose to give an extract o f casessucce ssfully treated by hypnotic suggestion from the

writings o f P rofe ssor Bernhe imand others . Most o f thereports are much abridged fromthe originals .

C A SE 1 .— A ggravatecl Hysteria for ayear completelyC ured by

S uggestion in T hree S e’ances.

*

Madame X aged 26 ; mothe r of two children . Alady o f good constitution and live ly temperament . S he

had not suffered fromany symptomo f hyste ria until 1885,when an attack was brought on by some dome stic trouble .

Fromthat time any annoyance induced a nervous crisis ;otherwise she continued in good health .

Bernhe im,op. cit. , p. 399.


cured in e ight days" (the following Tue sday) . He continued to hypnotize her daily, and each day he caused herto repeat that she was to b e cured on the Tuesday . Whenthat day came she was quite unconscious o f havingmadethis prophecy, she was still voice le ss, and was hypnotizedas usual . Dr. Bernhe imtold '

her she must Speak whenhe awoke her, and impre ssed her strongly with this idea .

On arousing her she said in a feeble voice , I think Leanspeak now .

’T he voice became gradually stronger , and

by the evening was re stored to its normal quality andvolume . Dr . Bernhe imgives many othe r cure s o f hysteric al aphonia , several o f themafter one séance .

C A SE 3 .— C horeic M ovements of the H ands and I nability to

Write, C ured byHypnotic S uggestion.

Victorine A aged I Z§ o f lymphatic tempe ramentand good constitution , affected with c horea o f the rightside . It appears that when She was fourand a halfyears oldShe suffe red fromgeneral chorea , brought on by fright . Itwas a very severe attack, as She could ne itherwalk nor talk,and had great d ifficulty in eating. It lasted threemonths .A second attack o f the same kind came on when she wasseven and a half. S he was attacked a th ird and fourth timeat inte rvals o f two years. In the fifth attack She wasbrought to Dr . Liéb eault for treatment . It commencedon May27th , and on that day she had seven ve ry violentfits, on the 28th and 29th the same number, and then shewas hypnotized for the first time . Afte rwards , in the

afternoon , she had two fits Slighter than the precedingone s . On May3 I st again hypnotized . On that day she

had one fit , and then no more until June 9th , when she

re turned to b e treated for a re lapse brought on by fright .P rofe ssor Beaunis happened to be at the dispensary, andhe got the patient to attempt to Sign her name . In spite

I nmany cases i t ismost important to get the patient to fix a timefor his c ure ; the idea bec omes deeply implanted , and, in hystericalcases

,it is generally real ized . Of course, the sleep must b e very pro

found tomake this possible .


o f much effort, the child— a very inte lligent and docilelittle girl— comple te ly failed to make any distinguishable

PLA T E L

le tte r on the paper (P l. Dr. Liéb eault hypnotized her,and while asleep She was directed to write her name . T he

re sult was fairly legible , and she wrote without he sitation

PLA T E 2.

or trembling . S he was soon awakened , and again told towrite . Without difficulty She at once wrote her name andaddre ss in very creditable style (P l. For the next few

124 TREA TMENT BY SU GGESTI ON

days she continued under observation and treatment , andwas then discharged perfectly cured .

P rofessor Beaunis says he make s no remarks on thiscase , as the handwriting appealsmore than words can toan unprej udicedmind .

*

C A S E 4 .— Hysteria , S leeplessness, Wantof A ppetite, Tremors,

D epression of Spirits, C ured by S uggestion in Two S éances.

Mdlle . X aged 27, an inte lligent lady who hadenjoyed good health and Spirits , and was free fromhysteria until August , 1885 ; at that time she had a disappointment which changed everything.

In February, 1886, She consulted D r. Be rnhe im. S he

had then suffered for months from complete want o f

appe tite , sle eple ssne ss, giddine ss, e specially on lying down,terrible dreams when she did Sle ep , and slight musculartremors in the limbs, so thatit was not easy for her to keepher hand steady. S he had been treated with bromide sand antispasmodics without success. He hypnotized herand she Slept easily and profoundly. He sugge sted thedisappearance o f all her trouble s, and after two Seanc esall the morbid symptoms had disappeared, she sleptwe ll ,and ate with appetite . Her Spirits were as good as ever .Dr . Bernhe imadds that she remained we ll .

C A SE 5.— I ntermittentP seudo-P aralysis of the Lower Limbs,

with C onvulsive T rembling of the Legs for nearlyFourYears, C ured byOne Hypnotic S uggestion .

Madame S aged 26. Aftermuch domestic troubleand a bad miscarriage , this lady complete ly lost the use

o f her lower limbs for three months. T he paralysis disappeared as suddenly as it came , but returned again in afew weeks. The se inte rmissions and re lapse s followedeach other every few weeks, up to the time Dr. Bernhe imsaw her, fornearly four years. S he had undergone all kinds

Beaunis, of . cit. , p. 236.


he began to fee l symptoms o f the malady . After writinga few line s all the fingers became contrac ted, and he hadto desist for a time . At first he was able to write againafter a short re st , but gradually the cramp became worse ,so that he was unable to Sign his own name . By meansof various device s he contrived to go on a little longer,but at the time he consulted Dr . Bernhe imhe had beencompe lled for three months to write with his left hand .

He was hypnotized, and at once fe ll into the third degreeo f sleep . Dr. Bernhe imsugge sted the disappearance of

the cramp . On awaking he was able to write two line sand a half without cramp . T he next day he wrote e ightline s without cramp.

On November 215t the patient was able to write abusine ss le tter, and only complained o f fee ling heavinessin the wrist and a Slight tendency to flexion o f the fingers .On November 24th the improvement was still main

tained , and Dr . Liéb eault took charge o f the case duringP rofessor Bernhe im’s absence for two months. In themiddle o f S eptembe r a re lapse took place , and the patientagain became unable to write more than a few line s . He

left o ff treatment , until January 29th , when he again consulted Dr. Bernhe im. Improvement now rapidly set inand progre ssed until, on March zud , he finally discontinuedtreatment , be ing perfectly cured . He has gone back tohis office , and writes all day long without fatigue orcramp .

*

C A SE 7 .

— R heumatic P ains in the S houlder-jointfor ThreeorFourM onths, completely C ured in Two S e

'

ances.

Emile L aged 61 , glass-make r, consulted Dr.

Liéb eault November 3oth . He had never suffe red fromrheumatic fever, but nine years before had had sciaticafor three years .When se en , the pain was in both the shoulde rs, but

e specially the right one , at the place where the collar-bonearticulate s with the scapula . There was also a tende r

Bernhe im, op. cit., p. 486.

TR E A TM E NT BY SUGGESTI ON 127

spot above the anterior superior Spine o f the iliumon theleft side . It was most fe lt on stooping. Beside s all thisthere were pains in both knee s. T he patient was hypnotized, and fe ll into a light sleep . On awaking the painsin the knees were gone , and those in the shoulder weremuch better . He had been unable for three weeks todre ss himself, but now he was able to do so .

On November grd he was again hypnotized , and againslept lightly . He awoke perfectly cured , and remainedso .

‘

C A SE 8.— A rticular R heumatismfor Three Months, C ured

by S uggestion in Two Days.

Jeanne M aged 17 , consulted Dr . Bernhe imAugust 3rd , 1887 . S he was brought to the hospital in acarriage , and into the consulting-room supported withdifficulty by two pe rsons, be ing quite unable to standalone . S he was lymphatic , pale and thin , and had hadan attack o f hysteria brought on by chagrin some monthsbe fore .

S ince May she had suffered fromsub -acute rheumatism ,

which had gradually and steadily become worse .

Dr . Bernhe im found that both wrists were extreme lypainful , but not swollen . T he first joints o f the fingerswere greatly swollen and acute ly painful on pre ssure . T he

left knee was slightly swollen and very tende r. T herewas also pain be low the right ankle and in the j oints o f

the toes. T he spine was tender on pressure .

The re was also amenorrhoea, leucorrhoea, and sle eplessne ss . T he patientwas hypnotized and fe ll into a soundsleep.

On August 6th , after two Seanc e s, she fe lt verymuchbette r. S he slept we ll , had a good appe tite , and hadhardly any pain. T he swe lling o f the joints had almostentire ly disappeared , and there was only tenderness

1M . p. 539


o n pre ssure . S he was again hypnotized , and the sug

ge stion made that she should fee l nomore pain.

On August 8th she re turned comple tely we ll and curedo f all the symptoms, was able to walk pe rfectly and witho ut any pain, and was altoge the r a changed person.

*

C A S E 9 .

— Neuralgia of the Fifth Nerve for a Year, with T icdoloureux for a M onth R apid Improvementand C ure inT en D ays.

C harle s X aged 60, ente red the hospital July 27th ,1885. H is trouble had commenced a year before with painin the right side o f the nose . T he pain came on seve raltime s a day, and lasted from a few minute s to severalhours. S ince four weeks the pain had Spread to the eye ,

the forehead , and all the right side o f the face . It wasvery acute , and came on in paroxysms eve ry hour or two ,

and lasted about half an hour. In the intervals therewas no pain , but only a fee ling o f burning . T here waslacrymation during the attacks, and they were also aecompanied by convulsive movements o f the face .

T he patient was strong and we ll othe rwise for his age .

Dr . Bernhe imfound the points o f exit Of the branches o f

the fifth nerve sensitive to pre ssure , and all the rightc heek tender to the touch . On July 28th , the firstattempt to hypnotize himwas unsucce ssful but on July3oth he was successfully operated on , and when he awokehe fe lt much be tte r . In the afternoon he had paroxysmso f pain , but less intense , and he Slept be tte r that nightthan he had done forweeks .He was hypnotized about every second day until

August 9th , by which date he was pe rfectly cured , andhe remained we ll .

C A S E 10.— S ciatica for S even Weeks, C ured by S uggestion in

S ix D ays.

Joseph L aged 44 , shoemaker, was admitted intothe hospital under Dr. Bernhe imMay 15th , 1885. He

Bernhe im,op. cit.

, p. 544 .


she fe lt distended , a sense o f constriction round the waist ,and other symptoms re ferred to the same cause . S he

was a regular patient o f Dr. Liéb eault’s, and she readily

fe ll into a profound sleep . Dr. Bernhe imsugge sted thatthe function should b e re -established on Novembe r 3oth ,

and made the patient repeat the suggestion after h im.

On November 3oth she came to te ll him that it hadhappened as he suggested . He hypnotized her again ,and suggested Decembe r 28th for the next period . Thisalso was realized .

*

C A SE 13 .

— M enorrhagia aboutevery Twelve D ays. A ltered

by S uggestion to Twenty- eightor Twenty

-nine Days and

finally C ured.

Madame H aged 35, mother o f three children , theyounge st o f which is nine years o ld. Hysterical, but o fgood constitution . Be fore she had had children theperiod used to come on every thre e w e eks , but for twoyears it had returned about every twe lve or fourte en days,or even at shorter intervals . It was accompanied bypain and hysterical trouble s , and was ve ry copious. T he

patient readily fe ll into a profound sle ep , and Dr. Bernhe im sugge sted that the next should not come on untilOctober 9th , should only last thre e days, and should notb e accompanied by anypain .

S eptember 27th . This was the fifth séance , and the

sixte enth daysince her last pe riod . S he fe lt premonitorysymptoms o f its re turn— such as headache , and pain inthe back . T hese symptoms, however, passed o ff, and bymeans o f sugge stions repeated every second day the

period was re tarded until the night o f October 6th and

7th , o r twenty-Six days . T his was the first time in her lifethatthere had beenmore than twenty-one days

’interval, and the

firsttime for twoyears thatitexceeded sixteen days. It lastedthre e days, was unattended with pain , and was le sscopious than usual.

Bernhe im, op. cit., p. 557.

TR E A TME NT B Y S U GGE S TI ON. 131

On Octobe r 18th , Dr . Bernhe imre commenced hypnotictreatment, and sugge sted that the next period Should b eon December 4th or 5th , and henceforth every four weeksIt appeared at the end o f twenty-four days . T he

treatment was continued until the following May, bywhich time the function was thoroughly regulated. andoccurred every twenty -

e ighth or twenty-ninth day, without pain, or other abnormal symptoms . During the

treatment a number o f ne rvous and catarrhal symptomsdisappeared .

*

C A SE 14 .— P artial P aralysis of the LeftS ide for E ightD ays.

R apid Improvement under S uggestion, and almostC omplete C ure in T hree Weeks.

Louis C aged 60, house -painter, was taken intothe hospital Novembe r 7th , 1886. He had enjoyed goodhealth until six days be fore , when he had suddenly fe lt aSensation o f we ight in the le ft leg. He re turned home ,

and two hours late r fe lt the same sensation in the le ftarm, accompanied by a pricking, which still continued

when he entered the hospital. In the evening he was no

longer able to use h is le ft leg.

Dr. Bernhe imfound the temperature and pulse normal ,the arterie s atheromatous and rigid . T he feature s deviatedmarkedly to the right . T he patient sat up in b ed withdifficulty, and was unable to fully raise his le ft arm,

whichwas also weak and easily tired . H e was unable to stand .

Wh'

en lying down he was able to raise the le ft leg, butcould not ke ep it up formore than four o r five seconds .T he reflexe s were diminished , and he was unable to bendthe instep . S ensibility normal . C onstipation fo r fourdays

, for which he was given an enema .

On November 9th the patient was hypnotized , and fe llBernhe im, op. cit., p. 560. T he effec t o f imagination and emotion

inmod ifying the renal, alvine , uterine ,‘

lac teal and other se c re tions isso we l l known

,that the striking results produced by hypno tic sugges

tion in the ir func tional d isturbanc e is not to b e wondered at. I n

Carpenter’s Physiology (lac. cit. ) numerous examples are given.

132 TR E A TM E NT B Y S U GGE S TI ON

at once into a profound sleep . On awaking he was ableto hold up the left leg for ten seconds, and to bend the

toe s be tter .H e was hypnotized the 1 1th and 16th , with only slight

effe ct. On Novembe r 17th , after the sugge stion , he was

able to stand alone , and to walk with ve ry little assistance .

On Novembe r 19th he was able , after be ing hypnotized ,to walk the length o f the ward without he lp . He couldhold the leg up when lying down for an indefinite time ,and had quite regained powe r over it . T he reflexe s we reslightly increased .

He progressed steadily eve ry day , and was able to walkdownstairs on Decembe r 2nd . He still , howeve r, fe lt aheavine ss in the armand leg, which prevented his usingthe brush or climbing ladders so we ll as formerly.

*

Profe ssor Bernhe im fully de scribe s one hundred andfive cases o f many kinds o f disease treated by hypnoticsugge stion . Among the se are seve ral example s o f gravecerebral and spinal disease , in which the treatmentse emed to prolong life , and o f which it certainly re lievedthe suffering .

Examination after death often revealed a great amounto f disorganization , so that it se emed extraordinary thatany treatment c ould bring about much improvement . He

explains the good effe cts which attend sugge stion, even

where there has be en extensive haemorrhage into thebrain tissue followed by atrophic changes, by insisting thatin disease o f the nervous centres, functional derangementoften exists quite out o f proportion to . the actual le sion ,i.e . , haemorrhage may destroy a portion o f the brain sub

stance , and this may react on the ne ighbouring zone s byse tting up sympathe tic irritation .

N e ithe r sugge stion nor anything e lse c an , o f course , doanything to restore the disorganized brain tissue ; but itis all-powe rful , he obse rves, in the treatment o f the sympathe tic and functional troubles which accompany sucha condition (op. cit. pp . 308

Bernhe im,Op. cit.

, p. 342.

134 TREA TMENT B Y SUGGE STI ON

Hypnotic treatment combined with suggestion wasemployed to combat them. T he narcotics were graduallydiscontinued , the spasms ceased, the natural sle ep wasregained by degrees, so that she was dismissed cured .

Braidismwas tried without suggestion at first , but itonly aggravated the symptoms .

C A SE 18.

— Moral D epravityin a B oy, C ured by S uggestion.

*

On June 9th , 1888 , M . F a youth aged 16, wasbrought to Dr. Voisin at the S alpétriére . Fromthe age

o f six or seven he had be en incorrigible . Not only did hete ll lies, steal , play truant , and behave ill generally , but healso tried to corrupt all the children w ith whomhe camein contact . He became worse and worse as he got olde r,and was turned out o f several institutions into which hismother had procured his admission . (Dr. Voisin describe s some o f his vice s , which are unfit for repe tition ,

and which prove the youth to have been utterly depravedand bad .) On examination h e was found to have an

internal squint o f the le ft eye , nystagmus , and hazinesso f the cornea . T he tongue deviated to the le ft . Otherwise he was we ll-made and healthy. He read with difficulty

,and was very ignorant , though his memory and

power o f observation were sufficiently good .

Dr. Voisin endeavoured to hypnotize him, but was notsucce ssful until the third séance . Once asle ep , sugges

tions o fmoral re formwere made .

H e began to improve at once , and by July 6th the

youth was absolute ly transformed . T he wish to do evilfirst disappeared , and was then replaced by a de sire to doright . His insubordination and disobedience had givenplace to a wish to please hismother. H e expressed toDr. Voisin the happine ss he fe lt at be ing thus changed .

He saw the doctor again on October 6th , six we eks afte r

the discontinuance o f the treatment, and the cure wasmaintained .

Voisin, R evue de l’Hypnotisme, November, 1888.

TR E A TM E NT B Y S U GGE S TI ON. 135

Dr. Bernhe imand Dr . Liébeault gave Several instance so f cures o f moral diseases. T he former, afte r describinga somewhat similar case to the above , asks if he can b eaccused o f tampering with the child’s free -will because hehas repre ssed his bad qualities (op. cit. , p .

C A SE S C ONT RIBUT E D BY D R . V AN EE DE N, OF AM ST E RDAM .

C A SE 19 .— Neuralgia of the Neck and LeftS houlder. P ara

lysis of the LeftA rmand Leg, of Syphilitic Origin.

A . H aged 34 , is a strongly-built man, with anoriginally good constitution . He became infected e ightyears ago. Thirteenmonths ago he was suddenly attackedwith total loss o f power in the left armand leg.

On October 9th he consulted Dr. Van Eeden , and wasthen suffering from severe pain in the neck and leftshoulder, which had lasted two months . T he pain prevented his sle epingmore than an hour or two at night .H e had partially re covered fromthe paralysis, but fo r fivemonths no progress had be en made . He was unable tofully raise the le ft arm, to Open the hand , or extend thefinge rs . Antisyphilitic treatment had produced no effectfor some months .T he patient was hypnotized in the usual way, and thesecond degre e o f somnolence (slight catalepsy) was produc ed . While in the hypnotic state suggestions weremade to le ssen the pain , and the rigidity o f the semiparalyzed limbs was re laxed by suggestions and activeand passive movements . On awaking, the pain was fo undto be much re lieved , and at night he slept for hours .T he treatment was continued daily for six weeks. ByOctober 12th the pain had entire ly disappeared, and heenjoyed e ight hours’sle ep every night hence forth .

Movements were constantly employed during the hypnotic state , and power gradually re turned to the limbs, sothat by November 8th the patient could extend all the

fingers o f the left hand , and keep the armin a horizontalposition for a considerable time . When treatment wasdiscontinued after S ix we eks he could make all the move

I 36 TR E A TM E N T B l’S U GGE S TI ON.

ments o f the armand hand fre e ly . H is walking powe rhad also greatly increased.

C A SE 20 .— C ephalalgia , Gastrodynia, Dyspepsia.

T he patient , a little girl o f e ight , is a de licate child , andhas suffered fromcontinuous headache , want o f appe tite ,and pain in the stomach . S he rises nearly every daywith a bad headache , and twice or thrice a we ek she i sobliged to stay in b ed on account o f the pain . T he

stomach pains occur irregularly, last only a short time ,and are ve ry severe . S he never has had a good appe tite .

Once only has She be en free frompain— aboutthree yearsago , fo r a fortnight .On S eptembe r 16th the child was hypnotized by Dr.Van Eeden for the first time . T he Sle ep produced wasprofound , as is usual with children . In the first sittingthe pain was qu ite removed by suggestion , and did not

return fo r two we eks, though there was only one consultation . S ince S eptember 16th She has only twice hadheadache , and this was each time at once removed bysuggestion . T he child remains under treatment , as suchcase s necessarily require a long course . T here has beenno pain in the stomach sinc e her first visit , the appe titeis be tte r, and the child

’s general health more satisfactory

than it has be en for years.

C A SE 21 .— C hronic A lcoholism.

M . G a we ll -to -do man o f 49 , had for sixteen orsevente en years constantly drunk alcohol to excess. H e

has never during all that time given it up . On his be stdays he has only taken four to e ight glasse s o f cognac, butmostly he has drunk twenty ormore . He has had severalattacks o f deliriumtremens, and h is mental facultie s are

much de teriorated . He is unable to apply himse lf to anybusine ss requiring thought or attention , and is unable towrite his name . His face is covered with pustules o f acne .

On S eptember 27th he was hynotized ,and fe ll into a

light sleep . Dr. Van Eeden suggested disgust for stimu

138 TR E A TM E N T BY S U GGE S TI ON

impressed by its candour and impartiality , and by theevident absence o f exaggeration , which often se ems lnseparable fromthe advocacy o f a new treatment , and whichis certain to prejudice the professional mind against it .They attachmuch importance to the presence o f a favourable environment and to the obse rvance o fminutiw. Theycontend that by suggestion in the hypnotic state they canrestore the balance o f health by suppressing morbidaction and by deve loping the vismedicatrix naturce . T heyseek onlyto obtain the lighter grade s o f hypnosis in orde rthat the re may b e no possible interference with the

patient’s free -will or individuality .

Drs. Van Eeden and Van R enterghemhave practisedtreatment by sugge stion among the uppe r and middleclasses o f Amsterdamfor three years, during which timethey have applied the systemin several hundred cases .They were both previously fo r many years in ordinarypractice , and the ir te stimony to the value o f hypnotismand sugge stion is there fore o f great value .

In dipsomania they have be en ve ry succe ssful , and alsoin the treatment o f bad habits and perve rted instincts .I n affe ctions o f the genito -urinary organs they haveachieved good results , and also in many forms o f dys

pepsia and intestinal trouble . In morphinomania theyhave been successful when they have produced somnambulism.

Like all physicians who have tried hypnotic suggestionin rheumatic affe ctions , they express themse lve s pleasedwith the results, and they attribute the beneficial effectpartly to the re lie f o f subj e ctive symptoms, such as pain ,which depress the vitality, and partly to the regulativeaction it exercise s over the circulation and se cre tions .Theymention an intere sting case o f hystero- epilepsy andspontaneous catalepsy o f severalmonths’duration initiatedby the experiments o f a public lecturer on hypnotism.

T he youngman was speedily cured by a course o fmedicalhypnotism.

FromAugust , 1887, to June , 1889 , they treated 4 17

TR E A TM E N T BY S UGGE S TI ON .139

persons by hypnotic suggestion— 219men and 195women .

In re spect to the ir susceptibility they found as followsuninfluenc ed , 15 ; light sle epers , 217 ; profound sleepers,135 ; somnambulists , 47 . A S regards re sults they give thefollowing figures : 53 discontinued treatment after the

first or second visit , 71 were not improved , 92 improved ,98 greatly improved , and 100 were cured .

They agre e with Dr. Fore l that every person in soundmental health is susceptible to hypnotismunde r favourable conditions . T he difficulty be ing to discover

.

the

conditions nece ssary in each ind ividual case , there in lie sthe opportunity for exercising the physician’s tact andsavoirfaire .

The ir success has been chiefly with the neurose s , butthey give particulars o f several case s o f organic diseasewhich have been benefited or cured . Among the se are

one case o f right hemiplegia with aphasia o f threemonths’duration (cured) ; four cases o f hemiplegia (much improved) one case o f paraplegia with loss o f control overthe sphinctfi ficured) . In two case s o f Bright’s diseasethey effe c ted great improvement , and sugge stion se emedto stimulate the kidneys and re lieve the oedema . I nmanyo f the slighter forms o fmental disturbance they have beenvery successful . In epilepsy they have be en unable to domuch good .

C A SE 22 .— Neurasthenia with D eficiency of S aliva and

C onstipationfor Thirty-five Years, C ured by S uggestionfl‘

Madame V aged 55, consulted Dr . Burot in August,1888 . S he had formany years carried on the business o fweaving hemp , and it had be en her habit to moisten thethread with the saliva . When about twenty years o f age

this secretion showed signs o f drying up , and at thesame time obstinate constipation appeared . S he losther appe tite and became anaemic, constantly drowsy,extreme ly weak and feeble , and altoge ther a confirmed

R eported by ProfessorBurot, of R ochefort, R evue de l’Hypnotisme,D ec ember, 1888.

140 TR E A TM E NT BY S U GGE S TI ON

invalid . At forty the change o f life occurred , but itmadeno improvement in her health , which became worse andworse .

Dr . Burot found her suffering frompains all ove r thebody, gene ral malaise and anemia . T he tongue was red

and dry, with prominent papille . There was great dryne sso f the mouth , ve ry deficient dige stion , and obstinate constipation . T he stools were infrequent , and the ir passagecaused intense pain . T he dryne ss o f the mouth oftenprevented sleep . Dr. Burot hypnotized her and sugge stedincreased flow o f the dige stive secre tions, and at thesame time gently rubbed the salivary glands and theabdomen .

After a month’s treatment the patient was cured. T he

mouth became moist , the saliva abundant, dige stion easy,and the bowe ls regular and comfortable . At the sametime the general health was re -e stablished , and she grewstouter and quite strong.

C A SE 23 .— C onfinemenfi

P rofe ssor R amon C ajal o f Barce lona reports a case inwhich he abolished the pains o f labour, without in anyway weakening the power o f the uterine contractions, byhypnotic suggestion . T he woman had be en frequentlyhypnotized previously

,and was themother o f five children .

T he labour was extreme ly rapid (occupying le ss than halfan hour) and was quite painless . On the fifth day shere sumed her household dutie s , and in a fortnight wasquite we ll . Her previous c onfinements had all beentedious.

C A SE 24 .— Functional Dumbness with Melancholy, C ured by

S uggestion.

J . D aged 36, was born o f healthy parents , and waswe ll and strong until her twenty fifth year, when she fe llsuddenly ill . After a violent attack o f hysteria, during

R eported in Brit. M ed.journal, Oct. 9th ,


C A SE 1 .

A . T aged 35, e le ctrician , came tome on FebruaryI st complaining of sleeple ssness. It seemed to date froma severe accident fromthe e xplosion o f a torpedo thre eyears be fore . He is a man o f exceptionalmental activ ity,and the want o f sleep had induced much ne rvous depre ssion and dyspepsia . At whateve r time he went tob ed he awoke at 3 A .M . , and was unable to sle ep aga in .

He was readily hypnotized , and a slightly le thargic condition was induced . S uggestions were made that hewould sleep we ll that night and would not awake at

3 A .M . , but that if he did awake , he would be able tosle ep again . February zud , he reported that he had

awoke the previous night at the usual hour, but had soondropped o ff asle ep again . T he tre atment was repeated .

Feb . 3rd, he had be en awake ned the previous n ight by anoise in the stree t about 4 A .M . , but had fallen asle epagain . 5th , he reported having had two good nights.

One repe tition o f the treatment comple ted the course ,and Since that time he has remained a good sle epe r,ge tting an average o f e ight hours’sleep every night . H isgeneral health has improved to a corresponding extent .This case pre sents several points o f intere st . Though

the patient was only affected to a slight degre e byhypnotism, sugge stion was successful in bre aking a

morbid habit o f thre e years’growth in le ss than a we ek.

Mr. T te llsme he never lie s down during the day, andthat while lying down in my consulting-room he wascomple te ly conscious, but fe lt comfortable and disincline dto move . He was able to open his eye s, but they fe ltsomewhat heavy, and he experienced reflex warmth inanypart whe re I placed myhand and sugge sted it.

C A SE 2.

— Neurasthenia.

R . H an American , aged 43 , pre ss agent , C on

sulted me in June , 1889 , for pains in the back, de

T his case and several o f those followingwere published in theLancet

,A ugust 24, 1889.

TR E A TME N T B Y S U GGE S T I ON 143

pre ssion o f spirits , languor, loss o f appe tite , constipation,

muscularweakne ss, dull pain all over the head , but worsein the forehead and on stooping . He had worked veryhard all his life at newspaper editing . and he looked atleast ten years older than his age .

‘ P hysical examinationrevealed no organic disease , but the heart

’s action was

rapid and fe eble , and he had some tende rness over thedorsal region o f the spine .

He was easily hypnotized , and fe ll into the secondstage . T he treatment consisted in rubbing his spine ,loins and abdomen , and sugge sting increase o f strength ,absence o f pain , and regular action o f the bowe ls everymorning . T he patie nt improved rapidly under treatment,and was able to re turn to America after twenty Operations, quite set up and in good spirits .T his seems to me a typical case o f breakdown in an

ove rworked man o f nervous tempe rament . I allowedhimto remain in the hypnotic state an hour daily, andno doubt the re st was an important factor in the cure .

He was unable to open the eye s , but could raise ordepre ss the arms at will .

C A S E 3.— Writer

’s C ramp .

Alice N cle rk, aged 25, came unde r treatment inMarch , 1889 . S he had had much writing to do , and

since three years had fe lt symptoms o f loss o f power inthe right hand and control ove r the pen . S he had be entreated at a gene ral hospital by galvanism for threemonths w ithout benefit , and had be come so muchworse that she had be en obliged to leave the de sk and

engage in other occupations. S he was also unable to usethe ne edle for any length o f time on account o f crampsupervening . After writing two or three line s , she

experienced crampy pains in the thumb and forefingerand in the flexor muscles o f the forearm. Afte r a fewline s, spasmodic j erking o f the thumb was observed , andthis increased— toge ther with the pains— to such an ex

tent that in less than a minute the patient declared her

144 TR E A TME NT B Y S U GGE S T I ON.

inability to hold the pen any longe r. The re was marke dtenderne ss and so rene ss on pressure ove r the median and

musc ulo - spiral ne rve s. S he was hypnotized , and fe ll intothe third stage . In that condition the muscle s wererubbed, the joints exercised , and suggestions o f impro vementmade .

Afte r a few minute s’re st the patient was directed toagain write , and She found the fatigue and cramp haddisappeared and did not re turn until she had written halfa page . S he came regularly fo r treatment three time sa we ek for twomonths, and at the end o f that time wasable to re turn to her original po st quite cured .

S he was a good example o f the second or catalepticstage (Liébeault) , which she neve r passed beyond . S he

layapparently fast asle ep, was unable to open the eye s ,and re tained the armrigid in any position I placed it .But she remained vividly conscious , and was able torepeat the conversation going on around her, and wouldlaugh , prote st and struggle when told she was unable tomove the arm. This is one o f five case s o f oc cupationne uroses which I have treated by sugge stion . One casewas not susceptible to hypnotism, but all the othersimproved rapidly, and were cured . I Should ce rtainlya lways combine it in the se c ase s with lo cal massage ,though I be lieve at Nancy they use no treatment butverbal suggestion .

C A SE 4 .

— Tabes D orsalis.

’

H . F aged 4 7 , a vale t , came under treatment inMarch . He was pale , anemic and emaciated , and hadan expression and appe aranc e o f great depression . H i sfamily history was good . He had neve r drunk to e xce ss

or had syphilis , and was married and had a he althyfamily . In 1870 he was a soldie r in the German army

,

and was wounded se vere ly in the leg, but made a goodre c overy . In 1884 he had an attack o f what he calls

T his c ase is published in the C omptes R emixes o f the first international c ongress on hypnotism.

146 TR E A TM E N T BY S U GGE S TI ON .

vision —ke epingmyfingers over the eye s for thre e or fourminute s. T he effect was somewhat surprising, for thefollowing day he was able to read ordinary print at a

distance o f six inches with his le ft eye , and to distinguishthe hands o f the clock at two fe e t with his right . A wonderful improvement on h is pe rformance the previous daywhen he could bare ly make out large type (D = 4 ) with thele ft eye , and could not distinguish the nature o f any objectwith the right . But the improvement was only temporary ,and in spite o f repe ated suggestions his Sight had re lapse dto nearly its former condition within a we ek . H e te llsme a somewhat Similar re sult followed some months previo uslythe administration o f strong doses o f strychnine byhypodermic inj e ction . S till he invariably se esmore clearlyand distinctly after be ing hypnotized than be fore , and

whereas his sight was steadily de teriorating previo us tothis treatment , it is now no worse than it was sixmonthsago?

“

P robably the explanation o f the sudden improvement , isthat suggestion had powerfully stimulated the healthynerve e lements to abnormal activity, which , however,could not b e maintained . I mayadd that sugge stion didlittle or nothing for the local ane sthesia , but thatsymptomwas greatly mo dified by a course o f suspensionunder Dr. de Watteville .

T his patient was conscious o f what went o n aroundhim, and by an effort o f attention could follow the c on

versation and repeat its purpo rt, but voice s sounded indistinct and far o ff, and he fe lt very disinclined for exer

tion . I t isthe stage o f automatic continuative movement ,as shown by a simple experiment . I f I give his arms o r

hands a few turns and te ll himto go on with the move

T his inc ident throws some light on cases o f miraculous recoveryo f sight which one reads about as occurring atS alvation A rmy gatherings, etc . I n purely hysterical case s no doubt pe rmanent cure is sometimesbroughtabout bysuggestion, aided by expec tantattention,when thenervous systemis thrown o ff its balanc e by enthusiasmand by theimpressiveness o f the surroundings— is, in fac t, in a condition analogousto hypnosis. One knows that many o f such cases re lapse in a veryshort time when the effec t of exc essive nervous stimulation subsides.

TR E A TAI E N T B Y S U GGE S T I ON. 147

ment , he is unable to stop it , but continue s the actionindefinite ly . H e answers questions addresse d to him,

not only by me but by bystande rs , and he awake s spon ~

taneously in about fifte en minutes. I f told to awake at

the end o f a certain number o f minute s , he will do so

almost to a second .

C A SE 5.

— T orticollis, etc .

W . T aged 34 , consulted me in March , for rheumatismo f the muscle s o f the neck , Shoulders, and back .

S he was a rheumatic subj ect , and the pre sent illne ss datedfromtwo we eks previous, when she had been exposed towet and cold . S he had be en unable since that time to

dress o r undre ss herse lf, and the leastmovement o f thehead o r upper extremities caused pain . T he muscleswere tender to the touch , but there was no swe lling, orconstitutional

. disturbance S he was advised to try

hypnotism, and , with some re luctance , as she said she didno t be lieve in it, She consented . I n less than a minuteshe slept profoundly , and while in the sle ep the affected

muscle s were we ll rubbed , and the head turned in differentdire c tions. W ithin five minute s she was awakened andtold to move her he ad and arms fre e ly . This She didwithout pain, but said there was some stiffne ss remaining .

T he stiffness continued until the follow ingmo rning , whenit disappeared and did not re turn . Faith had nothing todo with this re sult for even after the re lief was given , the

patient re fused to be lieve it could b e anything but temporary.

This patient appeared entire ly unconscious o f the c on

versation go ing on around her, and o f external impre ssionsgenerally , exc ept such as we re rendered apparent to herbymysuggest ions. S he was insensible to pain , as shownby her perfect tranquillity when I moved her head , a

movement she had previously been unable to endure .

Her eyeballs were turned up and the conj unctive werenearly insensible to touch , but the pupils readily c on

tracted to light . S he took no notice o f any sound excep tI O— Z

1 48 TR E A TJI E NT B Y S U GGE S T I ON .

my voice , and did not appear to hear if anyone e lseaddressed her unless I told her to answer. H erpulse andrespiration were Slightly S lower than in the waking state ,

and her aspect generally re sembled that o f profoundnatural sleep . T he kne e -jerk was increased by paresis o fthe inhibitory centre , until I told her to control it, and thenit be came le ss thanS he was not susceptible to post -hypnotic suggestionsregarding actions or conduct , nor to sugge sted hallucinations or de lusions o f the sense s .

C A SE 6.— H eadachefollowing I njury.

E . H post-o ffic e clerk, aged 32, came unde r treatment in July . S he had been knocked down by a bicyclethre e weeks previously, and had fallen with her head

against the curbstone . Her back also had been strained ,and She had pain in raising the left arm.

S he was anemic , and o f neuropathic constitution .

P ressure on the occipital and right parietal region increased the pain , which , howeve r, had neve r le ft her Sincethe accident . S he had been stunned , but not renderedactually unconscious. S he was o ne o f the mostsusceptible subjects I have ever se en , and within half aminute o f be ing told to look atmyfingers and go to sleep,her eye s closed , and she fe ll into a state o f profound somnambulism (6th stage ) . H er head was gently

,and the

shoulders somewhat more vigorously rubbed , and sug

ge stions were made tending to the removal o f pain andshock . I n ten minute s she was awakened by be ing toldto count up to twenty and awake when she gotto the end

a goodme thod , as it avoids giving a sudden shock, andleads up to the change o f state gradually . S he left thehouse absolute ly free frompain , and there has been nore lapse . In a profound somnambulist o f this type , themost advanced phenomena o f hypnotism are demonstrahle . S he is in the same condition, apparently, as case

Dr. Myers te lls me he has seen the knee -jerk apparently suppressed by suggestion in Bernhe im

’s clinique.

130 TR E A TME NT B y S U GGE S TI ON.

hour,during which time she sneezed about forty time s ,

and discharged copiously fromthe eye s . I n addition tothis, for a few days she had suffered frompain afte re ating, flatulence , and constipation . S he was hypnotize dand at once fe ll into a profound sle ep (Liéb eault

’s sixth

stage ) . Her nose was rubbed , and the sugge stion madethat she should sne eze no more . T he stomach was alsorubbed , and the sugge stion made for the regulation o f the

digestive functions. T here was no need to repeat th eoperation , for the paroxysmal sneezing ceased forthwith ,and the digestion became easy and painless. There hasbe en no relapse .

C A SE 9 .— C hronic C onstipation.

Mr. H aged 39 , so licitor, o f lymphatic temperament , consulted me in May, 1889 , for constipation . H e

had led a ve ry sedentary life , and was in the habit o f

taking a good deal o f opening medicine . H is appe titewas capricious and his tongue furred. H e was hypnotize dand rapidly fe ll into the third stage . T he abdomen was

we ll rubbed and a regular motion sugge sted daily afte rbreakfast . T he treatment was almost immediate lybeneficial , and S ix operations sufficed to e stablish aregular after-breakfast habit o f re lief. !

C A SE 10.

— S upra-orbitalNeuralgia .

E . H a stockbroker’s clerk , aged 21 , came to mein July suffe ring fromneuralgia o f ten days’duration . T he

pain came on in paroxysms which were worse at night ,and it was chiefly fe lt over the right eye , where there wasextreme tenderness . But the pain radiated over th e

anterio r part o f the head , and some time s affected th eeye s . He was out o f health generally and ve ry depre sse d .

He fe ll into the second degre e o f hypnosis, and the treatm ent consisted in rubbing and sugge stions . He was

allowed to remain in a drowsy state for half an hour, andwas then aroused . H e said he fe lt much be tter, and h epassed a fairly good -night . T hre e operations effected acomple te cure . It was his first attack o f the kind .

TR E A TM E N T B Y S U GGE S T I ON

C A SE 1 1 .— Spinal I rritation.

Mrs. F aged 37, came under treatment in April,1889 . S he had suffered Since the birth o f her first childten years before , frompain and discomfort in the spine ,re ferred e specially to the lumbar region . S he was unable

to walk without great fatigue , and standingwas a miseryto her. S he was anemic , o f constipated habit , and withgeneral depression o f vitality . Manipulation down the

spine caused pain , and there was frequently numbness o fthe extremitie s with twitchings. H er mental conditionwas one o f depre ssion and great nervous irritability . S he

was susceptible to the third degre e , and began to improveunder suggestion almost immediate ly. T he case be ing o f

very chronic nature , required a longer attendance thanusual , and She occasionally comes up for a repe tition o f

the treatment . S he is greatly improved in appearance ,the irritab ilitv o f temper has subsided , and She c an walktwo o r three miles, and stand about in picture galleriesand exhibitions, as we ll as most ladie s, without unduefatigue .

C A SE 12 .— Functional H cart-trouble.

H . L 23 , consulted me in November, 1888 , c omplaining o f palpitation on exertion and on lying down at

night, shortness o f breath , giddine ss and frequent attackso f fainting coming on without anywarning. Examinationo f the he art revealed no organic dise ase , and allthe organsse emed healthy . S he had suffered a good deal o f anxie tyo f late , and this was apparently the cause o f her illne ss .S he was treated on general princ ipleswith iron , nuxvomic a,digitalis, etc .

, but She made little or no progress, S O inJanuary, 1889 , I suggested hypnotismand soon induce dthe third degree . S he began to improve almost at onceunder suggestions, directed to the over-action o f the heart ,and after ten operations, spread ove r a period o f threewe eks, was re lieved o f all her symptoms .

152 TR E A TME NT BY S U GGE S TI ON .

C A SE 13 .— Symptoms D ependenton M itral D isease.

M iss H aged 32, has been under my treatment onand o ff for several years, and after a long spe ll of literarywork and late hours she consulted me in March, 1889 ,complaining o f palpitation , frontal headache , loss o f appetite , nausea, constipation , debility, swe lled fe e t and legs, andespecially o f attacks o f faintness coming on without apparent cause . S he hasmitral regurgitation consequent onrheumatic feve r ten years ago, and her pulse was very weakand rapid S he was hypnotized and fe ll into profound somnambulism. R eduction in the rapidity of theheart’s action with increase of force was sugge sted , and thepulse after a fewminute s became reduced to 87, and offirme rcharacter . S uggestions were made corresponding to all

her symptoms and she was allowed to re st for nearly anhour . On awaking she at once said she fe ltmuch better .T he nausea which had troubled her ince ssantly for severalmonths had disappeared , and she fe lt no discomfort fromher heart. On going home she slept we ll that night andthe improvement was maintained the next day. T he

following day she came to me complaining o f a fre shattacko fpalpitation , and she was again hypnotized with thesame result as before . T he operation was repeated threetimes with an interval be tween each visit o f three days, andShe was then quite free frompain and discomfort. Duringthe hypnotic treatment I purpose ly refrained fromgivingmedicine , but afterwards I prescribed strophanthus for theswe lling of the feet , which had not improved much unde rsuggestion . This medicine almost comple te ly removedthat symptomin a couple of weeks. S he had no moreattacks o f syncope after the first operation .

C A SE 14 .— Nocturnal E nuresis.

Thomas L aged 13 , was brought to me in June ,1889 , for this trouble . His parents had never succeededin breaking himo f the habit , though they had triedmanydifferent mode s o f treatment . H e was fairly we ll-nour

1 54 TR E A TM E N T BY S U GGE S T I ON

C A SE 16.— C hronic R heumatismwith Wasting of Muscles.

Mary T aged 34 , dressmaker, was sent to me inJuly, 1889 , suffering fromvery intractable rheumatismo f

the right shoulder and e lbow. It had lasted for threeyears and caused great pain on moving the arm. T he

illne ss had come on gradually and had re sisted all treatment . T he patient was somewhat anemic, complainedo f constipation , and was kept awake at night by the pain .

T he de ltoid and muscle s o f the armwere a good dealwasted , but gave a normal reaction to e lectricity .

S he at once fe ll into the third stage o f hypnosis, and inthis state her shoulde r and e lbow were rubbed and

warmth and absence o f pain suggested . S he was ableon be ing aroused to move her armalmost to a right anglewith her bo dy without pain

,which she had not previously

been able to accomplish . S he remained under treatmentfor thre e weeks, and at the end o f .

that time returned tothe country absolute ly fre e o f pain and able to move the

armfre e ly in any direction .

C A S E 17.

— Nervous Dyspepsia .

Miss L aged 32, consulted me in February, 1889 .

S he had suffered more or le ss all her l ife fromindige stion .

S he was very thin , and her complexion was ye llow and

spotted with papules o facne . S he complained o f constantpain over the epigastrium, which was tender on pressure ,increased by food and accompanied with Sinking heartburn and palpitation. Herc irc ulationwasdeficient , and Shehad always c o ld hands and fe e t, the re was frequent headache and neuralgia , generally in the frontal region . S he

Slept badly at night and was troub led w ith uncomfortabledreams. S he fe lt languid and despondent and had noaptitude fo r settling to any occupation . H er conditionwas becomingworse , and she had be en under all sorts o f

medical treatment for her digestion since childhood . H er

te eth were sufficiently good for mastication , the bowe lswere constipated and th e tongue was moist but furre d .

T here w ere no symptoms po inting to disease o f any

TR E A TM E N T B Y S U GGE S TI OJV. 155

organ,and it was evident the malady was pure ly

functional .S he was hypnotized , and the second degree o f hypnosis

was induced . I n this condition the stomac h and abdomen were rubbed and warmth suggested . C omfortablesle ep and improved appetite were promised , toge therwith regular action o f the bowe ls, and general incre ase o f

strength and energy . T he patient was on very rigorousdiet , and this was somewhat modified and enlarged .

Improvement in her condition became visible after twoor three days, and the treatment was repeated daily forten days, and then at longer inte rvals for amonth . At theend o f that time She was better than she had ever be enpreviously . S he slept we ll , ate with fair appe tite , and

enjoyed life . T he improvement has been maintainedand the morbid condition se ems permanently cured .

C A SE 18 .

— Amenorrhcea .

E . S aged 24 , consulted me for various symptomsdependent on amenorrhoea in May, 1889 . S he was pale ,somewhat anemic , ate and slept fairly we ll , but suffe redfromnearly constant frontal he adache . S he had seen

noth ing for five months and thought the cause o f this wasa chill incurred at the time o f th e last period . S he had

taken iron and quinine and used hot baths withouteffect . S he was hypnotized ,

and at onc e fe ll into a

pro found state o f somnamb ulism. I rub b ed the abdomen ,

and sugge sted that the period Sho uld come o n the fo llowing week , w itho ut pain , and sho uld last thre e days.

These suggestions were repe ated daily, with the additionthat the dayo f the we ek (Friday) was sugge sted after the

second visit . Early on the fo llow ing S aturdaymo rningthe function was re - established and lasted thre e days.

C A S E 19 .

— Functional Dysmenorrhoea .

A . T aged 21 , clerk, came under treatment on

October 10th , 1888 . S he suffered much from painful

156 TR E A TM E NT BY S U GGE S TI ON

menstruation , and has done so since the function becamee stablished four years previously . T he pe riod was alwaysde layed thre e or four days , and was scanty and lightcoloured . It laste d about three days, and was attendedwith exce ssive backache , languor, and frontal headache .

S he suffered also from gastralgia , constipation , and flatulence . Afte r treating her for some time on generalprinciples, she was hypnotized on March 15th , immediate ly after a period , and at once fe ll into a profoundSleep (Liébeault

’s Sixth stage ) . S ugge stions directed to

the painle ss pe rformance o f the dige stive and menstrualfunctions were made and were repeated two or threetime s a we ek for four weeks . T he following periodappeared on the twenty-ninth day, and was attended bybut little pain or inconvenience . S he was told to returnin three weeks, and sugge stions were then made regarding the next period . T his came on twenty-seven daysafter the last, and continued for four days . It wasmoreabundant and healthy, and pe rfectly free from pain .

S ince that time she has continued regular , and the re hasbeen no dysmenorrhoea. T he dige stion soon becamepainless and natural, and the general health Shows greatimprovement .

C A SE 20.— P ost-P arturition T roubles.

F . Y aged 43 , was confined o f her fifth child inJanuary, 1889 . S he was anemic, and had suffe red duringhe r pregnancy fromsevere colicky pains, constipation ,hemorrhoids and occipital headache . De livery wastedious, and the re was much he morrhage from the

re laxed and insuflic iently contracted uterus ; and the

placenta had to b e removed , as it remained adherent .T he patient complained greatly o f headache and re stle ssne ss afte r the confinement ; the uterus contracted butslowly, and there was also much pa in , in spite o f hot

douches and e rgot . S he was hypnotized by be ing toldSimply to look atmyoutstre tched fingers and go to sleep .

158 TR E A TJI E NT B Y

thought himse lf on the verge o f insanity. was a willingpatie nt , and is now afte r five months a comple te ly alteredman . H e come s tome at gradually lengthening intervals ,and in that wayany danger o f a re lapse is obv iated untilthe influence o f the habit is absolute ly e radicated.

NOT E — I f hypnotismhad done nothingmore fo rmedical sc ienc ethan’

i bring such me lancholy c ases as the abo ve within the sc ope o f

curative treatment, it would have c onferred a lasting benefit o n

humanity. I n even worse c ase s o f perverted sexual instinc t it is frequently suc c essful , and D r. V o n S chrenk -Notzing. o f Munich

,read

be fore the International C ongress note s on a c ase o f this kind, treatedb y h imw ith the happie st re sults. M o demmedic ine teaches us tha tthese pe rverted instinc tsdepend upon an he red itaryo racquiredmorbidcond it ion o f the brain and spina l cord, and constitute , in fac t, a

psychical d isease . Hypnotic sugge stio n se ems to act by c he ckingexc essive func tional irritability, and by deve loping and bringing intoplay the inhibitoryac tion o f the h ighe rbra in c entres, which have e ithernot deve lope d or have undergone impairment.I t is absolute ly ne cessary to gain the c onfidenc e o f the patients inthese case s, and theymust b e c are ful ly watc hed , as they are notoriouslygiven to de c eption. But the ir c onfidenc e can b e gained by jud ic iousmanagement, and the n one is saved fromthe danger of al low ing‘the w ish to b e father to the thought.

’

C A S E 23- I ncipient with D elusions.

Mr. C . K an Englishman residing in Holland , c onsulted me in October, 1889 . He had been hypnotizedsixte en times by Dr. Van Eeden , and was beginning to getbetter. H is age is 71 , and in c onsequence o f this and a

history o f exce ssive indulgence in spirits , I had gravedoubts as to the treatment be ing o f any avail . H e is

naturally a re ligious man, but fo r more than a year hehad be en tormented with blasphemous thoughts, whichassaile d him especially in the morning in waking

,but

which were never absent . T he se thoughts impe lled him‘to curse God .

’His dreams were full o f the same idea

,

and in consequence o f the strain on hismind his healthwas in a fe eble state , and there was eve ry appearance o f a

spe e dy bre akdown . He had almost continual pain in theoccipital region , with giddine ss on movement , and frequently suffered from neuralgia o f the le ft side o f the face .

However, he had no signs o f organic disease , and was

TR E A TM E N T B Y S U GGE S T I ON. 159

extreme ly desirous o f trying the treatment . H e fe ll into alight sle ep , characterized by be ing only able to open theeye s w ith some difficulty, and by fe e ling reflex warmthwherever sugge sted . He rapidly improved under treatment, and came to me daily for four we eks . H e was

then nearly quite well , and had his waking thoughts unde rcomple te control . His dreams still , however, had a tendency to b e full o f the o ld idea . Bymyadvice he wentinto the country for a couple o f we eks, and then re turnedto London fo r another short course o f treatment . He

was hypnotized daily fromDecember 15th to 215t, and bythat time was entire ly fre e fromunpleasant thoughts . H e

was able to go to church , which was previously impo ssible ,and his health and spirits were good . H is bowe ls, whichhad be enmo st irregular for some months, became natural ,and he almo st comple te ly lost a chronic nervous cough .

H e has re turned to his home , and writes that he continuesperfectly we ll . T he patient was allowed to rest in thehypnotic state for half an hour daily, and for a considerable part o f that time I talked gently to him, and po intedout how his evil thoughts came from a mistaken ideawhich mysuggestions would overcome and replace .

NOT E — T he fol lowing c ase il lustrates the use o f hypnotic sugges

tion in general prac tice . During th e rec ent epidemic o f influenza, Iwas called to attend a young woman who

,in add itio n to the usual

symptoms, was suffering from c ongest ion o f the righ t lung and

erysipe las o f the fac e . S he complained verymuch o f frontal headache and pains in the l imbs, and had no t slept th e pre c ed ing night .T he eyes were complete ly o cc luded by the erysipe latous swe l l ing, andshe experienc ed muc h heat and aching in them. I asked her if shewould like to sle ep and get rid o f some o f her pain, and she natural lyrepl ied that there was nothing she more desired. T he ord inaryme thod was out o f the question, as sh e c ould see nothing, so I gentlystroked h er forehead and suggested drowsiness and sleep. T h issimple proc ess rapidly induc ed somno lenc e and tranqui l lity , fol lowedin less than ten minutes by a de ep sle ep, which lasted for two hours.

T he patient awoke greatly re lieved by the physiological re st the systemhad enjoyed

,andmade a good re covery under the usual remedies. Of

course,I do not contend that hypnotismis curative in erysipe las, c on

gestion o f the lungs, or anyother ac ute disease b ut froma number o fexperienc es S imi lar to the above I know that i t quie ts the nervouserethismwhich is so distressing a symptominmany acute c ases, and

puts th e patient into a condition most favourable for re covery and forthe ac tion of drugs. I have found it useful as a pall iative in cancer

160 TR E A TAI E N T BY S U GGE S TI OA '

.

and other painful and incurable d iseases. T he following cases hav erecently b een under treatment and .present features of interest( 1) Hystero-E pilepsy for5years in agirl aged 14 . A ttackswere causedby touching the region of the right breast (a hystero-genic zone ), andwere charac terized by c onvulsive movements o f the right side . I n

add ition, there were nearly daily attacks o f what looked suspic iouslyl ike real epilepsy, with oc casional biting o f the tongue and followed bylanguor and drowsiness. T he girl had been an in-

patient at se veralhospi talsw ithoutmuc h benefit. A fter be ing hypnotized seven ore ighttimes she began to improve . T here is now no longer a hystero-geniczone , and she has had

,no fit o f anykind for three months. T he

catamenia, whic h had been suppressed fo r sixmonths,did not

,how

ever, reappear, in spite o f suggestionsmade to that e ffec t .T he two last cases I shall give are not examples o f brill iant cures

but i llustrate the importanc e o f not promising too muc h fromthe

treatment.(2) M iss H has been a chronic inval id almost sinc e .chi ldhood .

S he is 40years ofage , and has anchylosis o f the right h ip-joint follow inghip

-joint d isease and lateral curvature o f the spine . S he is o f

hysterical and me lanc holy temperament, and hermental powers seemto have atrophied part passu w ith her d isused musc les. A year’sperseveranc e in the treatment has enabled her to find some enjoymentin l ife ; she is able to walk over amile w ithout much fatigue , and toplay the violin for nearly an hour at a time . Prev iously for somemonths she had been bare ly able tomove about the house , and i t isyears since she was able to walk a quarter of amile . Ne i ther had she

been able for a longperiod to play, partly because o f invinc ible di e-bitude , and partly fromthe fatigue attendant on the slighte st e ffort.(3) M iss E was sent to me in Oc tober suffering fromhysterical

right hemiplegia o f a year’s stand ing. I t came on suddenly after hermother’s death. and she had had repeated re lapses after apparent improvement . S he fell some times into the third and sometimes the

fourth degree o f hypnosis, and in this c ond ition fric tion was applied tothe pare tic side and suggestionsmade . S he improved butslowly, andafter twe lve operations suffered froma re lapse ; and was c onfined to herb ed c omple te ly he lpless for a week. On her re turn tome I found theright armand legmuch colder than the le ft, and the reflexes on thatside inc reased. Perseveranc e in the treatment for thre e months hasproduc ed a dec ided improvement the right leg is nearly as warmand

strong as the left, and hergeneral health has greatly improved . One

would almost have fe lt justified in expe c tingmore rapidly curative te

sults in this case , and the re lapse whilst undergoing treatment wasd isappointing. I t illustrates the point I have so frequently al luded to

,

that pronounc edly hysterical persons are by nomeansthe best subjec tsfor this treatment.Myappreciation o f the efficacy o f drugs has been in

tensified Since studying hypnotic sugge stion ; for I havese en on several occasions a properly se lected remedyremove a symptom which suggestion had left untouched .

Dr. Van Eeden has shown how the beneficial effects o f

massage and Swedish gymnastics are increased in ce rtaincase s by be ing combined w ith Dr. Liéb eault

’s system.

A P P E ND IX.

Dr. Yung’s E xperiment with ‘Magne tized Cards.

’— James Braid o f

Manchester.— Duration o f Hypnotic S leep— Dr. Luys’ R otatingM irror, and Dr. Ochorowicz

’s Hypno scope .

— T heory,of Professor

D e lbe uf.— S ome Phenomena of Hypno tic S omnambul ism.— D r.

Liébeault'

s C lassification o f Hypnotic S leep— Dr. Grazzini’s Case

of S omnambul ism.— Me thod o f Public Performers— R esolutions

adopted at the Paris Congress. International S tatistics o f

Hypnotism.- E xperiments in A uto-S uggestion.

— Hypnotization of

A nimals — Hypnotism and T hought T ransferenc e . ChristianS c ience Healing.

NOT E 1 .— F0R P A GE 26.

I A M informed on the be st authority that in the initiatoryrite s o f seve ral secret societie s the candidate i s submitte dto a somewhat similar ordeal . H e is told that he mustsubmit to b e bled . H is eye s are blindfolded , his armi spricked , and a streamo f warmwater is allowed to trickledown it .T he surroundings at the same time be ingmysteriou sand awe - inspiring, a very great e ffect is produced on

nervous and sensitive subje cts . Syncope and nervousexhaustion not uncommonly follow the ceremony, and thenew membermav b e made ill for days .T he rite is, no doubt , an example o f the survival o f the

formafte r the unpleasant reality has, in de ference tocivilization , be en allowed to fall into disuse .

An amusing experiment is described by Dr . Yung ,privatdocrji‘i

ro f Geneva, which forcibly displays the power

o f sugge stion without hypnotism. He calls it ‘the ex

pe rimentwith magne tized cards,’and he carrie s it out as

follows : With a grave face and serious manner he pro

A P P E NDIX. 163

c e eds to give a short account o f animalmagnetism,

’andto explain how the subtle fluid can b e made to affecteven inert substance s . Having thus aroused expectantattention ,

’he care fully arrange s a few cards on the table

and make s magne tic passe s ove r them. This proce ss,he assure s his audience , charge s the cards with his magnetism, andmake s themdiffe rent to any other cards, sothat if a pe rson touche s one o f themhe will change its

polarity, and it will thus b e distinguishable to his touchfromthe others. He then leave s the roomand a bystander touche s one o f the cards. Dr. Yung, on his

re turn ,makes a few passes over themand finally picks outthe card which has be en touched , saying that he fee lscontact with it sends a nervous thrill up his armlike ane lectric Shock .

But he adds there is nothing wonderful in this, as anyone will experience the same thing . T he challenge isaccepted , and probably the most sceptical person in the

roomgoe s through the same pantomime o f magne tizingthe cards with a look o f scornful contempt on his face .

No card is touched , and he is told on his re turn not to

make a guess, but to really tryifhe can de tect a diffe rencebe twe en one card and another. In nearly every instanceDr . Yung found a diffe rence was said to b e fe lt , and whatever card was indicated was declared to be the right one .

T he experimenter is shut out o f the rooma second and a

third time , and it is nearly always found that by the thirdtime the subj ect w ill de clare he undoubtedly fe e ls a verystrong ne rvous shock o f the kind described by Dr. Yung

,

Of course , Dr. Yung had a confederate who , by an agreedupon Signal , informed himo f the card which had beentouched . He has tried this experiment on about e ighthundred persons, many o f whomwere medicalmen andscientific students , and in nine case s out o f ten he hase licited by pure suggestion the sensations he described .

I have repeated the experiment in about a score o f case s,and in nearly every instance have obtained a like re sult.One subject , a particularly wide -awake American , assured

1 1— 2

164 TR E A TME N T B Y S U GGE S T I ON.

me at the third trial that the shock was quite as strongas that rece ived froma powerful static battery which h ehad just been testing.

NOT E 2.

— BRA I D OF MA NCHE ST E R.

Jame s Braid used to throw his patients into a kind o f

Sleep or trance by making themfix the ir eye s and attention on a bright object— generally his lance t

-case— he ld a

few inche s above the eye s. He found this caused fatigueo f sight and abstraction o f mind , which , in nearly allcases, induced the condition he te rmed hypnotism.

He practised his systemsucce ssfully formany years at

Manche ste r, and wrote several books in which he fullyexplained it.But it se ems to have died with him, and it is only now

that suggestion with hypnotismhas come so prominentlybe fore the profe ssion that his works begin to b e large lyread. T hemost important one , Neurypnology (London ,

has been recently translated into French by M . Jule sS imon— an almost unique honour, I imagine , for a fore ignmedical author nearly thirty years afte r his death .

Braid found hypnotismincreased the heart’s action tosuch an extent that he yvarned medicalmen against usingit when heart disease was suspected . H e found it impo ssible to get children to ke ep the ir eye s fixed on his lance tcase fo r the nece ssary four o r five minute s , and there foreregarded themas insusceptible . We have seen , on theothe r hand, that sugge stion finds its be st subj ects inchildren between the age s o f thre e and fourte en , andin heart disease it is one o f the most succe ssful meanso f calming and reducing irregular heart-action. Braidwent near to discovering the truth which Liéb eault, a

few years afterwards , thought out, and introduced to theworld .

NOT E 3 .

— DURA T I ON OF HYPNOT I C S LE E P .

I n order to arrive at the solution o f this , P rofe ssorBernhe imallowed many o f his patients to ‘have the ir

166 TR E A TME NT BY S UGGE S TI ON

R eaders o f Braid’s Neurypnology’will remembe r how he

paid a visit to a lady who announced herse lf as so afiectedby amagne t that she knew at once when there was o neanywhe re near her. Braid sat c lose to her for an ho urwith amost powe rfulmagne t in his pocke t within a fewinche s o f her, but she experienc ed no discomfort becauseshe did notknow itwas there . I have frequently produce dmany c urious local subjec tive symptoms in impre ssionablepersons by passing a magne t ove r a limb, but always o f

the nature I have previously suggested .

NOT E 5.—T nE ORv or P ROFE S SOR DE LBCE U F.

Among the numerous theorie s which have been ad

vanc ed during the last few years to account for the influenc e o f hypnotic sugge stion in organic functions, tha to f P rofe ssor Delboeuf, o f Liege ,‘ de serve s notice o n

account o f its ingenuity.

He suppose s that in an earlier state o f existence the

o rganic functions may have been unde r the control o f thewill and consciousness , but that in proce ss o f evolutionthe increasing influence and attraction exe rted by theenvironment caused this controlling power to becomeweake r, and fall into abeyance .

In the hypnotic state the facultie s are no longe r o c cu

pied with external things, but may b e directed and conc entrated on one or more o f the internal organs or functionS . Then the powe r which has neve r been comple te lylost is again exercised for a short time .

As showing that control maystill be exerted at timeso ver organic processe s, he re late s how during a longdental Operation he was able to re strain the salivarysecretion by dire cting his attention and will to the function.

T he case s o f C olone l Townsend and the Indian fakir,cited in C hapter I I . , also illustrate this theory.

Dr. D elboeuf goe s on to say that in a state o f pe rfe ct

D e l’Origine des e ffe ts curatifs de l’Hypnotisme ,’Paris, 1887.

S ee also rev iew in M ind, Jan . 8th, 1888.

TR E A TM EN T BY S U GGE S T I ON 167

health the organs and functions work harmoniously, and

it is to our advantage to know and fee l nothing aboutthem; but when organic life cease s to be normal , andwhen some function is deranged , it would b e useful tobe able to bring the will and attention to bear on the

affected part . Hypnotism, by se tting free the attentionfrom the

‘life o f re lation ,’with which in the normal state

it is preoccupied , renders this possible , and enable s themind to re sume its knowledge , and the will its control.

NOT E 6.—S OME P HE NOME NA or HYPNOT IC

S OMNA MBULI SM .

Many extraordinary and , at the pre sent time , inexplicable phenomena can b e produced in subjects who attainthe last degree o f hypnotic somnambulism.

S uch pe rsons are but rare lymetwith , and are , I be lieve ,always o f hysterical temperament , which is gene rally combined with a tendency to phthisis, scrofula, or other chronicdisease .

These phenomena, as has been already said , are of

pure ly psychological interest , and should b e kept entire lydistinct from therapeutic sugge stion .

Amo ng Dr . Liéb eault'

s patients at Nancy is a youngwoman named C amille , a favourite subject for experiment ,as she readily falls into the most profound state o f hypnotic somnambulism.

Like many hysterical persons , she takes a pride in herinfirmity, and therefore , without be ing over-sceptical,one may wish to verify the experiments tried on her.

One o f the most curious o f the se is the production o f

negative hallucinations by sugge stion . C amille , and one ortwo othe r persons o f the same nervous temperament,would b e told that on waking they would not see S o andS o , though he might speak to her, touch her, and evenprick orpinch her, and the suggestion was realized . Orthey would b e told that the door was no longe r existing,in which case , though apparently quite awake , they would


seek in vain to cross the threshold until the Spe ll wa sremoved.

On myre turn to London I was fortunate enough tome e ta lady who takes a great interest in the subj ect, and is at

the same time susceptible o f be ing thrown into the mo stadvanced stage s o f hypnotic somnambulism . H er hus

band is a man o f science , and also much intere sted in

hypnotism. They were both quite ignorant o f the phenomena I wished to produce , and the conditions there forewere perfectly satisfactory .

Mrs. H is about thirty years o f age , small , slight ,and a blonde . S he is h ighly nervous , and occasionallyhyste rical, but she enjoys good health, is inte lligent, andactive in her household dutie s . On the first occasion Itried to deve lop a negative hallucination her husband wasconfined to the roomwith a bad cold , and was sitt ing bythe fire in an armchair a few fee t fromher. I hypnotizedher, and told her that on waking she would not se e him,

would not hear himif he spoke to her, and would not fe e lh imif he touched her. All this was l iterally realized.

S he was apparently wide awake , and yet when I askedher where her husband was she said she didn’t know, butthought he had gone upstairs and would b e down verysoon . H e spoke to her, calling her by name , and askedher to get hismedicine , to stir the fire , what the re wasfor supper

,and a number o f other questions . S he gave

not a sign o f having heard ; in fact, She evidently did not

hear him, though she conversed w ith me intercurrentlyquite rationally. Mr. H then approached her, touchedher hand , sat down be side her, and talked but evidentlyfo r her he had ceased to exist, as She be trayed not thefainte st consciousness o f his presence . I then asked Mr.

H to speak irnpersonally, and he said ,‘Mrs. H

will now go to the table , take up the doctor’s gloves, and

try themon .

’S he did not appear to hear, but in a few

moments she got up, went to the table , and tried on myglove s— a thing she would never have tho ught o f doingo f her own initiative . I asked her why she did this , and

170 TR E A TM E N T BY S UGGE S T I ON

so , P oor Mrs . H has a nasty burn on her wrist ,

probably from some boiling wate r ; the place is ve ry red,and rathe r painful.’ In a few minute s I awakened her,and she immediate ly began rubbing herwrist as if in painthe re . On my asking her what was the matte r, she re

plied, I think I must have spilt some boiling-wate r onmywrist ; it fee ls as if I had burnt it .

’ On looking at

the spo t , there was a very perceptible patch o f redne ssabout the size o f a Sixpe nce , and eve ry moment this becamemore defined and angry-looking. As the pain was increasing, it would have be en a breach o f our agreementto protract the experiment , so I hypnotized her oncemore , and told her that there was no burn , and that theredne ss and pain would b e quite gone when she awoke .

I n point o f fact , a very short time was sufficient to dispersethe morbid appearance , and on re -awakening her the rewas no complaint of discomfort . T he same lady afterthe first ope ration complained o f chilline ss and stiffness,b ut I had only to suggest on future occasions that she wasnot to fee l the se unpleasant symptoms to ensure her notb e ing troubled with them.

The se expe riments be long in no way to therapeuticsugge stion , but are o f intere st as they Show how exactlythe phenomena produced at Nancy may b e reproduced bye xperiment in England .

Dr . Luys, physician to La C harité Hospital , P aris,S howed some extraordinary experiments on a somnambulic and hysterical subj e ct be fore the profe ssion inO ctober, 1888 ; and in the same month Dr . V izio li gavea Similar demonstration be fore themembers o f the MedicalC ongre ss assembled in R ome .

The importance o f hypnotismas a means o f inve sti

gating psychological problems is recognised by manyeminent psychologists ou the C ontinent . B ine t andFéré , in the ir work already re fe rred to ,’say: Hypnotismse ems to us to fill a void . Associated with the

c linical obse rvation o f mental and ne rvous disease s, itMagnétisme A nimal

,

’Paris. 1887.

A P P E NDIX. 171

will give to the new school o f experimental psychologythe me thod it ne eds, and will furnish an explanation o f

phenomena based on experiment .’

NOT E 7.— D R . LI EBE A U LT

’S C LA SSIFICA T I ON OFHYPNOT I CS LE E P.

FirstD egree.— T he patient fee ls a heavine ss o f the eye

l ids and a general drowsine ss .S econd D egree.

— This is characterized by suggestivecatalepsy . When the operator place s the arm in acertain position and says it is to remain the re , it is impossible for the patient to put it down . It remains rigidand fixed for a much longer time than would b e possiblein a natural state . I n these two degree s consciousnessremains almost complete , and often the patient denie shaving be en in the hypnotic state because he has heardand remembers every word which has been spoke n tohim. A very large proportion o f people never pass beyondthis stage .

Third D egree.— I n this the subject is also conscious o f

everything going on around him to a ce rtain extent , andhears eve ry word addressed to him , but he is oppre ssedby great sleepiness . An action communicated to a limbis automatically continued . I f the armis rotated to beginwith , it goe s on turning until the Ope rator directs itsstoppage .

Fourth D egree.— I n the fourth degree of hypnotic sle ep

the patient cease s to be in re lation with the oute r world .

He hears only what is said to himby the ope rator .T he Fifth and S ixth D egrees, according to Liéb eault,constitute somnambulism. In the former, recollection o fwhat occurred during sleep is indistinct and recalled withdifficulty ; in the latter, the patient is unable to recallspontaneously anything which has occurred while asleep .

All the phenomena o f post-hypnotic suggestion can b einduced in this condition , and it pre sents feature s o f

extraordinary inte re st to the psychologist .

172 TR E A TM E N T B l’ S U GGE S TI ON

Though spontaneous memory is extinct, it can b e

evoke d by hypnotizing the subject and asking himwhathappened in ' the previous Sleep . Even in this rare andhe lple ss condit ion , there fore , one has a check on abuse swhich can always b e brought into use , and which mightplay an important part in legal or criminal case s .

NOT E 8 .— D R . G RA zz1N1

’s C A SE OF S OMNA MBULI SM .

A very we ll -known and scientific physician , Dr. Grazzini , o f Florence , has be en kind enough to send me the

enclosed le tter, giving full particulars o f the case alludedto on page 39 . It is so interesting, froma psychical pointo f view , that I fe e l impe lled to translate and publish it inextenso

,though it must b e understood that such pheno

mena lie outside psycho-therapeutics as a systemo f treatment . In England we rare ly, if ever, see such case s ; butI be lieve that they are not uncommon among the Latinrace s. T he hysterical Frenchman , known as the S ohoS leeper,

’ occasionally arouse s scientific curiosity by indulging in fits o f prolonged trance or somnambulism.

In November, 1888 , he had one o f the se fits, whichlasted fo r thirte en days, during which time he was susc eptib le to sugge stions o f various kinds . Dr. de Watteville ,

for instance , made himthe subj ect o f de lusions, inorde r, as he te lls me , to prove to the police the indiscretion o f allowing all sorts o f people to have acce ss to him.

In England we frequently hear o f fasting girls,’ and

I imagine these case s fall into the same category as

‘sle eping men .

’ As will b e se en fromDr . Grazzini’sle tter, suggestion was actually curative in this case o f

spontaneous hypnotism.

’

‘T he following case o f spontaneous hypnotismmayinte re st you . G . F.

, o f Alessandria (P iedmont) , aged 32,o f fe eble constitution and de licate appearance , with apallid and beardle ss face , is by occupation a trave lling

174 TR E A TM E NT B Y S U GGE S TI ON.

lism, and suggested his copying a head drawn by myfriend (alluded to on p . He reproduced the drawingwith the quickne ss and facility o f a real artist ; whereashis attempts at drawing when awake are childish scrawls,as you will see by the photographs I send you .

*

I determined to repeat on this susceptible subject theexpe riments Shown by Dr. Luys be fore the Academy o fMedicine o f P aris, exhibiting the influence exerted bydrugs on a hypnotized pe rson at a distance . Without inany way ente ring into the controversy excited in the

Academy by these experiments , I can only say that onholding glass tube s, which I had filled with tartar eme ticor ipecacuanha. near the subject’s back, he be ing in astate of somnambulism and ignorant o f my proceedings ,he was invariably attacked by nausea, agitation, andviolent fits o f vomiting . The se symptoms ceased as soonas the tube s we re removed . But when the tube s we reprepared by a third person and covered with paper, sothat

‘

I was myse lf ignorant o f the nature o f the ir contents, he no longer showed the physiological eflects o f the‘drugs used , but only vague symptoms, such as muscularcontractions , more or less violent , or various emotions .I should add that the se expe riments were repeated in thepre sence o f mycolleague s and friends at the hospital ofthe Fate bene Frate lli (in Florence ) , to which G . F.

h ad be en brought , and where he was a patient in mywardsf

'

D r. Grazzini has sentme photographsof some o f thisman’s drawings when awake and when in a state o f somnambul ism. He has alsogiven me copies of his le tters, written in his own person,

which arewhat one would expe c t froma peasant and others when, while in a

state o f somnambulism,he had been told that he was (1) a general in

the army, (2) a grandmother, (3) a small boy. T hese le tters are quitein keeping wi th the supposed posi tion.

1 T he result o f the de liberation o f the A cademy on these experi

ments was, that they dec ided that the so-called e ffe c ts o f drugs at a

d istance depended upon the subjec t in some wayguessing th e natureof th e drug c ontained in the tube , and ac tingaccord ingly. I n thesehighly nervous subjec ts the senses are woude ifullyacute in somnambulism, and the slightest hint by word o rgesture exc ites the suggested

e ffe c t .— C LE .

A P P E ND IX. 175

While in the hospital a large carbuncle developed on

his right thigh , and , as an ope ration was nece ssary, I determined to avail myse lf o f hypnotism to procure ane sthesia . A de ep incision was made and the cavity wasscraped and cleansed , while he was in a state o f le thargy,without the fainte st Sign o f suffering, and on awaking hehad not the least idea that he had been ope ratedon .

I had observed that a magne t applied along the spineand to the head arre sted the le thargic and cataleptic state s,and it occurred to me that it might be possible to cureG . F . o f the morbid tendency to spontaneous catalepsywhich prevented himfollowing his business and exposedhimto dange rous or criminal sugge stions .Accordingly I suggested that he should wear a magne t

o f medium strength tied round his neck, and that heshould buy one as

: so on as he le ft the hospital . He fo l

lowed my direc tions exac tly, and for four months wasunable to remo ve the magnet fromhis neck. Duringthat pe riod he had no hypnotic se izure , although he wasconstantly exposed to brilliant light in cafés and otherplace s whe re he followed his occupation o f c onjur

But, as usually happens, th e sugge stion gradually lostits efficac y, and whe n last I saw himhe toldme that hehad had one or two slight attacks. I b e lieve that byoc casional repetition of the sugge stion th is tendencymight b e lessened , or perhaps cured ; but mytreatmentco uld not b e persevered with , as he left Flore nce , and Ihave lo st sight ofBe fore bringing

‘

this long le tte r to a close I must addthat I have used hypnotismas a curative agent in a case of

St. Vitus’s dance . T he patient, a young man,had been

tre ate d with all kinds o f remedies in vain, fo r the diseasewas most obstinate . He is now entire ly cure d ,

by sugge stionsmade byme during the hypnotic sle ep . He was

I n treating such a case , Dr. Liébeaultwo uld certainly insist uponthe patient re turning at lengthening intervals unti l themorbid habitwas overcome and d isplac ed — C . L. T .

176 TR E A TM E N T B Y S U GGE S TI ON

allowed to sleep for half an hour at a time for twe lveconsecutive days .

I f you think these expe riences worth publishing, praydo so , and they may pe rhaps serve as mate rial for re

searche s in psychology and therapeutics) “

(S igned) G . B . GRA ZZINI .‘FLOR ENC E , D ecember 13tlz,

NOT E 9 .— ME T HOD OF P U BLI C P E RFORME RS .

Though in deference to public sentiment the trave llingprofe ssors style themse lve s hypnotists, it is easy to se e

that they do so somewhat unde r prote st , and that theymuch prefer the old name o f me sme rism ,

’ or be tte rstill , animal magne tism.

’

The irme thod is the same all the world ove r. A ce rtainnumber of previously hypnotized subjects are scatte redamong the audience , and when the lecture r asks forpersons to experiment on , the se make a rush for the

platformand forma nucleus on which to work . P robablya few bond fide strange rs will lend themse lve s for ex

periment, and one way and anothe r the platformwill b ewe ll filled with candidates. T he lecturer gives ,

to eachperson a bright disc which he is to look at steadily . I n

a few minute s he goe s round , closes the eyes , and te llsthe subj ect that he is unable to open them. I f he opensthemhe is sent back to his seat among the audience , ifnot

, he is reserved for further use and is given a seat onthe platform. A favourite plan with the experimente ris now to open the subj ect’s mouth to its widest extent ,turn himround so as to face the audience , and te ll himhe is unable to shut it . A friend o f mine , a doctor ingoo d practice , was so treated in a fore ign watering-place ,and his fe e lings when he was thus made a laughing- stocko f a large assemblage o f people were not enviable . Afte r

1“

Dr. Grazzini writes to tellme that he is using hypnotic suggestionto a c onsiderable exte nt in his prac tic e, and that h e is very pleasedw ith the resul ts he obtains.

178 TR E A TM E NT BY S U GGE S T/01V.

re lation to psycho-therapeutics as the antics o f a me rryandrew at a fair have to the practice o f a court physician .

That such things should have been tolerated will probably b e a subj ect o f astonishment to our de scendants .

NoT E 10.— R E SOLUT IONS ADOPT E D A T T HE P A RI S

C ONGRE SS .

T he following re solutions were agreed to at the firstInte rnational C ongre ss o f P hysicians and Jurists onHypnotismhe ld in P aris, I 889

‘This C ongre ss recognise s the dange r o f public ex

hib itions ofmagnetism and hypnotism , and de eming thatthe therapeutic application o f hypnotismhas become abranch o f the science o fmedicine , that its official teachingis the province o f psychiatry, vote s the following re solutions :

I .

‘P ublic exhibitions of hypnotism and magne tismshould be forbidden by the administrative authoritie s inthe inte re st o f public hygiene and publicmorals .2 . T he employment o f hypnotismas a curative agent

should be subj ect to the laws and re strictions whichregulate medical practice generally .

3 .

‘I t is de sirable that the study o f hypnotism ando f its the rapeutic application b e introduced into the

curriculumo fmedical science s .’

T he following schedule (pp . 180, 181) has been sent toall physicians who have sent in the ir name s as practisinghypnotism. T he immense practical value o f the statisticsto b e thus collected will be recognised at a glance .

INT E RNA T IONA L S T A T I S T I C S OF HYPNOT IC IMPRE SSIONA B I LI T Y AND OF S UGGE ST IVE P SYCHO -THE RA PE UT ICS .

T he following schedule is framed with the object o fe lucidating the re sults o f hypnotic treatment by comparative statistics.

a. T he proportion o f persons who are susceptible tohypnotic infiuenc e .

’

A P P E NDIX. 179

b. T he degree of impre ssionability and its re lation tothe age , sex, constitution and temperament o f the subj ect,and the method o f hypnotizing adopted .

’

0. T he value o f hypnotic sugge stion as a therapeuticagent te sted by the amount o f success and number o f

failure s, by the duration and comple tene ss o f the cure s,ame liorations,’etc .

This inquiry is extreme ly important , because authoritiesare not agreed on the subj ect , and we there fore b eg ourc olleague s who use hypnotisme ither as a means o f cureor for scientific inve stigation to fill in the enclosed pape rsas comple te ly and care fully as possible .

P lease give the degre e of hypnotismattained , and forthe purpose o f classification observe the following definitions and characte ristics :I . LightS leep . Fe e ling o f fatigue . T he patient’s willpower is e ither unaffected or is only slightly modified .

It is often difficult or impossible to open the eye s. T he

subj ect on awaking remembers everything that hashappened , and doe s not experience the sensation o f

having slept .I I . P rofound S leep . T he patient’s will is e ither partially

o r comple te ly in abeyance . T he eye s are generally closed ,but some time s remain open . Memory on awaking ise ither lost or incomplete , and he fee ls more or le ss thesensation o f having slept .I I I . S omnambulism. C omplete amne sia on awaking,and possibility o f realizing hallucinations and othe rhypnotic and ‘

ipost-hypnotic sugge stions .

T he sign 0 signifie s the waking state .

P lease indicate the me thod employed by the fo llow1ngsigns

a . Method . o f Braid and C harcot . P hysical means .V ivid sensory impre ssion (light, sound , Fixationo f the eye s with a brilliant obj ect . P re ssure on or frictiono f ce rtain regions o f the body (hypnogenic zone s) . Monotonous sensory impre ssions, etc .

fl . Method o f Liéb eault and Bernhe im . S ugge stion12— 2

180

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the me thod adopted by the school o f Nancy . 7 . C ombinedmethod a employed systematically in conj unctionwith B.

Forms to b e obtained from, and details to b e sent to ,Dr. Von S chrenck-Notzing, Munich .

NOT E 1 1 .— EXPE RIME NT S I N AUT O-S UGGE ST ION.

Dr . C oste de Lagrave , surgeon-major in the Frencharmy, contributed an interesting paper to the InternationalC ongre ss on auto-sugge stion , and re lated several ex

periments he has made on himse lf during the last fewyears .By practice he acquired the power o f be ing able to

sle ep at will , and o f awaking at a definite time . T o effectthis he only had to lie down , and fix his attention onsle ep, and on the idea that he would awake after a

certain number o f minutes. In a short time he obtaine dsuch se lf-control that he could get five or six distinctsle eps , and as many distinct awakenings in the course o f

an hour. He also succe eded in producing dreams o f thecharacter he wished , and in evoking sensory de lusionsand hallucinations to such an extent that he becamealarmed , le st the condition thus‘ induced should becomepermanent . He was able to apply auto-suggestion in a

curative direction , and thus to re lieve himse lf o f colic,gastrodynia, and the like . He did this by closing hiseyes, and concentrating his thoughts on the organ hewished to affect . In froma quarte r to half an hour hegenerally succeeded in ge tting rid o f the pain . On one

occasion,when riding with troops, he suffered greatly

fromcold fe e t, and he tried the effect o f auto - sugge stion .

H e closed his eyes, and induced a state o f drowsine ss, inwhich he directed his thoughts to his fee t , which hewished to become warm. In le ss than half an hour hewas conscious o f a fe e ling o f warmth in them, and as

long as he kept his attention fixed the re they continuedso ; but very soon they became cold again when he

A P P E ND IX.

allowed his thoughts to dwe ll on other things, showing,as he thinks, that the sensation o f warmth depended on

mental influence and mind concentration . In subsequentexperiments he produced the de sired re sult in a shorte rtime , and he found that the sensation o f warmth was notme re ly subj ective , for on removing his boots he fe lt thepreviously cold fee t warm to the touch , thus ge tting thesame effect as is nearly always demonstrable in ordinaryhypnotic practice .

He re lates a curious experience o f auto-suggestion inne rvous prostration . He had been invalided home fromTonkin for dysentery, and for a year had been so prostrated by weakness that he was unable to walk amile inthe course o f a day . One night he suggested to himse lfincreased muscular and nervous force , and ability towalk without fatigue . T he next day he walked ove rsixmile s without difficulty ; but unfortunate ly he doe s notmention in his paper whether this effort was followedby reaction , or whe ther the improvement was permanent .Dr. de Lagrave

’s experiments open up an intere sting

fie ld o f re search , and if his expe rience is corroborated bythat o f other scientific observers, it will throw light on anumber o f mental phenomena connected with dire c tedse lf-consciousne ss, which . are at present surrounded witha degre e o f mysticism . T he yogis and fakirs o f Indiaassert that they can

,obtain remarkable control over the ir

bodily organs and functions by contemplation , introspe ction , and othermental exercises ; and there is little doubtthat many o f the ir achievements are the re sult o f autohypnotismand auto-suggestion .

No T E 12.

— HYP N0T I ZA T I 0N OF ANIMA LS .

Dr. Gerald Yeo , P rofe ssor o f P hysiology at King’sC ollege , read a very inte re sting pape r be fore the C o llegS ocie ty in 1883 (

‘T he Ne rvous Mechanism o f Hypno

tism in which he propounded some intere sting theorie son the subj ect o f hypnotic phenomena , and illustrated

134 TR E A TM E N T B Y S U GGE S TI ON.

them by expe riments on animals . He Showed howanimals o f such diverse organization as crayfish , frogs,fowls and guinea-pigs could b e easily hypnotized bymonotonous continuous stimulation , and made to remainmotionle ss and unre sponsive to ordinary stimulation . He

induced this state by firmly fixing themin one positionfor a fewminutes, and then gently removing the re straining influence when it was found the animals continued inthat position , howeve r abnormal , for several minute s .Kircher’s experiment with the dome stic fowl is the mostfamiliar example o f hypnotic effect in animals. I f achalk line is drawn and the bird he ld for a few secondswith its beak on this line , it will b e found that the creature remains in that position for seve ral minute s . Dr.Yeo , however, says that the line is unnece ssary in performing this experiment .T he plan o f changing the nest o f a sitting hen, familiarto farmers, probably depends on hypnotismfor its succe ss .T he fowl’s head is firmly he ld under its wing for a fewminute s , and she is carried fromone nest to another . S he

seems ignorant of the change , and continue s Sitting onthe new set o f eggs until they are hatched , or She is againremoved to another ne st in the same way. T he drowsycondition induced in many animals by gentle frictiono f the forehead is amatter o f common obse rvation andI have frequently seen negroe s in S outh Ame rica reducedto a condition o f drowsiness ve rging on somnambulismby the gentle stroking o f the head and manipulationo f the hair which they seemto b e so fond o f at the handso f the ir womankind .

NOT E 13.— THOUGHT TRANSFE RE NCE AND HYPNOT ISM .

Obscure psychical phenomena do not come within thescope o f practicalmedical hypnotism, and I only re fer tothought transference in connection with hypnotismb e

cause the idea exists in many quarters that the hypnoticstate favours this mental proce ss . I have repeatedly put

TR E A TM E NT B Y S U GGE S T I ON .

health , and it is easily conce ivable that when directed intohealthful instead o f morb ific channe ls , it may prove avaluable moral and curative agent .It is certain that most o f those who derive benefit fromhealthily directed se lf-consciousne ss are capable o f doingthemse lve s an infinity o f harmbymorbid introspection ifleft to themse lve s .I f a hypochondriacal or ne rvous invalid can by anymeans, its name matters not , b e induced to look uponhimse lf as healthy and strong, instead o f as diseased andweak, a great point is gained , and as he has grown intothe miserable creature b e imagined himse lf to be , so it is

possible that under different conditions o f thought hemayrealize in his own person some o f the perfection uponwhich he fixe s his aspirations . But we must rememberthat reverie is apt to pass into brooding, and introspection into hysteria , unle ss ve ry carefully watched . We

know also that ecstatics o f all times and cre eds have suc

c e eded in becoming care le ss and unconscious o f bodilypain and discomfort , but that this deadening o f sensationhas not saved themfromwasting with disease , and dyingfromexposure and

Last autumn I had the opportunity o f l istening to a few lec tures onChristian S c ie nc e , given by some very earnest Americans. T he

subje c t interested me , and I was anxious to see how far the imagination and what is termed the sub -consc ious mind can affe c t func tionand influenc e health apart fromhypnotism.

T he ir theories were de l ightful and morally e levating, and thereappeared to b e a large amount o f common sense in the ir appl ic ation.

T he aud ienc e was to ld how to pass scathless through epidemics, andespe c ial ly how to avoid ge tting the influenza

,whic h was then making

its appearanc e in E astern E urope . Many o f those present werehonestly c onvinc ed that I f they d irec ted the ir thoughts into healthychanne ls, and he ld that the powe r o f Good could conquer that o f E v il,theywould esc ape any d isease , fo r ‘healthy thought makes healthyblood , and with healthy blood there is no chance fo rmorbid germs togain a foo ting ormultiply.’ But, alas when the i nfluenza invaded us,most o f the se good people suc cumbe d

,and some o f them incurred

bronchitis and Inflammation o f the lungs, and so suffered more thanmost of us

,frombattl ing w ith the malady, denying its power, and

negle c ting to take proper steps to treat it. T he in ferenc e natural lyis that the patients

’c ond ition o f thought has notmuch efl

’

ect on the

bacil lus o f influenza Other instanc es are notwanting in reports ofdeaths oc curring wh ile the patient was under this treatment, to teac hpeople that bod ily d iseases are to b e met bymaterial remed ies. But

A P P E ND IX. 187

I have frequently succe eded, following Dr. de Lagrave’s

hints, in awakening ata pre -de te rminedmoment, and nodoubt anyone with a little practice will b e able to do thesame thing ; but I imagine that the other effects o f autosugge stion which he re late s are only to b e attained byhysterical or neuropathic subjects.S uch experiments afford additional proof o f the correctne ss o f Bernhe im’s theory that in hypnotism it is thepatient who hypnotize s himself, and that it is the evocation o f his own force s (under the stimulus o f suggestion)which constitute s the curative agency in the treatment.S ure ly this is a better and noble r conception o f the powe rin eve ry way than that current be fore Braid’s time , andstill he ld by unscientific magne tizers,’which would haveus be lieve in a subtle fluid passing from ope rator tosubject .Dr . ByromBramwe ll , speaking o f the important partvoluntary effort plays in case s o f paralysis, instance s thato f the late Mr. Horatio R oss , a ce lebrated sportsman ) “

When some e ighty-two years o f age , Mr. R oss was attacked with hemiplegia which was, perhaps , embolic . He

was seen by a distinguishe d neurologist in London , who ,considering the advanced age o f the patient and the ve ryserious nature o f the attack, gave a very unfavourableopinion , saying that he would never use his armagain .

S hortly afterwards he came to Edinburgh and placedhimse lf under the care o f Dr. Foulis, who had previouslyattended him. When he consulted Dr . Foulis the

paralysis o f the arm, though not absolute , was ve ry great ;the leg, as is usually the case , had to amuch greater extentrecovered.

‘Dr . Foulis, who is a firmbe l iever in the beneficialeffects which frequently repeated voluntary efforts produce

the scope left formental treatment in neurotic conditions is assuredlywide enough. T hose who are desirous o f knowing some thing of thisvery intere sting subje c t Wil l find it very c learly set forth in ChristianT heosophy,’by D r. D ewey (New York,

S tudies in Clinical Med ic ine ,’Vo l. i. , No. 6.

188 TR E A TM E N T B Y S U GGE S TI ON

in case s o f paralysis, explained to Mr . R o ss the importance ofmaking frequent and systematic efforts to throwthe paralyzed muscle s into voluntary contraction . Mr.

R oss, who was a man o f iron will as we ll as (in hisyounge r days) o f iron muscle s, fully appreciated the

rationale o f this me thod o f treatment, and set himse lfdiligently and with firmde termination to carry it intoeffect. Many time s every day he endeavoured to pe rformeach o f the individual movements which the hand , forearm, and arm are capable o f making . T he paralyzedmuscle s soon began to regain some power, and each dayand almost all day

, he diligently practised some formo f

muscular movement . I was asked to see himsome two

months aftef he had commenced this treatment , with theobj ect o f advising whethe r e le ctricity would b e beneficial .He had then regained considerable movement in the

paralyzed arm and muchmore in the leg. He continuedto practise his muscular gymnastics , and in the course o f

thre e or four months he had practically recovered ; hecould , in fact , make such go od use o f his paralyzed armthat , on the following 12th o f August, he was able to

get on to the moor and actually to Shoot several brace o f

grouse .

’

Dr . Bramwe ll attribute s Mr. R oss’s rapid recovery tothe exe rcise o f the will power, as each voluntary efforttends to act as a stimulus which trave ls along the

damaged nerve tract and forms a path for motor impulse s .In support o f this theory he reminds us that after facialparalysis the orbicularis palpebrarum is the first muscle torecove r its tone , on account, he thinks, o f its great functional activity. In consequence o f the immense number o ftime s each day the reflex stimulus from the conjunc tivainclination to wink— i s applied , the nerve tract is continually be ing stimulated by impulse s which endeavour toforce the ir way through the le sion , and this repeatedstimulation leads to rapid repair o f the damaged ne rvefibre s .

O P IN IO N S O F T H E‘

P R E S S

ON THE FIRST E D IT ION.

Dr. C . Lloyd T uckey in P sycho -Therapeutics furnishes a good sketch , withsome E nglish il lustrations, o f the prac tice and results o f the S choo l o f Nancy.

T he best part o f the book is that in which he describes the processof treatment as carried outatNancy, and ithas the practical advantage that heindicateswhat are the best cases for such treatment.’— Bn ’

tislzM edical/carnal.

‘Dr. T uckey has done a very use ful work in givingus a sketch o f how the

matter stands now in themedical practice o f France and Ho l land espec ial lyin themedical scho o l o f Nancy, where Liébeault has practised hypno tismforthirty years, and since 1882 the large experience o f Bernhe im, Beaunis and

Liégeo is, physician, physio logist and lawyer. has built up a so lid superstruc ture .

’

— P ractitioner.

‘Dr. Tuckey has evidently made himse lf thoroughly acquainted with thesubjec t by practical experience , and has investigated itmo re as a careful

scientific observe r than‘

as an enthusiast. T his little book wil l be an impo rtantaddition to our literature , inasmuch as it is the first prac tical exposition of the

Nancy systemthathasappeared in this country. WeeklyM edical R eview, St.

Louis, U .S . A . (R e view o f American E dition).

Dr. T uckey, who has dedicated his treatise to Dr. Liébeault, has produced

a very readable book, and no doubt has he lped to increase the interest fe lt inthe subjec t o f the treatment o f disease by suggestion in this country.’—jo urnalof Mental S cience.

On the who le Dr. T uckey’s task has been we l l performed. T he book sets

forth the present state o f the subjec t in a compendious and attractive form,

and will large ly he lp to bring treatment bysuggestion under the no tice of the

pro fession in this conntry.

’— P rovincialM edical 7mm !.

It is fortunate that at last thematter has been taken'

up and investigated bymen who are not only properly qualified physic ians, butwho are also capable

of testing its value as a therape utic agent. T hat hypno tismmigh tcause harm—might even be used for criminal purposes— is no reason why it

should not be employed in suitable cases, under proper safeguards, anymorethan the fac t that arsenic and ch loro formhaving been used c riminal lywo uldb e a reason fo r expunging themfromthe armamentai iumo f medicine ’

P ublic Health Gournal of the S ociety cf M edical Ofi cers qf Health ).

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