many successful hypnotists and responses to the hypnotist are completely unrelated to the hypnotists’s ability or to his grasp of hypnotic induction procedures.” One can conclude then, that the subject’s reaction to the induction procedure is determined by what the subjects preconceived idea of what a hypnotist should be and do than by what the hypnotist really is and does (Baker, 1990, p.167). Hypnosis and PainHypnosis as an anaestheticHypnosis has been used to cure many ills, and over the years, has become a remedy for bad habits, such as smoking, drinking, and weight gain. But one use of hypnosis that is very popular is its use to replace anesthetics during surgery.The use of hypnosis as an anaesthetic can be traced back to a French surgeon named Cloquet, to John Eliotson at the University College Hospital in London in the 1830’s, and to James Esdaile’s use of mesmeric techniques in India (Baker, 1990, p. 199). However, the pain killing that was reported in those instances was not clear-cut. In Hypnosis, Compliance, and Belief, Wagstaff (1981) states that the work of Eliotson and Esdaille may not have been so pain free. According to Wagstaff, the number of people who undergo surgery without pain under hypnosis is very small. This observation was shared by Baker (1990) as well. “While the number of people who could undergo painless surgery without anesthetics is quite small, it is important to point out that the number of people selected for surgery with hypnosis is equally small. Those who have studied the problem are in general agreement that the number is much less than the frequently reported ten percent. Two to three percent would be much more accurate.”According to Baker (1990), investigators have also said that cultural factors affect the way people respond to pain. For example, people that live in Third World countries, in poverty, hunger and disease, have a tolerance for p...
