Hypnotism and treatment by suggestion / by J. Milne Bramwell.

  • John Milne Bramwell
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Hypnotism and treatment by suggestion / by J. Milne Bramwell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    heaviness was felt in tlie limbs—when the intention was about to be carried out, the wrist and hand seemed a little more difficult to move than usual, and one did not feel inclined to take the trouble. Again, the legs were crossed, and, on becoming conscious of this, one felt inclined to un- cross them, but in such a half-hearted way that no attempt was made to do it; and again, the flicker of the fire was seen through the closed eyelids and one felt inclined in a general way to look at it, but without any definite attempt being made to open the lids. It was felt that they were closed, that it would be a trouble to open them, and indeed that it would be hardly fair, as one wished the hypnosis to succeed, so they were therefore allowed to remain closed. Not that any definite feeling of inability to perform any of these movements was experienced; on the contrary, although quite alive to the fact that patients are at times unable to open the eyes when they think they are able to, one felt and feels absolutely certain that if the wish had been there the eyes would have been opened. “ On numbness being suggested to a limb, no such feeling was at first experienced. After a little, however, one felt that one could let it get numb if one wanted to; something the same as when one’s arm is hanging over the back of a chair, one knows that by placing it in another position no numbness will be experienced, the arm will not ‘ go to sleep ’; so by a simple effort of will one felt the arm might easily be kept from getting numb. Instead of wanting it not to get numb, one almost wished for the success of the experiment that it should become so, and one therefore allowed it to get numb, and thus it gradually became so, i.e. the same feeling was experienced in it as when a limb ‘ goes to sleep,’ a mixture of tingling and numbness, and this was the same sensation as was felt when passes v^ere made. “ Next day, on being hypnotisd’d for tooth extraction, the eyes were a little longer in closing, partly because the mind