Like most people who probably hear the word hypnosis, I associated it with people on stage being made to do embarrassing things like clucking like a chicken and barking like a dog. The words “look into my eyes, you are feeling very sleepy” came to mind. Hypnosis in many people’s opinions will be all about shows on stage for people’s entertainment. My perceptions about hypnosis have changed vastly. As I have learnt that it is completely different to what it is sometimes perceived to be and there is much more science involved. The history of hypnosis goes back a long way (thousands of years). In the 18th century the most influential figure in the development of hypnosis was Dr Frantz Anton Mesmer also known as the grandfather of hypnosis. He was an Austrian doctor who was a charismatic and at times controversial personality. He believed that the human body produced an invisible magnetic fluid and the magnets could restore the balance of magnetic fluid and this would cure the patient’s illness. He soon discovered that he could reach the same successful results by passing his hands over the patient which he did for hours at times. He named this method “animal magnetism”. He used strange mechanisms, ethereal music and created a séance-like atmosphere all of which aided in inducing trance. He was able to perform many cures using the technique that became named after him, Mesmerism. However, the medical establishment at the time, Viennese Medical Council, could find no logical reason for the results he got, and exposed him as a fraud. The continuing interest of hypnosis by names such as; Abbe Faria( who suggested that the effects of what Mesmer and his followers said to be animal magnetism were in fact due to suggestions made by the practitioners). James braid (who came up with the term “hypnosis” from the Greek word hypnos, meaning sleep. Braid, realising hypnosis is