The hypnoid state is a
theory
A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...
of the origins of
hysteria
Hysteria is a term used to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, female hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that the bas ...
published jointly by
Josef Breuer
Josef Breuer ( ; ; 15 January 1842 – 20 June 1925) was an Austrian physician who made discoveries in neurophysiology, and whose work during the 1880s with his patient Bertha Pappenheim, known as Anna O., led to the development of the "cathart ...
and
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...
in their ''Preliminary communication'' of 1893, subsequently reprinted as the first chapter of ''
Studies on Hysteria
''Studies on Hysteria'' () is an 1895 book by Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, and the physician Josef Breuer. It consists of a joint introductory paper (reprinted from 1893); followed by five individual studies of hysterics – Br ...
'' (1895).
For Breuer and Freud, who characterised the hypnoid state as a state of absence of mind/consciousness produced by intense
daydream
Daydreaming is a stream of consciousness that detaches from current external tasks when one's attention becomes focused on a more personal and internal direction.
Various names of this phenomenon exist, including mind-wandering, fantasies, a ...
s of a mournful or sexual nature, "the existence of hypnoid states forms the foundation and condition of hysteria".
Characteristics
The hypnoid state was seen as one resembling but not identical with
hypnosis
Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychological ...
.
In the hypnoid state, one may have dream-like experiences.
One enters the hypnoid state by either hypnosis or by voluntary
amnesia
Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or brain diseases,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be temporarily caused by t ...
.
Breuer credited
Paul Julius Möbius
Paul Julius Möbius (; 24 January 1853 – 8 January 1907) was a German neurologist born in Leipzig. His grandfather was the German mathematician and theoretical astronomer August Ferdinand Möbius (1790–1868).
Prior to entering the medical fi ...
as a forerunner in the development of the idea.
Repudiation
Freud was shortly to repudiate the causative notion of hypnoid states, in favour of his theory of psychological
repression. As he would put it later, "Breuer's theory of 'hypnoid states' turned out to be impeding and unnecessary, and it has been dropped by
psycho-analysis
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious processes and their influence on conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on dream interpretation, psychoanalysis is also a talk therap ...
today...the screen of hypnoid states erected by Breuer".
Nevertheless he continued to recognise the importance of such states of absent consciousness in the
symptomatology
Signs and symptoms are diagnostic indications of an illness, injury, or condition.
Signs are objective and externally observable; symptoms are a person's reported subjective experiences.
A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature ...
of the hysterical subject.
[S. Freud, ''On Psychopathology'' (PFL 10) p. 101]
See also
References
External links
Hypnoid states
{{clear
1893 introductions
Freudian psychology
Hypnosis
Hysteria
Daydreaming