Animal magnetism was a medical theory in the late 1700s that used magnetic force to cure disease. German physician Franz Anton Mesmer is considered the father of hypnotism for his work with animal magnetism. While the theory was later found to be a fraud, it impacted the study of psychology and medicine. Today, animal magnetism refers to sex appeal and charm.
Animal magnetism defines a term that originated in the late 1700s to describe the practice of using magnetic force to cure disease. It was coined by a German physician who believed that living animals possess a magnetic fluid related to celestial bodies and cause disease when out of balance with the sun, moon and stars. The theory of animal magnetism has been practiced for 75 years and has led to the study of hypnosis, clairvoyance and parapsychology. In modern times, animal magnetism refers to sex appeal, raw charisma, and charm.
The German physician Franz Anton Mesmer is sometimes called the father of hypnotism for his early work with theories of animal magnetism. He used magnets to balance the invisible fluid present in stars and all animals, including humans. Later, the doctor abandoned the use of magnets, believing that the magnetic fluid in his body was activated when he ran his hands over a sick patient. The word hypnotize comes from the name of the doctor.
Mesmer became known for his work, especially among women. He opened clinics for rich and poor and found that economic status had no bearing on the number of people treated with animal magnetism. At the time, these medical techniques were not considered a fad, prompting other doctors to practice using these theories.
After several decades, a commission was formed to study the effectiveness of animal magnetism in curing ailments. The commission found that people got better thanks to the power of suggestion and not to the mysterious magnetic fluids related to the planets, the sun or the moon. The men who served on the commission also believed that imagination played a big role in how people recovered from illness.
Though believed to be a fraud, Mesmer and his work impacted the study of psychology and medicine, especially in how the mind affects disease. Other doctors who have continued this form of healing have found that patients seemed to fall into a trance-like state, called magnetic sleep. They were surprised by the patients who spoke in this state, especially when the patients diagnosed their illnesses and suggested treatments. Usually, these patients did not remember what happened during their sleep states.
Several decades after Mesmer first used animal magnetism in his medical practice, the concept of a conscious and unconscious mind emerged. It was in the mid-1800s when hypnotism first became an accepted means of treating patients. Hypnotism has replaced the term magnetic sleepwalking used to describe the trance state observed in patients.
In modern times, animal magnetism describes an intense physical attraction between two people, usually of the opposite sex. It could describe a person who possesses the ability to charm people and attract others effortlessly. Some people describe the feeling as having an instant connection with another person.
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