Autohypnotism

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The method of achieving a trance state through self-suggestion enables individuals to modify their thoughts and behaviors for improvement or relaxation
2. This practice utilizes self-induced trance techniques to facilitate personal transformation and enhance mental well-being
3. The process of putting oneself into a hypnotic trance by own mental suggestion to influence thoughts or feelings

Etymology: Autohypnotism is a compound built from "auto-", the Greek-derived prefix meaning "self", and "hypnotism", the word for the induction of sleep-like trance states. Put together, it describes a trance a person induces in themselves rather than one produced by another person. The first half is the more transparent of the two. "Auto-" comes from the Greek "autos", meaning "self", and it appears in many modern coinages such as "automatic" and "autograph". Attaching it to "hypnotism" simply specifies that the subject and the operator are the same individual, with no hypnotist involved. Because the word is a straightforward combination of two existing parts, its history is largely a matter of how the two elements fit together in meaning rather than any dramatic shift. Its sense stays close to the literal pieces: a trance that the self brings about.

Synonyms: self-hypnosis, auto-suggestion