Trance is a term that is generally used to describe any kind of unnatural sleep or partly conscious state. The term may be used to describe the condition of hypnotized people, spiritualist mediums, and some people with mental disorders. In some cases, trances continue for long periods of time. Usually, however, they last for only brief periods of time. The word trance was first used to describe conditions in which the soul was believed to have withdrawn from the body of a person for a period of time.