While James Braid was making quantum leaps with hypnosis, another Scottish doctor, Dr. James Esdaile, was experimenting and gaining permanent recognition in the history of hypnosis. Stationed in Hoogly, India, James Esdaile used hypnosis in surgery with astounding results; and even today many would say that Dr. Esdaile’s work with applied hypnosis almost borders on the fantastic.
James Esdaile submitted reports at the end of 1846 indicating that Dr. Esdaile had performed several thousand minor operations and about 300 major ones, including 19 amputations, all painlessly.
Due mostly to the removal of post-operative shock through hypnosis, James Esdaile cut the 50% mortality rate of that time down to less than 8%! (One book even reported less than 5%.) The Medical Association actually accepted Esdaile’s report, and Dr. Esdaile was assigned to the Calcutta hospital to continue “mesmeristic” operations. (more)
By: Paul Gustafson
Milton Hyland Erickson, (5 December 1901 in Aurum, Nevada – 25 March 1980 in Phoenix, Arizona) was an American psychiatrist specializing in medical hypnosis and family therapy.
He was founding president of the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis and a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Psychopathological Association.
He is noted for his approach to the unconscious mind as creative and solution-generating. He is also noted for influencing brief therapy, strategic family therapy, family systems therapy, solution focused brief therapy, and neuro-linguistic programming. (more)
By: Paul Gustafson
1. Eggs Each egg has 6 grams of protein but just 72 calories. No wonder researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, found that eating eggs for breakfast (as part of a low-cal diet) helps you slim down.
2. Tomato sauce It’s loaded with lycopene, which makes your skin look younger and keeps your heart healthy. In fact, a Harvard study found that women with the most lycopene in their blood reduced their risk of a heart attack by 34%.
3. Dried plums(prunes) They’re packed with polyphenols, plant chemicals that have been shown to boost bone density by stimulating your bone-building cells.
4. Walnuts Just 14 walnut halves provide more than twice your daily dose of alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fat that’s been shown to improve memory and coordination.
5. Brussels sprouts They have more glucosinolates (compounds that combat cancer and detoxify our bodies) than any other vegetable. For a side dish that will make you wonder why you’ve been avoiding them, slice each one into quarters, then sauté in olive oil with chopped sweet Vidalia onions.
6. Acai juice A glass or two of this anthocyanin-rich berry juice can dramatically boost the amount of antioxidants in your blood, say Texas A&M University researchers.
7. Apples They contain quercetin, an antioxidant that may reduce your risk of lung cancer.
8. Bok choy This calcium-rich veggie can protect your bones and may even ward off PMS symptoms.
9. Steel-cut oats Because they’re less processed than traditional oats, they’re digested more slowly—keeping you full all morning long.
10. Salmon You’ll get all the heart-smart omega-3s you need in a day from just 3 oz.
11. Avocados Their healthy fat keeps you satisfied and helps you absorb other nutrients. For a new u twist, brush a halved avocado (pit removed) with olive oil and grill 1 minute. Serve with red onion, sliced grapefruit and balsamic vinegar.
12. Spinach A half-cup provides more than five times your daily dose of vitamin K, which helps blood clot and builds strong bones.
13. Canned pumpkin It’s filled with natural cancer fighters alpha- and beta-carotene.
14. Cauliflower White foods can be good for you! This one is packed with cancer-fighting glucosinolates.
15. Scallops A 3-oz serving has 14 grams of protein but just 75 calories.
16. Collard greens They’re exploding with nutrients like vitamin A, zeaxanthin and lutein, which keep your eyes healthy.
17. Olives They deliver the same heart-healthy monounsaturated fat you get in olive oil, but for just 7 calories per jumbo olive!
18. Brown rice It’s a top source of magnesium, a mineral your body uses for more than 300 chemical reactions (such as building bones and converting food to energy).
19. Oysters These keep your immune system strong. A 3-oz serving (about 6 oysters) dishes up a quarter of your daily iron, plus nearly twice the zinc and all the selenium you need in a day.
20. Edamame One cup has a whopping 22 grams of plant protein, as well as lots of fiber, folate and cholesterol-lowering phytosterols.
21. Strawberries They’re loaded with ellagitannins, phytochemicals that may halt the growth of cervical and colon cancers.
22. Lentils A great source of meat-free protein, a half-cup of cooked lentils also gives you nearly half your daily folate, a B vitamin that protects a woman’s unborn baby from neural tube defects.
23. Bran flakes Their whole grains keep your heart in tip-top shape by reducing inflammation and melting away belly fat.
24. Kiwi Italian researchers found that it reduces asthma-related wheezing, thanks to its high vitamin C content (one kiwi has 110% of your daily requirement).
25. Black beans They’re loaded with protein, fiber, and flavonoids—antioxidants that help your arteries stay relaxed and pliable.
26. Sunflower seeds A quarter-cup delivers half your day’s vitamin E, which keeps your heart healthy and fights infection.
27. Sardines 3 oz provide more than 100% of your daily vitamin D. Sardines are also a top source of omega-3 fats. Try adding mashed canned sardines to marinara sauce and serving over whole-wheat pasta.
28. Asparagus A half-cup supplies 50% of your daily bone-building vitamin K and a third of your day’s folate, it’s a natural diuretic so it banishes bloating, too.
29. Bananas They’re loaded with several kinds of good-for-you fiber, including resistant starch (which helps you slim down).
30. Broccoli sprouts They have 10 times more of the cancer-preventing compound glucoraphanin than regular broccoli.
31. Fat-free milk With a third of the calcium and half the vitamin D you need in a day, plus 8 grams u of muscle-building protein, it’s the ultimate energy drink.
32. Baked potatoes Each one packs a megadose of blood-pressure–lowering potassium—even more than a banana.
33. Sweet potatoes Half of a large baked sweet potato delivers more than 450% of your daily dose of vitamin A, which protects your vision and your immune system.
34. Flaxseed Not only is flaxseed loaded with plant omega-3s, it also has more lignans (compounds that may prevent endometrial and ovarian cancer) than any other food. Store ground flaxseed in your refrigerator and sprinkle on yogurt, cold cereal or oatmeal.
35. Greek yogurt It has twice the protein of regular yogurt.
36. Dried tart cherries Researchers at Michigan State University found their potent anthocyanins help control blood sugar, reduce insulin and lower cholesterol.
37. Wheat germ A quarter-cup gives you more than 40% of your daily vitamin E and immune-boosting selenium.
38. Whole-wheat english muffins You get 4 ½ grams of fiber for only 134 calories.
39. Tea Both green and black tea prevent hardening of the arteries, according to researchers at the University of Scranton.
40. Peanut butter This smart spread has arginine, an amino acid that helps keep blood vessels healthy.
41. Blackberries The king of the berry family boasts more antioxidants than strawberries, cranberries or blueberries.
42. Mustard greens These “greens” (actually a cruciferous veggie) are a top source of vitamin K. For a tasty pesto, chop them in a food processor with garlic, walnuts, Parmesan and olive oil.
43. Grapes They’re a leading source of resveratrol, the plant chemical responsible for the heart-healthy benefits of red wine.
44. Soy milk A good source of vegetable protein, calcium-enriched soy milk has as much calcium and vitamin D as cow’s milk.
45. Brazil nuts They have more selenium than any other food. One nut delivers your entire day’s worth!
46. Canola oil A Tbsp of this heart-healthy oil has all the alpha-linolenic acid you need in a day, plus two different forms of vitamin E.
47. Blueberries They improve memory by protecting your brain from inflammation and boosting communication between brain cells.
48. Oranges One orange supplies more than 100% of the vitamin C you need in a day. It’s also a good source of calcium and folate.
49. Watercress With just 4 calories per cup, this cruciferous veggie delivers a hefty dose of vitamin K, zeaxanthin, lutein, beta-carotene and cancer-fighting phytochemicals.
50. Turkey breast It has 20 grams of satisfying protein but just 90 calories per 3-oz serving.
51. Barley A top source of beta-glucan, a fiber that lowers cholesterol and helps control blood sugar.
52. Shiitake mushrooms One serving (about ¼ lb) provides as much vitamin D as you’d get from a glass of milk.
Children are often better candidates for hypnosis than adults, says one clinical psychologist, and the process can help resolve such problems as pain, anxiety, bed wetting, and asthma.
Robert Shacter of New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine talked about children and hypnosis on The Saturday Early Show. He says children tend to respond to hypnotic suggestion better than adults because they are more in touch with their imaginations.
Children can be hypnotized as early as age 3, he says, adding, “But in my personal experience, I have found that children ages 5 or older respond best to the treatment.”
Here is part of a pre-interview with Robert Shacter.
The easiest way to hypnotize a child is to have them focus on a point, he explains. They will do that until their eyes begin to feel heavy, and they become sleepy. You now have them in a trance-like state. Once they are in this state, you begin to tell the child stories that can alleviate whatever problems they may have.
What role, if any, does the parent play during a hypnosis session? As in any therapy, it is important for parents to know what is going on. But in the actual session the parent is either not there or in the background. So they really don’t play any part in the actual therapy.
How many times does a typical child visit a hypnotist? Most children attend 4 to 8 sessions with a qualified hypnotist. During that time, the hypnotist can teach a child how to hypnotize himself.
How do I know if my child if a candidate for hypnosis? Most children are good candidates. It just depends on whether the problems they are having can be helped by hypnosis.
Here are some of the problems that might be helped by hypnosis:
- Pain. Hypnosis is very effective at alleviating the pain of children undergoing cancer treatments. What we do is help the child go somewhere else, away from the pain. By accessing the unconscious, the child creates images that forces them to focus on something other than the pain they are feeling.
For example, if you squeezed your hand very tightly to the point that it hurt and then someone asked you to focus on something else, you would not be as aware of the pain in your hand.
- Anxiety. A child who is anxious often breathes more quickly and has a higher heart rate. With hypnosis, we can teach them to breathe more slowly, lower their heart rate and take them away from whatever is making them anxious.
- Bed Wetting. Many doctors prescribe medicine for children who have a bed-wetting problem. But now more physicians are turning to hypnosis, which has very positive results. Part of the reason that it works so well is that kids play an active role in their treatment rather than just taking a pill.
- Asthma. When children with asthma feel their throats constricting, they begin to feel anxious and breathe more heavily. With hypnosis, you teach the child to calm down and bring them to another place.
How effective is hypnosis in children? In the right child, hypnotism can be very successful. There are some children who have a harder time letting go, but for those who can, the results can be very positive. Another plus of hypnosis is that unlike drugs, the risk of harm is low.
Why aren’t more doctors using hypnotism? It’s just not taught that much in schools, and some people still don’t want to recognize it as a viable alternative. However, it is becoming more popular, and many insurers will cover it.
By: Ellen Crean
This common personality trait may take a toll on your waistline. Find out why—and what you can do about it.
Picture this: You’re at a restaurant and plan to order grilled chicken with vegetables because you’re trying to eat healthier and shed some extra pounds. Your friend, on the other hand, wants to order a burger with the works and a heaping side of fries—and encourages you to do the same.
So you switch your order just so your friend won’t feel bad about what she’s eating. Being concerned about other people’s feelings is a great trait in certain areas of your life, but when it comes to eating, it may backfire—and your waistline may pay the price.
New research from Case Western University found that people-pleasers tend to eat more. In the study, involving 101 college students, participants completed a questionnaire to determine their levels of preoccupation with pleasing others and maintaining social harmony, otherwise known as “sociotropy.”
They were then paired up in rooms with a female actor who took a small handful of M&Ms from a bowl and offered the rest to the participant. Researchers found that high-sociotropy individuals were more likely to eat greater amounts of M&Ms than other participants and admitted that they were trying to match the actor’s eating habits to make her feel more comfortable.
“People pleasers don’t like to pose any kind of threat to others,” says study co-author Julie Exline, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at the university. “They don’t want to outshine someone and in this case, the way you’d be outshining is to eat healthy or really light when the other person is eating junk.”
Not sure if you qualify as a people pleaser? Ask yourself whether you agree with any of the following phrases used in the study’s questionnaire: “I worry a lot about hurting or offending other people”; “I’m very sensitive to criticism by others”; “I’m easily persuaded by others”; and “I’m too apologetic to other people.”
Susan Albers, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic and author of “50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food”, says that you should also consider whether you frequently regret your decisions. If you often find yourself saying, “Oh, I should have done this instead of saying yes to that event” or “I wish I didn’t eat that cake my friend brought over,” your worry could be taking a toll on you, including your waistline.
People-pleasing aside, there’s a good chance you’ve mimicked your friends’ eating behaviors whether you realized it or not. Researchers from Radboud University Nijmegen in The Netherlands paired up 70 women and observed them eating in a mock restaurant, noting bite timing for both participants. The experts found that women tended to mimic each other’s eating behavior. In other words, they were more likely to take a bite within five seconds after their eating companion took a bite rather than eat at their own pace.
The participants were also more than three times as likely to mimic the intake of their eating companion at the beginning of the interaction—in this study, the first 10 minutes—compared to the end of the interaction, or the last 10 minutes.
Whether it’s to make a good first impression—which might explain the mimicry timing results—or because seeing someone else do an action may physically trigger you to copy them, one thing is clear: “Women feel pressure to match or mirror other people’s eating habits,” says Dr. Albers.
Sure, we’ve all been there before. It’s tough to say no when your grandmother offers you a piece of her homemade pie or to slow down when all of your girlfriends are digging into nachos at happy hour. Every once in awhile is fine, but if you find yourself in this situation a lot, it can have detrimental effects on your health. “When [these negative social eating habits] start to become more of a pattern, you need to start paying close attention,” says Dr. Exline.
By: Abigail Cuffey
