Hypnosis and meditation are both trance states that result in similar brain wave patterns. Hypnosis uses the guidance of a therapist, whereas meditation is usually done independently.
Hypnosis is a trance-like state of heightened awareness. Everyone goes in and out of natural trances many times a day.
If you’ve ever walked or driven somewhere while concentrating so deeply on something else that when you arrived, you couldn’t remember the actual process of driving or walking, then you’ll know what it is to be in a trance. Hypnosis is such a state brought about with the aid of a hypnotist or hypnotherapist.
Hypnotherapy is therapy conducted whilst the client is under Hypnosis. Hypnotherapy works by inducing a trance-like state within a client during which they are relaxed but fully aware of their surroundings and only concentrating on the hypnotherapist’s voice. It is different from sleep and closer to a relaxed state of wakefulness where breathing and heart-rate slows and brain-waves change.
The client is alert, always exercises choice and control, and is empowered by accessing their own inner resources and healing ability rather than simply obeying a command. Once in a state of hypnosis, under the guidance of the hypnotherapist, the client is able to take control over any involuntary thoughts, behavior or feelings taking place in the sub-conscious, thereby bringing about the changes they want, such as reducing unwanted behaviors or making changes they find hard to make.
As with all things, some people will enter a hypnotic trance more easily than others. But because trance is a natural state, anyone can be hypnotized providing a) 
they understand what is spoken to them, and b) they consent to the process.
If you feel uncertain or insecure you should spend time with your hypnotherapist first to establish trust and rapport. This will make the process smoother and more comfortable and increase the likelihood of successful therapy.
Although the hypnotherapist is offering suggestions to the unconscious mind, the client will not accept a suggestion that they choose not to.
In hypnotherapy, the client is not under the control of the hypnotherapist. Hypnosis is not something imposed on people, but something they do for themselves. A hypnotherapist simply serves as a facilitator to guide them.
Hypnotherapy is most effective when the client is highly motivated. This is why it is so important that you come to therapy because YOU want to, and not because someone else wants you to.
As with any therapeutic modality some clients will experience great benefits and other less. But there is now ample scientific evidence that Hypnotherapy can be highly effective in treating many conditions ranging from chronic pain and depression to weight loss.
Meditation is also a state of heightened focus or awareness. It is a practice during which the mind’s mental activity may be slowed, and deep mental and physical relaxation may occur. The practice is simple but not easy. As with any newly learned skill, patience and persistence are necessary for lasting benefit.
Meditation taps into the innate potential for healing that we all have. It mobilizes and develops our ability for self-awareness and self-compassion as well as compassion for others, helping to improve self-esteem and providing a general feeling of relaxed well-being.
Mindfulness is the capacity to be completely present and attentive. A common definition used is “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally”.
Meditation is the formal practice that trains the brain to be focused and present. Meditation has been shown to help manage pain and anxiety, lessen mind-chatter and enhance the natural healing process of the body and mind.
Mindfulness is the moment to moment practice through the day that helps to maintain awareness of being present with all that occurs, good or bad, without judgement. This awareness is empowering and allows one to slow down and live one’s life fully, not just watch it speeding by.
By practicing non-judgment, we can learn to savor what is good in our lives and be more accepting of what isn’t. After all, judgment of a situation doesn’t change what it is. Mindfulness can open us up to the possibilities that exist in each moment of our lives, to experience the fullness and uniqueness of each moment. Practiced regularly, mindfulness can help us to work more productively and live more harmoniously.
By: Judith Lissing
Medical Hypnotherapy can be a powerful method to treat various mental health conditions. By creating a calm and controlled environment, it allows patients to focus on their deepest disruptions.
What is hypnosis treatment?
Medical hypnotherapy works through its ability to remove all distraction from the mind of the patient, and speak clearly and directly about personal habits that need their attention. It is often used to help change the behaviors of the patient, but does not rely on manipulation, coercion or compulsion to achieve a positive outcome.
Misconceptions about hypnosis treatment are commonplace, but its real utility as a treatment option comes from its clean approach (no drugs or chemicals are used) and its success in de-cluttering the mind of stresses and disruptions, thereby allowing the patient to focus completely on the task at hand.
Many patients benefit from hypnosis for anxiety and depression, while others use it to break free from phobias, eating disorders, burnout, or learned behaviors such as smoking. Sexual dysfunction and pain management are among the other frequent areas of focus for which hypnosis treatment can be useful.
Medical hypnotherapy is often used in conjunction with cognitive behavioral therapy – a treatment combination which has proven to be particularly effective in achieving improved patient health.
How does medical hypnotherapy work?
Medical hypnotherapy allows the patient to imagine in detail a source of anxiety while in a controlled setting. The patient is then encouraged to enter a state of deep 
relaxation, rather than allowing the anxiety to grow. This paired activity helps the brain to associate the potential anxiety trigger together with a calmer state of mind, allowing the brain to begin building new and healthier pathways of behavior and emotional response.
At the same time, the hypnotherapist provides calming suggestions for the patient under hypnosis, in an effort to show him or her a path toward healthier living. Included in these messages is an invitation to view the world in a more positive light, by embracing a generous outlook toward the surrounding environment.
During each hypnotherapy session, the patient remains awake and lucid, and in full control of every decision regarding whether or not to act upon the suggestions made by the hypnotherapist. The duration of treatment varies according to the condition being treated, as well as the mental state of the patient.
The treatment process
Hypnosis treatment begins in earnest when the hypnotherapist helps the patient achieve a trance-like state, in which external distractions are removed and the voice of the hypnotherapist is placed at the center of the patient’s consciousness.
Once in this state, the patient is encouraged to explore inner thoughts and feelings, which he or she is able to see with the type of rare clarity that is commonly associated with meditation. This newfound concentration lets patients use all of their inner resources to contemplate the issues that otherwise trouble them – whether alcohol, cigarettes or other drugs; traumatic events; or conditions which ordinarily cause stress for the patient.
The hypnotherapist acts as a guide for the patient during this period of exploration, suggesting a calm and observational approach to each distressing phenomenon, rather than an instinctive emotional reaction. After a period of contemplation, including mental encounters with the provocative stimuli, the hypnotherapist encourages the patient to enter a state of deep relaxation.
Through each successive treatment, the patient learns to cope with the reality of the thing feared, or the object of obsession – and then observe it from a detached space, before moving past it and into a state of tranquility. The lesson of detachment and balance becomes a learned skill, empowering the patient to deal with stressors in a healthier way in everyday life.
Key benefits of hypnosis for anxiety and depression
Hypnosis has a broad range of applications, due to its general ability to improve the power of concentration and suggestion. Common benefits of medical hypnotherapy include:
• Increased ability to focus on stressful objects and ideas while remaining emotionally balanced
• Increased ability to detach from obsessive behaviors and habits, including smoking
• Increased tolerance for pain under certain conditions
• A more positively oriented worldview
• Renewed feelings of self-control
• Reduced feelings of depression or anxiety, and recovery from burnout
By creating new conditions for personal empowerment, hypnosis gives patients the internal tools needed to overcome the unhelpful group of emotions and behaviors that caused them to seek treatment.
How successful is hypnosis treatment?
Natural human variability means that some people are more open to suggestibility and hypnosis than others. In general, however, it is effective to use hypnosis for anxiety and depression as part of a larger course of treatment.
In particular, studies show that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) provides an effective complement to hypnosis treatment for conditions such as acute stress disorder.
A more general meta-analysis reveals widespread improvement in many areas due to the combination of hypnosis with CBT. The study also found sustained improvements after measuring patient outcomes long after the period of treatment had ended.
Though it does not promise a complete cure in all cases, it is clear that hypnosis, with its ability to clear away the noise of day-to-day life during therapy sessions, can have a significant, positive, and long-lasting effect on behavior modification.
If you or someone you know experiences mental health issues, it is important to seek help from a qualified professional.
By: Chris Jansen
Doctors and researchers at MD Anderson are exploring hypnosedation to manage pain and anxiety during certain breast cancer surgeries.
When Beverly Levinson’s doctor noticed two unusual spots on her dense breasts, she was sent to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for a lumpectomy—a surgical procedure to remove abnormal or cancerous tissue along with a small portion of the surrounding healthy tissue.
Levinson, 64, wasn’t as concerned about the surgery as she was about undergoing general anesthesia. She had received general anesthesia for previous surgeries, but because of her temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder, she suffered severe jaw pain from opening her mouth wide enough for the breathing tube to be inserted down her throat.
Luckily, an unconventional solution presented itself to Levinson. Her surgeon approached her about an ongoing clinical trial that would allow her to avoid general anesthesia by using hypnosis. Levinson, who had been hypnotized for jaw pain years ago, immediately jumped at the opportunity.
“In my eyes, I had nothing to lose,” Levinson said. “I could try something new or I could go the old-fashioned way. I’m the middle child. I always try new things. That’s my personality.”
Led by Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D., director of the Integrative Medicine Program at MD Anderson, the ongoing clinical trial aims to determine whether or not a method of deep relaxation, called hypnosedation, is safe and effective for patients with stage 0/1 breast cancer who are undergoing lumpectomies with or without sentinel lymph node dissections.
The study, still in its pilot phase, will examine 50 patients who are randomly selected to receive either general anesthesia or a combination of local anesthesia and hypnosedation before and during surgery.
In both cases, a patient has an intravenous line placed in her arm and an anesthesiologist is present to administer a cocktail of drugs used to put her under.
For patients receiving hypnosis, the anesthesiologist monitors their vitals, calculates the appropriate dose of local anesthetic medication, administers medication for pain and nausea and stands by to convert to general anesthesia if the patient experiences any discomfort.
“Over the past couple of decades there is a very solid evidence base that incorporating hypnosis during invasive conscious sedation medical procedures reduces anxiety, helps to control pain, decreases recovery time, and helps lower medical costs,” Cohen said.
General anesthesia is still the standard approach at MD Anderson, even for smaller surgeries, such as lumpectomies. But the drugs used for general anesthesia can potentially weaken the body’s immune system and slow the recovery process, Cohen said.
Cancer patients, in particular, cannot afford to have their immune systems compromised. Cohen and his team want to find out if hypnosedation would be a viable replacement for general anesthesia during smaller, less invasive surgeries.
The practice of hypnosis, in one form or another, has been around for centuries. But it wasn’t until the mid-19th century that it came to be defined as a kind of “nervous sleep” that could alleviate anxiety or pain during medical procedures.
In the 1840s, Scottish neurosurgeon James Braid developed a technique of deep relaxation and visual fixation to guide patients into a trance and help alleviate their pain.
He coined the term “hypnosis” and defined it as “the induction of a habit of abstraction or mental concentration, in which … the powers of the mind are so much engrossed with a single idea or train of thought, as … to render the individual unconscious of, or indifferently conscious to, all other ideas, impressions, or trains of thought.”
Although hypnosis is often associated with parlor tricks and stage magicians, the practice itself has been used clinically to address several conditions, including smoking, anxiety and overeating.
For Levinson, it was a great option. A week before surgery, Levinson met with Rosalinda Engle, a mind-body specialist at MD Anderson Cancer Center who would perform the hypnosedation, in a small conference room in the hospital.
“Do you have a place where you feel really comfortable and at ease?” Engle asked Levinson in her soothing, mellifluous voice. “It could be your grandmother’s house.
It could be a vacation you’ve enjoyed, a vacation spot. It could be anywhere, any place in nature. Close your eyes and call that up.”
As Levinson focused on the task, Engle continued to offer instruction.
“Breathe in deeply. Experience your breath from the tip of your nose. Feel as your breath moves through your body. Imagine breathing into the palm of your hands. Now exhale. Breathe out through your fingers, the soles of your feet, your toes. Relax.”
Slowly but surely, Engle lulled Levinson into a state of deep relaxation.
“I felt very, very safe,” Levinson said, when it was over. “It was like [going] into someone’s house where they’re baking a cake. It smells good, and they welcome you in. You just have a warm feeling.”
Engle guided Levinson through what to expect on the day of the surgery. The room would be sterile, with five or six people at hand. The lights would be bright. Engle would sit beside her throughout the procedure to keep her calm and relaxed.
“My sole job is to sit at the head of the bed and focus on the patient,” Engle said. “Any changes to breathing patterns [or] facial muscles will alert me that I need to check in. Periodically, I’ll ask the patient, ‘How’s your comfort level?’”
On the day of the surgery, doctors injected local anesthetics— lidocaine and bupivacaine—to numb Levinson’s right breast and made a 1-inch incision to remove some of the tissue.
As promised, Engle sat next to Levinson for the duration of the surgery, helping her maintain a state of deep relaxation.
“I didn’t feel anything,” Levinson said. “You’re in a calm state. You’re in a safe state of mind. You’re being reassured. It was great.”
Throughout the surgery, Levinson recalled feeling pressure on her breast as the surgeon operated, but said it didn’t hurt any worse than getting a filling at the dentist.
Less than an hour after her surgery was complete, Levinson was out of bed, dressed and walking around. She skirted the unpleasant side effects of general anesthesia, recovered faster and didn’t require any post-operative painkillers.
For hypnosedation to work, Engle said, the patient must be receptive to it.
“All hypnosis is self-hypnosis,” Engle said. “You’ll go as deep into this trance state as you are willing to allow yourself to go.”
Engle points to shifts in attention and consciousness that people commonly experience throughout the day. Ordinary moments—such as zoning out while driving or becoming so engrossed in a conversation that you’re able to block out surrounding noise—are examples of how the mind can tune out distractions.
“Pointing out these everyday shifts and our capacity for absorption is important to let the patients know they are in control and driving this experience,” Engle said. “They can train themselves to be as relaxed and calm as possible.
They can guide themselves. They can walk through this experience with surgery and take it throughout the treatment process, the whole continuum of cancer care.”
While general anesthesia is very safe for most people, it can have unpleasant side effects. The most common are temporary nausea and vomiting, dry mouth, a sore throat and grogginess.
Older patients who receive general anesthesia are more likely to experience longer-term cognitive and memory impairments, a condition called post-operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) that can last anywhere from a few days to a few months. Those with a history of POCD have a higher risk of experiencing the condition again with repeated anesthetic.
“[Hypnosedation] is a nice alternative,” said Elizabeth Rebello, M.D., associate professor in the department of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine at MD Anderson. “The patient doesn’t require an extended period of time in the recovery room. They’re able to go on with the rest of their life.”
According to Cohen, more than 34 clinical trials and numerous papers published in scientific journals have shown that hypnosedation works. But he says there is still some doubt among his colleagues.
“Although a physician may think, ‘I don’t believe in hypnosis,’ that is a scientifically unsound statement. Science is not about personal belief. It’s about evidence,” Cohen said.
“Your religious practices are part of a belief system. Science is evidence-based. Unfortunately, there are some people who approach science from a belief perspective, as well, and they’re wrong.”
Most surgeons were initially reluctant to participate in the clinical trial, said Dalliah M. Black, M.D., a breast surgical oncologist at MD Anderson.
Because the standard approach at MD Anderson is to use general anesthesia for surgeries large and small, most surgeons are accustomed to having their patient sleep throughout every procedure.
“Surgeon interest was very slow up front, but I would offer them to come in to watch my cases,” Black said. “Many colleagues have been so surprised.”
Using hypnosedation, patients like Levinson can gain some semblance of control during an otherwise stressful experience.
“It’s amazing how complex we are as humans and how complex the mind is. A lot of times, it’s mind over matter,” Black said. “Hypnosedation is a way we’ve applied mind over matter to a situation in the operating room for a specific population of the patients here.
That mental fortitude and the strength that we have, that has to be carried through and has better outcomes if we use that path throughout our cancer care.”
No matter how effective the clinical trial shows hypnosedation to be for surgeries, Rebello stressed that hypnosedation will not become a new standard approach for pain management.
“I think there’s a concern that this is going to replace general anesthesia. It is not going to replace general anesthesia,” Rebello said. “But for a certain niche of patients, there are certainly some benefits that could exist and we need to find out if that is, indeed, the case.
By: Shanley Pierce
This is a truly ground-breaking study. It’s the first one to study the effects of various areas of the brain before and after hypnosis in people with dental phobias. While it’s a relatively small sample size, it’s a push in the right direction. Out of the 24 people involved in the study, 12 were dental phobics and the other 12 were the control group.
