- Hypnosis does not involve mind control, magic, unconsciousness or sleep.
- You cannot be made to enter hypnosis against your will.
- Hypnosis is a natural experience that happens to most of us each day when we become absorbed in doing something like driving, working, reading or watching TV.
- All your senses are awake and alert while you are in a hypnotic state.
- You are in control at all times while in hypnosis.
- You only say and do in hypnosis what you would normally say and do in a fully conscious state.
- You can return to full consciousness any time you either want to or feel the need to.
- The subconscious mind makes up about 90% of your total mind power and contains a “mental movie” of everything that has happened in your life.
- As you enter into hypnosis, you bypass the conscious mind and can then access information in the subconscious mind.
- The use of hypnosis gives you the opportunity to make changes quickly and permanently.
- Hypnosis was approved for use by the British Medical Association in 1955 and by the American Medical Association in 1958.
- Hypnotherapy entails the use of trance and suggestion to adjust habits of thought, feeling and behavior.
- Hypnotherapists use trance and suggestions to help normal people cope with every-day problems of living, such as issues related to jobs, hobbies and recreational activities.
- Hypnotherapy can also aid in general self-improvement through strategies such as non-clinical stress management.
- Hypnotherapists work in complementary ways with physicians and other health care providers to help optimize the care patients receive.
- Hypnotherapeutic results can be restorative, rehabilitative, curative and occasionally seemingly miraculous
By: Paul Gustafson RN CH
Hypnosis, also referred to as hypnotherapy or hypnotic suggestion, is a trance-like state in which you have heightened focus, concentration and inner absorption. When you’re under hypnosis, you usually feel calm and relaxed, and you can concentrate intensely on a specific thought, memory, feeling or sensation while blocking out distractions.
Under hypnosis, you’re more open than usual to suggestions, and this can be used to modify your perceptions, behavior, sensations and emotions. Therapeutic hypnosis is used to improve your health and well-being and is different from so-called stage hypnosis used by entertainers. Although you’re more open to suggestion during therapeutic hypnosis, your free will remains intact and you don’t lose control over your behavior.
Why it’s done
Hypnosis is intended to help you gain more control over undesired behaviors or emotions or to help you cope better with a wide range of medical conditions. Hypnosis isn’t considered a treatment or a type of psychotherapy. Rather, it’s a procedure typically used along with certain treatments and therapies to help a wide variety of conditions.
Applications
- Pain control
- Smoking cessation
- Reducing stress related to medical procedures
- Mental health conditions
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Surgical preparation
- Childbirth
- Weight loss
- Athletic performance
- Dental procedures
- Coping with chemotherapy
- Skin conditions
- Gastrointestinal problems
Risks
Hypnosis that’s conducted under the care of a trained therapist or health care professional is considered a safe complementary and alternative medicine treatment.
Adverse reactions are rare but may include:
- Nausea
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Anxiety or panic
- Creation of false memories
How to prepare
You don’t need any special preparation to have hypnosis. But it’s a good idea to wear comfortable, loose fitting clothing to help with relaxation. Also, make sure that you’re well rested before having hypnosis so that you’re not inclined to fall asleep during the session.
Be sure you carefully choose a therapist or health care professional to perform hypnosis. Get a recommendation from someone you trust. Don’t buy into promises of cures. And when you do find a potential hypnotherapist, ask lots of questions, such as:
- Do you have training in a field such as psychology, medicine, social work or dentistry?
- Are you licensed in your specialty in this state?
- Where did you go to school, and where did you do your internship, residency or both?
- How much training have you had in hypnotherapy and from what schools?
- What professional organizations do you belong to?
- How long have you been in practice?
- What are your fees?
- Does insurance cover your services?
What to expect
There are a variety of techniques for hypnosis. The approach you choose depends on what you want to accomplish and your personal preferences. Your hypnotherapist may make a recommendation about the best technique for your situation.
In general, a hypnotherapist explains the process of hypnosis and reviews what you both hope to accomplish. The hypnotherapist typically induces you into hypnosis by talking in a gentle, soothing tone and describing images that create a sense of relaxation, security and well-being.
When you’re in a deep trance-like state, the hypnotherapist suggests ways for you to achieve specific goals, such as reducing pain or eliminating cravings to smoke. The hypnotherapist also may help you visualize vivid, meaningful mental images in which you picture yourself accomplishing your goals, such as shooting baskets accurately. When the session is over, either you are able to bring yourself out of hypnosis or your hypnotherapist helps you end your trance-like state.
A typical hypnosis session lasts about 30 to 60 minutes. You may benefit from just one session or several sessions of hypnosis. You can usually resume normal activities immediately.
Contrary to how hypnosis is sometimes portrayed in movies, on television or on stage, you don’t lose control over your behavior while under hypnosis. Although hypnosis makes you more open to suggestions, you can’t be forced to engage in behavior involuntarily. Also, you generally remain aware of who you are and where you are, and you typically remember what happened when you were under hypnosis.
You may eventually be able to practice self-hypnosis, in which you induce a state of hypnosis in yourself. You can use this skill as needed — for instance, after a chemotherapy session.
(Mayo Clinic staff)
Stress can be defined as any type of change that causes physical, emotional or psychological strain. However, not all types of stress are harmful or even negative. There are a few different types of stress that we encounter:
- Eustress, a type of stress that is fun and exciting, and keeps us vital (e.g. skiing down a slope or racing to meet a deadline)
- Acute Stress, a very short-term type of stress that can either be positive (eustress) or more distressing (what we normally think of when we think of ‘stress’); this is the type of stress we most often encounter in day-to-day life (e.g. skiing down said slope or dealing with road rage)
- Episodic Acute Stress, where acute stress seems to run rampant and be a way of life, creating a life of relative chaos (e.g. the type of stress that coined the terms ‘drama queen’ and ‘absent-minded professor’)
- Chronic Stress, the type of stress that seems never-ending and inescapable, like the stress of a bad marriage or an extremely taxing job (this type of stress can lead to burnout)
The Fight or Flight Response
Stress can trigger the body’s response to perceived threat or danger, the Fight-or-Flight response. During this reaction, certain hormones like adrenalin and cortisol are released, speeding the heart rate, slowing digestion, shunting blood flow to major muscle groups, and changing various other autonomic nervous functions, giving the body a burst of energy and strength.
Originally named for its ability to enable us to physically fight or run away when faced with danger, it’s now activated in situations where neither response is appropriate, like in traffic or during a stressful day at work. When the perceived threat is gone, systems are designed to return to normal function via the relaxation response, but in our times of chronic stress, this often doesn’t happen enough, causing damage to the body.
Stress and Health: Implications of Chronic Stress
When faced with chronic stress and an overactivated autonomic nervous system, people begin to see physical symptoms. The first symptoms are relatively mild, like chronic headaches and increased susceptibility to colds. With more exposure to chronic stress, however, more serious health problems may develop. These stress-influenced conditions include, but are not limited to:
- depression
- diabetes
- hair loss
- heart disease
- hyperthyroidism
- obesity
- obsessive-compulsive or anxiety disorder
- sexual dysfunction
- tooth and gum disease
- ulcers
- cancer
In fact, most it’s been estimated that as many as 90% of doctor’s visits are for symptoms that are at least partially stress-related.
What You Can Do
To keep stress, especially chronic stress, from damaging your health, it’s important to be sure that your body does not experience excessive states of this physiological arousal. There are two important ways to do this:
- Learn Tension-Taming Techniques: Certain techniques can activate your body’s relaxation response, putting your body in a calm state. These techniques, including meditation, yoga, deep breathing exercises, journaling and positive imagery, can be learned easily and practiced when you’re under stress, helping you feel better relatively quickly.
- Prevent Excess Stress: Some acute stress is unavoidable, but much of the episodic acute stress and chronic stress–the stress that damages our health–that we experience can be avoided or minimized with the use of organization techniques, time management, relationship skills and other healthy lifestyle choices.
Seeking Professional Help
Sometimes stress becomes so great that people develop stress-related disorders or need the help of medications, herbal treatments or the aid of a professional. If you experience excessive anxiety or symptoms of depression, find yourself engaging in unhealthy or compulsive behaviors, or have a general feeling that you need help, talk to your doctor or a health care professional. There is help available, and you can be feeling better and more in control of your life soon.
Whatever your situation, stress need not damage your health. If you handle your stress now, you can quickly be on the road to a healthier, happier life.
By Elizabeth Scott, M.S.
Chronic stress has powerful effects on the body’s production and storage of fat. High levels of cortisol induced by stress can lead to increase in body fat and obesity. This adds to all the other ways that stress promotes obesity.
There are various ways stress can lead to increase in body fat and obesity. Most people are aware of behavioral and emotional aspects of stress-related obesity. People who are often stressed out have trouble maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
They may eat often even when they’re not hungry — this is called stress eating or emotional eating — or they may eat high-calorie fast foods because they don’t have time to prepare something healthy. Additionally, they may be too exhausted to exercise regularly when they’re under a lot of stress.
Physiological factors — specifically, cortisol and cortisol-induced insulin — are the main reasons why stress can lead to increase in body fat and obesity. When faced with a stressful situation, the body triggers the stress response or fight-or-flight response. This leads to the secretion of cortisol, adrenaline and other stress hormones along with an increase of blood pressure, breathing and heart rate.
The normal stress response causes the rapid increase of heart rate and respiratory rate as well as blood pressure. Available energy is increased while digestion and other non-essential processes are decreased. So, the body is primed to fight or take flight and escape, whichever is needed.
The natural stress response is usually short-term and self-regulating. When the threat is gone, the body returns to normal. As cortisol and adrenaline levels drop, heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure as well as energy levels return to their baseline levels. Other systems inhibited by the stress response return to their regular activities.
The natural stress response goes awry when stress is constant and excessive. In today’s society, most people are inundated with overwhelming stress. For those constantly dealing with excessive and chronic stress, the body’s fight-or-flight response is constantly on. In turn, the resulting stress hormones released are chronically high.
Chronically high levels of cortisol plays a big role in the development of obesity.
- Cortisol helps the body handle stress; so, when stress goes up, cortisol also goes up. Cortisol stimulates fat and carbohydrate metabolism during stressful situations. This leads to increased blood sugar levels required for fast energy. In turn, this stimulates insulin release which can lead to an increase in appetite.
- Adrenaline increases alertness and metabolism by helping fat cells release energy.
When the immediate stress is over, the adrenaline levels return to normal. But, cortisol lingers to help bring the body back into balance after stress. One of the ways it gets things back to balance is by increasing appetite to replace the carbohydrate and fat used for the flight or fight response.
The problem is that in today’s society, stress-causing situations — such as, traffic jams or computer malfunctions — do not really require the body to use up a lot of energy. So, cortisol ends up causing the body to refuel after stress even when it doesn’t really need to refuel. This excess fuel or glucose is converted into fat resulting in increased storage of fat.
What makes matters worse is that cortisol-induced high levels of insulin also leads to increased production and storage of fat. So, exposure to chronically high levels of cortisol and cortisol-induced insulin are the main reasons why stress can lead to increase in body fat and obesity.
By: Allie Mendoza
(WCVB.com) When you think of hypnotherapy you might imagine a swinging pendulum and a spooky trance. But hypnotherapy has been gaining popularity for problems like smoking cessation, anxiety and weight loss. Now some scientific evidence shows hypnosis can help medically, from managing headaches to aiding with chemotherapy to preparing for surgery. Those who’ve tried it say the proof is in the results.
Rebecca Johnson said hypnosis got her through four operations with less anxiety and quicker healing. “The hypnotic experience allowed me to relax in a very deep, peaceful, pleasant way on my command,” said Johnson. Working with a medical hypnotherapist, Johnson used hypnotic suggestions to take her to a calm place, on cue.
“Being in this gorgeous place on a beautiful day with all of my senses were involved. I could see the sky and feel the breeze and smell the flowers. My body was relaxing,” said Johnson.
After the operations, Johnson needed minimal pain medication.
“The capacity to go into this state that we can call meditation or self-hypnosis or trance is actually just our innate ability to shift our focus, if you will. It’s sort of like shifting the channel on the tuner internally,” said Carol Ginandes, an expert in mind-body therapy and hypnosis.
“You can not only create a state of mind where they can go somewhere else — they can go to Hawaii instead of being in gurney rolled into surgery — you can also help them with the physiological aspects they’ll need to deal with,” she said. Ginandes said hypnosis can actually help tissue, organs and bones heal. And there’s science to back that up.
In March, a Swedish study found one hour a week of hypnotherapy for 12 weeks eased symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in 40 percent of patients, compared with 12 percent who didn’t have the treatment.
A Harvard medical school study found patients who had 15 minutes of hypnosis before surgery took less time in the operating room and needed less pain medication. “I was able to control aspects of physical function like blood pressure that I never though I’d control with my mind,” said Johnson. “The images themselves seemed to speak to my body.”
Resistance from mainstream medicine is strong, but Ginandes sees that changing.
“It’s such a wonderful resource for mind-body health as an adjunct to medical treatment,” said Ginandes.
Paul Gustafson, R.N., C.H. is an ‘A List’ Angie’s List provider. Check out his Surgical Success hypnosis program. Also available as cd .
Contact Paul for free consultation: 888-290-3972 or info@burlingtonhypnosis.com.
