Chronic Pain, Illness, Surgery and Hypnosis
June 4th, 2010 // 8:11 pm @
CHRONIC PAIN, ILLNESS and SURGERY CARE
- Do you suffer from Fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, low back/neck pain, migraines, multiple sclerosis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or other painful or chronic health issues?
- Are you scheduled to have surgery and would like a quick and easy recovery with less bleeding, pain, drugs and trauma to the body?
- Are you bothered by the side effects of drugs – grogginess, gastrointestinal issues, sleep problems?
- Would you like to improve the quality of your life and activity level by reducing painful or limiting symptoms?
How Hypnosis Helps:
- Brain imaging has shown that hypnotic suggestions reduce activity in brain areas associated with emotional responses to pain, while other suggestions reduce activity in an area of the brain involved with the physical sensation of pain.
- Medical hypnotherapy reduces suffering and promotes healing. You have the ability to control many functions of the body including, but not limited to, heart rate, bleeding, blood pressure, pain response etc. It was once thought we had no ability to control these functions but science has proven the ability of your subconscious mind in a state of self-hypnosis is a very powerful tool in affecting the body’s response to many physical problems.
Hypnosis Advantages:
- It is a quick, effective and safe solution for the individual.
- Improves recovery time from injuries, accidents, surgery or illness.
- Reduces or eliminates your symptoms of pain, discomfort, nausea, etc.
- Have more control over your life rather than having something control you.
- Eliminates any unresolved trauma that research is showing can be stored in the muscle and tissues of an injury
Today more and more people suffering with chronic pain, illness or facing surgery are turning to hypnosis. Hypnosis, along with your standard medical treatment, has several advantages in pain and illness management. Hypnosis requires no drugs. It has no harmful side effects and not addicting. That is why hypnosis is recommended by the National Institutes of Health, the Mayo Clinic, and many specialists in the field of pain management.
Hypnosis can be used as part of a total pain management or illness program:
Hypnosis for pain management or illness has no side effects except to reduce your symptoms, reduce stress, increase circulation, and strengthen immune function, lower blood pressure and other amazing benefits.
“If this were a drug, everyone would be using it,” says David Spiegel, MD, a psychiatrist at Stanford University. “Changing your mental set can change what’s going on in your body.”
“Hypnosis is simply a refined form of applied imagination,” states Donald F. Lynch Jr., MD, a urological oncologist at the Eastern Virginia School of Medicine, who has used the hypnosis to help patients alleviate the pain, anxiety, and depression associated with cancer.
If you are suffering, or in pain, you owe it to yourself to see how the power of your inner mind can help you. I too have suffered from painful fibromyalgia, arthritis and would not be functioning well today without self-hypnosis!
if you are ready to improve the quality of your life – please contact me for a 30 minute complimentary consultation.
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HYPNOSIS RESEARCH ARTICLES
Hypnosis Before Breast Cancer Surgery Reduces Pain, Discomfort, and Cost source: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Sept. 5, 2007 (see the journal abstract).
(J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007 Sep 5;99(17):1304-12. Epub 2007 Aug 28)
Summary
Women undergoing surgery for breast cancer who received a brief hypnosis session before entering the operating room required less anesthesia and pain medication during surgery, and reported less pain, nausea, fatigue, and discomfort after surgery than women who did not receive hypnosis. The overall cost of surgery was also significantly less for women undergoing hypnosis.
Hypnosis – Applications in Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery
Author: Philip D Shenefelt, MD, MS, Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, University of South Florida College of Medicine; Past Chief, Section of Dermatology, James A Haley Veteran Affairs Medical Center
Updated: Apr 23, 2009234
Hypnosis can regulate blood flow and other autonomic functions that are not usually under conscious control. The relaxation response that occurs with hypnosis also affects the neurohormonal systems that regulate many body functions. Studies on the influence of hypnosis on immediate immune responses have shown the ability of hypnotized volunteers to significantly decrease the flare reaction to the histamine prick test. Similarly, in one study, the effect of hypnotic suggestion on delayed cellular immune responses has shown significant effect on the size of erythema and on palpable induration but no significant effect in other studies.
A report by Braun5 on different allergic responses; dermatologic reactions; and effects on seizure disorders, pain control, and healing in the same individual with multiple personality disorder (now called dissociative identity disorder) shows how much influence the mind can have on physiologic reactions and disease processes, depending on the personality present. The report also described the differences in physiologic responses and disease conditions for selected individuals under hypnosis compared with their normal waking state.
Pain Research:
The April 29, 2000, issue of the journal The Lancet reported that hypnosis reduced pain, anxiety, and blood pressure complications in patients undergoing invasive medical procedures. (Hypnosis was compared with standard care and supportive attention, such as encouragement and active listening.) In addition, the procedures took significantly less time in the hypnosis treatment group, probably because the healthcare workers didn’t have to interrupt their activities to deal with the patients’ pain or to stabilize blood pressure, says Spiegel. Patients in the hypnosis group also required less than half as much painkilling medication as those in the standard group.
Alexander A. Levitan, MD, MPH, a medical oncologist in Minneapolis, has participated in numerous surgeries, including hysterectomies and tracheostomies, in which hypnosis was used as the sole agent for pain control.
ArthritisToday.org Joseph Barber, PhD, a clinical professor of anesthesiology and rehabilitation at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, uses hypnosis for pain caused by arthritis. One patient, a 73-year-old grandmother with severe pain from knee osteoarthritis, couldn’t tolerate anti-inflammatory drugs. With just three hypnosis treatments – an unusually fast response – the pain in her knee decreased and she was able to return to normal daily activity. An analysis of 18 studies of hypnosis and pain with more than 900 people conducted by researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York bears out this patient’s experience, showing substantial pain relief in 75 percent of participants.
Category : Blog &Featured Articles
Imagery and DecisionMaking Process
January 8th, 2010 // 5:26 pm @
Decisions, decisions – sometimes it can be really hard to decide between different options when we have make and are not sure what would be the best one for you. An easy way to help you make up your mind is to use your imagination (Einstein said imagination was more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited while our imagination is limitless!). Here are some simple steps to help you find the solution to your problem. Let’s say you are thinking of three different career choices.
1. First find about 5 to 10 minutes for yourself without interruptions. Now close your eyes and imagine, pretend or make believe you are doing one of the careers. Notice how you feel as you imagine yourself working in this career. How do you feel working with the people, the responsibilities of this job, the social interaction or lack thereof, emotional satisfaction, monetary compensation etc. Notice how you feel physically within your body. Certain situations may make you feel light, open or perhaps you may notice shoulder tightening up or stomach pulling in while you are visualizing yourself going through your scenario. Now notice how you feel emotionally – are you content, happy, feel good about yourself or do feelings of frustration, annoyance, lack of challenge perhaps creep in more than you like. The final test is to see how it affects you spiritually (forget if you have any religious beliefs or not – this is all about your social consciousness or humanitarian values. How does this choice affect your spirit or soul in the larger scheme of things.
2. Write down your observations to keep track. You can do your second choice either the same time or save it and do it within a few days again repeating all the steps. Repeat doing your third.
3. After you have imagined yourself in all the different situations, you should have a clear idea of which is the best choice for you to pursue. You are checking your conscious ideas in with your subconscious or unconscious mind and getting a clear reality check on what will best make you happy. Try it when you have some choices to make. You will find that the answers to your questions are waiting for you right there in the magic of your mind!
Category : Blog &Featured Articles
