First of all let us start from the beginning – what is hypnosis? There are so many misconceptions out there and different beliefs about what hypnosis is, what it’s about and does it really work.
Yes, there are the stage shows that we have all seen where you have they guy on stage that pulls several people up there with him and makes them look stupid, quack like a duck, take half their clothes off or even has a participant try to seduce someone. Those are the types of things that have given hypnosis a bad name and people can’t get over the fact that there really is more to it.
Here are some facts and information on hypnosis:
Clinical hypnosis is a procedure in which a trained clinician or therapist gives a patient a series of verbal instructions with the goal of helping the patient to enter a state of deep relaxation. In the relaxed state, the patient is aware of everything that is going on, but at the same time, becomes increasingly absorbed in using his or her imagination as directed by the therapist. Therapists use a variety of techniques to help their patients acquire the self-control and confidence to visualize, realize, and achieve goals such as reducing sensations of pain. Therapists often teach their patients self-hypnosis methods that they can employ on their own to reinforce and continue to process at home.
Patients participated in a self-hypnosis relaxation session that involved deep-breathing and concentration techniques. The researchers found that these patients required less than half the amount of painkilling drugs used by those receiving standard treatments. Procedures also took less time for the hypnosis group, and they had lower levels of anxiety and pain at both one hour and four hours into a procedure.
In addition, a review of 13 studies of Chronic Pain published in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnotherapy in 2007 found that hypnosis consistently reduced pain and was effective that physical therapy and educational efforts. Clinical research shows that hypnosis can be effective in treating fibromyalgia, migraine headaches, chronic pain conditions and CRPS/RSD.
In 1958 the American Medical Association (AMA) endorsed hypnosis and hypnotherapy as a legitimate treatment tool for pain, stress and relaxation management, weight loss, smoking cessation, childbirth, preparing for surgery, as well as overcoming fears of medical, dental and other hospital procedures.
Hypnosis is older than medicine and has been with us since mankind had its beginnings. Virtually every culture and race of people have used it.
In biblical times, people went to “sleep temples” to be cured of their illnesses by the Egyptian priests. The ancient Chinese employed hypnotic techniques in the form of prayer and meditation. There is evidence that the Romans used “magic sleep” for various purposes. The Greeks unknowingly used hypnosis, thinking that cures came from the Gods. Hippocrates wrote about impressing health on the ill by inducing trances and by making passes.
Throughout the centuries, many medical individuals have studied, researched, and experimented with hypnosis. In doing so, they usually were labeled charlatans, quacks, or imposters. It is impossible to mention all of those individuals who contributed to the development and progress of modern hypnosis, but in seems necessary to mention a few.
From 1932 – 1974, Milton Erickson, a psychologist and psychiatrist pioneered the art of indirect suggestion in hypnosis. He is considered the father of modern hypnosis. His methods bypassed the conscious mind through the use of both verbal and nonverbal pacing techniques including metaphor, confusion, and many others. He was a colorful character and has immensely influenced the practice of contemporary hypnotherapy, and its official acceptance by the AMA. His work, combined with the work of Satir and Perls, was the basis for Bandler and Grinder’s Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).
There are two gentlemen that are very involved with hypnosis and hypnotherapy that I would like to mention to you. David Spiegel, MD is a Professor at the School of Medicine and Associate Chairman of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, both at Stanford University School, where he has been a member of the academic faculty since 1975. He is also director of the Psychosocial Research Laboratory. He received his medical and psychiatric training at Harvard University before going to Stanford. He is the author of more than 280 research papers, chapters in scientific journals, and books.
David Spiegel has long had an interest in the use of hypnosis as treatment for medical symptom and treatment side effects. In 1978, he and his father, Herbert Spiegel, MD, co-authored what has become a standard text book on the clinical uses of hypnosis, Trance and Treatment. The use of self-hypnosis to help children undergoing painful procedures is among his current research funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. He is the past President of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, and in 1986, he was the recipient of the Schneck Award for significant contributions to the development of medical hypnosis. In 1998, David Spiegel opened the Center for Integrative Medicine at Stanford Medical Center and serves as its Medical Director.
Dr. Spiegel has done many studies showing how hypnosis does affect the pain receptors in the brain. They have utilized PET Scans before and after to show exactly where the pain shows in the brain when a patient is in extreme pain. Then they have taken the same PET scan following hypnosis for pain and the area is no longer lighting up as it did when the patient was experience extreme pain. This was a consistent finding thus it shows that hypnosis for pain does work.
Another person that is well known for Pain Hypnosis is Ron Eslinger, Captain, USN, Retired, RN, CRNA, MA, APN, BCH, CMI FNCH (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, Master of Arts, Advanced Practice Nurse, Board Certified Hypnotherapists, Certified Master Instructor of Hypnosis, Fellow National Counsel for Hypnotherapy (United Kingdom)).
Ron Eslinger has dealt with chronic pain patients for many years now with phenomenal outcomes. As a Certified Master Instructor of Hypnosis, Mr. Eslinger not only sees patients, but he also teaches others on how to treat Chronic Pain patients too.
When working with Chronic Pain patients or CRPS patients Ron Eslinger has found that the hippocampus, which controls memory, is another player within the Limbic System. There are three types of memory: working memory, declarative memory, and procedural memory. The hippocampus is critical in cementing declarative memory, which can be compared to the memory in the hard drive of a computer. Of these three types of memory – only declarative memory impacts our perception of reality.
During recall, we fit together a piece of the puzzle here and a piece of the puzzle there and put it back together as a complete memory. Hypnotic processes help reconstruct the pieces of a puzzle. Hypnosis helps one to remember how they are supposed to feel, replacing the memory of pain or stress with a new memory of comfort. Hypnosis brings memories back together completing the picture. However, memories can be as false as they can be true. All memories are based on perception and perception becomes the reality.
Procedural memory is stored as conditioned responses for reflexes. Reflexes are actions, habits or skills that are learned simply through repetition. We all develop procedural memories.
Hypnosis Relieves Pain:
Hypnosis has been used to relieve pain and influence behavior for more than 150 years now. Evidence based research on the use of hypnosis to relieve pain is limited, but a larger, well-designed study did boost its credibility as a useful and cost-saving pain relief method for hospital procedure rooms.
Published In: The Lancet in 2000, the study evaluated the effectiveness of hypnosis-termed “non-pharmacologic analgesia” – in easing pain and anxiety in people who were having minimally invasive surgical therapies such as angiograms, angioplasty, simply kidney procedures, or liver biopsies, during which they remained conscious.
Hypnosis allows pain relief without drugs or surgery. Here is a link to an article from Harvard regarding this: http://www.health.harvard.edu/special_health_reports/pain-relief-withouth-drugs-and-surgery.
If you would like additional information on hypnosis and chronic pain management please contact
Advanced Pathways Hypnosis at: Info@Advancedpathways.com | www.AdvancedPathways.com | 714.717.6633
Results of hypnosis are so positive, no clinic should manage CRPS unless standard management is seamlessly integrated with skilled hypnotherapy.
ReplyDeleteClinical hypnosis and virtual reality techniques optimize health outcomes. By Integrating virtual reality and clinical hypnosis VRSano has developed a way to reduce anxiety and stress without any heavy medication. With VRSano there will be definite reductions in anesthesia and medication.
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