Alternative Medicine: Hypnotherapy

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brianellwood

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I have seen minor surgery performed under hypnosis and have used the technique in the past to remove the fear of visiting the dentist for one friend, and also to assist in pain relief in chidbirth for my ex. and some of our friends. I learned 'how to do it' about 40 yrs ago and used to put on an act popular at parties, but eventually decided that this was a stupid mis-use of a medically induced condition and cut out the jokey uses. Stage performances were banned as illegal a long time ago, but it seems that no-one is bothered by this! So, yes, it is scientific fact that hypnosis works to varying degrees on people, unfortunately for its medical use, not on everyone.

NOW gaze into my eyes....... :D
 
I'm not desputeing the fact that 'hypnosis' can have positive effects on helping someone get over a phobia or something, but what I do dispute is the lie (in my experience of it) that you get put into a trance that can unlock hidden area of the mind and make you halusinate, visit past lives etc etc.

To have on effect on a phobia all you have to do is somehow convince the person at ease and convince them the phobia is gone. It's a bit of smoke and mirrors of course but that approch dose appear to work. Phobias can be delt with by accupunture, accupressure, aromatheropy, yoga, advertion therapy, telepathy, phyco therapy and a mirriad of other methods as well as hypnosis. As those methods all take different approches at different parts of the body also one could point out that if all aproches work then phobias just depend on the person being put at ease to be delt with.

In my opinion hypnotheropy is just normal counciling with a bit of mumbo jumbo thrown in. thats not to say it's not as valid a way to deal with a phobia or something as say accupunture, it's just a bit of a con that it trys to present it as something it's not.
I could be wrong of course

It would be nice to hear from anyone thats had a real trance from hypnosis or past life regression to tell us about it on this thred though, I for one remain unconvinced. :)
 
Many years ago, my husband and I attended a hypnosis session to stop smoking. The hypnotist had been highly recommended by several friends who successfully quit and convinced us to give it a try.

Throughout the session, we were both fully conscious and aware of what was going on around us. The "goings on" consisted of us sitting there with our eyes closed while the hypnotist spewed a non-stop stream of "suggestions": "You do not want to smoke; you do not need to smoke; smoking is bad" etc. etc.

We were both aware that, at some point, the hypnotist turned on a tape recording of his own voice speaking those suggestions.

It was a very peculiar experience and to this day, neither my husband nor I are quite sure that we ever actually "went under." We do agree, however, that when we "came to," we were both sure that we were only about 5 minutes into what was supposed to be a 30 minute session. In fact, 30 minutes had elapsed (of course, it's entirely possible we just fell asleep).

As far as efficacy, it's hard to say. For about 2 days, I truly had no desire to smoke and didn't. Nor did I miss it. By the third day, however, I was chomping at the bit. I fought the cravings for about 3 weeks before I succumbed. My husband said he had no craving for about a week. After that, he was on his own, so to speak, and eventually picked up the habit again too. And we've been smoking ever since.

Again, not sure what to make of it but I know I certainly wouldn't pay for the experience again.
 
Takes more than one session to cure the smoking addiction ( I've had success with this) and the subject doesn't need to be in the deep sleep condition for it to be effective. However, people with a strong addiction can have it cured only to find that they have substituted something else to replace it after a week or so. Eating more lovely cake and chocos is one example :D It helps to find out more about why they smoke or whatever inc. regression back to their first ciggy rather than just making cigs taste nasty for them.
 
Hi,

I have been hypnotised, it was to give up the fags. It worked for about 4 months then I started again (I started a new job.....excuse). When I came out, I didnt really feel as if Id been hypnotised but Id best try and pack them in as Id spent 50 quid, I did find the cravings easier to deal with though.

Id like to do it again but want to find a hypnotherapist that can really whack me with some powerfull hypno! I dont feel it worked before but have got plenty of bad habits(!) so I am up for trying again. Id like them to do a test first this time though. Make me do something involountary.....just so I know!
 
when i went to hypnotherapy it was for an eating disorder. it didn't work, i went a couple of times and then the therapist suggested to me that i try to gain 2lbs and i almost ran off screaming. haha, so it didn't work very well.
 
Hypnosis 'reduces cancer pain'
By Paul Rincon
BBC News Online science staff, at the BA festival


Childhood cancer patients suffer less pain when placed under hypnosis, scientists have claimed.
Children who had been hypnotised in trials reported they had less pain from medical procedures as well as cancer-related pain.

Dr Christina Liossi, from University of Wales, Swansea, suggested there was even tentative evidence that hypnosis prolonged the lives of cancer patients.

The research is being presented at the BA Festival of Science in Exeter.

In one study, 80 children were placed in four groups: two experimental groups who were treated with an anaesthetic and hypnosis.

Two control groups were just given the anaesthetic.

"All [40] children who used hypnosis with a local anaesthetic felt much less pain than children who were just given the local anaesthetic," said Dr Liossi.

The children, aged six to 16, were placed under hypnosis by experts and then taught to hypnotise themselves before they underwent procedures.

Children not treated with hypnosis were talked to and counselled instead.

"We asked children to rate their pain from 0 to 5 on a graded scale. Before we perform hypnosis we ask them to rate their pain on this scale," Dr Liossi explained.

"Then we introduce hypnosis and then we ask them to rate pain again and they report much less."

Brain changes

Other evidence presented at the festival also supports the idea that hypnosis is a genuine physical state and that people are not simply deceiving themselves into thinking they are hypnotised.


There are some studies and there are some encouraging results from these that hypnosis can probably improve the survival of cancer patients. But at the moment there isn't enough evidence
Dr Christina Liossi

Individuals who are highly susceptible to being placed under hypnosis show that there are changes in the left frontal cortex of the brain and a structure called the cingulated gyrus when viewed through a functional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanner.
"The frontal lobe is concerned with our planning, our future actions, our analysis of the here and now, our critical evaluation and the things we do so we don't make silly mistakes," said Dr John Gruzelier of Imperial College, London.

"If you think about what the hypnotist does, he asks you to go with the flow and not critically analyse what you're doing."

Dr Liossi suggested there was even evidence that hypnosis might prolong life in adult cancer patients.

"There are some studies and there are some encouraging results from these," she said.

Adult cancer patients placed under hypnosis show fewer cancer-related symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and pain, said Dr Liossi.

"There are some studies and there are some encouraging results from these that hypnosis can probably improve the survival of cancer patients.

"But at the moment there isn't enough evidence."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/3642764.stm

Published: 2004/09/10 08:12:20 GMT
 
i was hypnotised to try to treat anorexia and it didn't work, albeit largely because i didn't really want to be treated and was scared off when the therapist asked me to gain 2lb. i believe that he hypnotised me successfully, just failed to treat me successfully.
 
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I just cannot believe that this discussion on the validity of hypnosis as a clinical effect is still going on! It's 50 years since I personally witnessed surgery under hypnosis and learned to use the technique myself, and yet people are continueing to argue about it. Part of the trouble seems to be the ridiculous mythology placed on hypnosis by films, fiction and the tabloid press. There is no 'power' vested in the hypnotist, no magnetic radiation from the fingers as Mesmer seemed to suggest. It's a simple routine which any-one can learn and which is effective on a large number of people to varying degrees, but not on every-one. I think Forte would be surprised to hear that there is still an issue with the subject.
 
Brain Imaging Studies Investigate Pain Reduction By Hypnosis

Greets

more info..

University of Iowa News Release

March 14, 2005

Brain Imaging Studies Investigate Pain Reduction By Hypnosis

Although hypnosis has been shown to reduce pain perception, it is not clear how the technique works. Identifying a sound, scientific explanation for hypnosis' effect might increase acceptance and use of this safe pain-reduction option in clinical settings.

Researchers at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine and the Technical University of Aachen, Germany, used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to find out if hypnosis alters brain activity in a way that might explain pain reduction. The results are reported in the November-December 2004 issue of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.

The researchers found that volunteers under hypnosis experienced significant pain reduction in response to painful heat. They also had a distinctly different pattern of brain activity compared to when they were not hypnotized and experienced the painful heat. The changes in brain activity suggest that hypnosis somehow blocks the pain signal from getting to the parts of the brain that perceive pain.

"The major finding from our study, which used fMRI for the first time to investigate brain activity under hypnosis for pain suppression, is that we see reduced activity in areas of the pain network and increased activity in other areas of the brain under hypnosis," said Sebastian Schulz-Stubner, M.D., Ph.D., UI assistant professor (clinical) of anesthesia and first author of the study. "The increased activity might be specific for hypnosis or might be non-specific, but it definitely does something to reduce the pain signal input into the cortical structure."

The pain network functions like a relay system with an input pain signal from a peripheral nerve going to the spinal cord where the information is processed and passed on to the brain stem. From there the signal goes to the mid-brain region and finally into the cortical brain region that deals with conscious perception of external stimuli like pain.

Processing of the pain signal through the lower parts of the pain network looked the same in the brain images for both hypnotized and non-hypnotized trials, but activity in the top level of the network, which would be responsible for "feeling" the pain, was reduced under hypnosis.

Initially, 12 volunteers at the Technical University of Aachen had a heating device placed on their skin to determine the temperature that each volunteer considered painful (8 out of 10 on a 0 to 10 pain scale). The volunteers were then split into two groups. One group was hypnotized, placed in the fMRI machine and their brain activity scanned while the painful thermal stimuli was applied. Then the hypnotic state was broken and a second fMRI scan was performed without hypnosis while the same painful heat was again applied to the volunteer's skin. The second group underwent their first fMRI scan without hypnosis followed by a second scan under hypnosis.

Hypnosis was successful in reducing pain perception for all 12 participants. Hypnotized volunteers reported either no pain or significantly reduced pain (less than 3 on the 0-10 pain scale) in response to the painful heat.

Under hypnosis, fMRI showed that brain activity was reduced in areas of the pain network, including the primary sensory cortex, which is responsible for pain perception.

The imaging studies also showed increased activation in two other brain structures -- the left anterior cingulate cortex and the basal ganglia. The researchers speculate that increased activity in these two regions may be part of an inhibition pathway that blocks the pain signal from reaching the higher cortical structures responsible for pain perception. However, Schulz-Stubner noted that more detailed fMRI images are needed to definitively identify the exact areas involved in hypnosis-induced pain reduction, and he hoped that the newer generation of fMRI machines would be capable of providing more answers.

"Imaging studies like this one improve our understanding of what might be going on and help researchers ask even more specific questions aimed at identifying the underlying mechanism," Schulz-Stubner said. "It is one piece of the puzzle that moves us a little closer to a final answer for how hypnosis really works.

"More practically, for clinical use, it helps to dispel prejudice about hypnosis as a technique to manage pain because we can show an objective, measurable change in brain activity linked to a reduced perception of pain," he added.

In addition to Schulz-Stubner, the research team included Timo Krings, M.D., Ingo Meister, M.D., Stefen Rex, M.D., Armin Thron, M.D., Ph.D. and Rolf Rossaint, M.D., Ph.D., from the Technical University of Aachen, Germany.

University of Iowa Health Care describes the partnership between the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine and UI Hospitals and Clinics and the patient care, medical education and research programs and services they provide. Visit UI Health Care online at www.uihealthcare.com.

STORY SOURCE: University of Iowa Health Science Relations, 5135 Westlawn, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1178
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http://www.uiowa.edu/~ournews/2005/march/031405hypnosis.html

mal
 
My partner and I were hypnotized years ago for our smoking problem. We had a great hypnotherapist who insisted on a free first session to determine whether we were suggestible enough for hynosis to work. We were, so we continued the following day. I should add that though we were both suggestible, we were also highly skeptical.

I was hynotized first, while my partner waited in the waiting room. I was concious all the time, and at one point, when the hypnotist did that "you are getting sleepy" and "you are slowly descending ... going down ... down ... down", I started to laugh. It was all so hokey. The therapist said "laugh all you want, it's still going to work". My partner and I compared notes afterwards, and he had the same experience of laughing at the silliness of the whole thing.

We both came out of the therapist's office feeling quite stoned. This stoned feeling lasted for about two days, which I thought was quite nice. Not for my partner though: he had to teach the same afternoon as our first session. Although he remembers the hypnotism, he doesn't remember the class he gave.

We had several close sessions after that, which were more like straight therapy, with some "affirmations" thrown in. Nothing terribly exciting or dramatic, but it did seem to work.

So we stayed non-smokers for six years until a crisis emerged and we both fell off the wagon. So I really think that hypnosis works IF you want it to and IF you are committed to the goals of the hypnosis. There's nothing magical about it, and the hypnotist has no control. You do.
 
Is hypnotherapy considered alternative?? has anyone tried it ? did it work??
 
Huge arguments about hypnosis in general cf Spanos' non state theory
 
Several years ago a friend in Australia had a hepatitis injection which, directly or indirectly (its an ongoing legal case) caused nerve damage in his arm/shoulder which has left him in chronic pain ever since.

The precise diagnosis is contentious but the most likely one is "axillary neuropathy" (the lesser aleternative, which he dismisses, is brachial plexopathy) I understand neither term but include them purely on the unlikely chance there's an expert out there. In leyman's terms nerve damage causing "stabbing throbbing shooting "pain at the back of the deltoid muscle, in his arm up to his neck. No treatment, conventional or otherwise - from nerve blocking to acupuncture - has brought him relief. Save for amputation of an otherwise functioning arm the only thing he knows would kill the pain is botox..which would also kill the arm, making it like jelly.

Interested to note he is able to sleep - which he explains as the mind being in an altered state he's then unaware of the pain - it occurred to me that one option he hasn't considered which makes sense is hypnosis. I've been promoting the idea to him through his scepticism - he has a stage hypnotist notion of hypnosis and can't see how making him think the pain wasn't there would be any use as hte pain would still be there (!) I tried to explain that the pain isn't a physical object but a signal in his brain, and that hypnosis could, presumably, work to stop that signal.

But could it? Does anyone here know or is able to advise on the effectivenes of hypnosis in removing such chronic pain? Anyone with genuine experience?

Alternatively does his condition ring bells with anyone who might be aware of other sufferers who have found a genuine solution to this misery?
 
Hypnosis 'can ease bowel illness'

Hypnotherapy could help people with severe irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), researchers say.

Doctors should consider using this and other "psychological" treatments such as antidepressants to help sufferers, King's College London experts say in the British Medical Journal.

However, a shortage of therapists could hinder this, they add.

Experts said there was growing evidence that IBS cases have psychological as well as biological elements.

IBS is a common and painful medical condition that has a wide range of symptoms, including regular abdominal pain, diarrhoea and constipation.

Conventional medicines prescribed for IBS often ease symptoms partially, or not at all.

Many scientists now believe that the cause in many cases is a combination of mental and physical factors, and that the drugs commonly used to tackle it may be aiming at the wrong target.

Patients with IBS are more likely to be diagnosed with depression.

Dr Ian Forgacs, a consultant gastroenterologist from Kings College, says that doctors are often reluctant to prescribe anti-depressants, especially in patients who, apart from their IBS, show no outward signs of being depressed.

He urged them to consider other forms of psychological therapy, including hypnotherapy, as an alternative in some cases.

"Patients with irritable bowel syndrome should be made aware of the existence of these treatments so that they can make informed choices," he said.

"Specifically, they should be made aware that using a psychological treatment does not mean that the disease is 'all in the mind'."

He found that one of the most effective treatments for IBS in research studies were so-called "talking therapies", such as cognitive behavioural therapy, particularly for people whose symptoms were causing them the most distress.

And severe cases of IBS could be improved by using hypnotherapy to target the links between the brain and the gut.

Hypnosis sessions concentrated on encouraging relaxation, then visualising the gut as a fast flowing river which is then imagined to be flowing more slowly and smoothly.

Dr Forgacs said that one obstacle to providing psychological therapies was a lack of the right specialists in some areas.

"Irritable bowel syndrome is undeniably very common, and many patients are probably denied help by lack of access to therapists with the appropriate psychological skills," he said.

Dr Nick Read, a psychologist and adviser to the IBS Network, said he felt that the majority of IBS patients had a psychologists element to their condition.

He said: "There's now a lot of evidence that psychological therapies can be effective, but a lot of doctors remain sceptical, and carry on treating with drugs which have side-effects, and which basically don't work.

"I work with patients with IBS trying to understand what, for each patient, lies behind the illness."

Story from BBC NEWS:

Published: 2007/05/25 10:44:25 GMT

© BBC MMVII
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As someone who suffers from a chronic bowel condition I'd say that the theories put forward here are particularly valid. In my case stress seems to go straight to my guts where in other people it goes for the heart.
 
Cool report.

As someone with family that suffer from IBS and Crohne's, there is growing data that IBS etc are caused by poor blood circulation. Whether this is genetic or not, remains to be confirmed. Anecdotal evidence seems to point to this type of health problem being hereditary. I know from my own family, that only those on my ol'd man's side have Crohne's and once one of my family started talking about suffering from it, others have gone to the docs to have it confirmed.

Basically some research is positing that a person with IBS has a borked circulatory system, as a result, when they get an infection of the gut or lower intestine, their bodies are slow to respond to the infection due to said borked physiology. Then by the time their body does react, the infection has taken hold and is that much harder to fight, plus they have to deal with an over-reaction to the infection from their own bodies defences.

There is also evidence that the presence of a particular bacteria, MAP or MAD,? can't recall could also be linked to IBS and Crohne's. It has been shown to be present in high numbers from those actively suffering and not when in remission.

Given we know that stress can cause the blood vessels in the body to contract/inflame in some people. If there is a link to poor blood circulation, then anything that detrimentally effects the circulatory systen will also have an effect on IBS/Crohne's.

Hypnotism would I suppose help relax a patient and in turn, open up the blood vessels in the body. This would allo whte body to fight an infection more easily and quickly.

Strangely enough, there is a trial to give IBS and Crohnes sufferers Viagra, as it is known to widen the blood vessels and increase bloodflow. Other studies are going on with the use of anti inflamatories I believe.

Unfortunately the effects of hypnotherapy aren't going to be long term unless you can find a way to avoid all stress rofl.

Viagra for the win! =D Oh and don't go getting diabeties or psoriasis, or your basically fubar'd as both adversely affect the circulation.

Happy days :lol:
 
DarrenDawson said:
Strangely enough, there is a trial to give IBS and Crohnes sufferers Viagra, as it is known to widen the blood vessels and increase bloodflow. Other studies are going on with the use of anti inflamatories I believe.
Click to expand...

I haven't heard this about Viagra but it's an interesting development. I fear for the world if they prescribe this to everyone with Crohn's, though. :oops:
 
Yes! You won't know if you're coming or going. :shock:
 
Man hypnotises himself before op

A hypnotist from West Sussex has undergone surgery on his right hand without a general anaesthetic.

Alex Lenkei, 61, from Worthing, chose to sedate himself by hypnosis before undergoing the 83-minute operation.

He said he was fully aware of everything going on around him during the procedure but was free from pain.

The operation at Worthing Hospital involved removing some bone in the base of the thumb and fusing some joints in an attempt to improve his arthritis.

Consultant orthopaedic surgeon David Llewellyn-Clark said he was happy in agreeing to the unusual sedation on Mr Lenkei, a registered hypnotist who has been practising since the age of 16.

Mr Lenkei said Wednesday's surgery "went amazingly well".

"It took between 30 seconds to a minute for me to place myself under hypnosis, and from that point I felt a very deep relaxation.

"I was aware of everything around me, from people talking and at one stage a hammer and chisel was used as well as a surgical saw, but I felt no pain." :shock:

Throughout the operation, an anaesthetist was on standby to administer an anaesthetic if necessary.

Mr Llewellyn-Clark said he had been confident that Mr Lenkei was a skilled hypnotist and was "delighted all went well".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/7355523.stm
 
Is it safe? IS IT SAFE? IS IT SAFE?

I think I'll stick with the old needle.

USC School Of Dentistry Teaches Hypnosis As An Alternative To Needles And Novocain
01 Oct 2008

What if it was possible to undergo a root canal filling or tooth extraction without feeling the pinch of a needle or the after effects of general anesthesia? Hypnosis could uncover a new world for patients seeking dental care.

The soothing voice of your dentist could transport you into a state of mind that allows the dental professional to complete a procedure simple cleaning or a complex procedure that involves oral surgery slip into a state of relaxation.

"Now as I count from one to 10, I can feel myself sinking more and more deeply into the quiet, relaxed, enjoyable feeling. More relaxed with each count."

Wendy J.N. Lee listens to the words uttered by associate professor Peter Stone, D.D.S., as her body slips into a more comfortable position during a recent visit to the USC School of Dentistry. Lee, a USC cinema graduate student, filmed Stone's hypnosis techniques for Say Aah, a documentary about her fear of dentistry.

Hypnosis in dentistry was first reported in Egypt more than 3,000 years ago. The demise of its practice occurred with Horace Wells in the 19th century, who initiated the use of nitrous oxide and ether during procedures.

In the years that followed, chemicals and general anesthesia became common practice, and hypnosis became a sleepy alternative to sedation.

Today, the USC School of Dentistry is the only dental school in the United States that offers formal training for dental professionals in the use of hypnosis.

Stone, who works in the division of health promotion, disease prevention and epidemiology, teaches "Modern Hypnosis for the 21st Century Dentist." He has taught the techniques and applications of hypnosis since 1981 for the Southern California Society of Clinical Hypnosis.

"The time spent learning hypnosis not only makes a visit to the dentist more pleasant for the patient, but it also enhances a practitioner's productivity, providing a stress-free environment for all," he says.

"Working with nervous patients makes it difficult to carry out our job," Stone explains. "Dentists by nature, we don't like to hurt people ¬ we're trained to bring them relief from pain. When a patient is relaxed and calm, the procedure goes more smoothly and more quickly."

Hypnosis could be a win-win for both patient and dentist. It's a less expensive alternative to general or conscious sedation, which can cost hundreds of dollars.

"In the average patient, we can teach them to relax and control their fears 90 percent of the time. In a small group of patients, hypnosis allows them to control pain, bleeding or salivation during a procedure or speed up recovery time," Stone says.

Stone shares his experience with one patient during oral surgery: "I remember telling my assistant, OIf only John would stop bleeding, I could finish this procedure quicker and remove the root tip causing his pain.' Instantly my patient stopped bleeding."

The technique is also used to control gagging, bruxism (teeth grinding and clenching) or breathing problems. In addition, hypnosis can enhance memory of a pleasant visit to the dentist.

Each year, dentists from across the country and Canada travel to Los Angeles for the two-day hypnosis course taught by Stone at the USC School of Dentistry. The workshop provides dentists with the tools and skills they need to use hypnosis comfortably in their dental practice.

By Monday morning, these dentists are equipped with the knowledge they need to put their patients at ease.

Hala Al-Tarifi, a South Pasadena dentist, shares her experience: "I started implementing hypnosis in my office, and one of my patients slept through a crown prep."

For more information, visit The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis at http://www.asch.net or the Southern California Society of Clinical Hypnosis at http://www.scsch.camp7.org.

You can also learn more about Lee's documentary by visiting http://www.sayaahfilm.com.
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Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/123764.php
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Isn't it possible to suddenly, completely, accidentally and all unexpectedly come out of a hypnotic trance in a way that it's not possible to to instantaneously exit a standard dose of Novocaine?

In any case, I suspect that the possibility of suddenly discovering myself in intense and agonizing pain would in itself be enough to keep me from being able to enter the hypnotic state in the first place.
 
At least with anesthetics you have a much better and higher rate of staying sedated while the procedure is performed unlike with hypnosis were you can awake at anytime.
 
goth13girl666 said:
At least with anesthetics you have a much better and higher rate of staying sedated while the procedure is performed unlike with hypnosis were you can awake at anytime.
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That's pretty much in agreement with what I wrote in my posting ... above.

On the other hand I've never heard of an actual case in which a patient has awakened in excruciating pain from a hypnotically-induced trance right in the middle of a surgical or dental procedure. Can anybody in these parts cite a specific case? (I'm not talking about waking up during regular chemically-induced anesthesia.)
 
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As a woman is hypnotised into believing she's had surgery: Yes, the power of the mind can heal your body
By Michael Hanlon, Science Editor
Last updated at 10:16 AM on 25th May 2009

We often take the link between our mind and body for granted, yet in truth it is one of the least understood phenomena in the whole of science.
Take the strange case of Marion Corns.

Last week, it was reported that Mrs Corns, who is from Merseyside, allowed herself to be hypnotised after becoming obese.

After trying the usual diets and exercise regimes with no success, she travelled to a clinic in Spain where she was put into an altered state of consciousness and then 'talked through', in step-by-step detail, the procedure for a drastic weight-loss operation.
Mrs Corns did not actually go under the knife.

But under hypnosis she was told she had been fitted with a gastric band - a device which constricts the stomach, dramatically reducing the amount that can be eaten.

Although she was fully aware that no band had been fitted, something in her brain seemed to believe otherwise, and she lost four stone - exactly the sort of weight loss that could be expected if a band had been fitted.
So what on earth is going on? Can the mind be fooled to such an extent that it can 'fake' the effects of a major surgical procedure? And, if so, could it provide the path to a whole new kind of medicine - one in which pills and scalpels can be replaced by the power of mental suggestion?

The strange case of Mrs Corns certainly looks like a clear victory for those who claim that 'alternative' treatments, into which category hypnosis is often lumped, are often as effective, or better, than conventional Western medicine. But can this really be the case?

For a long time, hypnotism has been dismissed by many as stageshow trickery. Yet what is often forgotten is that at the dawn of modern medicine, the technique promised a tremendous - and real - breakthrough as a form of anaesthesia.

Scottish doctor James Braid coined the term 'hypnotism' in 1841 after studying relaxation and meditation techniques used in Oriental medicine and Eastern religious practice.

At the same time, another Scot, Dr James Esdaile, was performing 'miracles' in India using techniques akin to hypnotism to calm his patients during surgical procedures.
A physician employed by the East India Company, Dr Esdaile used the technique to perform, painlessly, hundreds of operations, including the removal of tumours, amputations and even emergency castrations.
This was a time when even simple operations were akin to torture and patients who did not die of septicemia stood a good chance of succumbing to shock.

Post-operative survival rates were usually less than 50 per cent.
But, thanks to Esdaile's ability to relax patients and put them into hypnotic trances, his success rates were closer to 80per cent for some operations.

The world stood on the brink of a new era of pain-free surgery.
But the 1840s was also the time when the first chemical anaesthetics were being pioneered.

And the success of conventional drugs such as chloroform and ether made sure the quirkier technique of hypnotism was consigned to the footnotes of medical history.

Today, hypnotism is undergoing something of a revival. It has become a respectable treatment for some forms of mental illness, including anxiety and depression.
Hypnotists have helped thousands of people lose weight and stop smoking, as well as helping to relieve the pain of cancer, wounds and burns.

There is some clinical evidence that hypnosis can be used to treat seemingly 'physical' conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and the skin condition psoriasis.

Hypnotism doesn't work for everyone. But, then again, neither do many drugs.

....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/artic ... -body.html
 
Thanks for that last post, Rynner.
I shall bear that in mind for my own weight-loss strategy.

Mind you, I have a Paul McKenna weight-loss video, and it hasn't worked for me...
 
Hypnotise your patient, surgeons told
Technique seen as alternative to general anaesthetic for certain operations
Amelia Hill, social affairs correspondent The Observer, Sunday 7 June 2009

Doctors should be taught to hypnotise patients not to feel pain instead of using general anaesthetics during some operations, the Royal Society of Medicine will be told today.

In what he has described as a "clarion call to the British medical profession", Professor David Spiegel, of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at Stanford University in the US, will also call on the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) to add hypnotherapy to its list of approved therapeutic techniques for the treatment of conditions ranging from allergies and high blood pressure to the pain associated with bone marrow transplantation, cancer treatment and anaesthesia for liver biopsy. Nice has already approved the technique for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.

"It is time for hypnosis to work its way into the mainstream of British medicine," Spiegel will say at the joint conference of the Royal Society of Medicine, the British Society of Clinical and Academic Hypnosis and the British Society of Medical and Dental Hypnosis.

"There is solid science behind what sounds like mysticism and we need to get that message across to the bodies that influence this area. Hypnosis has no negative side-effects. It makes operations quicker, as the patient is able to talk to the surgeon as the operation proceeds, and it is cheaper than conventional pain relief. Since it does not interfere with the workings of the body, the patient recovers faster, too.

"It is also extremely powerful as a means of pain relief. Hypnosis has been accepted and rejected because people are nervous of it. They think it's either too powerful or not powerful enough, but, although the public are sceptical, the hardest part of the procedure is getting other doctors to accept it."

Professor Marie-Elisabeth Faymonville, head of the Pain Clinic at Liege University Hospital in Belgium, who has operated on more than 6,000 patients using hypnosis combined with a light local anaesthetic, said: "The local anaesthetic is used only to deaden the surface of the skin while a scalpel slices through it. It has no effect inside the body.

"The patient is conscious throughout the operation and this helps the doctor and patient work together. The patient may have to move during an operation and it's simple to get them to do so if they remain conscious. We've even done a hysterectomy using the procedure."

The theory behind medical hypnosis is that the body's brain and nervous system can't always distinguish an imagined situation from a real occurrence. This means the brain can act on any image or verbal suggestion as if it were reality. Hypnosis puts patients into a state of deep relaxation that is very susceptible to imagery. The more vivid this imagery, the greater the effect on the body.

Dr Martin Wall, president of the Section Hypnosis and Psychosomatic Medicine at the Royal Society of Medicine, said hypnosis fundamentally alters a subject's state of mind. Hypnosis is not, he said, simply a matter of suggestibility and relaxation.

Nice said it would welcome submissions for hypnotherapy to be considered as an approved therapeutic technique on the NHS if it could be cost-effective, and consistent delivery could be guaranteed.

But Professor Steve Field, who chairs the Royal College of General Practitioners, said he was sceptical as to whether hypnotherapy could meet these standards.

"It is a useful tool used by some GPs and patients for relaxation, but I don't think it is something that we should support being rolled out to all medical students and all doctors," he said.

"We can't call on the NHS to support it without there being a firm medical and economic basis, and I'm not convinced those have been proved to exist."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/ ... aesthetics
 
Hypnotherapy 'can help' irritable bowel syndrome
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8572818.stm

woman with abdominal pain
Irritable bowel syndrome causes abdominal pain and bloating

Greater use of hypnotherapy to ease the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome would help sufferers and might save money, says a gastroenterologist.

Dr Roland Valori, editor of Frontline Gastroenterology, said of the first 100 of his patients treated, symptoms improved significantly for nine in 10.

He said that although previous research has shown hypnotherapy is effective for IBS sufferers, it is not widely used.

This may be because doctors simply do not believe it works.

Widely ignored

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gut problem which can cause abdominal pain, bloating, and sometimes diarrhoea or constipation.

Dr Valori, of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, said the research evidence which shows that hypnotherapy could help sufferers of IBS was first published in the 1980s.

He thinks it has been widely ignored because many doctors find it hard to believe that it does work, or to comprehend how it could work.

It is pretty clear to me that it has an amazing effect
Dr Roland Valori, editor of Frontline Gastroenterology

He began referring IBS patients for hypnotherapy in the early 1990s and has found it to be highly effective.

"To be frank, I have never looked back," he said.

He audited the first 100 cases he referred for hypnotherapy and found that the symptoms stopped completely in four in ten cases with typical IBS.

He says in a further five in 10 cases patients reported feeling more in control of their symptoms and were therefore much less troubled by them.

"It is pretty clear to me that it has an amazing effect," he said.

"It seems to work particularly well on younger female patients with typical symptoms, and those who have only had IBS for a relatively short time."

Powerful effect

He believes that it could work partly by helping to relax patients.

"Of the relaxation therapies available, hypnotherapy is the most powerful," he said.

He also says that IBS patients often face difficult situations in their lives, and hypnotherapy can help them respond to these stresses in a less harmful way.

NHS guidelines allow doctors to refer IBS patients for hypnotherapy or other psychological therapies if medication is unsuccessful and the problem persists.

Dr Valori thinks that if hypnotherapy were used more widely it could possibly save the NHS money while improving patient care.

Dr Charlie Murray, Secretary of the British Gastroenterology Society, said: "There is no doubt that hypnotherapy is helpful for some patients, but it depends on the skill and experience of those practising it.

"But the degree to which it is effective is not well defined.

"I would support using it as one therapy, but it is no panacea."
Click to expand...
 
i'm seriously considering hypnosis for pain control,
has anyone here got personal experience of it and would you recommend it?

thanks in advance
 
TimBuck2 said:
i'm seriously considering hypnosis for pain control,
has anyone here got personal experience of it and would you recommend it?

thanks in advance
Click to expand...

No.

But I know several people who would be of a sceptical frame of mind and swear that accupuncture works for them.

There seem to be less quacks involved in accupuncture.
 
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