If you read “A Psychiatrist Speaks Out with Courage”, in my blog, or read the book I metioned by Brian Weiss, MD, then you know what can happen quite dramatically, in treatment. But whether or not you have the belief in past lives, hypnosis serves a number of purposes. In this very hurried pace of ours, first, as one learns to slow down one’s breathing, one learns to slow down…which means we tend to pay more attention…
To what? To our surroundings, our body, what our thoughts are, how thoughts affect our feelings, and how all of it affects our behavior. Think of the consequences of that ( not always pleasant, but needed, nonetheless)!!!
We remind ourselves that there is another way to “be”. And just as we can resolve some of our issues on a conscious level, hypnosis allows the possibility of work to be done on that subconscious level as well.
I welcome your experiences as therapist or client on this topic.
Clare, our friend Deb read about hypnosis in the Personal Business Section of the NY Times. Did you read it?
Cora Ellen Luke
Yes, that was printed April 16, 2011. I totally agree with one of the points made… using self hypnosis on a regular basis can reduce fear …and as Dr. David Spiegel (director of the Center on Stress and Health at Stanford U) says, “People think that hypnosis is about giving up control….but it’s actually giving control back to the patients.”
The article goes on to describe how some individuals use hypnosis to quit smoking, or to alleviate certain medical conditions. There are some impressive studies like the one done in 2000, by radiologists at Harvard Medical School. They found that patients who received hypnosis during surgery required less medication, had fewer complications, and shorter procedures than patients who did not have hypnosis.
The follow up study in 2002 concluded by the radiologists that if every patient undergoing catheterization were to receive hypnosis, the cost savings would amount to $338 per patient.
My own experience with these type of requests from clients are limited in number, but impressive nonetheless. Three out of the four smokers who wanted to stop smoking, and used hypnosis did stop…to this day. One woman asked for hypnosis before breast cancer surgery. It was years ago, and just last year I saw her downtown, and she came over to thank me again.
These are real stories that give one pause…and for me, great joy.
Thanks for reminding me!