Clinical hypnosis has been my professional focus for more than a quarter-century. Even though I am a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist and have held executive positions both as a nurse and a hospital executive director there is no treatment tool I know of that is more powerful in helping people control their bodies, their feelings and their lives than hypnosis. Hypnosis is a fascinating domain of clinical research and practice that involves the study of how seemingly ordinary people like you and I can accomplish extraordinary things by using our minds. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis and involves nothing more than learning to focus your mind. All mental images thoughts and ideas influence the bodys responses in some very special ways. In one article I discussed the biochemical changes the body makes just by thinking about eating a lemon. The brain does not know that a thought or a memory is not the real thing. Research has given us a great deal of knowledge through the study of hypnosis on how the mind experiences both reality and perception. What scientists discovered is that the mind cannot tell the difference between reality and perception. We have learned that people can learn to become so deeply absorbed in daily life experiences that they can permit their body to be more comfortable even when there are reasons that perhaps they shouldn't be. I have worked with patients having dental procedures with Novocain, and childbirth with no anesthetic. I have even been at a foot ball game where a 3 year old was stung on the hand twice by yellow jackets and in only a few moments helped her take the pain completely away. Much better than Grand Mas snuff use to do. In the minds of some people the word hypnosis has connotations of magic, or hocus-pocus. The media misrepresents it when they show stunts with audience members clucking like chickens or doing an Elvis impersonation. People think they are in an unconscious state, when in fact the opposite is true. You are more alert with the mind very focused and concentrated somewhat like taking a magnifying glass and concentrating the sun into such a small spot that you can create fire. A lady came to me many years ago to stop smoking. She had a wonderful result and was very happy that she no longer smoked. However, her friends who were smokers starting saying to her, I cant believe you let him control your mind like that. Why there aint no telling what else he might have told you to do. So in all her wisdom the lady called and said, I quote; I dont like you controlling my mind. I want you to hypnotize me and give me my smoking back. Simply amazing dont you think. Recently one of my clients came straight from her physicians office to my office. I asked her. What did your doctor say about you coming to a hypnotist? Her reply was, My doctor said I cant believe you are going to let him have control of your mind. She responded so well to hypnosis for her problem that she wasnt about to quit the hypnosis. Fortunately, the truth of the matter is that the hypnotist is never in control. A hypnotic suggestion works only if you accept it, and the therapist cannot make you do something you would not do consciously, something that goes against your moral code or religious beliefs, for example. The practitioners goal is to help you use your own mind to solve problems, rather than give you the answers. If you have ever day dreamed then you have been in hypnosis. |
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