Surgery With Eyes And Ears Wid Open

Jan Hoffman's column, "Going Under the Knife, With Eyes and Ears Wide Open" (New York Times 25 March2017), discusses a growing trend. More and more patients prefer to avoid general anesthesia in favor of local anesthesia. This option saves time, considerable hospital costs, and (of course) the expense of another specialist.

Hypnosis has been used in lieu of anesthesia for over 170 years, beginning with the exploits of Dr. James Esdaile, a British surgeon working in India. Reuben Pecarve, a hypno-anesthetist still active in Montreal, has "talked" a  large number of clients through such procedures as intestinal surgery and tooth extraction. I have also seen videos of C-section childbirths performed under hypnosis.

My own experience is far more limited. However, I can report that I went through my last colonoscopy without any sedation, drank down the glass of orange juice I was offered afterward, got in my car, and drove home. 

The important point here should be the obvious. Hypnosis can help people feel more relaxed and less anxious about a forthcoming event or procedure. I would therefore suggest that anyone planning to "stay awake" during surgery -- even with local anesthesia -- will probably benefit from a session with a hypnotist!

The complete article can be accessed here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/25/health/surgery-awake-anesthesia.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fhealth&action=click&contentCollection=health&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

Surgical Applications: "Virtual Reality" and Hypnosis

The BBC recently ran a fascinating story about Dr. Jose Luis Mosso Vazquez, a Mexican surgeon who has brought virtual reality (VR) into the operating theater. Many procedures seem to work better with just local anesthesia and VR than with general anesthesia, which is not always available, anyway.

My colleague, Dr. Don Gibbons, has worked extensively with hyperempiria and the BEST-ME technique, often achieving a "virtual reality" involving all of the senses at once. Perhaps these "new" techniques will find broader acceptance in medical settings. 

Of course, James Esdaile, a British surgeon, was using "Mesmerism" (i.e., hypnosis) on his patients as far back as the 1840s. Although success rates have varied, it seems clear that hypnosis and its sister-disciplines may often help the patient deal with pain. 

I have nothing particularly dramatic to report, although I got through my colonoscopy using self-hypnosis, drank the post-procedural glass of orange juice, and drove home! This was far better than losing the rest of the day in a drug-induced haze!

The complete article may be accessed here:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170202-the-surgeon-using-virtual-reality-instead-of-sedatives?ocid=global_future_rss&ocid=global_bbccom_email_03022017_future

Why Hypnosis May Fail (for Smoking and Weight Loss)

By far the most common applications -- indeed, the "bread-and-butter" of many practicing professionals -- involve the use of hypnosis to help people quit smoking and lose weight.  Sadly, the statistics are quite different than what many may believe.

It is a principle of hypnosis that one cannot be hypnotized to do something he/she does not wish to do. This is extremely valid with habits. Those who want to quit smoking will do so (generally with or without hypnosis), whereas those who merely wish they didn't smoke rarely succeed.

When I first read Trance and Treatment (by the Spiegels, a father-son duo, both psychiatrists), I was stunned to learn that they claimed a mere 26% success rate with smoking. The American Medical Association (AMA) has also noted that roughly three of four people who begin smoking will be unable to quit. However, I heard various hypnotists bragging about 50% all the way up to 94% success.

The discrepancy is explained by precisely when the follow-ups are done.  For some unknown reason, major regressions occur at three months and one year. The Spiegels' follow-ups were at the one-year mark, while some of my colleagues did follow-ups within as little as three days!

In those pre-Internet, pre-cell phone days, it was far too easy to lose touch, so I was unable to do follow-ups on all of my smokers.  Of those I reached twelve to thirteen months later, some 30% had kicked the habit, but given the limited numbers, my score still lies well within the parameters suggested by the Spiegels and the AMA.

Weight-loss is actually worse. A colleague told me years ago that he had never seen a person for weight-loss where the excess pounds were really the issue. In fact, there were almost always other problems related to the obesity. Various studies by the AMA invariably found that five years later, the overwhelming percentage of dieters had regained their pounds. The only encouraging sign was that people who lost weight gradually and began an integrated program of diet, exercise, and nutrition were more likely to succeed.

I didn't bother with five-year follow-ups, and at this point I almost never work with people for either of these purposes. Happily, other uses of hypnosis have proven most beneficial, and it may perhaps even more helpful when combined with reiki. Anxiety (including performance anxiety/test anxiety), cognition (helping people learn more quickly), pre-birth, and pre-surgical applications have shown marvelous results, and hypnosis (with reiki) also helps immensely with treatment of many psychological issues, including phobias and stress management. I am delighted to address all of these, as well as general "healing" (physical, emotional, chakric, and spiritual).

An Interesting Article on False Memories

 “What Experts Wish You Knew about False Memories,” by Julia Shaw, appeared in Scientific American 8 August 2016.  Over the years a number of hypnotists have expressed interest in age regression and some of the “false memories” that have been uncovered therewith.  The article url is below:

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/what-experts-wish-you-knew-about-false-memories/

"Is Hypnosis All in Your Head? Brain Scans Suggest Otherwise"

Erica Goode's article with the title above ran in The New York Times on Friday, 29 July.  She cited a recent study by Stanford researchers using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology.  

Dr. David Spiegel, a redoubtable authority on hypnosis, noted that "one particularly intriguing finding was that hypnotized subjects showed decreased interaction between a region deep in the brain that is active in self-reflection and daydreaming and areas of the prefrontal cortex involved in planning and executing tasks."  

The complete text can be accessed through this url:  http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/30/science/hypnosis-brain-changes.html.  

Hypnosis Involved In Epic Solar-Powered Flight

As of this writing, two bold pilots are attempting to fly around the world in a solar-powered plane.  This amazing effort showcases the latest technological achievements and is designed to encourage further development of clean-energy alternatives to fossil fuels.

Needless to say, the humans face a number of physiological challenges.  According to a Reuters report published today, "[Bertrand] Piccard and Andre Borschberg have been taking turns piloting the plane on each leg of the journey.  Both have trained to stay alert for long stretches of time by practicing meditation and hypnosis."

The full article:  http://www.reuters.com/article/us-solar-airplane-idUSKCN0YD03H.

The Power of the Mind: Not Always Positive!

The BBC published David Robson's fascinating article, "The Very Real Pain of 'Imaginary' Illnesses," on Friday, 8 April (2016).  This piece reported on the work of Dr. Suzanne O'Sullivan, who has treated a number of seriously debilitated patients whose problems were apparently "all in their minds."

Psychosomatic illnesses are indeed "real" to the victims thus afflicted, and the external symptoms may include conditions as severe as blindness, muscle spasms, excruciating pain, paralysis, and seizures.  These are often addressed via cognitive behavior therapy, and I suspect that hypnosis might be successfully integrated into the program as well.

The article can be accessed at:  http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160407-the-very-real-pain-of-imaginary-illnesses?ocid=global_future_rss&ocid=global_bbccom_email_08042016_future.