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F.A.Q.S
1. What is Hypnosis?
2. IBS "All in our head"?
Many doctors and gastro specialists
have implied the term 'all in your head' to patients in the past in error, and
some not up on current IBS research today may still view their patients somewhat
in this way. But IBS is a physical disorder and I think they are
trying to say that there is nothing organically wrong they have pinpointed yet. However, I have had quite a few discussions about this in the past, the problem lies with
the fact that doctors are taught to look for disease and illness. We know IBS is a
functional disorder and the doctors and researchers have only recently been
making progress in the complex condition of IBS, but we can all agree
peristalsis is not doing what it should.
'All in the head' is not right, it is an offensive term to those that are looking for
solutions. It conjures up the emotion that sufferers are doing it on purpose somehow.
However, the majority of us, tend to run things out, before they happen. So along with
Stress, there is also a psychological element in our thought patterns that expects us to
have difficult IBS days. Running out our worries causes us to have anxiety and added
stress, which in turn creates a negative physical response. The annoying thing is,
it's part
of being human, it's a response which we don't have to even try to do, it all
happens automatically.
To understand the Audio Program 100 a bit more, we have to understand stress is not 'out there',
stress is how we respond internally to real or perceived external demands. What is a
stressful event for one, can be invigorating or relaxing event for another.
Every thought has a physical response. We can prove this by the feelings of love, anger,
jealousy, etc., all emotions start with thought (our interpretation to an event),
which then leads to physical response. This is even recognized in legislation by recognition of the term Crime of passion - a person might kill another (an
extreme example, granted) because they were firing on emotion, which made them pick up the knife to perform the action.
That anger began in the thoughts, was interpreted and an action was carried out,
all by the release of chemicals and electrical impulses. Police officers see
heightened states every Saturday night when people come out of the pubs, we even have our own
language for heightened emotion, count to ten is a good example. Count to 10 before we say or respond to something
that has annoyed us, basically by giving a bit of time, the response travels through the
7/8ths of the brain that is emotion until it gets to the 1/8th bit of logic and reason, which
allows us to stop and think. In effect changes the chemical releases and electrical
impulses - we simmer down.
All these physical reactions, along with the more every day concerns of, getting to work
on time, what happens if I need the toilet? Do the shops have toilets, etc. every thought
produces a physical reaction, good or bad.
The thing is, we can choose to learn new coping strategies. Our inner resources can be
topped up. Users of the program will have noticed that the first session, is time spent
topping up the emotional reserves, making sure they can complete the journey through
the program. Patients that come to my practice all go through the same thing, in short
we have to be able to have the internal emotional resource to deal with everyday living,
as well as changing our thoughts towards IBS. Because IBS has affected the lives of sufferers so deeply, to try and deal with the IBS
before we are prepared would lead to a tougher journey. So taking the time to top up
the emotional batteries as it were, is time well spent.
In thinking about stress, it helps too if we remember that the only important moment of our lives is
the moment. We are living, not in the past (although we can change emotions attached to memories to make the past more
comfortable for us), but we don't want to worry about future events or problems that might never come.
The other thing that holds us back is the fear that however we are feeling is going to
last forever - Nothing lasts for ever, if we want to change! When we throw a ball up in
the air, there is a point of time which the ball is neither going up or coming down, that is
the moment of change. Users of the program who are feeling much better are changing
the way they think, their outlook on life and its events, but I doubt anyone will be able to
pinpoint exactly when things started to get better, but they do, and they do so because
very gently the subconscious mind, which controls the digestive system, begins to
realize, that these thought patterns of IBS are no longer needed, the individual as a
whole is reminded that it existed very well thank you, without IBS, and can do so again,
simply and gently by changing the thought processes, that kept Stress and Anxiety,
Guilt etc. in control.
So the sessions are quite complex in their make up, but when I was doing my early days of
research, I remembered that people learned more and it was easier for them if
they enjoyed what they we're
doing, so by using imagery and suggestion we create an environment internally, that
allows changes, both emotionally and physically to occur. And because we enjoy what
we are doing it doesn't seem difficult, and it isn't, its only when the conscious mind tries
to control areas it wasn't designed to that problems occur.
I might have babbled a bit, but don't expect a doctor to tell you this in this way,
because their skills are in the organic, and they might just not know how to say what they mean!
3. How to Choose a Therapist?
Although legally, anyone can practice hypnotherapy without either special training or a license, it is important
to make sure your hypnotherapist is a clinical professional with a thorough training. Also make sure he
or she has experience in treating your particular condition. In this case
Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
4. Who Should Avoid This Therapy?
Hypnosis is considered safe no matter what your
condition but, Please have your symptoms diagnosed by a
medical practitioner or doctor. It is important to remember that you cannot self
diagnose IBS and there are many serious conditions that mimic IBS.
5. What Side Effects May Occur?
Many people avoid hypnotism for fear of losing control to the therapist. They
take showbiz stunts, with audience members clucking like chickens or bawling like babies, as genuine examples of hypnotic
power, which is just not true.
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
practitioner's goal is to help you use your own mind to solve problems, rather than give
you the answers.
6. Modern Hypnotherapy
Modern hypnotherapy relies on induction of a "trance-like" state to reach the
unconscious level of the mind--the level over which people usually have no control. Once the unconscious is open to suggestion, you and
your therapist can more easily change the way you perceive problems--and promote new
ways of responding to them.
Although "trances" may sound like psychological hocus pocus, they are
neither mysterious nor unfamiliar to most of us. We have all daydreamed or become lost in a novel. Sometimes we concentrate so deeply on a problem
that we drive right past our exit on a highway. In all such cases, we are in a sort of trance--a state of "focused
concentration" in which we are neither fully awake nor fully asleep. We have blocked out all distractions so that
we can think exclusively on a particular subject, memory, problem, or sensation.
The concept of using trances to alleviate ills, both physical and mental, has
recurred throughout the history of medicine. The ancient Greeks and Egyptians induced trance-like states to cure what we would call anxiety and
hysteria. The Druids called trances "magic sleep." Native Americans and
Africans recognized the hypnotic effect of drumming and dancing.
Modern hypnotherapy got a false start in the 18th century, when Austrian
physician Franz Anton Mesmer propounded his theory of "animal magnetism." Believing
that illness was a result of imbalance in the body's magnetic forces, he insisted that he could restore
balance--and thus cure diseases--by transferring magnetism from his body to his patients. He
endeavored to achieve this by waving iron rods, magnets, and his hands in front of his subjects and using "soothing words" to induce a trance. His
influential contemporaries branded him a charlatan, and his magnetic theory was soon discarded.
Interest in the healing potential of the trance was later resurrected by James
Braid, an English ophthalmologist, who coined the term "hypnosis," after the Greek word for sleep. To induce a trance, Braid simply stared at his
subjects intently. Although he realized he could implant ideas in his subjects while they
were in this deep, relaxed state, he could not explain why this was so.
Hypnosis remained in vogue until the late 19th century, and Freud used it in
his early work. It then fell out of favor once again, resurfacing in the 1950s when Milton
Erickson began experimenting with it for the treatment of both mental and physical ailments. By 1955 the British
Medical Association had approved hypnotherapy as a valid medical treatment; the American Medical
Association (AMA) followed suit in 1958. Today, the therapy is so widely accepted that the American Society
of Clinical Hypnosis, a professional association of physicians, psychologists, and dentists, boasts 4,300
members.
While there seems to be little doubt that hypnosis provides lasting benefits for
many of those who try it, no one is quite certain of the reason. Some scientists
speculate that it prompts the brain to release chemicals called enkephalins and endorphins, natural mood-altering
substances that can change the way we perceive pain and other physical symptoms. The majority,
however, feel that it acts through the unconscious, the part of the mind responsible
for involuntary reactions ranging from blood pressure and heart
rate to hunger. Normally, these reactions are beyond our control. Hypnotherapy seems to put them under our power.
Whatever the truth of the matter, it's clear that when you are in a relaxed,
trance-like state, you are receptive to suggestions that can help you react differently to negative situations, turn your attention away from harmful or
unpleasant stimuli such as pain, discourage unwanted behavior, and even change your pulse rate or body
temperature. The technique can also put you in touch with memories that may explain the origins of current
problems and habits. Once you understand why you act a certain way, proponents suggest,
you're in a better position to change the way you respond. Your mind can focus on productive solutions and hopefully overcome
negative reactions.
One of hypnotherapy's greatest benefits may be its ability to reduce the
effects of stress. Many physicians and psychologists believe that the mind has a direct impact on physical well-being. According to this theory, tension,
anxiety, and depression can undermine immunity and compromise your health, while a positive attitude can
reinforce the immune system, enabling it to better fight infections, toxins, and other invaders. Hypnosis can allay
stress by putting you into a relaxed state, offering positive suggestions, and ridding
the mind of negative thoughts. As tension in your muscles--and even your blood vessels--recedes, the theory goes, your circulation then improves, and
your entire body feels healthier.
As with most hypnotherapy
processes, direct suggestion, guided imagery, and metaphor techniques are used
in this hypnotherapy program. Imagery phrases such as new age, mystical and
crystal are used solely for illustrative purposes. These are used in the context
of childish wonderment and imagination, openness, and seeing things in
perspective. No implication of any religion, belief, or faith is mentioned nor
is implied by the author. It is not our intention to offend any individual
belief. Should these phrases offend, please do not purchase.
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