Confounding Variables

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

 

(This blog was originally posted on June 9, 2014)

Photo by Rick Hustead

 

“Confounding variables” is a concept in statistics where two or more discrete variables can interact in such a way that it is impossible to determine which factor had the greatest impact on the results of the study. Statistics was my least-favorite class in college, but I remain very interested in the way confounding variables affect so many areas of our lives, in “real” life. They impact our work and personal relationships; they influence how we feel physically and emotionally at different times of the day, week, month or year. Everything you see, smell, taste, hear or touch can interact with another factor (or person) to produce a specific response; but that reaction may be completely different in an hour or if one of the stimuli changes.

For example, imagine that you are sitting at your desk at work, about to open your mail. Your colleague peeks over the top of the cubicle divider to invite you to join her for lunch, and the cloying sweet scent of her perfume fills your nostrils. You politely decline the invitation and start to open the first envelop when a wave of nausea rolls over you. Whoa. You skipped breakfast this morning; maybe you are hungrier than you thought, and a low blood-sugar level triggered this symptom. Alternatively, your sensitivity to strong smells, especially to perfumes and colognes, could have made you feel queasy. It’s no wonder that this particular scent set you off, since your ex also used to wear the same brand. Then you notice that the letter you just opened is from a particularly demanding client; he wants to know why his last order still hasn’t arrived. Cue the sense of panic, palpitations, shortness of breath and cold sweat.

You know that each of these stimuli can induce stress in you. The tricky thing about confounding variables is that you may not be able to identify which one has triggered your reaction at that moment. If you feel overwhelmed by what is going on around you, take a moment or two to do diaphragmatic breathing to help you relax and increase your ability to focus on what is going on inside and around you. (If you feel overwhelmed while you are driving, pull your car over to the side of the road or, even better, into a parking lot so you can concentrate on this exercise.) Once you are feeling calmer, do a quick mental scan of what is going on in your life at that moment that could have triggered the stress reaction or anxiety. If you haven’t eaten in a long time, have a snack or a small meal that contains protein to help regulate you blood-sugar level and alleviate symptoms such as dizziness, irritability and confusion. (If you are experiencing physical symptoms of distress, such as chest pain, seek medical help immediately.) I also recommend to my clients that they do EFT (emotional-freedom technique) or “tapping” to individually address the factors that they believe to be exacerbating their distress.

Remember that in real life, as in research, it is necessary to identify and separate the factors that influence our unwanted behavior so we can affect the changes we want to make in our lives.

 

 

 

 

Special Discount for Military Personnel & 1^st Responders

 

Special Offer: 25 percent discount off the first hypnotherapy session for all active/retired military personnel and first responders (police, fire-fighters, EMT/paramedics, ambulance personnel, emergency dispatchers, ER physicians and nurses, COVID-19 Ward staff).

*Not to be combined with any other promotions or discounts. Offer not redeemable for cash.

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. Sara has been voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California, three years in a row (2019, 2020, 2021). For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/

© 2022

 

 

Fear of Being Alone

 To minimize risk of exposure to and spread of the COVID-19 virus, I am temporarily suspending in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, Skype and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

 

(This blog was originally posted on October 28, 2016)

 

Photo by Rick Hustead 

 

 

If there is no specific cause for being afraid of being alone—for example, a specific traumatic incident that threatened the person, such as a physical attack—the individual may be agoraphobic. The late Dr. Ron Hodges, a psychiatrist and colleague of Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., and former director of the Atlanta, Georgia branch of HMI, contended that fear of being alone is many people’s Number One Fear. Since this reaction is often associated with low blood-sugar levels, it is imperative for the hypnotherapist to address this issue before working with the client to alleviate the actual fear or phobia.

“[Fear of being alone] is an irrational fear based on physical sensations,” Dr. Kappas explained. “You think something will happen to you.” These include irregular heartbeat, dizziness, shaking, confusion, increased suggestibility and anxiety or panic. But the related anxiety of losing control, which is triggered by these physiological sensations, forms the basis of this fear. Once better nutrition is established and the person’s blood-sugar levels are stabilized, the hypnotherapist must teach the client face the fear of being alone. This is accomplished by demonstrating how to induce and ameliorate the physical symptoms that come up whenever he or she thinks about situations that typically trigger fear.

“Desensitize the physical feelings for every situation you feel the fear. It’s got nothing to do with the event,” he said. Remember that it can take some time—months or even years—until the person can completely overcome this fear, Dr. Kappas warned.

 

December Promotion: Quit Smoking with Hypnotherapy

Let hypnotherapy help you become a permanent ex-smoker! Package #1 is six sessions and helps you kick the habit gradually ($800 when paid in full, up front, including  the First/Intro session in the cost). Package #2 is one, two-hour session for people who smoke 5 or fewer cigarettes per day. Please go to the link below for prices and more details about each offer ($275, may be required to also do the First/Intro session if you have never been hypnotized before).

 

*These promotions may not be combined with any other offer. It is non-transferable and may not be exchanged for cash.

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. In July 2019 and in September 2020 she was voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2020

 

What Do You Eat?

(This blog was originally posted on February 13, 2015)

Photo by Rick Hustead

When Bill Maher asked when was the last time your (generic) doctor asked you what you eat on the February 6, 2015 episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, I started to wonder the same thing. Depending on what the blood-test results show, a lecture about the dangers of high cholesterol and how certain foods affect this level may be forthcoming. They also want to know if and how much I exercise each week; presumably that is because exercise is an easily quantifiable and relatively benign question to ask. Ditto for getting the stats about daily alcohol consumption (basically, none). But I honestly could not remember any time a physician or even a nurse (RN or LVN) asked me what I actually eat on a regular basis versus offering advice about what to avoid eating, altogether.

However, one of the first things I do ask my hypnotherapy clients is about their diet. This is true whether the person wants to increase his or her self-confidence, improve a golf swing or lose weight. I want to find out what they eat and even when they eat. I want to know these details because nutrition plays a huge role in how we perceive and respond to events in our environment.

Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., observed that low blood-sugar levels can exacerbate or even cause a person’s presenting problem (behavior or belief). For example, a sudden drop in blood sugar can trigger physical symptoms such as shaking, light-headedness and feeling tired, or even psychological symptoms such as depression, paranoia, irritability and memory problems. Furthermore, Dr. Kappas found an association between a person’s low blood-sugar levels and fluctuating suggestibility with the onset of a phobic response. (This fluctuation in suggestibility literally becomes obvious in our handwriting: lines of writing literally become “wavy” when the person is hungry and blood-sugar level is lower).

Not only do I ask my clients about their food choices and eating patterns, I describe how and why what they ingest (and imbibe) can affect their behavior. In addition, I explain how eating nutritious meals that contain protein prevents the sudden drop in blood-sugar level that can contribute to those physical and psychological symptoms of anxiety. If and when necessary, I will refer a client for a further medical and/or psychological evaluation if the individual describes dysfunctional eating behaviors (e.g., bingeing/purging, starvation) or beliefs about food or nutrition that are out of scope of my professional expertise.

Limited-Time Offer: Free Phone Consultation

 This is a great opportunity to find out why hypnosis is so effective and how hypnotherapy can help you achieve your self-improvement goals. Call/send me a text message at (661) 433-9430 or send me an e-mail at calminsensehypnosis@yahoo.com to set up your free, 30-minute phone consultation, today! 

Offer valid through May 31, 2019. 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2019