Hypno-Anesthesia

(This blog was originally posted on July 12, 2016)

Photo by Rick Hustead

You may recall one of the scenes in Glory, in which a young soldier runs away from Confederate gunfire despite having had one of his legs shot off. Presumably he is in considerable physical pain at that moment, but his subconscious and conscious mind are completely focused on fleeing the danger/surviving the battle and living. He doesn’t even seem to even notice his injuries. Conversely, in Dances with Wolves, Union Army lieutenant John Dunbar (Kevin Costner) runs toward enemy fire in a bid to commit suicide rather than have Union doctors amputate his badly wounded leg. In this case, Lt. Dunbar was likely more afraid of living the rest of his life as an amputee—a totally unknown way of life, compared to the one he knows as a decorated soldier—than the prospect of death, which he faced every time he went to battle.

Even though at least one million sensations are going on in the body at any one time, we typically only perceive a few of them at once. So, at this point in reading my blog I want you to focus attention to your feet and how they feel in the shoes you have on. Until I gave you that suggestion, had you even noticed your feet or shoes? This kind of selective attention is very fortunate; otherwise, we would be in a state of sensory overload every minute—every second—of the day.

This kind of selective attention is also what facilitates hypno-anesthesia. Consider Dr. John Kappas’s definition of hypnosis: “Hypnosis is created by an overload of message units disorganizing our inhibitory process (critical mind), triggering our fight/flight mechanism and ultimately resulting in a hyper-suggestible state, providing access to the subconscious mind.” When you are in this state, the level of awareness is actually heightened. However, the message in the hypnotic script has you focus on a specific issue(s) or sensation(s) while disregarding or reforming the significance of conflicting messages/perceptions. For example, when preparing a pregnant client to manage the discomfort of the contractions in labor, I would suggest that she imagine/perceive the contractions as the gentle massage that is helping to bring her child into the world. By changing the meaning or association of the sensation from something uncomfortable to a process that is bringing joy into her life, she can also change the perception of that sensation.

Hypnosis is to manage/control pain is one of the most common requests/uses/applications of this modality. The body naturally produces its own analgesics (pain-control enzymes) when the subconscious mind is overloaded (distracted) or when you are comfortable and relaxed, such as during hypnosis/hypnotherapy/therapeutic guided imagery. Therefore, when you are relaxed and calm in hypnosis, you are more likely to feel greater comfort and be better able to manage or control physical pain. However, the anxiety and fear that often accompany pain typically increase this perception. Since hypnosis helps a person relax and reduces anxiety and stress, being in this state, alone, is a natural analgesic.

Unlike medically-induced anesthesia—which can induce physiological complications from medication-induced side effects—hypnosis is a safe, natural, drug-free state of awareness. In addition to helping create pain-free labor/delivery, it is useful to control pain/discomfort during dentistry procedures, low-back pain, headaches, arthritis and more.* 

  

*California law allows access by California residents to complementary and alternative health care practitioners who are not providing services that require medical training and credentials. The purpose of a program of hypnotherapy is for vocational and avocational self-improvement (Business and Professions Code 2908) and as an alternative or complementary treatment to healing arts services licensed by the state. A hypnotherapist is not a licensed physician or psychologist, and hypnotherapy services are not licensed by the state of California. Services are non-diagnostic and do not include the practice of medicine, neither should they be considered a substitute for licensed medical or psychological services or procedures.

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/.

© 2017

Hyper-Suggestibility at the Doctor's Office

“Patients cannot hear it when you say disparaging things about them to colleagues

out of earshot. But they can feel it.” – Mark Reid, M.D.

Photo by Rick Hustead

When you go to the doctor’s office, you are likely to perceive a lot of things. You will see the doctor’s white coat, smell the astringent odor of anti-septic and cleaning products, feel the cool air circulating throughout the clinic (it always seems so cold in a doctor’s office). Then there will be sounds: a child’s cough, the buzz over the reception area desk instructing the next patient to step check in, the voices of other patients’ chatting in the waiting room, the medical staff discussing…whatever. Sometimes the topic of the medical team’s conversation or the tone of their voices causes unnecessary (and unintended) anxiety and distress.

For example: I once overheard an Ob/Gyn physician call to his nurse, “Bring the cow in here.” Now, calling a woman a “cow” is unkind and derogatory, to say the very least. I was seething. What kind of physician would refer to his patients this way? I wondered, gritting my teeth. Then I saw the nurse wheel a computer into the examining room and shut the door. Cow. C.o.W. Computer on Wheels. But you wouldn’t have known what the doctor really meant if you hadn’t seen the item he wanted the nurse to bring into the room.

The tone of the medical professionals’ voice and cadence of their speech can also influence your level of anxiety or comfort/relaxation during a medical visit. When I over-heard the doctor instruct the nurse to bring the C.o.W. into the examining room, his tone was mild or even indifferent. My hyper-suggestible state intensified my emotional-suggestible interpretation to his comment. I immediately jumped to the conclusion that he was mocking or belittling the patient and he didn’t seem to care that he was insulting her. If I had been in that examining room, I would have been very insulted—until the computer came into the room, anyway.

 Whether you are at the clinic for a regular check-up, preparing for/recovering from a scheduled surgery or an unexpected trip to the emergency room, hospitals and medical environments can be an overwhelming and anxiety-inducing experience. As the smells, sounds and sights of this environment fill and overwhelm the senses, it is easy and natural to slip into a hyper-suggestible state of awareness (i.e., environmental hypnosis). Fear, anxiety and/or nervousness you experience being in this medical environment, combined with any negative emotions/associations you have about the examination or procedure you are about to undergo likely intensifies this state.

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/.

© 2017

Thoughts of the Day

Photo by Sara Fogan

     Every now and then I like (and need) to take a few moments and remind myself about what is really important to me, in my life. If you follow me on my Calminsense Hypnotherapy Facebook page you may have seen some of these quotes before on this page, or will in the future. Many of these Quotes of the Day are beautiful examples and illustrations of the work I do as a hypnotherapist, so I will probably draw on them in future essays.

• “It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you. Always.” – Oprah Winfrey

• “Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.” – Swami Sivananda

• “When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” – Alexander Den Heijer

• “I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.” – John Locke

• “In every moment of our existence, we are in that field of all possibilities where we have access to an infinite of choices.” – Deepak Chopra

• “Just because you are struggling doesn’t mean you are failing.” – Lolly Daskal

• “Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

• “Life is beautiful because you make it beautiful.” – Bille Baty

• “Being positive in a negative situation is not naive. It's leadership.” – Rachelle F. Chapman

• “There are good ships & wood ships, ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships, may they always be!” – Irish Proverb

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/.

© 2017