Posts by Steve Cohen
Rewriting Childhood Trauma Through Hypnosis
A Survivor Found Healing Without Being Forced to Relive the Pain The woman’s name was never published. What researchers did reveal was that she was one of four Chinese women living with the lasting effects of complex trauma. Two had survived childhood sexual abuse. Another had been raped. The fourth had experienced domestic violence. Their treatment did…
Read MoreThe Patient Who Felt Calm Before the Operating Room Doors Opened
How Pre-Surgical Hypnosis May Reduce Anxiety and Improve the Recovery Experience In 2006, researchers at Yale University observed something unexpected outside an operating room. Seventy-six adults awaiting outpatient surgery were divided into three groups. One group received standard care. Another received supportive attention. The third participated in a brief hypnosis session focused on comfort and well-being.…
Read MoreThe Patient Who Entered Surgery Calm Instead of Terrified
How Preoperative Hypnosis May Reduce Anxiety, Pain, and the Emotional Stress Surrounding a Medical Procedure On April 12, 1829, a 64-year-old woman known as Madame Plantin entered a surgical room in Paris. She had advanced cancer in her right breast. This was before modern anesthesia, sophisticated monitoring equipment, and the pain management methods available today. Historical…
Read MoreThe Elderly Man Who Reclaimed His Memory
How Hypnosis Helped an Aging Brain Find Its Way Back In 1991, I met with a gentleman named Ben, a retired accountant in his late seventies who had become increasingly frustrated by his declining memory. He wasn’t suffering from advanced dementia. He was able to recognize family members. But he was trapped in a frustrating…
Read MoreRewriting Childhood Trauma Through Hypnosis: A survivor found healing without reliving the pain.
Many people have never heard of the silent files stored in the brain. In the 1990s, a neurologist working with trauma survivors noticed something unusual. Some patients could describe painful childhood experiences in vivid detail yet showed no physiological distress, spike in heart rate, sweating, or visible anxiety. It was as if the memory had…
Read MoreThe Gamer Who Pressed Pause on His Life
How Hypnosis Helped Break an Obsessive Video Gaming Habit In 1981, a little-known event occurred that caught psychologists by surprise. A young man named Jeff Dailey died after playing the arcade game Berzerk. Witnesses reported that after achieving a high score and experiencing intense excitement, he collapsed from a heart attack. While the incident was rare,…
Read MoreHow College Students with ADHD Use Hypnosis to Win Back Focus and Academic Success
A college sophomore sat in the back row of his lecture hall, staring at notes he did not remember writing. Just weeks earlier, Daniel had been on academic probation. His professors described him as bright but inconsistent. His parents were frustrated. He was exhausted. Despite trying stimulant medication, productivity apps, and study schedules, nothing seemed…
Read MoreStep-by-Step: How One Bride Conquered Binge Eating Before Her Perfect Wedding
How Hypnosis Helped Rewire a Lifelong Relationship with Food In 1965, surgeons performed one of the earliest operations to treat severe obesity: a jejunoileal bypass (gastric bypass surgery). Doctors believed that if they physically altered the digestive system, they could solve the problem of overeating. Many patients did lose weight. But here was the problem…
Read MoreHow a Teacher Beat Social Anxiety with Hypnosis
A case from the early 2000s involving a middle school teacher who nearly quit her career because she could not face people. In 2003, a middle school English teacher, known here as “Laura” to protect her privacy, was on the verge of leaving the profession she loved. Her lesson plans were excellent. Her students performed…
Read MoreThe Fear of Flying That Disappeared in Hours
How a high-frequency business traveler reclaimed control without years of therapy In the early 1990s, I had a little-known program quietly operating within an airline at O’Hare Airport. It was not a marketing campaign but a clinical-style intervention. Passengers with severe aviophobia (fear of flying) were invited into a one-day course that combined education, cockpit…
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