Latest Hypnosis News
How hypnosis helped my client reduce pain-related fear and improve coping In 1967, neurologist Oliver Sacks wrote the first version of his book Migraine in just nine days. His inspiration came partly from working in a migraine clinic and partly from a medical book written a century earlier. Long before he became famous for Awakenings,…
By Steve Cohen Have you ever finished dinner, promised yourself you were done eating, and found yourself back in the kitchen an hour later? That moment deserves curiosity. What prompted the trip: hunger, habit, stress, or the wish for a little comfort? Two recent research reports raise useful questions about weight management and eating patterns.…
Before the surgeon made an incision, researchers tried something you might not expect: 15 minutes of hypnosis. In a little-known 2007 clinical trial at Mount Sinai, 200 women preparing for a breast biopsy or lumpectomy received either a brief hypnosis session or a session of supportive listening. At discharge, the hypnosis group reported less pain,…
Look closely at the photograph. A man rests comfortably in a recliner. His eyes are closed, his breathing appears calm, and his hands rest naturally across his body. Beside him, a Healthcare professional speaks quietly and deliberately. Nothing dramatic is happening. No swinging watch. No loss of control. No mysterious trance. The photograph captures something…
Understanding Stress-Related Physical Symptoms Through the Mind-Body Connection In 1886, Baltimore physician John Noland Mackenzie placed an exquisitely crafted artificial rose near a woman who experienced severe reactions around real roses. Almost immediately, her throat began to itch. Her breathing became difficult. Her body reacted as though it had encountered the very substance it feared.…
The Patient Behind the Patient In 2015, researchers in Italy worked with 15 people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis—ALS. But behind every patient stood another person carrying a weight that rarely appeared on a medical chart. Twelve were spouses. Three were daughters. The patients received four weekly hypnosis sessions and learned self-hypnosis. Their caregivers did…
In 2018, a patient identified in the medical literature as Mr. LC agreed to something most people would find difficult to imagine: brain surgery during which he would need to be awake and responsive for part of the procedure. At Pierre Wertheimer Neurological Hospital, Hospices Civils de Lyon, in France, his anesthesiologist used medical hypnosis…
How Hypnosis May Help With Claustrophobia During Medical Imaging Let me tell you about a 35-year-old woman in Batavia, IL She needed an MRI, but her claustrophobia was intense. Not the “I feel a little uncomfortable in small spaces” kind of fear. Her score on a standardized claustrophobia questionnaire showed that her anxiety was significant.…
How Hypnosis Can Change the Brain’s Interpretation of Chronic Pain Years ago, a young man had surgery at Delnor Hospital for a shoulder that kept dislocating. Nothing unusual about that. What happened afterward was. Instead of depending heavily on pain medication after surgery, he came to our office to learn how to use self-hypnosis. Later, because…
Cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux (USA Today) What therapeutic imagination can teach about fear, treatment, and the mind Hayley Arceneaux was only ten years old when she found out she had bone cancer. Think about being ten. At that age, your biggest concern should be school, friends, riding your bike, or figuring out what you…