Anxiety
Hypnosis and Positive Change: Learning a Better Response
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…
Read MoreHypnosis and the Mind Body Connection: When the Body Remembers What the Mind Wants to Forget
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.…
Read MoreWhen the Caregiver Never Clocks Out: How Hypnosis May Help
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…
Read MoreThe Night Before Surgery: A Hypnosis Approach to Anticipatory Anxiety and Insomnia
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…
Read MoreShe Was Afraid of the MRI Until She Found an Escape Route
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.…
Read MoreThe Alopecia Patients Whose Hair Began Returning
Twenty-one people with severe alopecia areata entered a small hypnosis study after other treatments had failed. For many of them, the hair loss was extensive. Some had lost nearly all the hair on their scalps. Others had lost hair all over their bodies. They had already tried medical treatments. Nothing had worked the way they had hoped.…
Read MoreThe Needle-Fearing Patient Who Finally Completed Her Treatment
How Hypnotic Techniques Can Help Reduce Procedural Anxiety Sophia was 15 when a routine vaccination turned into something her mind would not let go. The injection itself was not especially painful. In fact, she handled it fairly well. The problem came afterward. As she left the room, Sophia noticed several other children becoming upset about…
Read MoreWhen Every Medical Test Was Normal but the Pain Was Real
Exploring Hypnosis for Persistent Symptoms That Resist Easy Explanations During the Civil War, physician Silas Weir Mitchell began seeing soldiers with a strange and disturbing complaint. Some had lost an arm or leg, yet they still felt pain, itching, cramping, or pressure in the missing limb. The limb was gone. The pain was not. At…
Read MoreRewriting 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.…
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