She 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.…

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The Child Who Turned Chemotherapy Into a Space Mission

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…

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The Eleven-Year-Old Girl With 43 Warts

An eleven-year-old girl was brought into her doctor’s office with 43 warts covering her hands, feet, face, and other areas of her body. Not eight. Forty-three. Twelve of them were on her face. The warts had been there for more than a year, and the usual treatments had not worked. Her doctors were dealing with…

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The 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…

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The 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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The 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…

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How One Widow’s Journey Back to Life Changed Everything

Medvesta Hypnosis Healthcare How Medical Hypnosis Helped a Woman Reclaim Her Life In 1846, during one of the earliest public demonstrations of surgical anesthesia at Massachusetts General Hospital, a lesser-known parallel story unfolded. Physicians sometimes relied on focused suggestion and guided attention to reduce surgical pain. Patients were coached into narrowed awareness, their breathing slowed,…

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From Constant Coughing to Calm: A Nurse’s Habit Cough Cured with Hypnosis

By Steve Cohen, RN, Healthcare Hypnosis Practitioner The Nurse Who Couldn’t Stop Coughing In the late 1970s, a young nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital developed a mysterious, relentless cough. No infection. No asthma. No allergies. No physiological explanation. Her cough was so disruptive that colleagues avoided taking a report from her. She tried inhalers, medications,…

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How Hypnosis Helped A Weight Loss Surgery Patient Heal Faster

When Mara underwent gastric bypass surgery, she expected to lose weight. What she did not expect was the wave of anxiety that followed. Every gurgle, twinge, or ache felt like something was wrong. Despite her surgeon’s reassurance, her body’s natural healing sensations felt foreign, even frightening. Then something unexpected happened: her bariatric nurse referred her…

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