SHORTEN YOUR LIFE SPAN WITH TOO MUCH TV

     Are you hoping to have a lengthened life span because you don't smoke and are not obese?  Before you pat yourself on the back, know there is another habit that can shorten your life span.  In 2011, Lennert Veerman, MD, a senior research fellow at The University of Queensland, in Brisbane, Australia, reported on a study of 11,000 adults ages 25 and older which compared lifestyle and health data.  The study found that for every hour of sedentary TV-watching per day, on average life expectancy was reduced by 22 minutes.  Which means that a six-hour daily TV habit after the age of 25 could be expected to reduce life expectancy by nearly five years. In other words, the cardiovascular risk for too much TV watching is as dangerous as smoking and obesity.

    It's time to cut back on television watching and begin to add in more healthy activities like spending time with your family and friends, exercising and meditating.  If you need help in making those changes, hypnotherapy can be a great tool to motivate you.  Get up.  Move.  Be Well.

LIVE LONGER WITH BETTER FOOD CHOICES

      What do pumpkin, collard greens and raspberries have in common?  The answer - they will all help you live longer.  A study published in Archives of Internal Medicine in 2011 by Chaoyang Li, MD, PhD reported that those foods were among fruits and vegetables that helped people live longer because they contained high levels of alpha-carotene.  Dr. Chaoyang Li is an epidemiologist in the division of behavioral surveillance at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, and the leader of the study of 15,318 people.

     His report concluded that the people with the highest blood levels of alpha-carotene were 39% less likely to die from all causes over 14 years.  Among the foods with the most alpha-carotene were:  carrots, snap beans, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, mangoes, collard greens, plantains, bell peppers, tomatoes, plantains, raspberries, peas, cornmeal and corn, tangerines and vegetable juice cocktail.

    Another study by Katherine Tucker, PhD, professor and chair, department of health sciences at Northeastern University Boston on 623 people was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  In it Dr. Tucker, the senior author of the study, reported that people who ate at least three weekly servings of tuna, salmon or mackerel had smaller amounts of bone loss over four years than those who did not.  Those particular fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids.

    If you want the best chance at having a long, full and healthy life, these studies indicate, better food choices improve that chance.  If you are having trouble making those changes, hypnotherapy can be a valuable tool to help you improve those choices.  Eat well.  Be well.

HOW DO YOU GO "IN" TO HYPNOSIS?

         Sometimes a new client will ask how I intend to take him in to a trance state.  The technique used by the hypnotist or hypnotherapist is called an induction.  An induction is used to help the client reach a state of relaxation where there is heightened suggestibility. 

         Hypnotherapists use a variety of methods including:  staring at an object (a dot on the wall, a pendulum, etc.), a variety of relaxation suggestions and other words spoken in a relaxing, often repetitive tone, and sounds such as music or a heartbeat. There is no need for a hypnotherapist to touch a client during an induction. 

         I personally enjoy using a combination of induction techniques while very carefully observing the client.  I sometimes use a sound machine to play ocean waves or water lapping against a lake shore or the sound of water rushing across the rocks while the client envisions a pretty stream.  Some hypnotists like to use calm music but I personally find that many clients are distracted by more popular classical pieces they recognize or have a distaste for New Age music.  I usually start with a guided imagery of a peaceful relaxing place which the client has identified in the clinical interview before the hypnotherapy session.  Then I often progress to some kind of progressive relaxation of their body.  I often end the induction with a deepening technique.  During this part of the induction, I am trying to intensify the experience of hypnosis for the client.  My favorite deepening technique is simply to have the person imagine a flight of very safe stairs. As I guide them down the stairs, I give many suggestions for being calm, relaxed and comfortable as they go deeper and deeper.

     Each hypnotherapist or hypnotist will have their own techniques for inducting a client in to hypnosis.  Remember, it is the hypnotist's job to lead you in to that relaxed state where you are suggestible.  It is your job to lie back and enjoy the process!

ARE HYPNOSIS AND MEDITATION THE SAME?

   In the next few weeks, I'm going to try to answer some of the many questions people ask me about hypnosis. Some clients ask if meditation and hypnosis are the same.  In both hypnosis and meditation, a person will experience a meditative state.  But there are some significant differences between meditation and hypnosis.  First of all, the focus is different.  In meditation, you are choosing to go inward and focus on yourself.  In hypnosis, a person will be focusing on something outside herself such as a voice or a pendulum or a dot on the wall.  Once the person has focused, whether through meditation or hypnosis, she will enter an altered state. But once in the altered state, the experience is different.  In meditation, the person continued to focus inwardly on herself while in hypnosis the person enters an altered state and then receives suggestions.  Finally, there is a major difference in the goals of the two altered states.  The only goal of meditation is to "be" in the altered state while the goal of hypnosis is to receive suggestions in order to make a change in idea, thought or behavior.

    Many of my new clients know little about hypnosis. So I offer a free consultation so people can ask their questions.  A free consultation gives the client a chance to get questions answered and to be with the hypnotherapist and see if it feels like a good match. Both meditation and hypnosis can be valuable tools in physical, mental and emotional health.  Use those tools and BE WELL!

DEPRESSION AND STROKE RISK

        A study of 80,574 women published in STROKE found that there is a 29% greater risk of stoke in depressed women than in women who were not depressed.  The senior author of the study was Kathryn Rexrode, MD, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and associate physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.  It is believed that the findings apply to men as well as women though only women participated in the study.

      The researchers believe the possible reason for the increased risk is that depression is linked to increased inflammation. Inflammation is considered a risk factor for strokes.  In addition, people suffering from depression may not take steps to prevent strokes like consistently using prescribed medications or exercising.

      Take heart in knowing that most cases of depression can be treated successfully with psychotherapy, medication or a combination of both.  Cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy have proven as helpful as antidepressant drugs in treating mild cases of depression.  Seeing your health care provider to get a treatment plan is a first step in getting help for depression.  In some cases, a psychotherapist will refer a depressed client to me for hypnotherapy as an adjunct therapy.  So get help for your depression and lower the risk for stroke.

        A study of 80,574 women published in STROKE found that there is a 29% greater risk of stoke in depressed women than in women who were not depressed.  The senior author of the study was Kathryn Rexrode, MD, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and associate physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.  It is believed that the findings apply to men as well as women though only women participated in the study.

      The researchers believe the possible reason for the increased risk is that depression is linked to increased inflammation. Inflammation is considered a risk factor for strokes.  In addition, people suffering from depression may not take steps to prevent strokes like consistently using prescribed medications or exercising.

      Take heart in knowing that most cases of depression can be treated successfully with psychotherapy, medication or a combination of both.  Cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy have proven as helpful as antidepressant drugs in treating mild cases of depression.  Seeing your health care provider to get a treatment plan is a first step in getting help for depression.  In some cases, a psychotherapist will refer a depressed client to me for hypnotherapy as an adjunct therapy.  So get help for your depression and lower the risk for stroke.

LEARN MORE ABOUT WEIGHT CONTROL AND SMOKING CESSATION

     If you have been reading this blog for a while, you have seen many posts on weight control and smoking cessation.  I also wanted to post a couple of websites that have accurate information.  You can learn more about the health benefits of quitting smoking at www.cancer.gov (search for "harms of smoking".  For weight control and smoking cessation search in Publications at www.niddk.gov.   And remember - hypnotherapy can be a fantastic tool to aid you in making those lifestyle changes. 

PROLONG YOUR LIFE WITH A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

      Medications, surgeries and therapies are all used to prevent disease and prolong our lives.  But a 2011 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on an eighteen year study found that, if you want to prolong your life, practicing one or more of four healthy lifestyle behaviors can make that happen.  What are the four healthy behaviors?  You probably can easily identify them - we know what we ought to be doing! 

     So if you want to have the best chance at having a long, healthy life - stop smoking, eat healthfully, drink alcohol moderately or not at all and get enough exercise.  The CDC's report said that in the study 63% of people were less likely to die if they observed those four healthy lifestyle choices than those who did not.  The lifestyle choices you make greatly influence your susceptibility to major diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

    We really do make life or death choices every day. If you want to avoid the poor health with resulting meds and therapies and surgeries, it's time to follow a healthy lifestyle.  Hypnotherapy can be a great tool to help change bad lifestyle choices and to motivate you to incorporate the healthy lifestyle choices that can prolong your life. 

"BLOWN AWAY" - A VOICE MAIL MESSAGE

     One of the joys of my profession is knowing that the work hypnotherapists do with their clients can change lives.  This morning when I arrived at work I had a voice mail from a recent client.  She had been referred to me by her psychotherapist for some adjunct hypnotherapy for generalized anxiety disorder.  She did one session with me and then she returned to her regular therapist.  Her voice sounded so good on the phone as she thanked me for the session saying, "It was really something else!" in a very positive tone.  She talked about some ways in which she had already seen the hypnotherapy session working in her life and how it had opened up new discussions with her psychotherapist.  She concluded, "It was well above and beyond what I though it (the hypnotherapy session) would be.  I'm just blown away".  If you are working with a therapist and would like to experience hypnotherapy, ask for a referral for hypnotherapy.  If you are in northern Virginia or the Washington, DC, area, check out my website: www.JenniferPJohnson.com. And thanks to the client who took the time to share the results of her experience with hypnosis.

BOOST YOUR MOOD

    Been feeling down or anxious?  If you want to reduce anxiety and improve mood, walking at a moderate pace or practicing yoga are often suggested.  A 2011 study of 34 adults who practiced yoga or walked was reported by Chris Streeter, MD, associate professor of psychiatry and neurology at Boston University School of Medicine.  The study found that those who practiced yoga reported significantly greater mood improvement and anxiety reduction than the walking group.  In addition to the study participants reports, brain scans were done of the participants which showed that the yoga group had higher levels of the brain chemical gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) which produces calming effects.

   If you want to add yoga or walking to your daily life to boost your mood, but are having trouble getting started, hypnotherapy can be an excellent tool for motivation.  Get moving.  Feel great.  Be well.

ENRICH YOUR LIFE AND REDUCE STRESS BY BEING MINDFUL

    How many of you are like me - (doing one thing but thinking about what I need to do next and a dozen other things that have to be done)?  I find this particularly true when doing chores such as cleaning house,  I'm vacuuming, dusting or cleaning the sink, but my mind is racing ahead to what happens next.  What would happen if we could change the mundane chores of life into something more meaningful?

     Ronald Alexander, PhD, is a clinical psychotherapist in Santa Monica, California.  The executive director of the OpenMind Training Institute he is also the author of WISE MIND, OPEN MIND:  FINDING PURPOSE AND MEANING IN TIMES OF CRISIS, LOSS AND CHANGE.  He is also an expert on the idea of mindfulness.  He suggests that perhaps we find a different approach to those everyday tasks like brushing our teeth and cleaning the house.  Instead of rushing through chores while distracting ourselves with other things, what if we slowed down and actually engulfed ourselves in the sensory experience of the activity?  By being more mindful in our daily activities, we can enrich our lives, relax and reduce stress.

     Experiencing mindfulness, begins by a different state of focus.  Instead of mentally focusing on "what's next", be in the moment.  Use your senses to focus on what you are doing.  Feel the weight of the dish you are washing and the warmth of the water.  Smell the dishwashing soap.  Really take time to notice the taste of the toothpaste.  Look at what you are doing as if you had never done it before.  Allow your curiosity to be engaged.  What would the carpet look like if I vacuumed in a different way?  How would it feel to use a different hairbrush?  As you heighten your senses with focus and concentration on what you are doing, you are no longer overwhelming your mind with mental work beyond the physical activity you are in.  You are just being  - a tooth brusher, a house cleaner.  In that state of being you are opening yourself to intuition and creativity.

    Try this with your next mundane chore.  Just be in the moment and become more mindful to reduce stress and enrich your life. 

REDUCE PROSTATE CANCER PROGRESSION

    If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer, there is a way to reduce the progression of this disease.  E. L. Richman, et al, reported in CANCER RESEARCH on the discovery in an article called "Physical Activity After Diagnosis and Risk of Prostate Cancer Progresion:  Data from the Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor".  Researchers in the study came from the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of California, San Francisco.

     The researchers found that men with early stage prostate cancer who walked briskley for three hours or more weekly were 57% less likely to need a second round of treatment than those who walked more slowly or walked for a shorter amount of time.  Walking briskly was defined by the researchers as walking at least three miles per hour which was vigorous enough to elevate the heart rate.  

     This is another indication of the positive effect of physical activity upon disease.   If you have been diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer and want to get moving, a clinical hypnotherapist can design a session for you to get you motivated to start walking and reduce the progression of the disease.

ANTIDOTE FOR LONELINESS

        Researchers at the University of Buffalo have found that reading fiction eases feelings of loneliness.  If you have been feeling isolated or lonely, reading a novel for just thirty minutes can boost mood as much as being in a group for thirty minutes. The researchers found that participants in the study felt like they "belonged" within the character's world which satisfied their need to connect in real life.

       Loneliness not only affects emotional health but physical health as well.  Researchers in a Tennessee study found that of the 61 people age 60 and older that they studied, those who scored the highest on a "loneliness index" were most likely to consume too few calories and too little calcium.  When people are lonely they are more apt to have poor-quality diets and skip meals. Poor nutrition in turn can lead to poor health.

     So try reading that novel and offering to share a meal with an acquaintance.  A professional hypnotherapist can help you plan ways to alleviate your loneliness and use hypnosis to reinforce your plan.   

EARLY MENOPAUSE INCREASES THE RISK OF HEART DISEASE

      If you or someone you know has gone through early menopause which is defined as going through menopause starting at age 29 or younger, then be aware there is greater risk for heart disease. This is caused by the drop in heart-protecting estrogen after menopause. 

     Because I went through menopause after surgery at the age of 29, I am quite interested in new research just published in MENOPAUSE.  The researchers reported that in an eight-year study, women who enter menopause early are twice as likely to suffer from a stroke or heart disease.

    There are a number of things someone going through early menopause can do to lower their risk of cardio-vascular disease.  I always encourage my clients to take care of themselves.  This is particularly true for women who experienced early menopause.  A major goal should be to reduce stress.  It's time to nurture yourself by doing relaxing things, socializing with friends and enjoying creative activities and hobbies.  Establishing certain disciplines like deep breathing, meditation, tai chi or yoga can be valuable ways to deal with stress.  Working with a clinical hypnotherapist to deal with the stresses in your life can be very useful.

   Eating healthy foods including noninflammatory foods such as fresh vegetables and fruits and healthy protein such as fish, minimizing the intake of inflammatory simple sugars found in candy, pasta, white bread and pastries, and taking daily supplements including a multivitamin, CoQ10 (60 mg to 100 mg), magnesium (400 mg to 800 mg), fish oil at your doctor's recommendation and vitamin C (1000 mg) are great ways to lower the risk for heart disease. And exercise is particularly important to protect yourself.  Shoot for at least 200 minutes of exercise per week.  Exercise should be done regularly such as taking a half hour walk every day. 

     If you are a woman who experienced early menopause, it's time to take care of yourself by managing stress, eating well and using supplements and exercising regularly.  If you need help to get motivated to "take care of yourself", a clinical hypnotherapist can help you to do those things and lower your risk of heart disease.

SMOKING-RELATED DEATHS AMONG WOMEN HAVE SOARED

     Women began smoking in large numbers after World War II.  The consequences of this shift to large numbers of women smoking are just now reaching women in their fifties or older.  Steven Schroeder, a health and smoking expert at the University of California, San Francisco, said, "We used to think women were at less risk of illness from smoking.  That doesn't seem to be true now.  My guess is that early women smokers didn't smoke as much as men because there was some stigma to it.  Now they"re smoking as many cigarettes as men are."  So he concluded, "Smoke like a man, die like a man.

    And that seems to be what a report in the New England Journal of Medicine showed.  It indicated that for the first time since the 1950's, the rate of smoking-related deaths is now nearly equal between male and female smokers.  Since  the CDC says that smoking kills some 443,000 people every year, that is a scary statistic. If you do not want to be a statistic like that, it's time to think about becoming a nonsmoker.  So check my website:www.BeaHealthyNonsmoker.com or find a hypnotherapist in your area help you to become a healthy nonsmoker.

GREAT NEWS - MY WEB SITES ARE BACK

     Most technology is way beyond my pay grade.  So I am so happy that I have a fantastic webmaster.  Mike, thanks for all your help in getting my web sites back on line.  If you haven't checked them out, learn more about hypnosis and about my practice at www.JenniferPJohnson.com.  If you are thinking about quitting smoking, go to my site just for you, www.BeaHealthyNonsmoker.com.  Now that they are both up and going, I will return to adding new information on this site:  www.johnsonhypnotherapy.com which incidently rolls over to the other two sites.  Thanks for your interest and support while I was "technologically challenged".

NEW STUDY SAYS SMOKING CARRIES GRAVE RISKS

     A study recently reported in the New England Journal of Medicine emphasized the message that smoking carries severe risks for smokers.  The study took the result of surveys of 217,000 adults collected for the federal National Health Interview Survey between 1997 and 2004 and linked them to the National Death Index which reports cause-of-death.  The results were scary.  Very few smokers reached the age of eighty.  In the nonsmoking population seventy percent of women who never smoked and sixty-one percent of men who never smoked reached the age of eighty.  Just thirty-eight percent of female smokers and twenty-six percent of male smokers celebrated their eightieth birthday.

    If you want to give yourself the best opportunity to live a longer, healthier life, it's time to consider quitting smoking.  Hypnotherapy can be a valuable tool in helping you get rid of this scary habit that can carry such grave risks.  Quit smoking, live long and BE WELL.

GET MOVING AND DECREASE RISK OF KIDNEY DISEASE

     Do you sit at a desk most of your work day?  Do your evening plans include tv or more time sitting at a computer?  A new study by researcher Thomas Yates, PhD and senior lecturer at University of Leicester in Leicester, England, was recently published in the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF KIDNEY DISEASE.  Yates reported that kidney disease is linked to prolonged sitting.  Men who reported spending the most hours sitting were at 19% increased risk for kidney disease.  While women who sat for eight hours or more daily were 30% more likely to develop chronic kidney disease than those who sat less than three hours per day. 

    So what can you do to lower that risk.  If you have a seated job at work, you may want to try a standing desk and if you are seated, get up regularly and move around.  We all need to be moving.  But if you have a sedentary job, it is extremely important to move when you are not working.  Get up and move to decrease the risk of kidney disease.  Hypnotherapy can be used as a great tool to motivate you to add movement into your life.  Get moving, decrease your risk of kidney disease and BE WELL.

RESTORE LIFE EXPECTANCY - QUIT SMOKING BY 40

   Did you see the new study published online last Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine about quitting smoking by 40?  The bottom line - smokers who never stop smoking lose about ten years of life expectancy.  But the good news, if a smoker quits between the ages of 35 and 44, he can gain back nine of those years.  Those who quit between 45 and 54 gained back six lost years and even those who didn't quit until between 55 and 64 gained four years back.  Best news of all - those smokers quitting before the age of 35 gained all ten years back. 

    Restore years of life expectancy by quitting smoking.  Check out my website www.BeaHealthyNonsmoker and learn how hypnotherapy can be a valuable tool in stopping smoking.  Stop smoking, restore life expectancy, Be Well.

STOP DRINKING SOFT DRINKS WITH HYPNOTHERAPY

      Most of us know or at least suspect that soft drinks are not good for us.  Whether we are talking about sugared sodas or diet drinks or even bottled teas or sports drinks, there are significant health risks to consuming those drinks.  Studies show that the average American consumes about fifty gallons of soft drinks in a year and 11.5 gallons of fruit juice and fruit beverages.  These drinks contain sugar or a sugar substitute and may also contain caffeine, phosphoric acid or high-fructose corn syrup. None of these things are good for us and may cause health problems.

    Our bodies are simply not created to process the sugars in sweetened drinks, the excess sugar negatively affects the body's chemical balance which can lead to a variety of serious illnesses including: pancreatic cancer, osteoporosis, leaky gut syndrom which can increase the risk for and/ or severity of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and other autoimmune diseaes, hypertension, asthma, gout and heart burn.  Diet sodas are no better with recent research indicating that people who drank diet soda daily were at much greater risk for stroke and heart attack. It is likely the sugar substitutes such as saccharin and aspartame and the phosphoric acid are the causes for this risk.

     If you are thinking of turning to sports drinks, be aware that a sixteen ounce bottle of lemon tea has 10.5 teaspoons of sugar and a twenty ounce bottle of Gatorade Original Lemon-Line contains 8.5 teaspoons.  If you have decided these health risks are to great, hypnotherapy can be a great tool whether you quit cold turkey or gradually.   

BELLY FAT LINKED TO OSTEOPOROSIS

     In 2011, Miriam Bredella, MD, assistant professor of radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, presented a paper on belly fat and its link to osteoporosis at a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.  Dr. Bredella had led the study of 50 premenopausal obese women.  She reported that obese women with more fat around their waist were more likely to have low bone-mineral density than obese women with less fat around their middle.  This is important because low bone-mineral density is a risk factor for osteoporosis.

     Some earlier studies had suggested that carrying more body fat might actually protect against osteoporosis.  But we now know that not all fat is the same.  Some women carry excessive subcutaneous fat which is fat just below the surface of the skin. These women showed normal bone structure.  But the women who had the deep belly fat, those women with the apple-type figure, were more likely to be at risk for lower bone-mineral density.

    With lower bone-mineral density comes the risk for suceptibility to bone fracture especially of the back and hip. The National Osteoporosis Foundation reports that about 10 million Americans have osteoporosis and another 18 million have osteopenia or moderately low bone mass.  Since bone fractures can cause mild to severe pain, losing that belly fat can be a way of preventing the problems caused by the increase risk of fractures.  Hypnotherapy can be a valuable tool in building a bone-healthy lifestyle by exercising more, quitting smoking, avoiding excess alcohol and certainly losing belly fat.