USING HYPNOTHERAPY TO TREAT LONELINESS

      If you are feeling lonely, know you are not alone.  Everyone feels lonely occasionally even in the middle of the crowd.  And loneliness can happen at any age.  Young adults are at risk when they leave school and their parents' home and move into their own home for the first time.  Retirees may feel particularly lonely when they no longer have a daily routine and lose workplace relationships.  Married people may feel lonely during rough patches in a relationship.

    Unfortunately, loneliness can spiral downward into the three D's of defensiveness, desperation and depression.  These, in turn, can push people away and cause even more loneliness.

     Defensiveness actually separates lonely people from others.  If you are feeling lonely, take the time to look at your own behavior.  Look at what could be limiting your ability to establish relationships.  Sometimes some tweaking of your social skills is all that is needed to feel less lonely.  Do you go places to meet people?  When was the last time you accepted an invitation or attended a social function?  Do you join in conversations already taking place?  Release the defensiveness and see how you can reach out to others. Taking a class or joining a volunteer group can be a great way to meet new people and do something positive for yourself and others.

    Desperation occurs when people feel that lack of social connections.  But often the best cure for loneliness is not meeting new people, it is deepening the relationships you already have.  Reach out to the people you already know.  Reconnect.  Go through your address book or emails and reconnect. Find old high school, college friends or co-workers. Then make a real effort to stay reconnected.

    Depression can happen when loneliness becomes overwhelming and the person simply gives up.  They begin to believe that it's impossible to be anything but lonely and become very pessimistic.  They step into the "why bother" mode - why bother to try to make a new friend, why bother to reach out to someone,  why bother to attend a social event.  Of course, you will likely not meet your soul mate or your future best friend at every event.  But, if you are lonely, step out of the loneliness box of your home and into the world of possibility.

    If you need help to release the defensiveness, desperation and depression that can be triggered by loneliness, a clinical hypnotherapist using brief therapy can help you to step out into a better and happier future.  Hypnotherapy can help you BE WELL.

REDUCE BLOOD PRESSURE WITH WEIGHT TRAINING

     A study was published in THE JOURNAL OF STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING RESEARCH on reducing hypertension in middle-aged men.  The researchers at Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, set up  a study of middle-aged men who had been diagnosed with hypertension.  The subjects of the study did  weight training three times a week for twelve weeks.  The men were able to stop their medication and lowered their systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressure.  The researchers found that the men's blood pressure stayed low for four weeks even after stopping weight training.

     Because weight lifting directly improves nervous system functioning, if you are a male with hypertension, you can reduce your blood pressure with weight training.  If you need help in getting motivated to start lifting, a hypnotherapist can help to get you moving.  Get help, reduce your blood pressure with weight training and BE WELL.

JUNK FOOD ADDICTION AND HYPNOTHERAPY

    Are you a junk food junkie?  In working with weight loss clients for over twenty years, I have found that many overweight and obese people feel that their unhealthy eating habits are caused by actual addiction.  They often believe that an addiction to junk food was the basis of their weight issue

    A research study by Paul Kenney, PhD, an associate professor in the department of molecular therapeutics at the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter Florida, confirmed my clients' suspicions.  Kenney's research involved an animal food behavior study which was published in "Nature Neuroscience".  In the study, rats were given as much food as they wanted with access to both healthy foods and high-calorie foods.  Very quickly the rats, showed a decided preference to the junk food snacks and began to gain weight and even become obese.

    The rats showed decreased levels of a dopamine receptor which provides a feeling of reward.  The same decreased levels are reported in people addicted to drugs from nicotine to cocaine.

     Hypnotherapy can be a valuable tool in dealing with junk food cravings.  If you are concerned about unhealthy eating or junk food addiction, see a qualified hypnotherapist.  And BE WELL,

CHRONIC PAIN AND HYPNOTHERAPY

     If you are among the 100 million Americans who suffer from chronic pain, you know how debilitating it can be.  In recent years, there has been a great deal of focus and research on pain.  The Institute of Medicine reported the shocking pain numbers.  The annual cost of chronic pain, in lost productivity and in treatment is estimated at $635 billion.  In fact, 4.6 hours of productive time was lost weekly by 13 percent of workers due to pain.

     Researchers and physicians continue to try to understand chronic pain.  Most doctors now believe that chronic pain is not just a symptom but a disease in itself.  They identify a number of different causes including inflammation and genetic causes particularly on the HCN2 gene.  An even more complicated cause may be that with long term exposure to physical pain, the nerves may be hard-wired into a neurological memory.  So pain may continue to occur after the original cause is gone.

      With 26 million Americans reporting frequent back pain and 42 million Americans saying pain keeps them awake at night, sufferers are desperate for help.  Typical ways of treating chronic pain have included treatment with over-the-counter drugs (like aspirin and ibuprofen) to treat inflammation and morphine and codeine, narcotics prescribed by medical doctors to block the pain.

     Integrative medicine combines these treatments along with complementary therapies like massage, acupuncture and massage.  Studies at the Stanford University Center for Integrative Medicine indicate that medical hypnosis can reduce chronic pain.

    Before you begin any attempt to relieve pain, you need to understand why you are suffering.  Pain is a warning system.  If you have chronic pain, you need to see your medical doctor for a diagnosis.  Sometimes clients come into my office and say that they have chronic headaches.  Before I would work in hypnosis with that client, I would need a referral from a medical doctor.  The pain could be a symptom of a serious medical condition such as a brain tumor.  If, on the other hand,  the client had seen a doctor and has a referral, hypnotherapy could be a valuable tool for the pain sufferer.

    Dr. Helen Crawford at Virginia Tech says, "Hypnosis seems to eliminate or reduce the perception of pain as well as the anxiety that accompanies it.  It's as if the brain sends out a message that it does not want to feel the pain; it wants to inhibit it."  If you suffer from chronic pain, hypnotherapy can help you feel better and BE WELL. 

DIET DRINKS AND CARDIOVASCULAR RISK

    Are you still drinking diet sodas or diet fruit drinks?  Another study has confirmed risks for consuming these drinks.  Ankur Vyas, MD,a cardiovascular diseases fellow at University of Iowa Health  Care, in Iowa City, Iowa, reported on an observational study of almost 60,000 women who had an average age of 62.  He found that drinking two or more diet drinks per day resulted in a 30% greater risk of heart attack or stroke than those who rarely or never drank diet fruit drinks or diet sodas.  It is theorized that the reason for this result is that these drinks may cause metabolic syndrome and weight gain which raise the risk for heart disease.

    Thinking about giving up diet drinks?  Hypnotherapy can be a valuable tool to let go of this old bad habit and BE WELL. 

LACK OF SLEEP - RISK FACTOR FOR STROKE

    Another reason to find a solution to your insomnia - a University of Alabama, Birmingham, study found that there is more stroke risk with less sleep.  The study  of 5,666 adults was presented in 2012 at the Associated professional Sleep Societies in Boston.

     The study was conducted on adults with low sleep apnea risk ad normal body mass index.  Researchers reported that 30% of working adults who regularly sleep less than six hours per night are four times more likely to suffer a stroke than people who sleep seven or eight hours per night.  This as the first study to find that lack of sleep is an important risk factor for having a stroke.

     If you are having difficulty sleeping and are concerned about this risk, hypnotherapy can be a valuable tool to help you get the sleep and the rest you need and lessen your risk for having a stroke.  Sleep well and BE WELL.

USING HYPNOTHERAPY FOR METABOLIC SYNDROME

   A study published in DIABETES CARE reported that more than half of the participants older than 65 had metabolic syndrome.  This syndrome is a combination of symptoms including high blood glucose levels, high blood pressure, high triglyceride levels, low HDL (the good) cholesterol and an apple shape large waist circumference.  Usually a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome is given when you have three or more of these factors.

      These risk factors means you are five times as likely to develop diabetes, twice as likely to develop heart disease or a heart attack and twice as likely to have a stroke. Those are scary statistics.  So what can you do to protect yourself?  Since only that apple shaped waist is obvious, the first step is to find out what your other risk factors are.  So see your medical doctor to have your blood pressure read and blood work done to include, blood glucose levels, cholesterol levels and triglyceride levels.  

     If you are diagnosed with a problem with high blood pressure or in your blood work, what can you do to bring down the risk? Genetic components to risk can't be changed.  If you have a parent or sibling with diabetes, your risk is higher.  Aging is another risk for developing metabolic syndrome that you can't control.  

     But there are things you can control such as your physical activity level, your diet, and your weight.  Your medical doctor may prescribe medications to improve blood pressure, cholesterol levels and control your blood glucose. What can YOU do?  Get more active - a reasonable goal is two and a half hours a week.  You can cut down on processed food especially those high in sugar and salt.  Instead, increase your intake of vegetables, fruits, lean meats, whole grains and low-fat dairy products.  Cut the extra belly fat by adding that exercise and cutting calories.

    If you need help to get motivated to take care of yourself by exercising, making healthy food choices and losing weight, hypnotherapy can be a great tool.  A hypnotherapist can help you to avoid the health risks of metabolic syndrome and BE WELL.

MISOPHONIA AND HYPNOTHERAPY

Does the sound of listening to someone eat or even breathe really bother you.?  Anger and even high levels of anxiety to such everyday sounds may indicate you have a condition called misophonia.  Michelle R. Berman, MD, editor of the medical information site CelebrityDiagnosis.com,  has explained that misophonia usually begins at the ages of 10 to 12.  It has been observed that the closer the emotional relationship between the person reacting to a noise and the person creating the sound, the stronger the reaction level.  

     Though most experts believe misophonia cannot be cured, there are a number of treatments including, antianxiety medication, habituation therapy and cognitive therapy.  This is an issue I have worked with a number of times using hypnotherapy.  In almost every case, the client was around 10 or 11.  The cases did tend to involve the eating or breathing of a family member.  In most cases, the family member was a parent.  In one case, I recall, it was a sibling.  

    Though misophonia cannot be cured, it is certainly worth trying a treatment to relieve the symptoms.  Hypnotherapy can be of particular value because it is brief therapy and does not involve medications.  If those intimate sounds connected with eating and breathing are bothering you or a loved one, seek help and BE WELL,

REFRAMING: MAKING OLD SITUATIONS NEW WITH HYPNOSIS

      Have you ever been to a yard sale or flea market and seen an old oil painting that you liked?  Perhaps the frame is beautiful and appealing.  But often an old painting has an ugly dark frame that makes the painting dreary and unattractive.  If you love the painting, you might buy it and decide to reframe the painting in something brighter and more appealing. 

      Sometimes situations and circumstances in our lives our limited by the frames of our thoughts, ideas and attitudes.  Hypnotherapy can be a valuable tool to change the perception of the situations and circumstances to make positive changes.  You can use hypnosis to reframe a situation by reframing your thoughts about it.  It can help you to have a new positive perspective about a situation in your life. 

     A qualified hypnotherapist can help you reframe situations that you have been unable to change by yourself.  With hypnosis you can reframe your choices to choose to eat healthy foods, be comfortable speaking in public, stop smoking, exercise more or sleep through the night.  Make your life brighter and more appealing by using hypnosis to reframe old ideas, attitudes and thoughts that are keeping you from having the life of your dreams.

APPETITE CONTROL THROUGH EXERCISE

     James LeCheminant, PhD, and associate professor of exercise sciences at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, did a study of 35 women who had brain scans to figure out how their brains responded to pictures of food.  One group of scans was done after the women walked briskly on a treadmill for 45 minutes.  A second study was completed of their brains without having the women exercise first.  LeCheminant's study found that when the women had just exercised, the brain responses to the pictures of food, which were considered a marker of appetite, were reduced.  Dieting to control your weight can be difficult if you are not exercising.  Reduce your desire to eat by doing moderate exercise.  And remember, a hypnotherapy session can be a great motivator to get moving!

MEDICAL HYPNOSIS

    Guy Montgomery, director of the Integrative Behavioral Medicine program at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and the leader of many studies on use of hypnosis for medical reasons once said, "Hypnosis is like a good kid with a bad reputation.  Everybody is interested, but in the back of their minds, they're thinking of Bela Lugosi."  Many people have images of hypnosis based on old movies, tv shows and comedy club hypnosis performances.  Sometimes I will meet with a first time client and they will joke, "I don't want to bark like a dog, quack like a duck or cluck like a chicken."  But people with illnesses also ask if hypnosis can be used for medical issues.

    The good news is that hypnosis used for therapeutic purposes can be a valuable tool to give clients more control over their bodies.  Over the past few years increasing studies have been done on hypnosis for medical issues. Studies have shown diminished side effects from chemotherapy after using hypnotherapy.  Medical situations such as high blood pressure, asthma attacks, hot flashes and migraine headaches have been shown to improve with the use of hypnotherapy.

     In 2012, two Swedish studies found that symptoms of irritable-bowel syndrome (IBS) eased 40% in patients after a one hour a week hypnotherapy session for twelve weeks.  The researchers reported that the positive effects could last as long as twelve weeks after the hypnotherapy.

    Over the years, I have worked with cancer patients.  These people often undergo grueling treatments including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.  These patients often work with me not only to control pain but also to control the anxiety that goes with the treatment and a frightening diagnosis. David Spiegel, a psychiatrist and director of the Center for Health and Stress at Stanford University who has studied hypnosis for 40 years, noted that "We can teach people how to manage pain and anxiety."

    Hospitals are using medial hypnosis as part of a broad program of services for their patients.  Tanya Edwards, director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic says that about half of the center's patients are referred, particularly by primary-care physicians, gastroenterologists and primary care physicians.

   Anxiety is often an underlying problem for medical issues.  Even taking the medical tests can provoke extreme anxiety in some people.  Having an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is a painless procedure unless you have a fear of enclosed spaces.  MRIs are confining and the loud banging, clanging sounds that are a part of the procedure can also cause discomfort. A bronchioscope pushed down the throat in a lung exam can be frightening as can an instrument inserted to go down your throat in an upper-GI endoscopy.  A hypnotherapy session before the test could make this much easier on the patient.

    From trying to conceive, to dealing with nausea, to delivery, hypnobirthing is a specialty of  medical hypnosis. Another specialty is dental hypnosis which is particularly valuable to patients who are phobic and have avoided the dentist for years. Preparing for surgery by doing a hypnosis session can be very valuable as well.

    In my practice, I always ask for a medical referral before working on a medical issue.  Sometimes people come in and say, "I'm having headaches.  Can you do a session for me?"  I always say that I would be happy to work with them on referral from their medical practitioner.  I certainly don't want to help disguise a serious medical issue such as a brain tumor.

    If you or a loved one has a medical issue, call a hypnotherapist to see how hypnosis could help you deal with the issue so you can BE WELL.

LACK OF SLEEP INCREASES RISK OF STROKE

     Do you regularly sleep less than six hours per night?  Research reported by postdoctoral fellow in psychology, Megan Ruiter, PhD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, found that normal body weight adults who slept less than six hours nightly were four times more likely to have a stroke than people who got seven or eight hours of sleep each night.  The researchers followed 5,666 people age 45 and older who had no history of stroke or sleep apnea.  The researchers were monitoring these people for weakness on one side of the body and other stroke symptoms and identified the lack of sleep as increasing the risk of stroke.

     The researchers theorize that less than six hours per night of sleep can trigger high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  Both of those are established stroke risk factors.  If you almost always sleep less than six hours each night, it's time to talk to your doctor.  Remember that hypnotherapy can be a valuable tool in dealing with insomnia.  See your doctor, see a hypnotherapist.  Get more than six hours per night of good sleep and Be Well.

PREVENT AND REVERSE MALE SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION

      If you are male and are experiencing erectile dysfunction (ED), know that the top way to prevent this health issue is the same way as to reduce heart disease.  ED results from diminished blood flow.  It can be an early warning sign for heart disease.  In fact, studies show that men who have ED, are 80% more likely to develop heart disease than men who do not have ED.

     So what can a mean do to prevent or reverse erectile dysfunction?  The answer is the same as preventing heart disease.  To protect yourself from these issues, exercise regularly, keep blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol under control, and maintain a healthy weight by eating a healthy diet.  To make these changes, you may need help.  Your doctor can give you a plan and any medications you need.  To get motivated, check out hypnotherapy.  It can help you get well, stay well and prevent sexual dysfunction.  Get help and BE WELL.

MORE BAD NEWS FOR SODA DRINKERS

     In earlier posts, I have reported on some of the health risks of drinking sugar-sweetened sodas and low and no-sugar sodas.  Studies first linked consumption of sugar-sweetened sodas to increased risk for diabetes, coronary artery disease, weight gain, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  In 2012 researchers at Harvard University and Cleveland Clinic's Wellness Institute reported on a study of soda consumption of more than 100,000 men and women over more than 20 years.  This study found that regular consumption on a daily basis of either sugar-sweetened or diet sodas increases stroke risk by about 16%.

    Adam Bernstein, MD, one of the authors of the study noted that the researchers really don't have a good explanation for the biological mechanism causing the finding.  He did note that one study suggested that the caramel coloring in some sodas might be contributing to the problem though the findings are preliminary.

    If you're worried about giving up caffein, coffee and tea do not increase stroke risk.  This may be because of the antioxidants in those drinks.  So now you have another reason to think about substituting some other drink such as water, skim milk, coffee or tea instead of sodas. 

    I have had several clients come in over the years who were concerned about the health risks of sodas and used hypnotherapy to quit drinking them.  Hypnosis can be a valuable tool to help you quit drinking sodas and BE WELL.

HYPNOTHERAPY CAN HELP WITH PHOBIAS

     Do you know what the most common anxiety disorder is?  The answer may surprise you.  Phobias are the most common affecting up to 14% of Americans during their lifetimes.  The word phobia comes from the Greek word phobos which means mortal fear.  If you are extremely anxious about flying, being in an elevator or exposed to heights, your life may be limited by these fears.  A phobia is considered to be an unreasonable and persistent fear that limits the person's ability to freely socially interact, work or play.  Sufferers with phobias will often make unreasonable or irrational choices in order to avoid that fear.

      Some people suffer with phobias by simple avoidance which often limits their lives.  Others become so uncomfortable by the physical symptoms that often often occur with phobias.  When such symptoms as shortness of breath, trembling, rapid heart beat and the strong desire to flee become too strong, they take medications like alprazolam (Xanax)  or clonazepam (Klonapin).  

     Be aware there are other treatments to reduce the severity of a phobia or even help it to disappear.  Therapy can be a non-medication way to treat phobias.  Your medical doctor may be able to recommend a mental-health professional who works with clients suffering from phobias.  There are a number of different therapies, including talk therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and exposure therapy.

      Hypnotherapy can be a valuable tool to alleviate or eliminate your phobia. You can free yourself from the limitations caused by phobias.  Hypnotherapy is brief therapy.  I work with most phobics only one time and allow the client to record the session for reinforcement at home.  Get the help you need, free yourself and Be Well. 

HYPNOTHERAPY EASES IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME (IBS)

      Magnus Simren, MD, professor of gastroenterology, The Sahlgrenska Academy of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, reported on research to test the effectiveness of hypnotherapy as a treatment on 346 IBS patients.  The study found that symptoms were reduced for 40% of patients receiving one hour of hypnotherapy once a week for twelve weeks.  In addition, this positive effect was reported to last for one to seven years.  It is believed that the hypnotherapy is of value because IBS patients learn to control their symptoms through hypnotic suggestion and deep relaxation.

     I believe that most hypnotherapists will require a medical referral before beginning sessions for IBS.  Talk to your medical doctor, find a qualified hypnotherapist and you, too, may be able to ease IBS with hypnotherapy and Be Well.

SMOKING AND HEALTH - THE LATEST SURGEON GENERAL'S REPORT

       The latest "Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health" came out a couple of weeks ago.  It's been fifty years since the first report came out citing smoking as a cause of lung cancer in men.  The new report expands the list of disorders caused by smoking to include everything from tuberculosis to erectile dysfunction.  Dr. Boris D. Lushniak, the current acting surgeon general, commented that "smoking remains the leading preventable cause of premature disease and death in the United States."  And, Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, reported that "this year alone, nearly one-half million adults will still die prematurely because of smoking."

     Today, almost 42 million Americans are still smoking cigarettes.  You may be one of them.  If you are one of the 70 percent of smokers who have said they want to quit, hypnotherapy can be a valuable tool to make that happen. Don't give up - give yourself the best chance at having a long, full healthy life as a non-smoker.

    If you would like more information on using hypnotherapy to quit smoking, check the other articles in this blog or go to my website, www.BeaHealthyNonsmoker.com

LIFESTYLE CHANGES THAT CAN PREVENT ALZHEIMER'S

      If you have a family member or friend suffering from Alzheimer's disease or have anxiety about developing this disease, changing or eliminating risk factors, the work of Deborah Barnes, PhD, MPH, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, may give you insight for prevention.  Dr. Barnes was the leader of a comprehensive review published online in THE LANCET NEUROLOGY.

     In the review she reported that more than half of Alzheimer's cases could be prevented with lifestyle changes such as treating health issues like depression, diabetes, midlife obesity and midlife hypertension, stopping smoking and increasing physical activity   By eliminating or changing these risks, Dr. Barnes reported, it would potentially be possible to prevent 2.9 million cases of Alzheimer's disease in the United States.

     Good medical care for aggressive treatment of the health issues is a must.  If you need motivation to stop smoking or increasing physical activity, hypnotherapy can be a valuable tool to get you going, keep you going and BE WELL.

HALVE YOUR RISK FOR CORONARY HEART DISEASE WITH HYPNOTHERAPY

      It's the new year.  Is this the year you decide to become a nonsmoker?  A study by researchers at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, Loyola University Health System, Melrose Park, Illinois, found that former smokers have lower blood pressure and heart rates just twenty minutes after smoking their last cigarette.  Within twelve hours, the carbon monoxide levels in their blood had dropped to normal.  And, one year later, the risk for coronary heart disease had been halved.  You know it's time to get rid of the dangerous habit of smoking.

    Hypnotherapy can be a great tool to become a nonsmoker.  Check out my web site www.BeaHealthyNonsmoker.com and the many articles in this blog for more information to give you the help you need to have the best chance at a long full healthy life.

NEW YEAR - ACHIEVING NEW GOALS

      Happy New Year everyone.  The best thing about a new year is it provides us a way of looking forward.  The past year is now behind us and it's time to dream about what you would like to achieve in 2014.  Have you been hoping to lose some weight, quit smoking, get moving, or deal with the myriad stresses in your life?  Take a few minutes to dream about how you would like this year to end - perhaps you see yourself as healthier, more active, calmer.  Now get specific - what would have to happen for you to reach your goal?  For example, you might say to be healthier you would need to lose thirty pounds.  Or you might say to be more active you could go to a gym. Or to be healthier you would stop smoking cigarettes.  Once you have a clear long-term goal, work out a plan for how you will reach it through attainable short-term goals.  Short-term goals for losing weight might include healthy and conscious eating and regular exercise.  Work the short-term goals and the long-term goals can be attained.  Hypnotherapy is a great tool for motivation in working those goals.  Now is the time to dream to have a really great 2014.