Facts About Hypnosis From Current Research Findings

Facts About Hypnosis From Current Research Findings

Did you know?

•  As of December, 2004 there are more than 5,000 clinical research studies having to do with hypnosis and its benefits currently being conducted worldwide? (According to: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/)
•  As of December 15, 2004 results from more than 3,000 clinical research studies are available showing positive benefits from hypnosis? (According to: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/)
• According to studies done at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, suggestions given in a hypnotic state, even once, can produce actions in human beings that are the same type of actions that would have resulted from more long-term conditioning and practice.
• In a research study on Self-hypnosis for relapse prevention training with chronic drug/alcohol users, (Am J Clin Hypn. 2004 Apr;46(4):281-97), individuals who played self-hypnosis audiotapes "at least 3 to 5 times a week," at 7-week follow-up, reported the highest levels of self-esteem and serenity, and the least anger/impulsivity, in comparison to the minimal-practice and control groups.
• In a research study done with 60 college student volunteers (Spring of 2004 at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona), using hypnosis with ego-enhancement suggestions showed "significantly dramatic effects" in brain-wave patterns, subjective sense of self-confidence, and test scores.
• As reported by NewScientist.com news service: "Hypnosis is more than just a party trick; it measurably changes how the brain works," says John Gruzelier, a research psychologist at Imperial College in London. "Hypnosis significantly affects the activity in a part of the brain responsible for detecting and responding to errors, an area that controls higher level executive functions."  The finding is one of the first to indicate a biological mechanism underpinning the experience of hypnosis. “This explains why, under hypnosis, people can do outrageous things that ordinarily they wouldn’t dream of doing,” says Gruzelier, who presented his study at the British Association for the Advancement of Science Festival in Exeter, UK. Gruzelier hopes it will also benefit emerging research showing, for example, that hypnosis can help cancer patients deal with painful treatments.
• Research using positron emission tomography (PET) scans, shows that hypnosis might alleviate pain by decreasing the activity of brain areas involved in the experience of suffering. Scientists have found that hypnosis reduced the activity of the anterior cingulate cortex, an area known to be involved in pain, but did not affect the activity of the somatosensory cortex, where the sensations of pain are processed.
• Clinical trials of therapeutic hypnosis confirm its potential benefits. Christina Liossi, a psychologist at the University of Wales in Swansea, recently conducted a study of 80 cancer patients aged 6 to 16. She found that those under hypnosis experienced far less pain during treatments than control children, who simply talked to the researchers normally.
• According to published results of clinical studies (Am J Clin Hypn. 2004 Apr), the use of hypnosis facilitates a more uncomplicated birth process.  In a separate research study done by University of Florida counseling psychologist Paul Schauble, it was also found that women who learn hypnosis before delivering babies suffer fewer complications, need less medication and are more likely to have healthier babies than are women without hypnosis.  Schauble's first study involved adolescents getting prenatal care at a public health clinic. A group of 20 patients who received hypnosis preparation were compared with 20 who were given supportive counseling and 20 patients in a control group who received only the standard prenatal care. None of the women who received hypnosis required surgical intervention in their deliveries, compared with 12 in the supportive counseling group and eight in the control group, he said. "Patients who are prepared for labor and delivery in hypnosis are more likely to absorb and benefit from information because they are in a relaxed, highly focused state," he said.
• In an ongoing pilot study being done by University of Florida counseling psychologist Paul Schauble, preliminary results show hypnotized patients with hypertension are more easily able to make lifestyle improvements that can lower blood pressure.
• A study being done by a team of University of Florida researchers is finding that learning self-hypnosis gives a patient greater control over the stress, anxiety and pain of medical operations and childbirth, overall. "Training patients in hypnosis prior to undergoing surgery is a way of helping them develop a sense of control over their stress, discomfort and anxiety," says Dr. Paul Schauble, psychologist. "It also helps them better understand what they can do to bring about a more satisfying and rapid recovery."  He also said, "We've found, in working with individual patients, that they often feel literally stripped of control when they go into the hospital. The surgeon may do a good job of explaining the surgery, but patients' anxiety may make it difficult for them to absorb or comprehend. This can result in undue apprehension that can create complications or prolonged recovery."
• "Children make excellent subjects for hypnosis because they spend more time using their imaginations," says Florida counseling psychologist Paul Schauble. "But with practice most adults can learn how to enter into a therapeutic hypnotic state quite easily as well."
• In 1998 Henry Szechtman of McMaster University in Ontario and his co-workers used PET to image the brain activity of hypnotized subjects who were invited to imagine a scenario in which they were listening to someone speaking to them, and who then actually experienced a scenario in which they were listening to someone speaking to them. The researchers noted that the act of imagining a sound, called hallucinating a sound, was experienced exactly the same as real hearing, both being experienced as coming from an external source.
• 18 separate studies found that patients who received cognitive behavioral therapy plus hypnosis for disorders such as obesity, insomnia, anxiety and hypertension showed greater improvement than 70 percent of the patients who received psychotherapy alone.

For more information about hypnosis and how it can help you, visit www.SandersHypnosis.com.

Disclaimer:

Hypnosis cannot, and should not, stand alone as the sole medical or psychological

intervention for any disorder. Hypnosis should not be used instead of appropriate medical, dental, or psychological treatment, and any individual with a medical or psychological problem should first consult a qualified health care provider for diagnosis and professional advice. Hypnosis should only be practiced by those who have been appropriately trained, who practice appropriately, and within the scope of their training.

Information compiled by Gwyneth McNeil, Certified Hypnotist and Certified Instructor with the National Guild of Hypnotists and Managing Director of Academy of Life Management in Salt Lake City, Utah. 3098 Highland Drive Suite #317 - Salt Lake City, Utah 84117

Provided by World Hypnotism Day

World Hypnotism Day is January 4th
[Click here for details]

Tip On Choosing a Hypnotherapist: Get Testimonials!

Make sure your hypnotherapist can provide testimonials from clients!

Just the other day, an individual who was inquiring about our Gastric Band Hypnosis Program asked if we could connect her with some of our former clients so she could talk with them. This is a completely understandable request. However, just like your medical provider, HIPAA rules pertaining to client confidentiality prohibits us from releasing the full names of our clients. Even if HIPAA rules didn't exist, we still would respect the privacy of our clients.

That being said, we are still able to provide numerous written, video, and audio testimonials from clients who have agreed to have their testimony shared. These testimonials range from individuals who have been helped with our Gastric Band Hypnosis program to stress and anxiety management, to stroke recovery. They are available for your viewing on our website. Simply click here to see them!

Obesity Surgery Might Not Help Older Patients Live Longer, Study Suggests

June 13, 2011 -- Extremely obese adults who are middle-age or older may not be lengthening their lives by having weight loss surgery, a new study reveals.

These findings differ from previous research, which has shown a modest improvement in survival rates. Other studies done on younger, female, or healthier populations have suggested an increased life span following these procedures.

But this current study looked at an older, predominantly male, and sicker group of adults, and the results did not show a decrease in mortality rates in patients after gastric bypass surgery during a nearly seven-year follow-up period.

"We looked at Roux-en-Y gastric bypass because that was the predominant procedure done when the research was conducted," says study researcher Matthew Maciejewski, PhD, an investigator at the center for Health Services Research in Primary Care at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Durham, N.C.

The research appears in the June 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Weight Loss Surgery and Risk of Death

Researchers analyzed data from 850 veterans who had weight loss surgery between January 2000 and December 2006 at one of 12 VA medical centers and a similar number of severely obese high-risk veterans who did not have the operation but received their health care from the same facilities. Among the surgical patients, 74% were male and 26% were female. Their average age was 49 and the average body mass index (BMI) was 47, which is considered severely obese.

When researchers compared mortality rates in the surgical group to a matched nonsurgical control group -- who had a similar age, BMI, race, gender mix, marital status, and number of participants who were super-obese (BMI of 50 or above) -- they did not find a lower mortality rate.

Why didn't gastric bypass extend life? Maciejewski says one possibility is that there is no survival benefit from weight loss surgery in this higher-risk, predominantly male group of patients after nearly seven years. A second explanation is that there could be a longer-term benefit that researchers didn't have enough time to observe.

A study from Sweden with a longer follow-up period found a survival benefit in patients, but it was not seen until an average of 13 years after weight loss surgery.

"In the Swedish research, some of the decreases in mortality found a decade or more later were caused by a reduction in deaths from cancer and heart disease," says Janey Pratt, MD, a bariatric surgeon and director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Weight Loss Center in Boston, who was not involved in either of the two studies. "Perhaps in this latest research, the damage had already been done in older patients, and they're less likely to reap the benefits of surgery in terms of survival.”

Eleven of the 850 surgical patients died within a month of having gastric bypass. That's a mortality rate of 1.3%, which is four times higher than the one seen in an earlier study of weight loss surgery in younger, mostly female patients.

Pratt tells WebMD that it's much more difficult to do obesity surgery on male patients than females because of gender differences in the way fat is distributed on the body.

Women carry more of their fat in their hips and thighs, and belly fat is found mainly in the abdominal wall. But extremely obese men carry much of their fat in the belly, the so-called "apple" shape. They have thin abdominal walls but lots of fat floating around inside surrounding the gastrointestinal tract and organs where weight loss surgery takes place.

Weighing Risks and Benefits of Obesity Surgery

Roughly 220,000 Americans have obesity surgery per year, or 1% of the clinically eligible population, according to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. These operations, which include gastric bypass or gastric banding, make the stomach smaller so the amount of food eaten is reduced. With gastric bypass, fewer calories are also absorbed because food bypasses part of the small intestine.

"Even though this study did not suggest a survival benefit at nearly seven years, there are a host of other benefits from having bariatric surgery," Maciejewski tells WebMD. It's effective in producing weight loss, it decreases the use of medication for obesity-related health conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, and it improves the quality of life.

Pratt frequently does weight loss surgery in people over 60, but she tells her patients that it's unlikely to prolong their life and more likely to improve their quality of life and decrease the number of medications they're currently taking.

Many go ahead and have the procedure. "But sometimes it's the quality of life benefits -- being able to sleep in the same bed as their spouse, sitting comfortably in a movie theater, or cutting their own toenails -- that's enough. It doesn't have to be living longer," says Pratt.

Original source: http://www.webmd.com/diet/weight-loss-surgery/news/20110613/weight-loss-surgery-middle-age-may-not-increase-survival

Visit Sanders Hypnosis Center to learn more about our safe, effective Gastric Band Hypnosis program with absolutely NO surgery involved

Sanders Hypnosis Center of Maryland and our Virtual Gastric Band featured on ABC 2 News

Our Virtual Gastric Band Program was recently featured on ABC 2 News. Brian Sanders, our extraordinary hypnotherapist, was interviewed along with two of his clients who were discussed the wonderful benefits of the program. As Brian always says, "No excuses, just results." Read on for the story transcript and a link to the news segment!

Click here to view the news segment!

PASADENA, Md. - Many of us obsess over ways to lose weight. Some go extreme, going under the knife for gastric bypass or gastric bands that actually shrink the size of your stomach, forcing you to eat less. But what if you could get all the benefits of a stomach band without ever stepping foot in a hospital? ABC2News Joce Sterman has details.

The operating room machines beep and hum as you lay sleeping. Your stomach is being shrunk through a simple procedure thousands of Americans get every year. But Sondra Lambert isn't undergoing a gastric band surgery in an operating room. She's only under the knife in her mind. Hypnotist Brian Sanders says, "Our clients actually believe their stomachs have shrunk down to the size of a golf ball."

At this clinic it's all mind over matter. Clients like Sondra think they're in a hospital, convinced they're getting a gastric band. But there's no scalpel and no scar because the surgery isn't really happening. It's hypnosis. Lambert says, "It doesn't hurt. It's me. He's going to be talking to me on the inside."

Sondra's happy inside. She wanted to change her outside so she opted for the virtual gastric band at Sanders Hypnosis Center in Pasadena (Anne Arundel County). Lambert says, "This is something that will blend what I need and what I enjoy and I truly believe this is a solution."

And she's not alone. Brian Sanders started offering hypno-bands six months ago and he says he's already put 200 clients under his four-session pseudo-surgery. Sanders explains, "We are able to basically go in and reprogram the brain through hypnosis kind of how you reprogram a computer. You really can't do that at the conscious level. You access the subconscious mind and then you can reprogram these things and that's why it works so well."

It's worked well for Deborah Herbert. Her weight yo-yoed for years. But after three sessions and a couple of months her loss this time is a mind trip. She's down 58 pounds. Herbert says, "It doesn't feel like a temporary measure this time. It feels more like a lifestyle change, like something I can live with and I can continue."

Sanders is quick to sing the praises of the procedure. He claims his patients get full faster because they feel like their stomachs are smaller. Some even claim they feel tenderness from an incision!

Dr. Peter Liao, the Medical Director of the Comprehensive Obesity Management Center at GBMC is intrigued by the idea. While he wants overweight people to have options, he’d like to see more clinical data before he's sold. Liao says, "We need to see how well does it work in the long run so patients really understand when they make these choices, yes, this is zero risk but what is the benefit?"

The benefit according to Sanders is that you lose without the side effects of surgery, changing your body through your mind. But just like the actual surgery, Sanders agrees the virtual procedure isn't for everybody, "You have to believe in the process. You have to be willing to open your mind and allow yourself to be hypnotized."

You can consider Sondra a believer. She's three sessions in and already feeling a difference after losing 15 pounds in three weeks. But her journey into the mind is about more than the number on the scale. She says, "It's not the weight or even the health issues. It's the lady in the mirror." Now she’s a lady getting smaller and beating the adage - no pain, no gain.

If you sign on for the virtual gastric band, you show up for four sessions and pay $799. You've also got to agree to other steps you'd do if dieting like eating smaller meals and exercising.

Virtual Gastric Band With Hypnotherapy

Have you thought about having a Gastric Band fitted or Gastric Bypass Surgery without doing your research? Do you comfort eat when you are unhappy, alone, bored or stressed? Do you think that having a Gastric Band fitted, which is an invasive procedure and can cause discomfort and has cost lives will change your attitude to only eating when you are hungry?

Interest in Gastric Bands and Gastric Bypass Surgery has increased with celebrity admissions such as Sharon Osbourne, Roseanne Barr, Al Roker, and Carnie Wilson, whom have publicly admitted they have used the Gastric Band or the Gastric Bypass procedure to lose weight. But is the Gastric Bypass or Gastric Band Surgery procedure 100% safe, the answer is no!

According to a study by researchers at the University of Washington, it was found that 1 in 50 people die within one month of having gastric bypass surgery, and that figure jumps nearly fivefold if the surgeon is inexperienced. Gastric Band Surgery is also extremely risky. Not only has this procedure caused discomfort with patients, but it has also claimed the lives of Gastric band patients including the life of Bernadette Reid, Suzanne Murphy 29, and Marilyn Wardrop 54, just to name a few. One life lost to an invasive procedure is one life to many.

There is a range of post-operative problems reported with gastric bands, and over 80% of patients will experience one or more of the following symptoms:

Nausea and vomiting (50%)
Reflux or regurgitation of food (35%)
Slipped band (25%)
Obstruction or blockage (15%)
Constipation
Diarrhea
Difficulty swallowing

If these complications cause you serious discomfort your band may need to be adjusted or removed. This involves further surgery, exposing you to all the associated risks once again.

Losing Weight when you have temptations or no will power is not an easy route to take but if you are trying to lose weight only to then pile more pounds on, then you should think about losing weight the safe way, by having a Virtual Gastric Band.

A Virtual Gastric Band, also known as Gastric Band Hypnotherapy or the Hypnotic Gastric Band, allows you to be convinced that you have a Gastric Band fitted where you will have all of the feelings without the risk and discomfort that an Invasive Gastric Band Surgery would bring, and you will still lose weight.

Here are some of the Benefits that a Virtual Gastric Band with Hypnotherapy would bring:

1. With Virtual Gastric Bands (Gastric Band Hypnotherapy) or (Hypnotic Gastric Band) there is NO invasive Surgery
2. No fears about having surgery to have a Gastric Band Fitted
3. No Discomfort with having a virtual Gastric Band
4. Virtual Gastric Bands are much more cost effective
5. No Time off work with a Virtual Gastric Band fitted
6. No Gastric Bands Complications with Surgery

Recently, several European gastric band hypnosis practictioners have been highlighted in the news. ABC News ran a nationwide story on the positive successes of the Gastric Mind Band System and Chicago's ABC Affiliate aired a similar story on the Virtual Gastric Band system. The Virtual Gastric Band System, which is the approach used at the Sanders Hypnosis Center, has had documented clinical success in a recent UK study where National Health Service patients saw a 95% success rate in group trials.

Call the Sanders Hypnosis Center today at 443-494-9766 for your free telephone consultation, and to see if Virtual Gastric Band hHypnosis is right for you.