Article in May "Health" magazine
The article was written by Peter Jaret, he is an award winning writer who contributes this
piece titiled, "Hypnosis can help you heal -- really". Peter writes about Harvard psychiatrist Clair Frederick
M.D. in which he says "when she is in a slow lane at the grocery store she doesn't get irritated. She gets relaxed.
Very relaxed. Calming and focusing her mind, she slips into a brief trance and concentrates on a knee she injured while
skiing. "Lately I've been using hypnosis to ease the pain and encourage healing," Frederick says."
Peter goes on to say, "When most people think of hypnosis, they picture a mysterious figure
swinging a pocket watch and repeating, "You're getting very sleepy." In fact, hypnosis is somewhat of a mystery.
But solid science is showing it can improve your health in surprising ways: It's powerful enough to help relieve the often-excruciating
pain associated with serious burns, for instance, and it can make breathing easier for people with respiratory illnesses.
The most astonishing evidence comes from research on healing. In a pilot study published
in 1999, Harvard University psychologist Carol Hinandes, Ph.D., showed that hypnosis can help broken bones heal faster.
In a follow-up experiment published last year, Hinandes and her research team found that women who'd had breast-reduction
surgery recovered more quickly after undergoing hypnosis. During the sessions, the women were encouraged to think of
pain as "sensations of healing"and to visualize their incisions "knitting together rapidly and becoming strong, smooth, and
elastic." an independent team of surgeons and nurses later examined the women and reviewed photographs of the incisions
that were taken 1 week and 7 weeks after surgery. The group's judgment: Patients who had received hypnosis were farther
along the road to recovery. "We're not just talking about people simply feeling better, Gomamdes says.
"We're talking about structural tissue healing. Hypnosis, our results suggest, can influence the body to heal itself.""
Peter also comments on how hypnosis works. "Hypnosis can't make people do things they
don't want to do. It can't turn people into automatons. But it does make them unusually receptive to suggestions."
Timothy Carmody, Ph.D.clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco says, "A hypnotic trance
is really just a form of deep relaxation, which allows people to block out distractions and focus their minds."
Pete Jaret writes more about the benefits of hypnosis and healing. If you would
like more information about this article please e-mail me your questions and I will be glad to answer them.
Recommended books
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This is Ashlea's story:
I was very privilaged, to be asked by one of my Daughters to hypnotize her daughter, my
13 year old Granddaughter, Ashlea, who had been diagnosed with colon cancer, back in March. I hypnotized her a
few years ago to help her remember to brush her teeth, which by the way is still working. I'm Grandma Jo to
my 11 grandchildren and Ashlea is my oldest Grandchild. She already was comfortable with Grandma Jo hypnotizing
her and experiencing it again was something she wanted and did enjoy. We decided, during hypnosis, she would use a small,
stone size plastic encased Angel, that when held, would make her feel happy and relaxed, which it now does. We
also agreed that she would be able to rub either arm and it would become numb and completely relaxed until she told it
to be normal again, for the purpose of pain free needles, this she thought felt weird, but cool when she was able to
do it at will.
Ashlea was very brave throughout her surgery and during her recovery. At
the time of the initial hypnosis I asked Ashlea what would make her feel safe and comforted to help her through
her recovery she chose a Peaceful Place, a Peaceful Finger to touch and her Angel. When she was in a great deal of pain
and very frightened with all the unknown and fearful thoughts a child or adult can have, having faith in something, like an
Angel, can be a great comfort, since she could not touch her Peaceful Finger because it had a monitor hooked to it, nor
could she think of her Peaceful Place because she is a child and for children this is not always an easy thing to remember
to do, so her Angel was easy for her mind to except.
I asked Ashlea if she would mind if I told her story and could I tell whoever may read
this what her name is? She told me it was OK. My brave 13 year old Grand-Daughter is Ashlea Amber Marie Newell
and she had her entire colon removed due to cancer. Ashlea has had one set back due to infection which caused her
to have to return to the hospital for an additional 4 days. She was still brave even though she had to spend Easter
in a hospital bed. Ashlea is now home and feeling much better. Her Dr. said he spent an extra amount of time
making sure she would not have a very noticeable scar, that meant a lot to Ashlea as it would to any normal 13 year old teenage
girl.
Ashlea was able to use the tools I gave her because she trusted me and that
trust combined with her willingness to use those tools helped her feel confident and empowered enough to stop pain and
feel relaxed and safe. I am very proud of my beautiful Grand-Daughter Ashlea! Much time has gone by since her
surgery and Ashlea is running around like any normal, healthy teenager. Thank you Ashlea for letting me tell your
story.
