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Joshua Rochotte Hypnotherapy and its Importance to Pill-Popping America 4/26/14

Hypnosis has long been seen as a stage show act, a performance of the hypnotist and his

powers he exerts over stage victims. Now, research has shown that its “supernatural” power to

endure the feeling of mind over matter may have some clinical benefits. Hypnosis involves two

steps; the induction, the attempted focus of the patient on a single idea and this is followed by the

suggestion for change of pain, addiction or whatever pathology is being treated (Jensen, 2013).

The process is, as stated, just a suggestion that is to be hopefully followed by the patient. The

idea is not to weed out medication all together, but rather to offer an alternative therapy for

undergoing surgeries and recovery. The case study that is included is a cancer patient whose

tumor was removed while she was under an induction. They did the same exact procedure, with

the only change being the use of hypnosis over other analgesics like anesthesia. Her recovery

was generally seen as a stronger rebound and less painful for her during and after her main

surgery period, giving a greater pay off with no medication to knock her out. Hypnosis has its

benefits and while it is definitely not a substitute for practical medicine, because not everyone

has the same hypnotic suggestibility, it is good for those who prefer holistic medical practices

like chiropractic re-adjustments. Emptying your mind and going to your happy place, rather than

damaging cells with an unnecessary chemical, seems like a great alternative therapy to drugs that

will not harm the patient or cause unnecessary complications in the future.

The first study to be examined is the “Effects of non-pharmacological pain treatments on

brain states”. In it, researchers found patients from a large sample size of those suffering with

spinal cord injuries. Now, while my conclusions will focus on hypnosis, this study investigated

four different alternative therapies against a control procedure. Those therapies include trans-

cranial direct current stimulation, meditation, hypnosis, and neurofeedback. the control therapy

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was a sham trans-cranial direct current stimulation. These are all different therapies and they all

fall under the category of non-pharmacological treatments, those in which drugs are avoided.

In the article, the researchers mention the use of hypnosis and “As might be expected, hypnotic

treatments for chronic pain usually include suggestions for experiencing reductions in pain

intensity or increases in the ability to ignore pain. In addition, hypnotic pain treatment often also

includes suggestions for changes in pain-related thoughts and behaviors”(Jensen 2013). The

problems that most healthcare professionals will note is that not everyone can be hypnotized and

that they are just suggestions. By targeting the CNS directly through the use of hypnosis, one can

implant thoughts and ideas for the patient to accept. Even after a simple induction, people feel

rested, happier and rejuvenated. The study used an EEG machine in order to record brainwaves

and researchers hypothesized that with the use of hypnosis and the other alternative therapies,

they could reduce fast brain wave activity and increase the slow wave activity that is analogous

to and a sign of relaxation.

Every patient received all the treatments and each session was twenty minutes in length.

The results of the study were mixed and showed different results in the short term. Since this

study was done in the short term, the long lasting effects of the treatments can't be elucidated.

They did find some added benefit from the procedure against the control and had the data to

show for it. But, as stated, the researchers cannot converge upon a statement regarding the

efficacy of the treatments because the data was mixed with various results in the different wave

activities. There was enough change in the EEG to show that there was some added benefit to the

therapy aiding in pain relief.

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On the Washingtonian website article in the health section, author Laura Hambleton

discusses her experience with self hypnosis. In the article, she chats with Dr. David Handel who

is a physician at the NIH. According to Hambleton,

“Handel sometimes uses hypnosis with cancer patients who feel nauseated during

chemotherapy sessions. Just the thought of the sessions, the smell of the hospital,

or the drive over can make some people feel sick. ‘It’s a learned response,’

he says. ‘In hypnosis I can teach you to relax. I can teach you to put yourself

in some place you like, on a trip, at home eating a meal with your family or your

mother’s bread. You begin to feel more and more in control”’

(Washingtonian, 2012).

This “learned response” is helpful in learning to quit smoking, lose weight and even just gain a

more positive affect in life. The author uses a self-hypnosis cd given to her by a clinical

hypnotherapist to aid in her relaxation. The cd’s seemed to work for her and after she learned

that it was not about falling asleep but rather listening to the words and following the

suggestions, she was able to grasp and understand the beauty of the process. Hypnosis should be

advocated for because although it still has the stigma of being a sage show act, it has added,

observable benefits. If the patient can be told to think of the beach, why can’t they think of not

having pain?

Livescience had a great article a few years back about the possibility of hypnosis as a

medical treatment. It starts off by giving the story of Marilyn Bellezzo, a 59 year old home

maker. She suffered from irritable bowel syndrome for many years and only after that suffering

did she begin to listen to tapes to aid in the reduction of pain in patients who suffered from

irritable bowel syndrome. Dr. Julie Schnur, a professor and clinical psychologist, is quoted in the

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article saying, “People do not turn into a zombie, they will not quack like a duck, there are no

swinging pocket watches," Schnur said. "It's using your mind and your thoughts to help yourself

feel better”(Livescience, 2011). The hypnotherapist is using the cognitive gap of the unconcious-

conscious mind barrier to in theory talk directly to your brain and suggest it produce some

healing effects. The risk of hypnosis treatments to reduce even just chronic pain do not have ill

side effects like most prescription medication. The availability of physicians licensed to practice,

the uncertainty of the sessions effects and the overall disbelief that still clouds the minds of the

physicians is what makes the advance for hypnotherapy slow. Once the ball starts rolling, more

people will want to get trained in hypnosis and eventually it will become a mainstream, accepted

treatment.

Now the treatments are to be taken with the utmost care. Patients are not cured of the pain

or disease, they are simply relieved of the pain for a few hours and rather than pop pills, you can

just pop a cd in and listen to a session. In other cases, hypnosis has been used as an anesthetic,

like in the case study that will be mentioned. Many people react well to analgesics but some

people have what’s known as multiple chemical sensitivity, which is basically an allergy to

certain chemicals. In this case, the patient, a 42 year old woman with multiple chemical

sensitivity was plagued with a skin tumor on her right thigh. Hypnosis was one therapy that was

considered the only option in order to excise the tumor from her leg. They gave her two trial

sessions to test her and see if she was actually suggestible enough. In her second session under

hypnosis, they administered a test using a dental tool to test her pain threshold and to see if she

could actually attain a full analgesia. It took the doctors ten minutes to induce her and twenty

minutes to excise the tumor. “At the end of surgery the patient was brought out of hypnosis. She

confirmed the absence of pain and reported that she was happy the procedure had been

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undertaken without the need for any anesthetic drugs. She was not amnesic and had a clear

memory of all surgical phases”(Facco, 2013). This was remarkable because even when she came

out of the hypnosis, she reported no pain and a knowledge of the whole thing happening. the

patient was discharged immediately and did not need any other forms of recovery planning. The

pain she reported later in the evening could be executed because she had been playing with her

child all evening and may have irritated the work done on her leg. Not every patient will suffer

such sever chemical sensitivity as did the patient presented in the case, so there may be other

drug options available. But with hypnosis being so readily available, why would you not try and

use it. The fact of the matter is that patients who score well on suggestibility and are able to

maintain a full analgesia are basically within the same category. as long as a therapy for reducing

pain or eliminating it and not a general hypnosis session is used, there should be no problem in

achieving the desired effects. “Relying on drugs and interventional tools only, while unwittingly

worsening the patient’s anxiety and pain perception by inappropriate communication, may lead

to the need for higher doses of drugs to compensate for inappropriate behaviour”(Facco 2013). If

one could use hypnosis, it would be fully advocated by some to take advantage of the process

rather than the pills.

As can be seen, hypnosis is a very possible solution to the problems of medically induced

substance abuse and to help cure or treat those with complications. By no means is there an

advocation for the elimination of drugs but rather a motion to move towards alternative, holistic

approaches. Simply, explore the possibility of alternative therapies before forcing a drug on

someone. Mind over matter is a true phrase in this day and age and if we take advantage of it, we

will make society healthy. And as you slowly drift to sleep, you will feel calm, relaxed and safe.

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Article References

Facco, E., Pasquali, S., Zanette, G. and Casiglia, E. (2013). Hypnosis as sole anaesthesia for skin

tumour removal in a patient with multiple chemical sensitivity. Anaesthesia. 68: 961–

965.

Jensen, M., Sherlin, L., Askew, R., Fregni, F. (2013). Effects of non-pharmacological pain

treatments on brain states. Clinical. 124: 2016-24.

Web Site References

http://www.livescience.com/35827-clinical-hypnosis-medial-problems.html, Can Hypnosis Be

Used As a Medical Treatment(3/20/14).

http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/health/the-health-benefits-of-hypnosis/, Health (3/25/14).