John Mongiovi - Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy

The Practice of Gratitude

mongiovi — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 18:56:51 -0500

In recent years, gratitude has received much attention from researchers, and it has been well established that gratitude has benefits for our health and our relationships.[1] Here are some interesting findings:

Psychological well-being
Gratitude has been identified as a key trait for improving psychological well-being. [2, 3] Keeping a gratitude diary and reflecting on grateful feelings can reduce depression and stress, and increase happiness over time.[4] Gratitude is inversely related to depressive symptoms and major depressive disorder.[5] In fact, one’s disposition to feel gratitude is a unique predictor of lower depression.[6] Gratitude is also inversely related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is believed to decrease the negative effects of posttraumatic stress on mood and cognition.[7]

Gratitude can also enhance quality of life for those who suffer from chronic illness.[8] Gratitude has been valuable for people with fibromyalgia and neuromuscular diseases, especially in its positive effect on emotions.[9]

Emotional intelligence
Gratitude is positively associated with emotional intelligence, which relates to our levels of self-awareness, empathy, motivation, and self-regulation.[10] Emotional intelligence is important in personal and professional relationships. Even though emotional intelligence tends to be steady throughout our lifetimes and to increase with age, it can be improved deliberately with the practice of gratitude interventions.

Patience
There is a strong relationship between gratitude levels and increased patience, which is especially important for self-control.[11]

Social interactions
Gratitude plays an important role in building and maintaining interpersonal relationships. There is a well-established association between gratitude and more positive social interactions.[12, 13] Individuals who have more grateful dispositions tend to be more generous and trusting on average.[14]

Expressions of gratitude play a special role in friendships. Levels of gratitude seem to be higher toward friends than toward siblings, and we generally place a higher expectation on friends than we do on siblings to express gratitude.[15] One’s view of a relationship is stronger when gratitude is expressed outwardly as opposed to simply thinking grateful thoughts about a friend, or even having a positive interaction with a friend.[16]

The body responds to gratitude
The effects of gratitude have been observed in the body. In one study, the average heart rate was significantly lower when experiencing gratitude versus resentment.[17]

Brain scans indicate that gratitude affects the regions of the brain involved in the regulation of emotion and motivation.[18] In one study, subjects wrote letters expressing gratitude. After three months, their brain activity was measured while experiencing gratitude, and showed significantly greater effects in the prefrontal cortex, the region associated with morals and value judgments.[19]

Differences between men and women
Women may be more likely than men to experience gratitude, both as a personality trait and upon receiving a gift. In general, men seem to derive fewer benefits from gratitude, and tend to feel burdened and obligated more than women.[20] However, another study showed that boys appear to derive greater benefits from gratitude in the forms of feeling social support and exhibiting positive social behavior.[21]

Some tips for a gratitude practice
We can cultivate gratitude. Research indicates that benefit-triggered gratitude (gratitude felt for a particular person or situation in response to a kindness received) has a stronger effect than a general appreciation for the positive or valued aspects of life.[22] With this in mind, think of something specific for which you are grateful, but not something that makes you feel obligated, guilty, or dependent.

Gratitude may be expressed by a person’s own internal feelings of appreciation, or by an outward expression to someone else. Write a letter (whether or not you actually send it), keep a gratitude journal, or think deliberately of your gratitude for a specific person or situation. Try making a habit of expressing gratitude every day.

What you might experience
Subjects participating in gratitude interventions reported more grateful moods than was typical for them, more people to whom they were grateful, more frequent daily episodes of gratitude, and more intense gratitude per episode.[23]

A conscious focus on the things for which you are grateful can bring real emotional and interpersonal benefits.

Sources:

1.Fox, G. R., Kaplan, J., Damasio, H., & Damasio, A. (2015). Neural correlates of gratitude. Frontiers in Psychology,6.

2.Sirois, F. M., & Wood, A. M. (2017). Gratitude uniquely predicts lower depression in chronic illness populations: A longitudinal study of inflammatory bowel disease and arthritis. Health Psychology, 36(2), 122-132.

3.Davis, D. E., Choe, E., Meyers, J., Wade, N., Varjas, K., Gifford, A., . . . Worthington, E. L. (2016). Thankful for the little things: A meta-analysis of gratitude interventions. Journal of Counseling Psychology,63(1), 20-31.

4.Leary, K. O., & Dockray, S. (2015). The Effects of Two Novel Gratitude and Mindfulness Interventions on Well-Being.The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine,21(4), 243-245.

5.Dusen, J. P., Tiamiyu, M. F., Kashdan, T. B., & Elhai, J. D. (2015). Gratitude, depression and PTSD: Assessment of structural relationships. Psychiatry Research,230(3), 867-870.

6.Sirois, F. M., & Wood, A. M. (2017). Gratitude uniquely predicts lower depression in chronic illness populations: A longitudinal study of inflammatory bowel disease and arthritis. Health Psychology,36(2), 122-132.

7.Dusen, J. P., Tiamiyu, M. F., Kashdan, T. B., & Elhai, J. D. (2015). Gratitude, depression and PTSD: Assessment of structural relationships. Psychiatry Research,230(3), 867-870.

8.Toussaint, L., Sirois, F., Hirsch, J., Weber, A., Vajda, C., Schelling, J., . . . Offenbacher, M. (2017). Gratitude mediates quality of life differences between fibromyalgia patients and healthy controls. Quality of Life Research,26(9), 2449-2457.

9.Ibid.

10.Ibid.

11.Dickens, L., DeSteno, D. (2016). The grateful are patient: Heightened daily gratitude is associated with attenuated temporal discounting. Emotion. 16(4): 421-5.

12.Yost-Dubrow, R., & Dunham, Y. (2017). Evidence for a relationship between trait gratitude and prosocial behaviour. Cognition and Emotion,1-7.

13.Does Gratitude Enhance Prosociality?: A Meta-Analytic Review. (2017). Psychological Bulletin.

14.Yost-Dubrow, R., & Dunham, Y. (2017). Evidence for a relationship between trait gratitude and prosocial behaviour. Cognition and Emotion,1-7.

15.Rotkirch, A., Lyons, M., David-Barrett, T., & Jokela, M. (2014). Gratitude for Help among Adult Friends and Siblings. Evolutionary Psychology,12(4), 147470491401200.

16.Lambert, N. M., Clark, M. S., Durtschi, J., Fincham, F. D., & Graham, S. M. (2010). Benefits of Expressing Gratitude. Psychological Science,21(4), 574-580.

17.Kyeong, S., Kim, J., Kim, D. J., Kim, H. E., & Kim, J. (2017). Effects of gratitude meditation on neural network functional connectivity and brain-heart coupling. Scientific Reports,7(1).

18.Ibid.

19.Kini, P., Wong, J., Mcinnis, S., Gabana, N., & Brown, J. W. (2016). The effects of gratitude expression on neural activity. NeuroImage,128, 1-10.

20.Kini, P., Wong, J., Mcinnis, S., Gabana, N., & Brown, J. W. (2016). Gender differences in gratitude. NeuroImage,128, 1-10.

21.Froh, J. J., Yurkewicz, C., & Kashdan, T. B. (2009). Gratitude and subjective well-being in early adolescence: Examining gender differences. Journal of Adolescence,32(3), 633-650.

22.MA, L.K., Tunney, R.J., Ferguson, E. (2017). Does Gratitude Enhance Prosociality?: A Meta-Analytic Review. Psychological Bulletin.

23.Mccullough, M. E., Tsang, J., & Emmons, R. A. (2004). Gratitude in Intermediate Affective Terrain: Links of Grateful Moods to Individual Differences and Daily Emotional Experience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,86(2), 295-309.

A Hypnotic Work of Art

mongiovi — Thu, 12 Oct 2017 16:28:02 -0500

Danilo Correale, At Work’s End, Installation View at Art in General, Photo: Dario Lasagni.

"To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring -
it was peace."
- Milan Kundera

Last winter I was approached by the Italian artist Danilo Correale to collaborate on a script and recording for a work of art using hypnosis. In the style of the self-help and guided meditation records popular in the 1960s and 1970s, he wanted to help exhibition-goers imagine an idea that has long captured the sci-fi imagination: a future so technologically advanced that human labor is obsolete. Why hypnosis? The artist writes that maybe this vision “begins in the realm of sleep - in the temporalities and spaces where we are momentarily freed…”

I was intrigued immediately. He had also recently completed another work exploring the social implications of sleep, which spoke to my interest in how our ideas about sleep can be influenced by society and learned unconsciously.

Collaboration on a hypnosis script to capture an artist’s vision is a unique experience for any hypnotist, and it was also my first time in the recording studio. The finished work is a two-part vinyl LP in a gatefold cover with interior artwork and written work.

Danilo Correale, Reverie. On the liberation from work. Deluxe Gatefold Record 180gr, plus Insert, Ed. 400, Signed and Numbered C.sy Danilo Correale.

The project gave me a perfect opportunity to be creative with my interest in hypnosis techniques using a fixed gaze. Side B instructs the listener to look at a blue dot, which is included in album on a transparency poster. The dot becomes associated with a state of stillness, stability, and presence. The listener is asked repeatedly to close the eyes and imagine falling backward, then to open the eyes and gain stability by looking at the blue dot and remembering the state of presence.

This work also caused me to think even more about the reduction of work-related stress using hypnosis. Many people seek hypnosis to address stress from work-related issues, such as too much work, a hurried and/or long schedule, pressure to perform, interactions with supervisors and coworkers, inadequate compensation, and feeling held back or unfulfilled. This project looked at the other side of work-related stress: the thoughts and feelings that arise from being at leisure. One of the most interesting comments mentioned to me came from a couple who, after emerging from the work, remarked how relevant it was to them because they had both recently retired. Who we are and what we do for work shapes our lives, our schedules, and how we see ourselves and are seen by others. I hope this undertaking ultimately helps people to remember their identities beyond work.

From September 28–November 9, 2017 “Reverie On the Liberation from Work” is the core work in an Exhibition entitled At Work’s End, commissioned by Art in General. You enter a gentle purple light, pass beyond a Majestic Purple Curtain into two separate chambers corresponding to Side A and Side B of the record, recline in lounge chairs created by the artist, and go into hypnosis.

Danilo Correale, At Work’s End, Installation View at Art in General, Photo: Dario Lasagni.

The Practice of Retrospection

mongiovi — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 20:10:18 -0600

Retrospection is contemplation of the past. Pythagoras of Samos (570-495 B.C.), the first to be called a “philosopher” (i.e. “lover of wisdom”), recommended the following exercise of retrospection before going to sleep:

"Never suffer sleep to close thy eyelids, after thy going to bed,
Till thou hast examined by thy reason all thy actions of the day.
Wherein have I done amiss? What have I done? What have I omitted that I ought to have done?
If in this examination thou find that thou hast done amiss, reprimand thyself severely for it;
And if thou hast done any good, rejoice.
Practice thoroughly all these things; meditate on them well; thou oughtest to love them with all thy heart.
'Tis they that will put thee in the way of divine virtue."
(Golden Verses of Pythagoras, 40-46)

After Pythagoras, the Greek Stoic philosophers recommended similar practices. Epicteus (c. 50-135 A.D.) wrote:

"Let sleep not come upon thy languid eyes Before each daily action thou hast scann'd; What's done amiss, what done, what left undone; From first to last examine all, and then Blame what is wrong in what is right rejoice."
(Epicteus, Discourses, 3.1)

Seneca the Younger (c. 4 B.C. - 65 A.D.) wrote about Quintus Sextius, a Roman philosopher whose philosophy combined Pythagorean and Stoic thought:

"When the day was over and he had retired to his nightly rest, he would put these questions to his soul: "What bad habit have you cured to- day? What fault have you resisted? In what respect are you better?" Anger will cease and become more controllable if it finds that it must appear before a judge every day. Can anything be more excellent than this practice of thoroughly sifting the whole day? And how delightful the sleep that follows this self- examination - how tranquil it is, how deep and untroubled, when the soul has either praised or admonished itself, and when this secret examiner and critic of self has given report of its own character! I avail myself of this privilege, and every day I plead my cause before the bar of self. When the light has been removed from sight, and my wife, long aware of my habit, has become silent, I scan the whole of my day and retrace all my deeds and words. I conceal nothing from myself, I omit nothing. For why should I shrink from any of my mistakes, when I may commune thus with myself?

"See that you never do that again; I will pardon you this time. In that dispute, you spoke too offensively; after this don't have encounters with ignorant people; those who have never learned do not want to learn. You reproved that man more frankly than you ought, and consequently you have, not so much mended him as offended him. In the future, consider not only the truth of what you say, but also whether the man to whom you are speaking can endure the truth."
(Seneca, On Anger)

Why is retrospection helpful?

The most obvious purpose of retrospection is ethical perfection.

Retrospection gives us more control of ourselves. As Seneca points out, we will have more control of our actions if we know we will review them every day. We will also become more mindful of our actions. Retrospection prepares the mind for mindfulness.

The practice of retrospection trains the mind to identify with observer of the thoughts, emotions, and physical impulses, rather than feeling victim to them.

Among the Pythagoreans, retrospection also served the purpose of training the memory. Pythagoras was said to be able to recall in backward sequence everything he had done and said throughout his day, even for several days.

Tip:

During our waking hours, we engage in many activities and interactions, and we respond to them in a number of ways. Sometimes we respond with the rational, intellectual mind. Other times we are moved by our emotions or by the instinctual impulses of the physical body. A nightly exercise of retrospection could include questioning whether we acted out of the mind, emotions, or body in each event or interaction.

Hypnosis and the Eight Limbs of Yoga

mongiovi — Tue, 09 Feb 2016 21:09:49 -0600

Some practitioners of yoga have pointed out similarities between hypnosis and yoga. For example, hypnosis seems similar to yoga nidra, the deep, trance-like state that one may experienced during meditation. In both yoga nidra and hypnosis the body is intensely relaxed and the mind highly focused.

In his landmark book Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis in Medicine, Dentistry, and Psychology, Dr. William Kroger points out that there are similarities between hypnosis and the eight “limbs” of yoga that are set forth in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali. This brief comparison explores the relationship between Yoga and hypnosis.

There are many ideas about the precise meaning of the word “yoga.” Literally, it means to join, bind, attach, or unite. In popular use “yoga” has come to mean, as Webster defines it, “a Hindu philosophy that teaches a person to experience inner peace by controlling the body and mind.” That sure sounds a lot like hypnosis! The Yoga Sūtras, dating back to approximately 200 BCE, are 196 aphorisms that form the basis of Yoga. The sutras are divided into eight “limbs,” sometimes called the “eightfold path.” They are summarized here, with their analogies to hypnosis. My interpretations differ somewhat from Dr. Kroger’s, but credit must go to the master for making the initial comparison:

1st Limb: Yama is restraint, self-control, discipline, ethics, and integrity.

2nd Limb: Niyama is the regular and faithful observance of rules and practices.

These first two limbs of yoga are analogous to the ideal mindset for someone approaching hypnosis. As with most methods of mental healing, success depends partially on the positive expectancy that any person who has a sincere intention and dedication to the process can achieve results.

3rd Limb: Asana is placement of the body in the correct posture and sitting still.

4th Limb: Prānāyāma is control of the breathing.

In hypnosis, posture and breathing exercises facilitate the deep relaxation that is often associated with, though not always necessary for, the induction of hypnosis. Posture and breathing also serve to misdirect the attention. In hypnosis, when attention is diverted by mental focus on automatic motor movements (like breathing or muscular twitches) or automatic sensations (like tingling or floating), the conscious mind is kept busy and out of the way, allowing beneficial suggestions and imagery to imprint upon the subconscious mind.

5th Limb: Pratyahara is withdrawing thoughts from the outer world.

Pratyahara resembles the “depersonalization” that occurs in hypnosis and allows one to experience thoughts, feelings, and actions from a new perspective. Depersonalization takes place to some extent when you feel like you are outside of yourself, or like you are watching yourself act, without control over your actions. It happens to some extent when you are daydreaming and suddenly feel as if you could not move, even if you tried, though you don’t care to try. Depersonalization can be positive. In some situations it brings a burst of insight, a sudden expansion of mental perspective (“Eureka! I never seen it that way before!”), or an emotional shift (“Suddenly I just feel great, and I can’t explain it!”) that seems to fix the problem automatically and permanently. Depersonalization can be spiritual. Kroger points out that the goal of nirvana, the state of complete liberation, is strikingly similar to the depersonalization and other dissociated states that characterize hypnosis.

On the other hand, depersonalization can be negative, as when it is the result of trauma or prolonged stress. To some extent, a person who has automatic bad habits or compulsive worries experiences some degree of depersonalization by not having conscious control of their behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. In such cases, the goal of hypnosis is to orient the person to their own identity in a balanced and positive way.

Hypnosis can be a powerful tool to achieve depersonalization when needed, or to stop it when undesirable. Hypnosis influences this aspect of the mind so effectively that many well-known phenomena of stage hypnosis rely on it. For example, it is the epitome of depersonalization and disassociation when a subject is made to forget his own identity and assume he is another person, or is made to lose control or feeling in part of the body.

Kroger writes that the first five limbs of yoga involve the creation of a favorable mental attitude of expectancy, which is necessary to approach and induce hypnosis. In summary of these five: First we take account of our personal motivation (yama) and commit to the process (niyama). Next we focus on postures (asana) and breathing (pranayama), which facilitate the trance state. The misdirection of attention resulting from mental focus on posture and breathing facilitates withdrawal from the outer world and focus on inner thoughts and sensations (pratyahara).

Kroger compares the last three limbs of yoga (dhāranā, dhyāna, and samādhi) to the responses that occur during hypnosis:

6th Limb: Dhāranā is concentration. For example, a person might focus attention on particular parts of the body (kinesthetic), a mantra (auditory), or an image (visual).

7th Limb: Dhyāna is to hold stillness in the mind, without the willful effort of single-pointed attention that characterizes the previous limb of dhāranā.

During the induction and deepening phases of hypnosis, posture and breathing (like limbs 3 and 4) serve to misdirect the attention and facilitate trance. Now, with the subject in hypnosis, concentration on certain tactile, auditory, or visual stimuli again keeps the conscious mind busy so that positive suggestions can influence the subconscious mind.

Like the single-pointed concentration that characterizes dhāranā, constantly pulling the mind back to focus on a certain thought, image or feeling, repetition is an elementary principle of hypnosis. The mind chooses its subjects of thought automatically, and redundancy (repetition) gives it more bits of positive information from which to choose. When positive information outnumbers negative information (like worries and negative self-talk, for example), it becomes more likely that the positive thought or emotion will become chosen automatically and unconsciously. In hypnosis the positive information that is repeated with concentration and effort at first (like dhāranā) eventually becomes automatic and effortless (like dhyāna).

8th Limb: Samādhi is a profound state of ecstasy and peace that comes from feeling at one with higher consciousness.

Yoga is more than stretches, poses, or exercise; it is a path by which an individual may achieve overall physical healing and balance. There are different types of yoga, but they all achieve their effects by helping the person to achieve union with a higher state of consciousness. Likewise, the real magic of hypnosis takes place when the mind is lifted from its previous state to a higher plane of thought. When a problem is seen from a new perspective, a paradigm shift from the previous state to a new state can be achieved, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Many people approach their problems by struggling against them. For example, the smoker feels engaged in a mortal battle (literally) with cigarettes, or the overeater has a love-hate relationship with sweets (they love the sweets, and hate themselves for giving in to them). However, the Law of Reversed Effect asserts that the harder you try to do something, the less chance you have of success, because the unconscious mind that the thing against which you struggle actually has power. In both Yoga and hypnosis, healing is not achieved by focusing on the suffering, or by empowering one to struggle harder, but instead by raising the mind to a higher plane. In practical terms this means leading the subject to experience the thoughts and feelings that will accompany the goal once it is achieved. For example, to stop smoking it is usually far more effective to think about how good it feels to have energy, lung capacity, peace of mind, and self control than to focus on the damage caused by smoke and nicotine, or the shame of addiction. My point is not to equate samādhi to overcoming, but to illustrate that in both hypnosis and yoga, the ultimate goal is achieved when the subject is lifted to a higher state of consciousness.

This is only a summary comparison of two very complicated subjects, but I hope that it can in some way benefit those who are involved in the practices of yoga and hypnosis. When we consider the parallels between ancient systems of healing such as these, it reminds us that we are one human family, all with the same goal of human health and happiness. If we follow these universal prescriptions for balance and healing, we are bound to think, feel, and do better.

Source:
Kroger, William S. Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1963.

10 Characteristics of Hypnotic Speakers

mongiovi — Sun, 17 Jan 2016 12:16:22 -0600

Within the field of hypnotism some claim to teach hypnotic speech techniques that bestow the power to influence and control others secretly. These methods of indirect suggestion, sometimes referred to as covert hypnosis, aim to influence a person’s unconscious without their knowing. A few forms of indirect suggestion are:

Embedded command: This is a technique of placing a command (“Feel more relaxed.”) into a larger sentence or phrase (ex: “You may feel more relaxed if you change positions.”).

Analog marking: This is the process of using verbal cues (ex: pausing or altering intonation) or physical gestures (ex: facial expressions or body language) to mark certain words. In the example above, the embedded command “feel more relaxed” would be marked. The basic idea of analog marking is that the unconscious notices and is influenced by the words that are marked.

Implication: “I wonder how deeply this article will influence you.” The implication is that the article will influence you to at least some extent, and potentially deeply. There is also an embedded command in this example: “…this article will influence you.”

Implied directive: “As soon as you get comfortable you will take a few deep breaths.” The implied directive has three parts: 1) A time-binding introduction (“As soon as…”); 2) the implied suggestion (“…you get comfortable…”); and 3) a behavioral response (“…you will take a few deep breaths.”).

Bind: A bind is when two choices are stated, both of which satisfy the outcome. For example: “Would you rather enter hypnosis rapidly or gradually?” In this case, either choice assumes that the subject will enter hypnosis. Binds can be classified further into many subtypes.

Other techniques of indirect suggestion include confusion, shock, questioning, and use of analogies, puns, and metaphors.

Many of these methods of indirect suggestion were developed from the work of the psychologist Milton Erickson (1901-1980).[1] Erickson believed that normal conversation could influence the unconscious, regardless of whether the subject experienced hypnotic trance. Suggestion that has an effect without the presence of hypnosis is known sometimes as waking suggestion. Neurolinguistic programming (NLP), created in the 1970s, is an attempt to classify the natural language patterns used in Erickson's own recorded therapeutic sessions. Empirical validation of NLP’s effectiveness is controversial, however scientific evidence does support the idea that people respond to suggestion without the presence of hypnosis.[2]

Indirect suggestion does have some effect, but one can not influence others significantly simply by employing these techniques. The “hypnotic effect” of hypnotist or a powerful speaker is not solely, or even primarily, due to any verbal techniques they may employ, but because of their whole personalities. Before the advent of clinical (i.e. Ericksonian) hypnosis, it was long recognized that the influence of a hypnotist resides within certain personal qualities,[3] which may be natural or developed over time. These characteristics are the basis of hypnotic influence in traditional hypnotism, both in stage hypnotism and hypnotherapy, and can increase one’s influence in practically any field of endeavor, especially in speaking, presentation, and performance:

Confidence
Confidence is the most important quality for a hypnotist. A hypnotist must have absolute confidence that his suggestions will have the desired effect. His certainty gives the words force. Likewise, a speaker must have total confidence that his message will be received positively by his audience.

Success
Authentic confidence comes from success, which is the result of hard work. You can “fake it ‘til you make it” for a while, but people can detect false confidence. Eventually a person who does not obtain actual successes will lose confidence in himself as well as the confidence of others.

Willfulness
Thoughts have power, psychologically and metaphysically. Psychologically, the sincere will and intent of the hypnotist or speaker produce subtleties in his verbal and nonverbal communication, which may be perceived by the listener's unconscious. Thoughts have the power to affect outcomes.[4] The focused and concentrated will of a hypnotist or speaker gives life to his words.

Decisiveness
The direct suggestions of a hypnotist are often sharp and decisive. An effective hypnotist or speaker does not hesitate in his statements.

Fearlessness
Hypnosis is not always a predictable experience. A hypnotist or speaker must be prepared for any response from his subject(s) or audience. He should not be timid or fearful.

Concentration
A good hypnotist or speaker must concentrate entirely on the idea being expressed and avoid being distracted by other thoughts, such as wondering how he is being received or whether he will be successful. Also, he must be persistent and adhere to a course of action, despite any difficulties or distractions that might arise from the subject(s), audience, or environment.

Self Possession
A person who would direct others must have command of himself first. Hypnotists and speakers cannot lose control and react negatively to difficult circumstances. They must be in charge of their responses at all times.

Vision
Using verbal suggestions to create mental imagery, a hypnotist must be able to create a vivid picture of the desired outcome. Successful speakers also are often skilled at describing their ideas with compelling imagery.

Rapport
The hypnotic subject must feel a kinship with the hypnotist. The hypnotist and subject must be en rapport. Some believe that this is more essential to hypnosis than depth of trance. Likewise, for a speaker to be effective the audience must feel that they can relate to him. They must like the speaker and want to succeed with him. Also, the hypnotist or speaker must be sensitive enough to perceive the subtleties and nuances of unconscious communication and empathize with their subject's or audience's perspective. Anyone seeking to influence others should develop their sense of empathy.

Health
A good hypnotist or powerful speaker should be of good physical, mental, and emotional health. Ailments can diminish one’s power to think and concentrate. Also, a person who appears vital and healthy exerts a stronger influence than someone who does not.

Summary
There are no short cuts to “hypnotic power.” Indirect suggestion plays an important role in clinical hypnosis and hypnotherapy, but when it comes to influencing others nothing can match the force of these authentic personal qualities. Anyone who wants to increase their power in speaking, leadership, or performance should pay attention to these areas: confidence, success, willfulness, decisiveness, fearlessness, concentration, self-possession, vision, rapport, and health. The key to real hypnotic power is self improvement.

Sources:
1. Erickson, M., & Rossi, E. (1976). Hypnotic realities: The induction of clinical hypnosis and forms of indirect suggestion. New York: Irvington.

2. Kirsch, I., & Braffman, W. (n.d.). Imaginative Suggestibility and Hypnotizability. Current Directions in Psychological Science Current Directions in Psychol Sci, 57-61.

3. Cook, W. (1943). Practical lessons in hypnotism. New York: Willey Book.

4. Radin, D. (1997). The conscious universe: The scientific truth of psychic phenomena. New York, N.Y.: HarperEdge.

Hypnosis for First Responders

mongiovi — Sun, 20 Dec 2015 14:31:00 -0600

A review article in Medical Acupuncture stated that first responders should be trained in integrative medicine approaches, including hypnosis, to help relieve pain and stress.

The first recorded use of hypnosis for anesthesia during surgery was by Recamier in 1821. In 1829 Cloquet used hypnosis to perform a breast amputation before the French Academy of Medicine. Around the same time in the U.S. a nasal polypectomy was performed on a patient under hypnosis by P. Wheeler. John Elliotson (who introduced the stethoscope to England) reported numerous painless operations using hypnosis in the journal Zoist. The Scottish surgeon James Esdaile reported over 2,000 minor and 345 major operations using hypnosis in the 1840s and 1850s. In 1849, Crawford Long (who pioneered the use of ether in America) stated that physicians were recommending hypnosis for pain relief during surgery. It was in recognition of the established use of hypnosis for anesthesia that Liston, who performed the first surgery under ether in England, remarked, “Gentlemen, the Yankee trick beats the French one.” He was referring to the American discovery of ether as being more reliable than hypnosis (under the name of “mesmerism”) and developed by French physicians, neurologists, and psychologists.

Chemical anesthetics proved more reliable, but that’s not to say that hypnosis is not useful. Hypnosis has been in use for pain far longer than ether, chloroform, and later chemical anesthetics. Consider that chemical anesthetics are not 100% reliable, either. A report of the Royal College of Anaesthetists suggested that in 1 of 19,000 operations a person becomes conscious while under general anesthesia. In the case of a caesarian section, the odds increase up to 1 in 670.

There is nothing new about using hypnosis for emergency pain and trauma. Hypnosis was in great use as anesthesia during the Civil War, then fell out of use with the development of ether and other chemical anesthetics. The need for rapid treatment of war neuroses during World Wars I and II and the Korean conflict brought renewed interest and activity in hypnotherapy, and resulted in the merging of hypnotic techniques with psychiatry. The British Medical Association, in 1955 reported its approval of hypnosis for the relief of pain in childbirth and surgery. Since then, hypnosis has been widely used and studied.

In 2002 the International Journal of Emergency Mental Health published a study by Levenson and Acosta, two mental health clinicians associated with the NYPD, who were at Ground Zero of the World Trade Center beginning on September 11, 2001 to assist with crisis intervention and Critical Incident Stress Management. Their study considers the stress-response of police officers on site and offers clinical techniques and guidelines for emergency mental health practitioners and first responders for use with victims of critical incidents.

Tips for Achieving Your New Year’s Resolutions

mongiovi — Sat, 19 Dec 2015 13:22:00 -0600

The beginning of a new year is a time when we think about our goals for the year to come. The practice of making resolutions for the new year goes back at least 2,000 years to the ancient Romans, and continued in America with the Puritans. Today, new year’s resolutions continue to be an important routine for personal and professional growth. Popular areas of focus are:

• Health & habits (smoking, drinking, eating, sleeping)
• Career and education
• Finances
• Relationships, family, friends, and social life
• Personal qualities (kindness, patience, helpfulness)

Achieve your resolutions using these strategies:

1. Focus. Don’t try to accomplish everything at once. Pick your most important goal and concentrate your entire will on it.

2. Write it down. Putting pen to paper leaves a greater impression on the mind than a passing thought. Write your goal in bold letters on bright paper, and put it where you will see it regularly. A written goal that you see visually is not only a good reminder, but a powerful suggestion to the mind.

3. Be specific. Identify both your long-term goal and the individual actions that you must take to reach it. Focus on the specific actions and steps that you have to take next.

4. Accept it. Most changes require work and adjustment, which create stress. Acknowledge and accept any feelings of frustration and discomfort you might feel, then...

5. Release the stress. Try these classic relaxation exercises, tips, and recordings.

6. Don’t skip a beat. If you get off track, get right back on immediately. Do not spend time worrying or beating yourself up. Juts focus your mind again on whatever was working best.

7. Share. People who share their new year’s resolutions are more likely to keep them. Share your goal with people who will be supportive. It adds accountability to your goals.

8. Track your progress. Use a visual representation of your goal. If your goal involves progress over time (e.g., losing weight), a journal, or better yet a chart or graph that you see and update daily, can work wonders.

9. Trust that you will adjust. No matter how hard it may seem today, humans break habits and take on new ones more quickly than we expect. Be persistent, and you are likely to feel that it is automatic and normal in less than a month.

Hypnosis and Fibromyalgia

mongiovi — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 15:20:00 -0500

I am not a physician and do not "treat" or "cure" fibromyalgia. As a hypnotist I use hypnotism to induce trance and deliver suggestions, which have been shown to provide significant relief from the symptoms of fibromyalgia. Any person suffering from chronic pain should consult a physician first before seeking hypnosis. I use hypnotism for chronic pain only with a referral from a qualified medical professional.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder affecting over 5 million Americans, with 80-90% of those affected being women. Symptoms include widespread muscle pain, tenderness, painful trigger points, problems sleeping, fatigue, and depression. This article presents the scientific evidence that hypnosis is effective in providing relief from the symptoms of fibromyalgia. As this fact has become well established, the focus of research has shifted to the role of the brain, the comparison of hypnotic methods, and the effects of hypnosis when combined with other interventions. From the controlled studies on hypnosis and fibromyalgia, the hypnotist and hypnotherapist can draw conclusions concerning the best hypnotic approach and the likely results when using hypnosis for fibromyalgia.

Studies are conclusive
In the 1990s there were a number of studies on fibromyalgia and mind-based interventions, such as hypnosis, mindfulness meditation, and stress reduction exercises.[1] Generally, results have shown that psychological treatment is more effective than the conventional pharmacological approach, especially when hypnosis is added.[2] Hypnosis has proven so effective that German and Israeli guidelines for the treatment of fibromyalgia now include hypnosis.[3]

Two meta-analyses have assessed the effectiveness of hypnosis for fibromyalgia based on the combined results of multiple studies. One considered six separate studies with 239 subjects and concluded that hypnosis with guided imagery does reduce pain.[4] A more comprehensive meta-analysis considered the results of all known controlled studies and concluded that hypnotherapy and guided imagery are recommended.[5]

The findings that hypnosis reduces fibromyalgia symptoms are supported by the observation that cerebral blood flow in patients with fibromyalgia changes during hypnotic analgesia, compared to the waking state. Studies indicate the involvement of multiple areas in the brain and suggest an interplay between the cortical and subcortical brain structures.[6]

Length of treatment
Treatment protocols in these studies are based on experimental design, rather than evaluations of the individual patients. Nevertheless, it may be helpful to know the length of treatment used. In the largest meta-analysis, patients had a median of nine hypnosis sessions.[7] In one study fibromyalgia patients saw a significant decrease in physical and mental discomfort with 12 weeks of hypnotherapy and a follow up at 24 weeks.[8] In another, the patients experienced better overall change and significant improvement of sleep with five sessions over two months, and were also encouraged to practice self-hypnosis.[9]

Which symptoms are affected most?
Hypnosis does reduce strong feelings of physical and psychic pain from fibromyalgia.[10] Using hypnosis, fibromyalgia patients have also experienced significant improvements of sleep[11] and less fatigue on awakening.[12] There is less evidence that hypnosis reduces the general fatigue and depression that can accompany fibromyalgia. In one study hypnosis reduced pain but did not significantly improve the patient’s perceived quality of life as it relates to health.[13] This may suggest that the hypnotist should focus specifically on the reduction of pain, better sleep, and less fatigue on awakening, instead of the patient’s perception of quality of life, general fatigue, or depression.

While hypnotherapy patients did show significantly better outcomes with regard to overall pain, the pain response to manual pressure remained the same.[14] This may be communicated to the patient in order to establish reasonable expectations, lest the patient attempt to test the effectiveness of hypnosis by pressing upon tender areas.

Comparison of hypnotic approaches
Studies on hypnosis and fibromyalgia indicate that certain methods of hypnosis work best.

Relaxation exercises help fibromyalgia patients, but hypnotic trance is distinct from mere rest and has been found particularly effective. Fibromyalgia patients in hypnosis experienced less pain during hypnosis than patients at rest.[15] One study showed that the Ericksonian hypnosis method of analog marking (giving verbal or nonverbal cues to emphasize certain words) was more effective than Schultz’s Autogenic Training method, which is a self-directed form of relaxation with autosuggestion.[16]

Suggestions alone (without a hypnotic induction) can significantly reduce pain, but patients report greater reduction of pain and claim greater control over their pain when suggestions follow a hypnotic induction.[17] Suggestions of analgesia have a greater effect than suggestions of relaxation. In fact, the effect of hypnotic induction followed by suggestions of relaxation was no greater than the effect of relaxation alone.[18]

When working with someone who suffers from chronic pain, it is important to remember that there is more to hypnotic analgesia than direct commands for diminished pain or increased comfort. The scientific study of pain makes a distinction between two components of pain, the sensory component and the suffering component. Sensory pain is the perceptual response to irritation or injury; suffering is the reaction that follows such pain.[19] When the suffering is removed, the sensory aspect tends to become tolerable or may even disappear.[20] Suggestions to relieve the suffering component of pain may be directed, for example, at alleviating the subject’s non-acceptance or fear of the condition, separating sensory from suffering and quality of life, or placing a time limit on suffering. Where appropriate, suggestions may also be directed at releasing self-destructive feelings like guilt and resentment, and addressing any secondary benefit that the subject might gain from the condition or the limitations that it may place on carrying out the responsibilities of life.

Hypnosis and other interventions
Recognizing the effectiveness of both cognitive behavioral training (CBT) and hypnosis for treating fibromyalgia, several studies have investigated the combined effects of CBT and hypnosis. It has been found that psychological treatment provides greater relief from symptoms than conventional pharmacological treatment only, especially when hypnosis is added.[21] A 2012 study of 93 patients with fibromyalgia concluded that hypnosis enhanced the effectiveness of CBT to show greater improvements than drug intervention in terms of pain, catastrophizing, psychological distress, functionality, and sleep.[22]

Summary
• Hypnosis for fibromyalgia should be considered as a way to alleviate symptoms. A hypnotist is not a physician and does not “treat” or “cure” fibromyalgia.
• Cognitive behavioral therapy is most effective when combined with hypnotherapy.
• Stress reduction and relaxation (in the form of Jacobson’s Progressive Relaxation technique, for example) can alleviate fibromyalgia symptoms. The hypnosis subject should be taught relaxation techniques and/or self hypnosis.
• Hypnotism in which a hypnotist or hypnotherapist induces trance and delivers suggestions (such as Ericksonian analog marking) is more effective than a self-directed approach (such as autogenic training).
• The trance state is particularly important and should be maximized.
• Suggestions should focus on the improvement of generalized pain, sleep, and fatigue.
• Suggestions for analgesia can address both the sensory and suffering components of pain.
• Experimental treatment designs generally employ weekly sessions for 2-3 months.
This approach learned from understanding hypnosis and fibromyalgia may also have application to other chronic pain disorders.

Sources:
[1] Lauche, R., Cramer, H., Häuser, W., Dobos, G., & Langhorst, J. (n.d.). A Systematic Overview of Reviews for Complementary and Alternative Therapies in the Treatment of the Fibromyalgia Syndrome. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 1-13.

[2] Martínez-Valero, C., Castel, A., Capafons, A., Sala, J., Espejo, B., & Cardeña, E. (n.d.). Hypnotic Treatment Synergizes the Psychological Treatment of Fibromyalgia: A Pilot Study. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 311-321.

[3] Ablin, J., Fitzcharles, M., Buskila, D., Shir, Y., Sommer, C., & Häuser, W. (n.d.). Treatment of Fibromyalgia Syndrome: Recommendations of Recent Evidence-Based Interdisciplinary Guidelines with Special Emphasis on Complementary and Alternative Therapies. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 1-7.

[4] Bernardy, K., Füber, N., Klose, P., & Häuser, W. (n.d.). Efficacy of hypnosis/guided imagery in fibromyalgia syndrome - a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders BMC Musculoskelet Disord, 133-133.

[5] Thieme, K., Häuser, W., Batra, A., Bernardy, K., Felde, E., Gesmann, M., . . . Köllner, V. (2008). Psychotherapie bei Patienten mit Fibromyalgiesyndrom. Der Schmerz Schmerz, 295-302.

[6] Wik, G., Fischer, H., Bragée, B., Finer, B., & Fredrikson, M. (n.d.). Functional anatomy of hypnotic analgesia: A PET study of patients with fibromyalgia. European Journal of Pain, 7-12.

[7] Bernardy.

[8] Haanen HC, Hoenderdos HT, van Romunde LK, Hop WC, Mallee C, Terwiel JP, Hekster GB. Department of Rheumatology, Sint Antonius Ziekenhuis, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands. Controlled trial of hypnotherapy in the treatment of refractory fibromyalgia. J. Rheumatol. 1991 Jan;18(1):72-5.

[9] Picard, Jusseaume C, Boutet M, Dualé C, Mulliez A, Aublet-Cuvellier B. Hypnosis for management of fibromyalgia. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2013;61(1):111-23.

[10] Haanen.

[11] Picard.

[12] Haanen.

[13] Bernardy, K., Füber, N., Klose, P., & Häuser, W. (n.d.). Efficacy of hypnosis/guided imagery in fibromyalgia syndrome - a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders BMC Musculoskelet Disord, 133-133.

[14] Haanen.

[15] Wik.

[16] Rucco V, Feruglio C, Genco F, Mosanghini R. Servizio di Terapia Fisica, Ospedale di Medicina Fisica e Riabilitazione, Udine. Autogenic training versus Erickson's analogical technique in treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome. Riv Eur Sci Med Farmacol. 1995 Jan-Feb;17(1):41-50.

[17] Whalley MG, Oakley DA. Fibromyalgia pain and its modulation by hypnotic and non-hypnotic suggestion: an fMRI analysis. Eur J Pain. 2009 May;13(5):542-50.

[18] Castel, A., Pérez, M., Sala, J., Padrol, A., & Rull, M. (n.d.). Effect of hypnotic suggestion on fibromyalgic pain: Comparison between hypnosis and relaxation. European Journal of Pain, 463-468.

[19] Hilgard, E., & Hilgard, J. (1975). Hypnosis in the relief of pain (pp. 27-28). Los Altos, Calif.: W. Kaufmann.

[20] Ewin DM, “Relieving suffering—and pain—with hypnosis” Geriatrics. 1978 Jun; 33 (6): 87-9.

[21] Martínez-Valero.

[22] Castel, A., Cascón, R., Padrol, A., Sala, J., & Rull, M. (n.d.). Multicomponent Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy With Hypnosis for the Treatment of Fibromyalgia: Long-Term Outcome. The Journal of Pain, 255-265.

Hypnosis for Fertility

mongiovi — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 14:15:00 -0500

Each year in the U.S., approximately 6.7 million women have an impaired ability to become pregnant or carry a baby to full term,[1] and over 176,000 in vitro fertilization cycles are performed.[2] With the average cost of an in vitro fertilization cycle ranging from $10,000 to $15,000, women are using hypnosis to make the procedure more effective and nearly double the odds of conceiving.[3]

What the research shows
Several studies have demonstrated that hypnosis promotes fertility:

▪ In 2006 a significant study on the impact of hypnosis during the in vitro procedure compared pregnancy and implantation rates between two groups: 98 procedures using hypnosis versus 96 procedures without hypnosis. The group using hypnosis obtained 52 pregnancies (53%) with an implantation rate of 28%. The group without hypnosis had 29 pregnancies (30%) with an implantation rate of 14%. Researchers concluded that the use of hypnosis during embryo transfer may significantly improve pregnancy and implantation rates.[4] 

▪ In 1999 a study of 1156 women having in vitro fertilization, women who received psychological support, including hypnotherapy, had a higher rate of pregnancy (56%) than those who did not (42%).[5] 

▪ The most recent study in 2013 followed 554 couples with “unexplained” reproductive failure (meaning stress-related or otherwise psychosomatic) over a period of 28 years. Using hypnosis to alleviate the stress of infertility as well as marital stress yielded a pregnancy success rate of 72%. Researchers concluded that unexplained reproductive failure is reversible when stress is alleviated with hypnosis.[6]

How does it work?
The human body is built for survival and can adapt to almost any condition. When a person is under physical, mental, or emotional stress, the body responds by mounting an automatic response, called the ‘stress response’ or ‘fight or flight response’ in the central nervous system and endocrine system. The stress response is great for dealing with short-term dangers, but long-term stress can cause serious conditions, including infertility, menstrual problems, and sexual dysfunction. Under stressful conditions, the body undergoes the following changes, which prevent fertilization/conception and carrying a baby to full term:

▪ The stress response prioritizes blood supply to peripheral muscles and the heart, which means decreased blood supply to the digestive and reproductive systems. 

▪ When the body is under stress it uses up the pregnancy hormone progesterone to make the stress hormone cortisol. The resulting progesterone deficiency is a problem because progesterone is needed to conceive and to maintain pregnancy. 

▪ Cortisol also inhibits the body’s main sex hormone, gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH), suppressing sperm count, ovulation and sexual activity.[7] 

▪ Physical stress can increase levels of the hormone prolactin, which may disrupt or stop ovulation.

These are some of the mechanisms nature uses to prevent pregnancy under unsuitable (i.e. extreme stress) conditions. The primary mechanism by which hypnosis promotes fertility is probably the reduction of stress hormones by relaxation. Also related to reducing stress, it has also been theorized that hypnosis helps the fallopian tubes relax and dilate so that the ovum can travel successfully down the tube to implant in the uterus.[8] To address the stress that causes infertility, the hypnotic procedure should be relaxing (and train the patient to relax on their own), and posthypnotic suggestions should be given to eliminate stress and tension in general.

Some women have seen remarkable evidence that stress and belief prevent pregnancy when they become pregnant after the misdiagnosis of “blocked tubes.” As soon as they stop worrying about their infertility, they conceive. It can be helpful to give the patient the suggestion that she can stop worrying about becoming pregnant.[9]

Hypnosis can also address other psychosomatic causes of infertility. Sometimes behind the outward desire to get pregnant is a fear of pregnancy, fear of childbirth, or fear of being unprepared for motherhood. The conflicting emotions are a form of stress that affects the physiology and prevents fertility. When appropriate, hypnotherapy for fertility can encourage feelings of motherliness and help the patient resolve fears.[10]

Finally, hypnosis can help soon-to-be mothers stop smoking, eat better, and sleep better, all of which promote better health overall. With so many benefits of hypnosis for pregnancy, it’s no wonder that more women are using hypnosis as a natural approach to increase the odds of conceiving and delivering healthy babies.

----------
[1] Lepkowski, J. M., & National Center for Health Statistics (U.S.), National Survey of Family Growth (U.S.). (2010). The 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth: Sample design and analysis of a continuous survey. Hyattsville, MD: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics.

[2] National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (U.S.). (2012). Assisted reproductive technology surveillance --- United States, 2012. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

[3] "You're getting sleepy ... and pregnant". (2006). Psychology Today.

[4] Levitas, E., Parmet, A., Lunenfeld, E., Bentov, Y., Friger, M., & Potashnik, G. (2006). Impact of hypnosis during embryo transfer on the outcome of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer: a case-control study. Fertility and Sterility, 85(65), 1404-8.

[5] Poehl, M., Bichler, K., Wicke, V., Domer, V., & Feichtinger, W. (1999). Psychotherapeutic counseling and pregnancy rates in in vitro fertilization. Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics, 16(6), 302-5.

[6] Vyas, R., Adwanikar, G., Hathi, L., & Vyas, B. (2013). Psychotherapeutic intervention with hypnosis in 554 couples with reproductive failure. Journal of the Indian Medical Association, 111(3), 167-9, 173.

[7] Stress increases putative gonadotropin inhibitory hormone and decreases luteinizing hormone in male rats. E. D. Kirby, A. C. Geraghty, T. Ubuka, G. E. Bentley, D. Kaufer. Journal: Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences 2009

[8] Everly, G. S., & Lating, J. M. (2003). A clinical guide to the treatment of the human stress response. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.

[9] Kroger, W. S. (1977). Clinical and experimental hypnosis in medicine, dentistry, and psychology. Philadelphia: Lippincott.

[10] Kroger, 1977.

Board Certification, “Dr. Zomb,” and Rachmaninoff’s Hypnotherapist

mongiovi — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 13:20:00 -0500

I am very pleased to announce that in August I was named a Board Certified Hypnotist of the National Guild of Hypnotists, the oldest and largest professional association of hypnotists. I had been a Certified Hypnotist since 2004, and this change in my title represents advancement in my field. NGH Board Certification is the highest and most prestigious certification in hypnotism and recognizes professional standing as a highly qualified, expert, and ethical practitioner. Only about 500 of 14,000 NGH members (less than 4%) are Board Certified.

Part of the board certification process was an interview and examination at the NGH Convention. It reminded me of my first NGH Convention years ago when, at the opening session, a small 91-year-old gentleman sat next to me and struck up a conversation. When I told him that it was my first hypnosis convention, he encouraged my becoming more involved in hypnotism. I then recognized him as Ormond McGill, the world famous hypnotist and magician who performed under the stage name “Dr. Zomb” in the 1940s and 1950s. He was known as the “Dean of American Hypnotists” and wrote the Encyclopedia of Genuine Stage Hypnotism, the authoritative book on the subject.

Ormond McGill, far right, performing stage hypnotism.

McGill wrote that with mastery of hypnotism “you will have at your command the greatest magic in the world, for beyond question there is no greater magic than the magic of the human mind.” Originally, before I made hypnosis my profession, I had learned traditional hypnotism by studying McGill’s books and recordings, and performed stage demonstrations following his instructions. For anyone seeking to learn genuine hypnotism, whether for the stage or for hypnotherapy, McGill’s work is foundational. Meeting “Dr. Zomb” was exciting, and to hear his supportive words as I was entering the hypnosis profession was inspiring, to say the least.

At the end of my first convention I experienced a synchronicity that made a lasting impression. During the last session I attended, the presenter played a recording of Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto, and said that the composer overcame fits of depression and apathy about composing with the help of Dr. Nikolai Dahl, a prominent hypnotherapist in Russia. In fact, Rachmaninoff dedicated the concerto to Dr. Dahl. I took interest in the story, being a pianist and having my master’s degree in music. On the hour-long drive to the home of friends, I thought about the use of hypnosis with musicians and artists. That evening my friends took me to visit a local couple, Dr. and Mrs. Maurice Kouguell. Dr. Kouguell was a hypnotherapist who had served on the faculties of Columbia University and the City College of New York, and he was also a certified instructor of the NGH. He took interest in my background in music because he was a viola player, and because the person who aroused his own curiosity in hypnosis as a child was also a hypnotherapist and musician. Dr. Kouguell then brought out an old photograph of an orchestra conducted by his father, and he pointed to a man in the viola section. It was Rachmaninoff’s hypnotherapist! Dr. Dahl was a close friend of Dr. Kouguell’s parents and gave Dr. Kouguell his first toy violin. We then had a conversation about using hypnosis with artists and musicians, which has influenced my work in several ways.

Dahl Hypnosis
Dr. Nikolai Dahl, 1917.

Reflecting on these brief but memorable encounters surrounding my first hypnosis convention years ago, and also on my recent experience with board certification, I can say that members of the NGH are some of the most accomplished, interesting, and encouraging professionals one could ever hope to meet. I feel honored to be recognized as an NGH Board Certified Hypnotist, and I am grateful to the Examining Committee and to my clients, family, and friends for their support.

Can You Lie Under Hypnosis?

mongiovi — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 00:17:00 -0500

A former radio DJ is on trial for allegedly killing his girlfriend, and his psychologist says that his version of the story is probably true it was tested under hypnosis.

The case is taking place in South Africa, but it may surprise many people to know that the admissibility of testimony retrieved under hypnosis has been ruled on by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Rock vs. Arkansas (107 S.Ct. 2704).

Rock, who was charged with shooting her husband, sought to introduce testimony recalled in hypnosis. The trial court ruled, and the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed, that the testimony was inadmissible because it was unreliable. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ruling, basically because a person has a right to testify on their own behalf, including testimony that is refreshed by hypnosis.

The opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court was that “Hypnosis by trained physicians or psychologists has been recognized as a valid therapeutic technique since 1958…” and “the procedure has been credited as instrumental in obtaining particular types of information.” However, the Court also recognized that “Hypnosis does not guarantee the accuracy of recall.” A person can lie or confabulate (i.e. fabricate false memory without being aware of it and without an intent to deceive) under hypnosis. Therefore, testimony retrieved in hypnosis is not “immune to the traditional means of evaluating credibility.” It is treated as any other testimony, “subject to verification by corroborating evidence and other traditional means of assessing accuracy.”

Forensic hypnosis can be valuable for victims and witnesses of crimes, and for the wrongly accused who may remember some detail that will help their case. However, I would be surprised to see a case where a criminal defendant incriminates himself or herself under hypnosis. A hypnotized person knows what they are saying while they speak, just as in non-hypnotic states, and the psychological principle of self-preservation is not eliminated for a person in hypnosis. Hypnosis can not make someone speak while in an unconscious state and with no control over what they say.

Tetris Effect on Cravings a Form of Hypnosis

mongiovi — Sun, 16 Aug 2015 23:55:00 -0500

A study published in the Journal of Addictive Behaviors in December 2015 reported that playing Tetris decreases cravings for drugs (alcohol, nicotine, caffeine), food and drink, and activities like sex and gaming. This follows a 2012 study which showed that playing Tetris may be an effective treatment for post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) by disrupting the mental imagery involved in flashbacks.

The study set out to determine whether playing Tetris would decrease the frequency and strength of cravings. The study followed 31 undergraduate students. The experimental group was instructed to play Tetris for three minutes when they experienced a craving, and reported a decrease in cravings by about 20% (one-fifth). The study authors suggested that the game has the effect of reducing cravings by engaging and distracting the brain’s visual and spatial systems, the same portions that are involved in the visual fantasy of a craving.

Having a person switch their focus from a craving to another activity is an example of the symptom breaking and symptom substitution that have been used in the practice of hypnotism for many decades. In Medical Hypnosis (1948) the influential psychotherapist Lewis Wolberg described giving a person with alcohol addiction the post-hypnotic suggestion that “Every time you crave a drink you will reach for a malted milk tablet, and this will give you a sense of pleasure and relaxation.” This technique is employed when a hypnotherapist suggests to a smoker that if he thinks of a cigarette he will crave water instead, or when it is suggested to the person with an eye blinking tic that she will instead twitch her index finger for one minute. In the latter example, the shift of motor activity to another part of the body, along with the mental activity of watching the minute pass, distracts the mind and disrupts the old habit pattern. When a new symptom replaces the old one, there is no need to worry, because a more recently acquired symptom usually can be removed easily.

Symptom substitution can be thought of in terms of a conditioned response, which is a new response to a stimulus that is created by training. Ivan Pavlov, the Russian physiologist famous for his work on the “conditioned reflex”, found that if a buzzer was sounded at the same time when food was presented to a dog, the dog would eventually salivate at the sound of the buzzer alone. Hypnotherapy sometimes uses conditioning specifically to create a new response to a stimulus. For the person who thinks constantly about food, cigarettes, or checking their phone, hypnosis can train them to notice the craving more immediately, interrupt the mind from reinforcing the problematic conditioned pattern (the imagery of the craving), and divert attention consistently to the new conditioned response, to the end that the new response is experienced as “automatic.” Through hypnosis the subject experiences a new separation between thoughts and behaviors. He identifies with the more powerful role of an observer watching and examining the craving process, instead of viewing himself as a “victim” of cravings as some autonomous force separate from the power of his own thoughts. All this gives the subject enough detachment from the habit to gain control over it and let it go completely.

Wolberg also noted that alcoholics could be helped by engaging in hobbies that completely absorb them. Likewise, many smokers report that they do not think of cigarettes as frequently while occupied with work, and many people with a tic or a habit report that it disappears completely when they are engrossed deeply in an activity or conversation.

I wonder whether the effect observed in the Tetris study could be attributed to the conditioning of symptom substitution or to deep concentration, rather than the “visual cognitive interference” of the game. I also wonder to what extent the power of suggestion and expectation could have influenced the results. College students asked to report their cravings before and after playing Tetris could surmise that the experimenters are testing for a reduction of cravings and respond accordingly. On the other hand, if the result of the study is in fact due to the influence of Tetris on the visual and spatial portions of the brain, this could further suggest the usefulness of hypnosis. Cravings and addictions involve the visual imagination, and hypnosis is the best way to create vivid mental imagery.

Ultimately, hypnosis helps people to rely on their own internal resources, instead of reinforcing the notion that one must turn to an outside device to distract them from their own feelings. Cravings, like most obsessive compulsive behaviors, are often a defense against the normal human feelings of stress, restlessness, and boredom. To truly overcome cravings, these feelings must be resolved. Otherwise, success may be only temporary, or one might adopt another negative habit (unconscious symptom substitution). Turning to a video game every time one experiences a craving reinforces addictive, escapist behavior, and many people already feel compelled to check their smartphones more than they would like. I would not recommend as a substitute symptom something that already has a tendency to develop into a problematic compulsion.

While the Tetris study may have left some people wondering whether they should pull out their smartphone or iPod every time they have a craving, hypnosis remains an effective and practical way to reduce an eliminate cravings without the need to reply on a device. Hypnosis addresses multiple aspects of the habit:

• Because of the increased suggestibility characteristic of hypnosis, hypnotic suggestion can reduce or remove cravings altogether, which is ultimately what most people seeking hypnosis really want.

• Because stress tends to increase cravings and habits, the deep relaxation of trance can reduce stress to such a degree that the subject simply thinks less obsessively overall.

• Hypnosis can help a person resolve inner conflicts when an addiction or compulsion is not just an “empty habit” (i.e. when the habit is not just a reinforced pattern and has its basis in some unconscious motivation).

• Post-hypnotic suggestions can establish that the craving will trigger an acceptable substitute response. For example, the person who craved sugar craves water instead; or the person who bit their nails rubs their thumb against the side of their finger instead.

• Hypnosis can help the subject train his or her mind to divert the mind consistently from the imagery of a craving to a new, positive image, such that the new image becomes a conditioned response that is experienced as “automatic” by the subject.

Finally, there’s one more benefit to using hypnosis. It won’t leave you with that Tetris music playing in your head.

Hypnosis for Asthma

mongiovi — Mon, 17 Nov 2014 16:09:00 -0600

Asthma is one of the most common chronic childhood disorders, affecting over seven million children under 18 years.[1] Over 30 years of medical research has shown that the mind and therapies like relaxation and hypnosis can have a profound effect on the severity of asthma, with no side effects.[2]

Many of the recent studies on mind-body therapies for asthma focus on hypnotic relaxation techniques and self hypnosis. When asthma has a physiological cause, simple relaxation training can be very helpful to get the breathing to relax.

Sometimes asthma is not only physiological, but has a psychosomatic component. One indication that there might be a psychosomatic cause is if stress precedes severe attacks. Common characteristics noted among some children who suffer from asthma are high anxiety, high dependence on others, low confidence, and they may suppress emotions. Exhaling has deep unconscious meaning related to self expression. We express ourselves while exhaling, as infants by crying and yawning, and later by speaking on the exhale. Emotional conflict can manifest itself in the smooth muscles of the bronchi.[3]

Often, the psychosomatic component to asthma is fear or anxiety over the asthma itself. The sufferer fears he or she is choking to death. Doctors, nurses, and especially overly protective or highly anxious parents can be trained to avoid language that can triggers or worsens this thought (calling it an asthma “attack” is an example). Instead of calling attention to breathing, suggestions should be given to reinforce a sense of being protected, and to give positive reassurance that relaxation can occur.

One should always see a doctor before using hypnosis or any other alternative therapy for asthma. And though some people object to them, inhalers can save lives.

Sources:
[1] Asthma & Children Fact Sheet - American Lung Association (American Lung Association)

[2] Hypnosis therapy can affect childhood asthma (Daily Herald)

[3] Kroger, W. (1977). Clinical and experimental hypnosis in medicine, dentistry, and psychology (2d ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott

Hypnosis in Animals

mongiovi — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 19:15:45 -0500

I know it may sound strange, but one of the most fascinating phenomena of nature is the fact that you can actually hypnotize animals. I’m not talking about playing a recording with positive affirmations for your dog. Apparently that’s a thing. By animal hypnosis I mean inducing the state of immobility known as 'catalepsy,' which is also observed in humans in some states of hypnosis. Here’s how you do it.

Chicken Hypnosis
Grasp a chicken by its neck and place it in a horizontal position with its head flat on a table. With chalk or a marker draw a line two feet directly out from its beak and the eye that is closest to the surface. Carefully remove your hands, and the chicken will remain motionless in a trance. To awaken the chicken, clap your hands loudly and move its head away from the line. You can also let it emerge from hypnosis on its own. Strangely, if you hypnotize several chickens together and leave them to awaken on their own, they will awaken together.

Guinea Pig Hypnosis
To hypnotize a guinea pig, roll it over a few times, then lay it on its back. It will remain still. To awaken the guinea pig from hypnosis, blow on its nose and turn it onto its feet.

Rabbit Hypnosis
Lay the rabbit on its back, and part its ears with one hand so that they are both laying flat on the table. With the other hand hold the rabbit’s legs down to the table so that it is completely stretched out on its back. Hold it in this position for about thirty seconds. Remove your hands carefully, and the rabbit will remain in position. To awaken the rabbit, blow on its nose and push it onto its side.

Pigeon Hypnosis
Grab hold of a pigeon and turn it upside down. Now wave it back and forth in a circle, then place it on the ground on its back. It will remain there. Clap your hands to awaken the pigeon.

Alligator Hypnosis
If you are unlucky enough to be on top of an alligator, hold its jaws shut, turn it onto its back, and extend its neck. As long as the alligator is upside down it will remain motionless. To awaken the alligator, flip it back over onto its feet. After emerging from hypnosis alligators tend to be a lot less relaxed than people, and may want to kill you.

Frog and Lizard Hypnosis
The alligator method also works on lizards and frogs. To hypnotize a lizard or a frog, put it on its back and hold it still for a few seconds. Remove your hands, and it will remain motionless. To remove the hypnosis flip it back over.

Snake Hypnosis
Though they can sense vibrations, snakes are deaf. Cobras are not hypnotized by the sound of the snake charmer’s music, but by the back and forth movements of the instrument and the charmer.

Lobster Hypnosis
Believe it or not, you can hypnotize a lobster by standing it on its head, using its claws to support it in that position. Hold it that way for a few moments, and it will go to sleep. To awaken the lobster just set it back onto its legs. This is actually in some cookbooks.

Spider Hypnosis
The female spiders that kill their mates often hypnotize the male into immobility before mating by stroking its belly.

In most of these examples, the catalepsy is produced in the animal by physical manipulation, such as forced immobility, movement, or touch. This is usually an instinctual response. Because predators can spot movement, freezing is an inborn survival mechanism. In general, a sudden fright or shock can cause certain animals, including humans, to have a death-feint, or to ‘freeze.’ Some theories assert that hypnosis in humans triggers this primitive response when the procedure demands so much focus that the rest of the environment is reduced or eliminated. Though some of the earliest oriental methods of hypnosis used a loud gong to shock the person into trance, modern hypnotherapy uses physical relaxation and the symbolic meanings of words to limit the attention and focus the mind.

As a final note, one interesting difference between hypnosis in humans and animals is that repetitive hypnosis decreases susceptibility to future hypnosis in animals, but increases susceptibility in humans. Humans tend to go deeper and deeper into trance with repeated hypnosis, then plateau at a particular depth specific to them.

Hypnosis and the Placebo Effect

mongiovi — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 21:42:00 -0500

The placebo effect is that remarkable phenomenon where an inactive substance or otherwise fake treatment has a real effect on a patient’s condition. The placebo effect has been investigated since at least 1799. Some of the foundational research on the subject suggests that placebo effects occur in about 35% of people. (“The Powerful Placebo,” Henry Beecher, 1955.) Placebos have documented effects on pain, asthma, tension, anxiety, depression, blood pressure, heart rate, sexual arousal, skin conditions, nausea, vomiting, gastric motility, and angina. Under some circumstances placebos even produce effects that are stronger than those of active drugs. (“Hypnosis and Placebos: Response Expectancy as a Mediator of Suggestion Effects,” Irving Kirsch, 1999.)

While the placebo effect can be powerful, it is sometimes stated incorrectly that hypnosis works as a placebo, and that the effects of hypnosis are merely a placebo effect due to the patient’s beliefs and expectations. While positive expectancy is an important part of hypnosis, hypnosis is not the same as the placebo effect in terms of responsiveness, physiological effect, or administration.

Efficacy, or responsiveness, is the most important consideration from a practical standpoint, and there are significant differences here between hypnosis and the placebo effect. One study found that for subjects insusceptible to hypnosis, some pain reduction may be achieved with hypnosis, but it corresponds to the reduction by placebo. However, for subjects highly susceptible to hypnosis, pain reduction with hypnosis is far greater than by placebo. For these subjects, the average placebo response is negligible or even negative (“The nature of hypnotic analgesia and the placebo response to experimental pain,” McGlashan, Evans, & Orne, 1969). A further difference in responsiveness is that responses to hypnosis are notoriously trait-like , while responses to placebos are comparatively unreliable. There does not appear to be a “placebo reactor” comparable to the “hypnotizable subject.” (Kirsch, 1999.)

In terms of brain activity, there are similarities between hypnotic and placebo when used for analgesia for pain. Both hypnosis and placebo activate the somatosensory cortex, insula, thalamus, anterior cingulate cortex, and prefrontal cortex. However, there are also major differences in brain activity between hypnosis and placebo effects. With placebo, decreased pain is associated with changes in several parts of the limbic system (such as the amygdala, hypothalamus and hippocampus) as well as in the periaqueductal gray and the nucleus accumbens. Instead, hypnotic pain relief is accompanied by changes of activity in the occipital cortex and basal ganglia. (“Brain activity during pain relief using hypnosis and placebo treatments,” Svetlana Kierjanen, 2012.)

Hypnosis is different from a placebo in an important regard, which has to do with ethics. The administration of placebos requires that they be presented deceptively as pharmacological treatments. The use of placebos in medicine is therefore a controversial topic. Hypnosis does not require deception in order to be effective. Hypnosis is a non-deceptive means of exploiting the therapeutic power of suggestion. Doctors and patients can benefit from understanding hypnosis and the power of suggestion. As Voltaire once stated, “there is probably more cure in the doctor’s words than in many of the drugs he prescribes.”