Stress, Panic and Anxiety Treatment with Medical Hypnoanalysis
Stress, Panic & Anxiety Treatment with Medical Hypnoanalysis
Over six million people in this country suffer from uncontrollable fear that causes them to be anxiety-ridden and to have what is known as a "stressful personality." This type of personality may be expressed in a variety of behavior patterns that may become so restrictive that they literally ruin a person's life.
Symptoms may include a gnawing fear that something terrible is about to happen, a sudden wave of panic with rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, breaking out in a cold sweat, and a feeling of impending death. These attacks can be triggered by large crowded places such as theaters, supermarkets, restaurants, or churches and are accompanied by an overwhelming need to get out.
Other situations that may cause anxiety attacks are: being in small, enclosed places, such as elevators or cars, driving through tunnels or going over bridges, or boarding an airplane. Anxiety attacks may occur when least expected or "out of the blue" and therefore may limit a person's ability to go anywhere or to live a happy and productive life.
Some victims may eventually become unable to leave their own home. "We were all designed to be normal, and, if it were not for inappropriate thoughts introduced into the subconscious mind, we all would be." The Stressful Personality The stressful person lives in a constant state of anxiety, which may worsen when there is a duty to perform, a challenge to be met, a trip to be taken, or a responsibility to be accepted.
Some tasks become so frightening that they are almost impossible to perform. Such situations are not seen as exciting challenges, but as fearful undertakings. In time, the increasing sense of pressure can become emotionally and physically destructive. Some victims may have recurring headaches, periods of insomnia, and outbursts of anger for no reason. This may result in depression, fear of failure, fatigue, high blood pressure, indigestion, gastric ulcers, or colitis.
All of these symptoms can be part of the stressful personality. Treatment Until recently it was believed that this type of personality, with its related problems, was inherited. For this reason, treatment was directed toward changing the symptoms or the behavior in a number of ways. These treatments included heavy usage of drugs to ease the feeling of anxiety, lift depression, lower blood pressure, heal ulcers, and, in general, change the internal body chemistry.
Other treatments stressed relaxation techniques, using medication or biofeedback. The concept of a health-oriented lifestyle, proper diet, exercise, and avoidance of smoking has been another form of treatment for these types of symptoms. While these forms of therapy can be beneficial, there remains a threat of a recurrence of the problem under traumatic circumstances or when the treatment is discontinued. Consequently, stress and anxiety may continue to dominate the personality because all of these forms of therapy fail to do what is necessary-that is, to remove the cause.
Treating the Cause We know that there is a cause for having a stressful personality and that this cause can be identified and removed. Most aspects of the personality are created rather than inherited. They are created by the accumulation of thoughts and experiences, both positive and negative, in the subconscious mind, beginning after conception, and create our emotional reactions and behavioral responses throughout life.
Analysis All feelings come from thoughts, either conscious or unconscious. If there were a tiger ready to attack you, you certainly would get nervous. If the "tiger" is a thought, buried in the subconscious, you would still be nervous but would not know why until that thought had been identified. In experienced hands, this can be accomplished in a relatively short period of time. After that, there is no further need to live in dread of anxiety attacks.
Negative thought patterns are replaced with positive suggestions, which lead to a normal, emotionally balanced, mature individual. We were all designed to be normal, and, if it were not for inappropriate thoughts introduced into the subconscious mind, we would be. More than twenty years experience in communicating with the subconscious in the hypnotic state, has enabled us not only to bring these facts to light, but has given us the tools to identify, expose, and remove the inappropriate thought.
This process is known as analysis. Our knowledge and experience is centered in an important new specialty named, Medical Hypnoanalysis. Hypnosis opens the door to the subconscious; analysis helps you to understand the origin of the anxiety. Medical Hypnoanalysis deals with the problem in the model of General Medicine, that is, a diagnosis is made, a direct removal of the cause is performed, followed by a short period of rehabilitation. "All patients are taught self-hypnosis so that a relaxed state can be achieved at will"
Treatment Program In my office, treatment for Stress and Anxiety problems is usually completed in 12-20 visits. Sessions are generally scheduled weekly and last approximately one hour. The first step is a consultation visit. A complete and confidential history is taken. At this time a determination is made as to whether the problem can be treated with medical hypnoanalysis and an estimation is made of the number of visits required to resolve the problem.
The second visit consists of teaching hypnosis and determining how we can best work together. The next three or four sessions may well be diagnostic in nature, helping to pinpoint the origin of the stressful personality, remove the negative thoughts, and replace them with positive thought patterns. The remainder of the visits are used for rehabilitation and reinforcement that create a pattern of positive thinking. All patients are taught self-hypnosis so that a relaxed state can be achieved at will. All treatment is strictly confidential.
You can Increase your effectiveness and avoid burnout
The human brain receives messages from numerous sources, every one dealing with separate types of information. Input dealing with daily matters such as news, music, jobs, relationships, weather, etc., come from the outer surroundings. Our own bodies give information pertaining to movement, digestion, strain, pain, etc., all in the structure of messages, sent to the brain.
The conscious mind deals with reasoning and reason, decisions, goals planning and conscious action. The unconscious mind or the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) wields the greatest influence. It receives all the messages from our social, and genetic backgrounds and all the conflicts, which go into our consciousness each day. The unconscious mind (ANS) receives and holds its information, neither accepting nor rejecting the messages. The ANS does not evaluate. That procedure is reserved for the conscious mind.
From prehistoric times the human animal has possessed an escape device that even today, under harshly hostile circumstances, can cause regression to primal behavior. The fight/flight syndrome, forever a way of dealing with fears, and other turbulence, has gained tolerance through evolution with the addition of "reaction vs. action" and "repression vs. depression". Without these, when the message input reached excess circumstances, the fleeing would be on the road to the rejection of reality. On the other hand, the yearning for social approval provides stimulus to manage and adjust to reality.
On the other hand, when the conscious mind can no longer handle the message units overfilling the brain, the subconscious (ANS) prepares us for fight or flight-the heart pumps harder, blood pressure rises, super-strength can be generated. But at times there is nothing to fight. We can't exchange blows with the surroundings. We can't exchange blows with a job, a calamity, or a bad choice. What now?
Enter Stress and Anxiety
Powerless to battle, the response turns to the alternative of flight, which in present day life can prove impossible. Often a state of apathy, depression and/or hyper-suggestibility ensues. Negative input finds acceptance. Futility and melancholy develop and an overreaction to the senses develops together with a loss of tolerance. The road turns downhill.
A person experiencing long-lasting stress may well become subject to frenzy, in the process developing several forms of stress-related illness. While some stress is sought-after (loving stress, job promotions, winning a lottery), stresses that produce debilitation, hopelessness, unnecessary smoking, overeating, irritation, misery, and comparable reactions need consideration and frequently qualified help.
The initial recognition of a therapist dealing with stress is likely to be that, while the world, or the past, if it is a feature in the circumstance, cannot be altered, it is feasible to modify the client's view of and response to them. Again, contributory factors need to be investigated. Often regression can be useful in this procedure. Stress may be a response to people, places, events, or things.
The fear may be genuine or imagined. Remember, the subconscious mind ANS does not question, and more often than not by the point depression appears the conscious mind has lost its capacity to do so. However, there are more than a few frequent fundamental causes of stress, which can be acknowledged, defined and regularly eliminated.
Why Me? What's Behind It All?
Stress victims ask these questions quite frequently. Many factors enter into the picture of possibilities. Overachievers, typical Type A personalities, are hyper-competitive. They can be obsessed with stress. They can take pleasure in it, until it gets out of control. Sufferers can learn stress early in life from parents, teachers, relations and others. In the path of early experience they merely think about stress as a customary part of life; they witness it all the time.
Fears legitimate or otherwise, can lead to the growth of symptoms of stress. They can develop into full-grown phobias. Pounding pain or uncertainties over health situations are factors, as are repressed emotions such as upset, resentment, sorrow, etc. Specific incidents are often implicated, such as the obligation to address a group in the course of job performance when such goings-on is uncomfortable.
Medical conditions, together with nutritional deficiencies can lead to stress, as can such womanly occurrences as PMS. Peripheral factors, such as unremitting or sporadic troublesome noise levels, can create or add to stress levels.
Every person is special in tolerance levels, coping abilities, reactions and therapeutic needs. Dealing with stress is best accomplished through a trained, experienced and sensitive professional who can determine causes and evaluate reactions.
Willpower is not the therapy in stress cases. Successful and enduring relief responds to desensitization, which can be brought about in the course of Medical Hypnoanalysis.
Stress and/or anxiety can be caused by factors, which are known, or unknown. Problems or insecurities involving relationships, employment, health situations and other disturbing factors can foster mental and physical conditions which adversely affect the progress and enjoyment of life.
Other causes may include events, contacts or traumas which may be repressed or suppressed, creating anxieties the sources of which appear totally unknown; stress inclination also can be inherited by children from parents. Stress that begins to debilitate or produce depression needs attention.
It is important to analyze the stress stimuli and the physical and/or emotional responses, which they bring about. Through Medical Hypnoanalysis positive original responses can be fashioned to substitute the destructive reactions of the past. Obscured feelings can be brought to the surface and released. Exterior pressures can be calmed. And in conclusion, new responses to previous turbulence can be induced with major changes in attitudes and reactions.
Stress management Medical Hypnoanalysis is powerfully effective. Causes can be revealed. In cases where stress-causing situations cannot be changed, Medical Hypnoanalysis can modify perceptions so as to make possible tolerable living conditions. It works!
Stressed Out? Relax - With Medical Hypnoanalysis
John used to down two scotch and waters before dinner every night just to relax enough to make the transition from work to home life. But after dinner he would be so relaxed he'd nod off while reading the paper and find himself unable to go to sleep upon retiring. He desperately needed to unwind after a stressful workday as a management executive and was looking for an alternative to "social drinking" when he stumbled upon Medical Hypnoanalysis.
Now after work John takes a fifteen minute "transition break" by closing himself off in his bedroom, turning off the lights and the phone and putting on some soft music. He slips into comfortable clothes and stretches out on his bed or recliner. As the music begins to soothe his nerves his thoughts turn to his "safe place," a mental haven where he has gone many times to escape from the stresses of the outer world. Here in his own imagination John is in complete control. He can visit his favorite location - a stretch of deserted beach - or another safe place in a cool pine forest where he listens to the tinkling of a nearby waterfall. Wherever he is, John knows he is safe, comfortable, and in complete control, with no one asking anything of him or wanting anything from him. Here he can - and does - imagine himself as he desires to be - healthy, happy, relaxed and at peace with himself and everyone around him. If he experienced any difficulties at work, he puts these problems into the basket of a hot air balloon and watches them gently blow away, knowing that they will be taken care of in the best possible way. John may take a dip in the ocean or playfully dance under a gentle waterfall, cleansing both his mind and his body of all stress, all tension, all negative emotions, and feeling a restorative healing energy take their place as he continues to enjoy this peaceful, relaxing state.
After about fifteen minutes, John instinctively ends his imaginative journey and slowly returns his thoughts to the present, reminding himself that he is back in his room feeling refreshed and revitalized, yet completely and fully relaxed and ready to enjoy his evening with the family. The relaxed, good-natured John who emerges from the bedroom is a completely different person from the harried, stressed and sometimes short- tempered man who went in. John's family members, as well as John, are grateful that he has discovered Medical Hypnoanalysis.
John is just one of a growing number of people who find that Medical Hypnoanalysis works for them as an effective, non-drug alternative for stress reduction. With stress an ever-present part of the 90's lifestyle and the growing evidence for the link between stress and illness - including such condition as hypertension, heart disease, ulcers, immune deficiency diseases and even cancer - Medical Hypnoanalysis provides welcome relief with no side effects. Medical Hypnoanalysis, simply put, is a relaxed and focused state of mind. Most people can be trained to enter this state of deep relaxation and purposefully narrowed attention.
The Magic of Meditation Enhanced by Medical Hypnoanalysis
Meditation and self-hypnosis, as taught by a Medical hypnoanalyst have a certain synergism. Meditation has been described as a process of freeing the mind of its normal clutter to allow creative or supportive thoughts and visualization to flow in.
A person trained and skilled in self-hypnosis can use such abilities to add power to meditation. Further, using techniques of self-hypnosis meditation can be directed rather than merely allowed to "flow in" at random. Meditation and its powerful impacts have captured the attention of the work, filling books, videos, lecture programs, seminars, schools and homes. The world is beginning to discover the tremendous power of the mind, and to use it. Meditation permits us to establish communication with our own instincts and intuitions. Medical Hypnoanalysis adds direction and power.
Relax: Learn to let go!
Refresh yourself with self-hypnosis
There are innumerable books on self-hypnosis what it does, how it works, techniques for use, etc. There are still more books on relaxation, meditation, self-help and related subjects. A lot of Medical Hypnoanalysts teach self-hypnosis as a component of their existing services. Others use it as an optional extra to therapeutic procedures in particular cases. One factor is decisive-the user of self-hypnosis is prone to fare better if the procedure is taught by a Medical Hypnoanalyst than if it is attempted experimentally from, lesser trained professionals, lay professionals or printed directions.
Many Medical Hypnoanalysts maintain that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis, referring first and foremost to the fact that hypnosis cannot be compulsory. An individual who does not desire to be hypnotized cannot be hypnotized. A person who requests to be hypnotized can take himself/herself into any of more than a few depth levels of hypnosis. But the procedure is more effortlessly learned under Medical Hypnoanalytic supervision. The learning is not hard, and the necessary skills get better with every individual self-hypnosis practice.
For the most part well-informed people will be in agreement that the psyche is an exceedingly potent power-perhaps the most dominant power in the cosmos. Self-hypnosis provides a way of using this influence to individual benefit: to attain self-mastery. Psychologists have claimed that each human has, conceivably subconsciously, the same goal-the realization of self-actualization, the attainment of an individual maximum potential, or in sports jargon, the realization of the "personal best."
Hypnosis can help bring about key changes in imperative areas of living: habit control, emotional strength, motivational development, physical condition and pain management, sexual tribulations and others. One of the great benefits of hypnosis is its use in psychotherapy to disclose causes and trim down the time of treatment.
At the same time as hypnosis is powerful and effective in Medical Hypnoanalysis, psychology, psychiatry, medicine and other specialized fields, it can generate remarkable results when independently used by those who master the techniques of self-hypnosis. It can be above all helpful in altering attitudes, escalating self-assurance, learning enrichment, memory enhancement, stress and pain management, habit control, bedwetting, enthusiasm and innumerable other areas of individual concern. Self-hypnosis has proved successful in advancing athletic skills and is used by Olympic contenders in more than a few nations.
The use of imagination is important, and efforts become much more productive as skills in imagination and visualization are acquired. Most people, though they may be unaware, have experienced hypnosis. Daydreaming is a form of hypnosis. Becoming deeply involved in a book, movie, TV program, musical performance or play can be a hypnotic experience. Missing a turn while driving may result from "the mind being elsewhere," which can be hypnosis. Hypnosis is not sleep. It is not unconsciousness. It is often described as an altered state of consciousness, where the conscious mind is attending to other things, allowing the body to operate on what might be called "automatic pilot "
Authorities have described hypnosis as "something that you DO," not as something that is done to you. Self-analysis, under hypnosis, can reveal the direction needed for forward progress. Self-motivation, under hypnosis, can start the forward movement. Self-suggestion, under hypnosis, can provide the reinforcement necessary to achieve specific goals. Every individual has tremendous sources of power available on demand, once the means of accessing such power are understood and utilized.
Autosuggestion: The Key
It has been pointed out by many speakers and many writers in many different word formations that "what your mind can conceive, you can achieve!" This form of positive thinking or statement of affirmation dates back to biblical times (As a man thinketh, so shall he be, etc.).The same basic thought has been the theme of countless books on self-improvement, all of which deal with the power of the mind. Self-hypnosis can be the afterburner of positive thinking-the super power-thrust which can blast a dream into reality.
Self-hypnosis, used in conjunction with imaging and visualization, can generate the power to change, the power to create, the power to progress toward self-actualization. One of the world's greatest problems is the acceptance by people of self-imposed limitations: "I'm too old!" "I'm not educated enough!" "My wife (husband, mother, teacher or whoever) wouldn't let me!" "I'm too sick!" "I don't know how!" etc. These restrictions, limits, bonds, ropes or chains can be removed and progress resumed through the powel of self-hypnosis.
Preventive and restrictive emotions-anxiety, fear, depression, grief, anger, hate and other negatives-can be overcome by the person willing to meet the four basic requirements for success:
Desire, Belief, Expectation and Demand. Self-hypnosis can provide the nurturing to enable these requirements to advance to the power levels necessary for fulfillment. There are four elements in achieving a preplanned state of self-hypnosis. They can be learned by study or through instruction. They are: Fixation- which clears the mind and prepares it for the work ahead; Relaxation: which diverts the conscious mind and enables the unconscious mind [far more powerful) to provide or absorb information; Suggestion: which implants the instructions into the unconscious mind; and Visualization: which is the power source for change, development, modification 01 whatever is necessary to fulfill achievement of the individual goals.
Stress Test
Each of us reacts to stress differently. Some of us tighten our muscles, others dump more acid into their stomach, still others have freezing cold hands or feet, can't sleep, headaches, ......... That's the bad news and, of course, it gets even worse as things get out of hand. Stress, unchecked, can make you ill and can even kill. Not news to you, I'm sure. What you can do is learn to detect your own level of stress accurately. Even more impressive is when you learn to master your own response to stress. Don't panic, kids learn this easily and so can you.
This is a simple test of your stress level. Not all stress or tension is bad. You need to have some to drive a car safely down a city freeway or watch a two year old at the playground. But too much stress can slowly build like a kettle on the stove. Within minutes it is hissing. After a few more minutes it is bubbling with the lid rattling. This can happen in a few minutes, a few years or over a lifetime. Now you can learn to check your body to get an idea of the Stress Factor.
Stress Test
Body temperature is the simplest way to determine your level of stress. To better understand the relationship of stress and body temperature read - STRESS AND BODY TEMPERATURE.
Part 1 Finger & Neck Stress Test
A simple way to test your stress level is by comparing your hand temperature to your neck temperature. Neck temperature is typically around the high 80's to low 90's F. Hand temperature can vary from 60 degrees to 99 degrees in a normal room temperature. So you can test your hand temperature by touching your neck with the fingertips of both hands.
- Do your fingers feel colder than your neck? How much colder? Allot or just slightly?
- Do your fingers feel warm like your neck?
- Remember "Warm Hands are Relaxed, Cold Hands are Tense!"
- If your fingers feel really cold, then you are showing extra tension perhaps too much stress.
- If your fingers feel cool, then you are showing some tension.
- If your fingers are warm like your neck, then you may be relaxed and comfortable.
- If your fingers feel hotter than your neck, then you may be deeply relaxed.
This is a simple test. Some people feel stress in muscle tension, sweaty hands or other ways that may be more apparent than hand temperature.
Part 2 Make Yourself Tense
Close your eyes and check your finger/neck temperature again. Make yourself Stressed Out! Now sit and think of something really upsetting - a divorce, problems at work, a death, children problems, a bad experience in childhood, credit card bills, loneliness, etc. Really think about that problem for 3 minutes until you can feel your body change and react to that pressure.
Check your finger/neck temperature again.
Did your fingers get colder? What else happened inside your body? If were not able to make yourself feel tense then try this. Sit and imagine putting your hands in ICE COLD WATER. Feel the ice cubes rubbing against your fingers. Hear the freezing cold cubes clang against the glass bowl. Or imagine making snowballs or a snowman [person] with NO GLOVES. Imagine this for 3 minutes.
Check your finger/neck temperature again.
Did your fingers get colder? What else happened inside your body?
Part 3 Make Yourself Relaxed
Close your eyes and check your finger/neck temperature again. Now let us test to see how well you can relax and make your hands warmer. Sit with your eyes closed. Take long, slow, deep breaths. For 3 minutes imagine that you are laying in the warm sunshine or under a heavy blanket in front of a fireplace. Feel the warmth flowing down your arms and into your hands. Feel the warmth pulsing and throbbing over your entire body.
Check your finger/neck temperature again.
Did your fingers get warmer? What else happened inside your body? By doing this simple test and then practicing 5 minutes of deep relaxation, I have had people report that headaches left, pain subsided and they felt much better. Years later people still use this simple method to relieve pain and pressure!
You can make yourself ill and you can make yourself well.
Permission was granted to reprint the Stress Test and Life Stress Test by Dr. Tim Lowenstein, of the Concious Living Foundation.