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How you can improve memory with hypnosis

The role of hypnosis on memory has been a topic of debate for decades. Studies have found both positive and negative results when testing hypnosis with memory. Many factors play a role when using hypnotherapy to enhance memories including a patient’s suggestibility and the questions used by the hypnotherapist. When used correctly, hypnosis can enhance recall and hypnotherapy has several positive implications on memory.

Chandler (1993) points out one of the benefits of using hypnosis on the memory. Many people use hypnosis as a form of therapy, to help them overcome roadblocks and to help promote change at the subconscious level. Hypnosis is often used to change negative memory associations. Negative memory associations can include just about anything, but can have a major impact on people’s well-being and can prevent them from reaching their goals.

Changing negative memory associations into positive associations can dramatically change a person’s life. The result of using hypnosis is a healthier perspective on life. Changing a negative association with a memory can have a profound positive effect on people’s life and causes a shift in perceptual predisposition.

Pettinati (1988) describes what occurs when using hypnosis to enhance recall. The induction and deepening are given to the participant; immediately following this, the participant becomes more suggestible. They are now able to access subconscious thoughts instead of just conscious thoughts.

The advantage to this method is that it helps the participant access the actual memory. This occurs due to lack of cognitive interference and increased ability to visualize. The disadvantage to this is that they can be more suggestible to cues by the hypnotist. This is where it is important that the hypnotherapist not put any inaccurate suggestions into the mind of the participant.

According to Reisen (1983), investigative hypnosis has become very popular in police science. The Federal and State courts have ruled that hypnotically enhanced recall of events is admissible. Delivered correctly, hypnosis is an accurate way to refresh past events in court and memory does not always become tainted by hypnosis. This helps investigators determine sequence of events with the help of eye-witnesses who would not normally have remembered exactly what they saw.

These three studies show that hypnosis, when used properly, can positively affect memories. Whether someone has negative memory associations or if they are recalling serious past events, hypnosis can help memory. This can have major implications on a person’s well-being and on police investigations. More research should be done to see other ways in which hypnosis can impact memory.

Sources:
Chandler, G.M. (1993). A hypnotic intervention for anger reduction and shifting perceptual predispositions. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 15(2), 200-205.
Pettinati, H.M. (1988) Hypnosis and memory. New York: Guilford Press.
Reisen, M. (1983). Investigative hypnosis: Scientism, memory tricks, and power plays. National Criminal Justice Research Service: NCJ 093422.
by Steve G. Jones, M.Ed., citizen journalist, NaturalNews

Technorati Tags: Conscious Thoughts, Cues, Decades, Hypnosis, Hypnotherapist, Hypnotherapy, Hypnotist, Improve Memory, Induction, Interference, Memories, Participant, Perspective, Police Science, Predisposition, Roadblocks, State Courts, Subconscious Level, Subconscious Thoughts, Suggestibility

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What can you do to reduce your post operative pain

It’s Not All In Your Head: Descending Neural Mechanisms Of Placebo-induced Pain Control.

(Aug. 29, 2009) — A new study reveals that when it comes to pain control, the “placebo effect” involves evolutionarily old pain control pathways in the human brainstem, the part of the brain that is continuous with the spinal cord. The research, published by Cell Press in the August 27th issue of the journal Neuron, provides fascinating mechanistic insight into how and why simply expecting that a treatment will reduce pain can act as an effective analgesic.

Placebo analgesia refers to an individual’s relief from pain following administration of a chemically inert substance and is thought to be due to a person’s belief that a potent pain medication was administered. Endogenous opioids, which are naturally produced by the brain in small amounts and play a key role in the relief of pain and anxiety, have been implicated in placebo analgesia. Brain imaging studies have shown that placebo analgesia stimulates release of endogenous opioids from higher brain regions associated with pain modulation and is associated with a decrease in signals from pain-sensitive areas.

“It has been hypothesized that placebo analgesia also recruits the opioidergic descending pain control system, which inhibits pain processing in the spinal cord and, therefore, subsequently reduces pain-related responses in the brain, leading to a decreased pain experience,” explains lead study author Falk Eippert from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany. However, thus far this has not been demonstrated experimentally.

Eippert and colleagues employed sophisticated brain imaging techniques to examine both higher cortical and lower brainstem responses in two groups of subjects: one receiving a drug called naloxone, which blocks opioid signaling, and one group with a natural opioid state. Expectations of pain relief were induced in both groups using an established placebo analgesia paradigm.

The researchers found that naloxone reduced behavioral placebo effects as well as placebo-induced decreases in pain-related brain responses. Most importantly, they also observed that, under placebo, cortical areas interacted with brainstem structures implicated in pain control and that these interactions were dependent on endogenous opioids and were related to the strength of experienced placebo effects.

“Taken together, our findings show that opioid signaling in pain-modulating areas and the projections to downstream effectors of the descending pain control system are crucially important for placebo analgesia,” concludes Eippert. “It will be interesting to see whether opioid-dependent activation of the descending pain control system is a common feature of different forms of pain modulation, such as hypnosis and attentional distraction, which share some common neuroanatomical features.”

The researchers include Falk Eippert, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; Ulrike Bingel, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; Eszter D. Schoell, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; Juliana Yacubian, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; Regine Klinger, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany; Jurgen Lorenz, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany; and Christian Buchel, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.

http://www.sciencedaily.com

Technorati Tags: Analgesia, Brain Imaging, Brain Regions, Control Pathways, Endogenous Opioids, Hamburg Eppendorf, Inert Substance, Naloxone, Neural Mechanisms, Neuron, Operative Pain, Pain Experience, Pain Medication, Pain Modulation, Placebo Effect, Sensitive Areas, Sophisticated Brain, Spinal Cord, Study Author, University Medical Center

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What Word Hypnosis Means?

Origins and a meaning of word Hypnosis.

Word “hypnosis’ comes from Greek. “Hypnosis” comes from a name in Greek mythology, and from the same story that also gives us the word “morphine.” In Greek mythology, Hypnos (in Latin, Somnus) was the god of sleep. The brother of Thanatos (Death) and the son of Nyx (Night), Hypnos lived, according to one tradition, in a land of perpetual darkness and mist. The god’s home was a cavern, through which the waters of Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, flowed.

Surrounding Hypnos, who reclined on a couch, were numerous sons – the Dreams. Prominent among the sons was Morpheus. Hypnos and Morpheus were occasionally called upon to exercise their powers when the chief gods wished to intervene in mortal affairs. Hypnos could induce a state of sleep, and Morpheus had the power to make human forms appear to dreamers.

In 1843, Scottish surgeon James Braid (1795-1860) used the name of the Greek god of sleep to create the term “hypnotism,” which he introduced in his treatise “Neuryphology, or the rationale of nervous sleep.” “Hypnotism” (also known in the 19th century as “Braidism”), the science or practice of artificially inducing a sleep-like trance, gave rise to the coinage of “hypnosis,” the term for the trance itself.

Technorati Tags: 19th Century, Chief Gods, Coinage, Couch, God Of Sleep, Greek God Of Sleep, Greek Mythology, Hypnos, Hypnotism, James Braid, Morphine, Perpetual Darkness, Rationale, River Of Forgetfulness, Sleep, Somnus, Trance, Treatise, Word Hypnosis, Word Origins

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How Mind-Body Medicine Can Help You in Cancer Care

Psychoneuroimmunology explores the connection between psychological and spiritual conditions, and physical well-being. Some studies have suggested that addressing your psychological and spiritual health (including mood, attitudes, self-image and outlook) can help in the recovery process from cancer and other forms of disease.
Cancer treatment can be physically demanding and can sometimes cause side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, muscle tension and lost sleep. Mind-body medicine techniques, like hypnosis and relaxation, may help reduce some of these symptoms. These techniques may become important tools in your peace of mind and well-being, and may help improve your quality of life.

Medical hypnosis is a flow of thoughts and feelings that help teach the body what to do. Negative images of worry and fear tell the muscles to tense, the breathing to increase, and the heart to beat faster. Positive images, on the other hand, can help control nausea and raise blood counts, help resolve constipation and manage pain. Our mind-body specialists will use guided imagery techniques to teach you to envision yourself responding to treatment and experiencing a desirable outcome.

http://www.cancercenter.com/complementary-alternative-medicine/mind-body-medicine.cfm

Relax and you will feel better. Download free relaxation ocean sound and sleep well toningt.

Technorati Tags: Alternative Medicine, Attitudes, Blood Counts, Body Specialists, Cancer Care, Cancer Treatment, Complementary Alternative Medicine, Complementary Medicine, Control Nausea, Desirable Outcome, Free Relaxation, Hypnosis, Imagery Techniques, Important Tools, Medical Hypnosis, Medicine Techniques, Mind Body Medicine, Muscle Tension, Nausea Vomiting, Negative Images, Ocean Sound, Peace Of Mind, Psychoneuroimmunology, Quality Of Life, Relaxation, Self Image, Sleep Medicine, Spiritual Conditions, Spiritual Health, Thoughts And Feelings

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Hypnosis Eases Cancer Survivor Hot Flashes

Hypnosis can help reduce hot flashes among breast cancer survivors, new research published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology shows.

The authors of the report note that “hot flashes are a significant problem for many breast cancer survivors.” The new findings are particularly important because the current best treatment for hot flashes, estrogen therapy, is off limits for most women who have had breast cancer. Furthermore, many women must take estrogen-blocking drugs like tamoxifen for years after breast cancer treatment, but “hot flashes can be so severe that some women make a decision to not continue those medications,” Dr. Gary Elkins told Reuters Health.

Based on some small studies that found hypnosis benefited women suffering from hot flashes, Elkins of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and his team randomly assigned 60 breast cancer survivors to hypnosis once a week for five weeks or no treatment.

The hypnosis sessions, which lasted about 50 minutes, involved helping the patient to reach a deeply relaxed state, and then offering suggestions for mental imagery to help her relax and feel cool. This could mean having a woman imagine herself walking down a cool mountain path, for example. Women also received instructions on how to practice hypnosis on their own.

Among the 51 women who completed the study, those who had hypnosis reported a 68% reduction in the severity and frequency of their hot flashes. This translated to 4.39 fewer hot flashes a day, on average, for women in the hypnosis group, while there was little change in the control group.

The mechanism behind hot flashes is still poorly understood, Elkins noted. “We know that they are related to decreases in estrogen, however that relationship is not direct in the sense that hot flashes lessen over time even though estrogen levels remain low,” he explained.

Hot weather, spicy food and stress can also trigger hot flashes, he added, so it’s possible that women undergoing menopause may have a more difficult time regulating their body temperature in response to these triggers. Hypnosis treatment can reduce stress by helping women to relax, Elkins explained, and may also give them a sense of control that allows them to keep their body temperature more stable.

SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Oncology, online September 22, 2008.

Technorati Tags: Baylor University In Waco Texas, Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Survivors, Breast Cancer Treatment, Cancer Survivor, Control Group, Cool Mountain, Dr Gary, Estrogen Levels, Estrogen Therapy, Example Women, Gary Elkins, Hypnosis Sessions, Journal Of Clinical Oncology, Mental Imagery, Mountain Path, Reuters Health, Spicy Food, Tamoxifen, Treatment For Hot Flashes

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