Tuesday, July 20, 2010

"Owing to preceding life experiences a word is connected in the brain, replacing all of those experiences and can, therefore, evoke all the actions and reactions of the organism which these original experiences produced."

– I Pavlov, Nobel Prize Winner

Introduction to Hypnotherapy - Harvard Medical School's Consumer Health Information

Other Uses for Hypnosis…

Abundance Enhancement * Amphetamine Addictions * Anxiety * Aerophobia * Academic Performance Enhancement * Accelerated Learning * Accelerated Skill Rehearsal * Accomplishment * Achievement * Acne Relief * Acrophobia * Activate Self-Healing * ADD / ADHD * Addiction * Addictive Cravings * Agoraphobia * Aid Decision Making * Alcoholism * Aliveness * Allergy * Alleviate Pain * Anger Management * Anorexia * Anorgasmia * Anxiety * Arthritis * Artist's Block * Assertiveness * Asthma * Athletic Ability Enhancement * Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) * Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) * Audition Anxiety * Audition Performance Enhancement * Autoimmune Disease * Aviaphobia

Backache * Bad Habits * Balance * Baseball Performance Improvement * Bedwetting * Behavior Modification * Belief Change * Bereavement * "Big Day" Nerves * Blocks * Blood Pressure Reduction * Blushing * Bruxism * Body Enhancement * Body Image Issues * Body Mind Spirit * Body-Mind Transformation * Body Sculpting * Body Shaping * Boost Immune System Function * Build Strength * Bulimia * Burnout * Business Issues

Calmness * Cancer * Career Enhancement * Charisma Enhancement * Childbirth Pain * Childhood Issues * Chronic Fatigue Syndrome * Chronic Indigestion * Chronic Pain Management * Clarify Direction And Purpose * Clarity * Claustrophobia * Clear Decision Making * Clearing * Comfort * Comfort Zone Enlargement * Commitment * Communication Skills * Compulsions * Compulsiveness * Concentration * Conditioning For Success * Confidence * Conflict Resolution * Conflicting Inner Parts * Conflicts * Confusion * Control / Minimize Bleeding * Control Weight * Cramps * Create Safe Spaces * Create New Opportunities * Creative Blocks * Creative Development * Creative Writing * Creativity Enhancement

Deadlines Without Stress * Decision Making * Dental Anxiety * Dental Pain Management * Dental Anesthesia * Depression * Detoxification * Develop Psychic Abilities * Discover Your Purpose * Dreams Become Reality * Driving Test Nerves * Dyslexia

Ease Shy Bladder * Easy Childbirth * Eating Disorders * Eczema * Effectiveness * Embarrassment * Emotional Clearing * Emotional Obstacles * Emotional Overload * Emotional Pain * Energy * Energy Work * Enhance Relationships * Enhance Management Skills * Enjoy Life * Enrichment * Enthusiasm * Erectile Dysfunction * ESP Development * Esteem * Exam Anxiety * Examination Nerves * Exam Preparation * Expand Experience * Exploration * Explore Dreams * Explore Past Lives * Eyesight Improvement

Fatigue * Fear Of Being Alone * Fear Of Crowds * Fear Of Dental Visits * Fear Of Flying * Fear Of Heights * Fear Of Illness * Fear Of Public Speaking * Fear Of Water * Feel Good Now * Feelings of Failure * Feelings Of Inadequacy * Feelings Of Powerlessness * Feeling Stuck * Financial * Financial stress * Success * Fitness * Focus * Food Addictions * Foreign Language Learning * Forgiveness Issues * Freedom from Jealousy * Frigidity * Frustration * Future Progression

Gaining Control * Gambling Addiction * Gastrointestinal Problems * Goal Setting * Goal Achievement * Golf Performance Improvement * Grades * Grief And Loss * Grinding Teeth * Guilt

Habit Change * Hair Loss * Hair Pulling * Happiness * Hay Fever * Headaches * Heal Roots Of Illness * Health * Healthy Boundaries * Hearing Problems * Heartburn * Heart Problems * Heart Rate Control * High Blood Pressure * Higher-Self Connection * Highest Truth * Human Excellence * Hydrophobia * Hypertension Reduction * Hypnotic Anesthesia

Impotence * Improve Fertility * Improve Flexibility * Improve mood * Improve Sleep Onset * Improve Sleep * Improve Results * Improve Spelling * Increase Rapport * Increase Resourcefulness * Increase Stamina * Inhibitions * Inner Guidance * Inner Healing * Inner Resource Enhancement * Insecurity * Insomnia * Inspiration * Interview Nerves * Itching * Integration * Intuitive Ability Development * Irrational Fears * Irritability * Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Jealousy Release * Job Interview Preparation * Job Performance Enhancement * Joint Pain Reduction * Joy

Lack of Confidence * Learn Faster * Letting Go * Life Purpose Clarification * Limitations * Limiting Behaviors * Limiting Beliefs * Limiting Belief Systems * Limiting Habits * Live The Life You Desire * Live Your Dreams * Live Your Highest Truth * Lose Weight * Loss Of Temper * Love * Low Sex Drive

Maintain Healthy Habits * Martial Arts Performance Enhancement * Memory and Concentration Improvement * Mental Blocks * Mental Energy * Mental Ability Enhancement * Mental Obstacles Removed * Migraine Headaches * Mind And Body Healing * Mood Improvement * Motion Sickness * Motivation And Persistence * Motivation for Exercise * Morning Sickness * Move From Confusion To Clarity * Moving On * Muscle Mass Increase * Muscle Spasms * Muscular Tension

Nail Biting * Natural Easy Childbirth * Natural Vision Improvement * Nausea * Neck ache * Negative Emotions * Negative Habits * Negative Thinking * Nerves * Nervousness * Nervous Tension * New Choices And Opportunities * Nicotine Addiction * Night Terrors * Nightmares

Obesity * Obsessiveness * Obstacles To Personal Growth * Obstacles To Spiritual Growth * Optimal Energy Level * Overeating

Pain Management * Painless Childbirth * Palpitations * Panic Attacks * Passion * Past Life Recall * People Skills * Performance Anxiety * Performance Enhancement * Personal Growth * Personal Power Development * Phobias * Physical Health Conditions * Poor Vision * Positive Attitude Reinforcement * Positive Thinking * Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) * Powerful Tools For Change * Pregnancy And Childbirth Support * Premature Ejaculation * Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS) * Preparation For Surgery * Presentation Skills * Proactiveness * Problem Solving * Procrastination Elimination * Program For Success * Prosperity Awareness * Psoriasis * Psychosomatic Illness * Public Speaking

Quiet the Mind * Quit Smoking

Radiant Well-Being * Rapid Change * Realize Your True Potential * Reading Skills Development * Reading Speed Increase * Recover Lost Objects * Recovery From Surgery * Reduce Cardiac Arrhythmias * Reduce Reactivity * Reduce Weight * Reinforce Motivation * Relationship Blocks * Relationship Issues of All Types * Relaxation * Release Fears * Release Inhibitions * Relieve Allergies * Relieve Phantom Limb Pain * Remove Blocked Potential * Remove Negative Conditioning * Remove Old Mental Scripts * Resilience * Respiratory Conditions * Restful Sleep * Resentment * Reveal Hidden Talents

Sales Improvement * Sales Performance Increase * School Problems * Self-Acceptance * Self-Confidence * Self-Confidence In Social Situations * Self-Defeating Patterns * Self-Discipline And Willpower * Self-Doubt * Self-Empowerment * Self-Esteem * Self-Hypnosis Training * Self-Image Issues * Self-Presentation For Public Speaking * Self-Sabotage * Self-Soothing Capacity * Setting And Achieving Attainable Goals * Sexual Dysfunction * Sexual Issues * Sex Addiction * Shame Release * Shopping Control * Shyness * Shy bladder (difficulty urinating in public restrooms) * Skill Enhancement And Development * Skin Disorders * Sleep Deprivation * Sleep Soundly * Sleeplessness * Slimming * Smoking Cessation * Social Avoidance * Social Anxiety * Solve Past Life Issues * Speed Healing * Spirit Replacement * Spiritual Connection * Spiritual Development * Spontaneity * Sports Performance Enhancement * Stage Fright * Stammering * Stop Smoking * Strength And Power * Stress Management * Stroke Recovery * Study Effectively * Study Habit Improvement * Stuttering * Subconscious Mind Access * Success * Successful Sales * Successful Sports Results * Successful Study * Super Learning * Sweet Cravings

Talent Enhancement And Development * Tap Inner Wisdom * Tennis Performance Improvement * Teen And Childhood Issues * Teeth Grinding * Temper Control * Tense Situations * Tension Release * Tension Headaches * Test Anxiety * Test Taking Results * Tighten And Tone The Entire Body * Time Management * Timidity * Tinnitus * TMJ * Trance * Travel Sickness * Transformation * Transitions * Trauma Release * Travel Fright * Trust Issues

Ulcers * Underachievement

Vaginismus * Vertigo * Vibrant Health * Vision Enhancement * Visualization * Vital Energy * Vitality

Warts * Wealth Building * Well-being Enhancement * Weight Loss * Weight Reduction * Work Effectively * Work Enhancement * Work Issues * Work Relationship Improvement * Worry Reduction * Women's Issues * Writer’s Block

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

A Positive Mental Attitude

Q & A Session by Tom Metzger

Originally Published February 21, 1983

Q. What is your name?

A. Richard Ward.

Q. . And what is your age?

A. 43.

Q. Your occupation is ... ?

A. I'm a certified hypnotherapist.

Q. What exactly is a hypnotherapist?

A. A hypnotherapist provides hypnotic services which can be provided through 7 application areas. The 7 application areas are:
(1) mental and emotional health, (2) physical health, (3) psychic and spiritual development, (4) creative and educational endeavors, (5) athletics and sports, (6) business interest, and (7) legal concerns.

Q. Is this a fairly new profession?
A. No, hypnosis actually dates back sene 5,000 years to the timr of the Egyptians. Hypnosis was approved by the American Medical Association in 1958.

Q. What are sene of the other jobs you have done in the past?
A. I've been retained by firms as a consultant to management. In fact, I still do that, but prior I was a sales manager, salesman, police officer, pipe fitter, laborer, baker and paratrooper.

Q. As sales manager, what would be sene of the things you would do to motivate a salesman?
A. Salesmen are motivated by many different things. Each one is an individual. Some are motivated by position in life, some by money, a house, a car etc... Others are motivated by winning awards and vacations for themselves and their wives or husbands. Each individual has his own idiosyncrasies.

Q. So as a sales manager, your job would be to find out what motivated the person and then what?
A. You would then make it possible for them to reach their goal, by giving them the back-up support they need. This may include specialized training in areas needing improvement.

Q. Can you give some examples?
A. Sure, being more persuasive, radiating confidence, building a warm support with your prospect, selling yourself, selling benefits instead of features, taking charge of the interview, getting to the hidden objective, turning objections into closes, eliminating fear of rejection. We could go on and on.

Q. Would you say that sales is a good profession for young people to think about getting into?-A. Sales is an excellent profession for, those that like people and are somewhat outgoing, that enjoy being their own boss. They need self-discipline. These are people that don't have to haveanyone standing behind them to make them punch a clock.

Q. Is sales a very well-paid profession?
A. Salespeople are some of the highest paid professionals in the country.

Q. Who do you consider sales people? What other lines?
A. Sales people come in all sizes, shapes and colors. Everyone has to sell something and/or themselves every day. The professional sells for his living. This could include the car salesman, the insurance man, the attorney, or the President of the United States. None of these people would earn much of a living if they couldn't sell.

Q. We hear a lot about positive thinking today. How do you explain it?
A. Positive, in the ordinary psychological sense of the word indicates dynamism, activity, and fulfillment of an effort or intent. For example, to stop, to prevent crime is a positive in action. To vote against to defeat a bad legislative proposition, is also positive. Such are actions to produce a constructive result.

Q. How about some of the negative things that young people face? and negative thinking?
A. A classic example of the effect the self-concept has on actual future behavior involved a young man who had enrolled in college. The college told him that his score on the entrance examination was in the 98 percentile. He took this to mean that his IQ was 98. Thinking, therefore, that he was below average intelligence, he began making bad grades and was at the point of dropping out of college.
Fortunately, his parents discovered in time that he was under a false impression about his entrance examination score and explained to him that the 98 percentile meant he had an IQ of 140. Soon he becarre a straight A student.

Q. So negative feedback from parents, teachers, etc. would have lasting effects? Don't blame parents.
A. Yes, our parents or.others may have contributed, but we can't keep blaming them for the rest of our lives. Instead of wasting our talents by worrying about whether or not we have what it takes or by feeling sorry for ourselves, we should begin acquiring the education it takes to become successful at whatever it is we have our hearts set on achieving.

Q. So it has a lot to do with what your attitude about life is and what you want to accomplish in life, whether it's positive or negative? A. That's a big part of it. What a high school student, for example, should do is not give any weight to anything that is negative. He should weigh things and think. Does this remark serve me in a constructive way? If not, don't give it any weight. If you are not sure, put it on the shelf and come back to it later on and make your own decision about it after you've gathered enough supporting material to make a decision.

Q. Can you think back to when you were in high school and think of any teachers that motivated you to do things with your life?
A. I was always involved in athletics, so in my particular case I was motivated most by the coaches. I finished high school in the 1/4th of the class that made the top 3/4th of the class possible. The coaches gave me that little extra I needed at the time.

Q. So the thing is, coaches in schools use positive mental attitudes for their students, right?
A. Coaches deal with positives for the most part. They are after performance. And in many cases they are able to get it on and off the field.

Q. Is there any reason why teachers in'academic classes can't use the same type of teamwork and motivation to inspire young people to do better?
A. No. However, the classroom teachers use a different game plan. The problem is that not all of the students in the class think of themselves as a member of the team.

Q. Those are the young people I'm talking about?
A. I agree to motivate that group is extrenely important. It would do wonders for our dropout rate not to mention unemployment.

Q. You are agreeing, though, that motivation is a pretty important thing to instill in young people in school?
A. I think that motivation is extrenely important today. Any type of reinforcement that you can give to young people is going to help us all out as a final result.

Q. The academic decathalon that we just had in El Dorado Cotmty, would that be an example of motivation and team work in academics?
A. I think that is a good example, and I feel that is something that has been neglected for quite some time. The athletes, have had their recognition, of course. Those students that have abilities in other areas haven't had an opportunity to get the recognition in that light.

Q. In a community like Placerville, what are some of the types of people that should give positive, constructive feedback to young people?
A. Most communities those people that hold that responsibility are law enforcement people, the Placerville police officers, the deputies out there that are working the street every day, they have a definite relationship with young people and what they do can mean a great deal to young people.

Q. They can also be a negative influence.
A. And if not handled the right way could be a negative. Quite fortunately most of the time it's more positive than negative in most professional law enforcenent organizations. The administration of justice plays an important role as well. I have personal knowledge of a couple of professionals that are doing a very good job. Judge Bud Hamilton has been very good with kids. And Bob Ewing is another one who I have knowledge of who has some very definite positive reinforcenent with children. Judge Hamilton is really good with these kids and the kids somre out of that courtroom feeling like they've really benefited from him.

Q. I've heard other people make the Same statement. He gives them a positive outlook about the legal system instead of going into court and coming out with a negative feeling about the law. You know about law enforcement. Have you worked with them before?
A. Yes. I was a police officer in Oakland fran 1964 to the latter part of 1968.

Q. What was your job or position?
A. I worked in a number of different areas. I worked in juvenile, I worked some in narcotics, and I worked for the most part in patrol

Q. You certainly ought to knav what some of the negative aspects are about police departments on young people too.
A. That's right.

Q. What are some real positive constructive things that the local Police Department could do with young people?
A. Listen, learn, and adjust.

Q. One of the other subjects I want to get back to is a negative again, the image that has been portrayed by movies and television of businessnen.
A. Quite often because of the attitudes that so many people have they seem to not recognize some of the very good aspects of businessmen. They went out, they took chances, they gambled, they created, they built, and as a result they developed jobs for individuals. They worked hard. They worked long hours which is a prerequisite for an entrepreneur and yet so often, they are not given credit for a job well done, or one they used as a good example of positive action.

Q. So I would imagine it's the same thing you brought up - coaches being a positive, motivating person but there's probably bad coaches that probably project a bad image that a lot of people probably think that a lot of coaches are jocks and not motivated.
A. That's right, Tom. The majority of teachers that I have run into as an example, in, this area, are of excellent quality. We have had tremendously good experience with the teachers that my boys have had. As an example, up in Pollock Pines those people have gone out of their way to do things that you'd never find them doing in large areas. most all of the coaches, that I've run into all my life, have all been real decent guys.
There's only a couple that I've run into that don't fit into that category - and they were over in El Dorado High School not too long ago. I know numerous kids, including one of mine, that had nothing but problems with a particular coach over there, and it took some 2 years before they finally got rid of him.

Q. He's not there any more?
A. I understand he's not there any more and I don't know how many kids have had ill effects because of that kind of negativity that they received frem that particular individual.

Q. How can hypnosis help people?
A. With hypnosis children and adults can build a more positive self-concept; increase self-respect and self-confidence, add a sense of value to everything you do, make good decisions, concentrate better; save time, enhance excitement and anticipation, reduce conflict and stress, and promote health.
A wonderful quality of hypnosis is that you can learn to use it alone, at will, and without complicated procedures. This fact makes the benefits readily available throughout life.

Q. Are you teaching hypnosis?
A. Yes, I teach self-hypnosis whenever possible to clients as a part of their private session and a class in self-hypnosis training will begin on February 10th.

Q. I understand you give lectures.
A. Yes. - As you know, I am a professional speaker and a member of the National Speakers Association. However I am available to local non-profit organizations, service clubs, schools, etc. at my own' expense.

Q. How do we deal with these negative thoughts?
A. We need to empty our minds of all the negative thoughts we've been fed and start believing in ourselves. If we do not believe in ourselves, who will? No longer must we be slaves revolving in an infinite circle of self-contempt. So the next time someone tries to discourage you from doing something you want to do, ignore him. He has probably already convinced himself he couldn't do the very thing you are trying to accomplish, and he doesn't want you to succeed either.

Q. Do you have any comments on stress?
A. Medical Science tells us that stress when uncontrolled is a major cause of hypertension (high blood pressure) that can lead to strokes or heart attacks. It is also implicated in causing or intensifying ulcers, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, overactive thyroid glands plus headaches, depression, insomnia and some forms of cancer . As much as 90% of all disease can be traced directly or indirectly to stress according to the journal of Psychosomatic Research. Learning to control stress can be acccmplished through hypnosis, and self-hypnosis. Controlled stress is actually beneficial and necessary. How one deals with stress determines whether it is harmful or good for you.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Hypnosis: How It Works with the Brain

Spring 2005 • Around Here Magazine Feature Article

Most of us first learned about hypnosis from a nightclub-type performance. The subject was put into a deep sleep only to become the fool for the watch-swinging

Svengali's ridiculous post-hypnotic suggestions: "Whenever I say the word 'cat,' you will crow like a rooster."

This false image of hypnosis embodies most of the myths which prevent people from enjoying the healing power of hypnosis. Hypnosis does not require a heavy-lidded dullness on the part of the subject; in fact, the "trance' state" is a condition of focused concentration, and most people in trance state are unusually aware and responsive.

Secondly, hypnosis is not in the control of the hypnotist but of the subject. Psychologist Stanley Fisher, who has worked with thousands of patients in trance state, insists, "All hypnosis is self-hypnosis; the subject is always in control; the choice of whether to cooperate is his alone."

Although hypnosis may involve suggestion, suggestibility is neither the primary attribute or the primary advantage of trance state. Milton H. Erickson, who developed the major 20th century breakthrough in hypnotherapy, promoted hypnosis as the most efficient method of identifying, accessing, developing, and utilizing strengths. Most importantly, hypnosis does not require a hypnotist; virtually anyone can learn easily to place himself in a relaxed trance state.

The Brain's Subconscious

Current understanding of how the brain works reveals the importance of communicating with the subconscious. Stanford psychologist Philip Zimbardo describes the brain as a "phenomenal double agent." It does one thing while convincing you that it's doing something else altogether. The brain, it seems, is not a single unit of mind, but rather a confederation of highly specialized compartments, or "mind modules," each dealing with a separate topic, he points out.

For instance, there is a part of the brain devoted to recognizing faces, but another devoted to remembering names, and yet another specialized in storing past conversations. Atop this jumble of sometimes coordinated activity sits a region in the left side of the brain that is called the "interpreter." It is this function which explains our behavior to ourselves, and which gives us our sense of choice and identity. The interpreter works overtime to provide coherent explanations for what we do.

The interpreter is precious to us. It gives us our sense of self; but it often does no't know why we really do things this, the subconscious knows. By dissociating from the conscious mind and its interpreter, hypnosis allows communication with the subconscious mind, which truly "understands" the reasons why we do things, without intellectualizing them as the conscious mind does.

Bad Habits

Thus, hypnosis is highly effective at eliminating bad habits like smoking and overeating. It allows a person to bypass the conscious rationalizations and "cover stories" that permit self-destructive behavior, and to directly address the part of the brain that "benefits" from the habit. Hypnosis also eliminates value judgments, which often reinforce bad habits. The person who says. "I hate myself for eating this ice cream," is actually strengthening her feelings (anger, frustration, weakness, self-doubt, etc.) that promoted the urge to smoke or overeat in the first place. A person cannot successfully command her subconscious not to allow smoking. However, she can enlist the good instincts of the subconscious as part of the process of choosing not to smoke.

Pain Control

Hypnosis is also effective for pain control.

Experiment after experiment demonstrates that people in a trance state experience pain far less even than when they're not in this state. In one example, a young woman kept her arm submerged in a bucket of ice water without describing her discomfort as greater than level I (on a scale of 1-10).

Her non-hypnotized counterparts had reached "10" many minutes before and removed their arms from the water. Hypnosis and its counterpart "biofeedback" are standard elements of the treatment regimen for chronic pain.

Healing Benefits

Hypnosis has been shown to speed postsurgical recovery in many patients. Case studies and research indicate the following benefits from preoperative hypnosis and suggestions given under anesthesia. They include: a reduction in the normally required amounts of anesthesia and pain killers, more rapid wound healing, earlier return of physiological functions, and shorter convalescence.

It is one physician's view that this occurs because "your body can't tell the difference between a surgeon and a mugger, unless you help it to do so." That is, hypnosis persuades the body to cooperate with the surgeon, reducing the tension and stress which lead to postoperative pain and slow recovery. Stanley Fisher makes this interesting observation:

"Patients who have used self-hypnosis tend to end up with the thinnest scars. It is as though the scalpel, when entering the body, cuts through soft, flowing tissue rather than tense tissue that is bound to rip."

Establishing Its Place

Hypnosis has emerged from the shadows of psychology, and other healing disciplines. Its usefulness as our means of communicating with the subconscious seems unlimited. With minimal training, practically anyone can learn and apply the simple steps of self-hypnosis .... a healing art for everyone.

In hypnoanalysis, a trained therapist uses gentle suggestions to help remove limillng beliefs and construct positive, life-affirming ones. Whatever goal is set, therapy is decided upon and self-directed by the client wilh the counselor acting as a guide. Step by step, a hypnoanalyst guides each person in uncovering the origin of the person's problem, undoing the subconscious knot, and freeing himself to live a healthier, more productive life.

Around Here Magazine • 2005

Mid-Term Thoughts Positive Strokes Can Help with Homework

The school year is about half over. Your school-age children are meeting many new challenges and you would like to help. What can you do?

Most important, take an interest. Ask them to show you their work. Talk with them about what they are studying. Think of family activities or expeditions to enrich your children's learning experiences. Talking with them increases their fund of general knowledge, develops their listening skills and sparks their interest level.

Respect your child's work. You can demonstrate the value you place on it by setting aside priority time when your child can do homework in an unhurried way without distractions. Be open to help. Give positive strokes frequently and encourage independent thinking. Young children need help in planning ahead. Even older children need guidance on how to study or manage time for long-term projects. You can help them set up a flexible structure. Kids feel cared about when receiving appropriate limit setting, encouragement and nurturing.

Parents can teach children about achieving high standards without requiring them to be perfect by unduly pressuring them to perform beyond their level-headed best. Ask them to redo a sloppy job or elaborate on a too-brief assignment. Consistency and thoroughness are important qualities to develop.

One word of caution: don't become overly invested in your children's performance. Be realistic about their ability. A child pressured to succeed beyond their capability creates low self esteem and eventual disappointment for all. Also, remember that our children will imitate our habits frequently whether good or bad. The adage "D0 as I say, not as I do," if communicated non-verbally, might set parents up to lose respect in their children's eyes.

Change: a matter of fate or of planning?

Many people let change happen to them, rather than taking an active role in evaluating goals, planning ahead and taking the risks necessary to achieve goals and, possibly, upsetting the status quo.

Some people feel so scared of losing what they have that even tentative moves toward change frighten them. Others fear taking responsibility for making a choice, preferring to wait until life "forces" them to move, which displaces responsibility onto Life or somebody else. Many feel so badly about themselves and assume nothing they do will work out, instead sloshing around in the quicksand of Victimville, U.S.A.

On the opposite side, some people take action too quickly without the careful evaluation which makes change positive. An individual who moves from job to job, or mate to mate, may also be resisting taking responsibility for his or her choices in life. Others, wishing for things to be better, see the answer to their troubles in that new man, or new town.

Successful change requires knowing what you want, gathering relevant information, evaluating the risk involved, making a plan and then taking action. However, there is always a price for getting what you want. Are you willing to pay it? Do you know what it is? Also, if you see yourself repeating patterns that end in failure or bad feelings, you may need professional help.

Remember, there are no easy answers all the time, but inside, deep within your feelings, you can discover your true self - the one free from "shoulds," "ought-to's," guilt, false beliefs and assumptions, devoid of delusions and illusions that, when listened to in silence, will show you your way.

Stress Accompanies Joy : Baby Makes Three Can Add Problems

Preparing for the arrival of ;a first-born child by buying a crib and stocking the house with diapers, bottles and formula is not difficult and can be fun. However, preparing for the emotional changes that you and your Spouse must face when baby makes three, is an unknown and more difficult job. Your new arrival is a significant source of joy and celebration. At the same time, it is a substantial source of stress, too. Recognizing this may make you more ready to deal with the upsetting, and unexpected, feelings which follow.

Fathers, sometimes hard-pressed to appreciate the fatigue and intense involvement which the first few months of motherhood demand, may feel, even knowing better, abandoned to a new love. Resentment is not unusual and preparation for the change from couple to family is essential.

A baby brings with it a seemingly endless assortment of chores, and upsets the previous family balance. Partners who valued an egalitarian division of labor may develop resentments as they find themselves slipping into more characteristic, traditional roles. Somehow, mom seems to be the one Who hears the baby cry at night and who gives up work to slay home with the infant. Couples must consciously re-evaluate their situation and spell out new agreements in adapting to new demands when baby makes three.

Wellness Seminar-goers find hypnotist spellbinding

By: Chris Daley - Mountain Democrat

originally published March 4th 1985

Pssst, guess what? Zap You've all been hypnotized! Heh, heh, and you didn't even know it. But don't worry, no one is going to make you cluck around like a chicken or eat an onion and say it tastes like an apple. You're still in control.

According to Dr. Richard Ward, Placerville hypnotherapist and metaphysician, you have experienced hypnosis every time you daydream. How about when you're driving along thinking about something else, and you miss your turn and wonder where you've been and how you managed to get where you are without running off the road. A form of hypnosis, he said. Your subconscious knows how to handle the car while your conscious mind takes its little detours.
Ward said this and lots of other intriguing things before he wove a hypnotic spell over about 50 students and guests at last week's seminar on Health and Wellness at El Dorado High School.

The "group induction," as he called it, culminated his presentation on hypnosis and health and left some of the audience "relaxed as a rag doll," and others charged up and "ready to put in another eight hour day."

The hypnosis workshop was the sixth in a seven-part series of lectures and seminars coordinated by El Dorado chemistry teacher Mark Detzer as part of an ongoing program investigating the concepts of wellness.

"Hypnosis," Ward said, "is recognized as an effective way to realize and to utilize potential we have but never use. It is a tool that facilitates success by allowing you to transform negative aspects of your subconscious in qualities of personal strength."

Hypnosis is used with some patients as an alternative to chemical anesthetics, in treatment of burn victims, in psychotherapy, criminal investigations, in athletics and in personal development.

Ward described an experiment in which basketball players were divided into two groups. A control group practiced shooting baskets .for two weeks, while the experimental group remained in a room for the same amount of time and imagined themselves shooting baskets. At the end of the test, the group that had simply used imagery had achieved the same level of increased skill as the group that had been physically shooting the ball day after day.

"Many American Olympians use these techniques," he said, "and the East Germans and Russians rely heavily on hypnosis, imagery and visualization as an integral part of their athletic training.

"Almost everyone, with the exception of the severely mentally handicapped, can be hypnotized to some extent, however." he said.

"Just like playing the piano or anything else, it takes a lot of practice. "

There are three distinct personality types recognized in hypnotherapy by their "suggestibility." They are the physical, emotional, intellectual, and they each respond to a different technique or approach.

"A physically suggestible person is one who walks closer to you, looks you straight in the eye and is comfortable being touched. These are people who respond readily to a direct style of induction such as "eye fixation". They can gaze at an object while being told their eyes are becoming heavy, as though there were little lead weights attached to their eyelids. Because the eyes were not meant to stare continuously at only one thing, they see it working right away and that helps to continue toward the hypnotic state."

The emotionally suggestible must be approached indirectly, Ward said, because they tend to be more protective of themselves, particularly of their emotions. For these types of people imagination, rather than will power, is the key to their suggestibility. Arm levitation is an effective induction technique that lets the "hypnotee" imagine that as he raises his arm slowly, he becomes more and more relaxed.

"Imagination is 20 times stronger than will power," Ward said. "And when the imagination is in conflict with the will, the imagination will always win."

The intellectually suggestible, must be approached with reasons and explanations for everything, or in the last resort, shock. Ward told of a noted hypnotherapist in southern California who wanted to demonstrate for a group of high powered doctors and university medical staff. He skipped all the preliminary relaxation procedures and simply grabbed the unsuspecting volunteer and yelled "Sleep!" and the high powered doctor went out like a light.

"In the hypnotic state," Ward assured a number of questioners, the hypnotee is really more alert than the hypnotist, in a heightened state of awareness, because the subconscious is taking control. This is why people never do anything they don't want to do or would not normally do as a result of Hypnosis." As an aside he cautioned that "If there are people sleeping in your house, don't think they don't hear a lot of what's going on, because they do. Your conscious mind may be an 8 to 5 worker, but the subconscious is like the police and fire departments: on duty all the time."

The question was raised several times in various guises; Ward noted that only two main conditions prevent successful hypnosis. '

"Fear" he said, is the most common and comes out when there is no rapport between the hypnotist and the hypnotee. It is a lack of trust and it can be felt just in the 'vibrations' coming from one or the other's thoughts. Their fear is that they won't 'wake up' or that they will tell something they don't want to tell. Both are just the fear of being out of control."

The other main block to experiencing hypnosis he called the "reverse effect." In this case the individual does not succeed because he is trying too hard, like trying to remember an answer in Trivial Pursuit that only comes to you after you move on to another question. In hypnosis, he said, an example is the overweight person who says to himself, "I've got to make this work" so often and with such intensity that it then does not work.

Ward brought the issue of health and hypnosis straight to the audience with the statement that, "Man is the only animal that is a creator. He can create an ulcer or high blood pressure or even cancer or any number of the two thousand or so diseases we recognize. He can create things good and bad: happiness, good health and success, or negative things: misery, unhappiness and bad health."

In short, he said, "He draws to himself the things he thinks about. Man is the sum total of his own thoughts. "

A few moments after Ward's formal presentation, the audience seemed to become the "sum total of his thoughts," all of which were positive and quite relaxing.

Speaking softly and rhythmically, he inducted the group into a quiet state of alert relaxation. And except for a couple of students who whispered constantly throughout much of the session, nearly everyone went "under." At least, I think they did. It was hard to tell, because I was so completely relaxed, I couldn't make myself notice what others were experiencing.

Ward described a wave of relaxation that started at the head and scalp and slooowly flowed down through the entire body .

"Every muscle, every nerve is limp' and loose, laaazy and relaxed," he intoned in a soft singsong voice. And by the time the wave of relaxation got down to the chest there was hardly a sound in the room except his voice. .

"Your body feels like a rag doll, limp and loose, laaazy and relaxed," he said. And he was right.

He brought us back to a fully conscious state with the suggestion that we would feel very good, rested yet energized, and that in the future we would be more attuned to the positive aspects in life and less influenced by the· negative.

The moment we "surfaced" the room seemed to explode with exclamations and excitement.

"I felt great."

"I felt like my feet were so heavy they were sinking right into the floor."

"I wanted to sleep."

"I was ready to get up and put in another eight hours work." .

I was limp and loose, laaazy and relaxed.

Post-Partum Blues a Part of Childbirth

Following the birth of a baby, women may experience a period of depression.

The depression symptoms may 00 relatively mild, moderate or require treatment, even hospitalization. Physiologically, postpartum blues are related to the abrupt shift in hormonal balance when the pregnancy ends. Psychologically, these feelings become tied up with whatever emotional Issues a woman brings to motherhood.

Many women don't recognize postpartum depression for what it is when they are experiencing it. Instead, they interpret their stress and unhappiness as their own failure and see it as evidence of their unsuitability for motherhood.

With more and more women returning to careers after the birth of their babies, many women do not take the time they need to adjust to tile change they are going through.

Nature did not mean for women to go through the process of motherhood alone. It is a vulnerable time for mother and infant. The availability of support from her husband, family and friends is essential. It is important to remember that the first experiences a baby has, set the tone (or whether the infant feels okay about being in the world. Emotionally, the infant bonds with its parents and the parents, both parents, with the infant.

Remember, those things that need taking care of that take you away from your infant can wait. Take your time, other distractions will still be there, but your child's infancy only happens once.

Parents who feel good about themselves are happy, and parents who take good care of themselves are often able to do more than just feed, change and hold an infant. They communicate to their infants the most needed feeling, love.

Couples Need Own Time: Daily Demands can Take Marriage Toll

Frequently, one of the habitual problems regrettably told to me by spouses concerns a lackluster relationship. The romance and excitement that once characterized their relationship faded as family, domestic and business commitments tugged on their time.

Very often, couples in this predicament spend their best energy and time giving to other people and then wind up at the end of the day with nothing left for the spouse. The result is couples

spend less and less quality time Dr. Richard P. Ward

together replenishing and nurturing their relationship.

Quiet resentment and grievances, if unexpressed and not worked through, fester and infect the relationship. A pattern can then emerge and become entrenched, where spouses do not meet each other's needs. The rest is not difficult to imagine. The remedy is to nip this in the bud. The honeymoon always wears off.

By planning for relaxed, uninterrupted quiet time together, couples can provide the environment to stroke the emotional coals that once burned so intensely. By making appointments with each other for nurturing, for sex, or for sharing, the relational fire will not go out.

One assignment I give couples is to agree to talk to each other for just 15 minutes per day about their feelings towards one another at the same designated time daily. If your marriage is in trouble, give these suggestions an opportunity to work.

For a marriage to meet the emotional, physical needs of the partners and children, It should be more than a well-oiled machine or a fully functioning business. Although business principles may apply, remember that your people and spouse are important.

Do you want to let fate take charge of your most important relationship, where a little TLC goes a long way?

Dr. Ward Is a Medical Hypnoanalyst, and a Organizational Consultant In a private practice In Pollock Pines, Ca.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Admitting Problem is a Big Step in Emotional Health

"Hello. Is this Dr. Ward?"

"Yes, who's calling?"

"Well, uh, my name is Mrs. Smith and I'm Just calling to ask a question. "

"Okay, go ahead."

"Am I crazy to come see You? You see I've been feeling so unhappy for three months now but I don't know what to do about It. A friend of mine told me to call you."

I frequently get calls Just like this one, or people will ask me this question on their first visit to my office. I always reassure them that seeking help (an emotional or psychological problem is not a sign of craziness but a sign of health and strength. Admitting and facing a problem signifies inner strength and demonstrates an investment In living a healthy emotional life.

Taking care of yourself by getting help for yourself or someone in your family is an open expression of love and caring. We don't hesitate to get our car or refrigerator or furnace or TV fixed but often when It comes to our personal life, we believe that 'being strong' or maintaining the image of a 'rugged individual' will somehow solve the problem.

Frequently our solutions simply don't work or make the problem worse. Persistent and nagging problems such as alcohol and drug abuse, feelings of guilt or helplessness, irrational fears, marital and sexual problem.s, poor school performance, rebelling against authority are areas where professional attention can help.

The news media has plenty of examples of people who wouldn't ask for help. But most people don't have the type of life and death problem that gets into the news. However, many good people will wait until disaster looms before seeking help.

Medical Hypnoanalysis Articles

About Me

Pages

Blog Archive