Improving sports performance
Hypnotherapy has been used by famous athletes to improve their sports performance. This seems to be backed up by a new Australian study, whose results suggest that the faster speed achieved by athletes when they take performance-enhancing drugs is in their mind.
The research compared athletes on a placebo with those given a growth hormone drug. Those who had taken the dummy pills ran faster, jumped higher and managed to lift heavier weights than those who were on the hormones. The results suggest what hypnotherapists say is true – if you think that you will perform better, then you will.
Many professional athletes have used creative visualisation to boost their performance for years and one of the methods that hypnotherapists use is visualisation. However, visualisation in hypnosis is much stronger, because the person is completely relaxed and focused on the visualisation - so they concentrate harder and the memory is stronger. Dr Aimee Kimball, the director of mental training in sports medicine from the University of Pittsburgh, said:
"If you visualise being stronger, running faster or winning, you are priming your nervous system to do just that. Studies have found that the method can enhance physical performance significantly, sometimes by 20 per cent or more".
30/09/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
Cognitive behavioral therapy and anxiety
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, has helped many people since its introduction to the public. The cognitive part means changing thinking patterns that have been supporting the person’s fears and the behavioural part helps people to react differently to anxiety-provoking or problematic situations. CBT helps people to confront the problem situation and to desensitise themselves so that they are no longer anxious.
For example, CBT can help those with a social phobia understand that they can get past their belief that others are judging or watching them. Those with a fear of germs or dirt are encouraged to get their hands dirty and wait a little while before washing them. The waiting period is gradually increased. Once they have done this a few times, the anxiety reduces. It can also help with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) by asking the client to recall their traumatic memory in a safe environment, reducing the fear it brings. CBT therapists also teach relaxation methods and relieve anxiety. Often, it can take some time for a person to feel relaxed enough to encounter the situation or object and they may have to begin firstly through only tapes or pictures. To be effective, CBT must be tailored to the individual’s needs. It is drug free, there are no side effects and therapy often lasts about 12 weeks.
23/09/2008 | Posted in CBT,
What can hypnotherapy help with?
As regular readers will know, hypnotherapy is a powerful tool using hypnosis for therapeutic purposes. But many people still associate hypnotherapy with stopping smoking and curing fears and that is it.
Hypnotherapy can be used for so many different things that the list is almost endless and hypnotherapists are finding new uses for it all the time. It can be used for almost any problem or situation where the body and the mind both come into play. Here are just a few of the issues that hypnotherapy has been used to help:
- sports – improving performance, anxiety, coaching, overcoming concentration problem, increasing focus, motivation;
- business – stress management, assertiveness, motivation and direction, problem solving and communication, public speaking, confidence;
- education – increasing concentration and focus, improving memory, exam nerves, study techniques;
- personal – increasing confidence or self-esteem, curing phobias and fears (whether of spiders, flying, heights, thunderstorms), anxiety and depression, insomnia, habits, addictions and other unwanted behaviour (nail biting, bedwetting, smoking, alcohol, drugs), sexual or relationship issues, eating disorders, shyness and blushing, pain management;
- health - chronic pain, hypno-birthing, IBS, snoring, dermatitis, asthma, nausea from pregnancy or chemotherapy.
Hypnotherapy promotes better health, well being and better life. For years, it was helped thousands of people in their every day lives.
22/09/2008 | Posted in Hypno-birthing,
CBT fighting bulimia
Bulimia nervosa is characterised by binge eating, ie eating unusually large amounts of food and then purging oneself, usually by making oneself vomit or by using laxatives or diuretics.
Unlike anorexia, where the weight can fall dramatically, those suffering from bulimia can have a normal weight for their age, however, they do have a similar fear to those with anorexia - they fear gaining weight and are unhappy with their size. Their behaviour is often done secretly because they feel disgusted or ashamed, and hence bulimia can be difficult to spot. Also like anorexia, bulimics often have psychological issues like depression or anxiety.
Bulimia nervosa often results in physical problems such as oral or teeth-related problems, or issues with electrolyte imbalances and gastrointestinal issues.
Psychotherapy has proved effective in handling bulimia nervosa, especially cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT. CBT can be tailored to treat bulimia in an individual case and can change the binging and purging cycle, slowing it down and eventually removing it completely as a result of changing the person's attitude to eating.
19/09/2008 | Posted in CBT, Psychotherapy,
New study reports hypnotherapy can help arthritis sufferers
The findings of a study from Bangor University were presented on 11th September 2009 to The British Psychological Society's division of health psychology annual conference. It stated that people suffering from arthritis can alleviate their pain by using hypnotherapy and mental imagery.
Rheumatoid arthritis is progressive and a disabling disease affecting just under one per cent of the adult population in the UK. It is very painful and can affect a person’s ability to do everyday tasks. Despite medical treatment, many still suffer with high pain levels and often turn to alternative treatment - including hypnotherapy - to lessen their fatigue and pain.
The study from Bryan Bennett and colleagues at Bangor University asked 42 patients to visualise their pain and attempt to manage it. The results showed that the imagery techniques and hypnosis were effective at reducing pain and tiredness. Bryan Bennett commented:
"All the participants were asked to identify what areas of their life were important to them but were negatively affected due to the rheumatoid arthritis. By doing so they were taking an active part in their own therapy. By employing the techniques they were taught, they were able to self-treat when necessary - allowing them to control their pain and enabling them to get on with enjoying life".
Pain is not the only side-effect of arthritis. The diagnosis itself can be devastating, leading to people feeling many negative emotions such as anger and depression. This in turn can lead to insomnia, mood issues and a lack of appetite. Furthermore, many wonder what their future may be like, and what medication they'll require, and this can lead to losing the self-image they have held of themselves.
Techniques such as visualisation and positive affirmations are effective, as is self-hypnosis as it helps to focus your mind on your body and immune system. A good hypnotherapist will be able to teach you self hypnosis techiques so you can then continue to use it at home.
17/09/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
CBT helps dialysis patients with insomnia
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, otherwise known as CBT, is a type of psychotherapy. According to a recent study reported in Reuters, it seemed to improve the quality of sleep in dialysis patients. CBT is a non-drug therapy and the investigators from the study said that it seemed to be quite effective with dialysis patients suffering from sleep problems. Dialysis is the procedure to remove toxins from the bloodstream when a person’s kidneys are failing to do it sufficiently for them.
According to the study chief, Dr. Hung-Yuan Chen from National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, told Reuters: “Sleep disturbance in dialysis patients is a "puzzling and prevalent complaint. However, only hypnotics are available for clinicians to solve this problem at present".
CBT has proved effective in the past for insomnia in the elderly and also cancer patients and those with chronic pain. The study included 24 patients, with 14 randomised to have one hour per week in a psychiatrist-led CBT session. Almost 80 per cent in the CBT group had improved changes in sleep patterns, and also had a decline in a blood protein called interleukin-1-beta, which has been linked to inflammation. The results after four weeks, although impressive, were not statistically significant according to the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.
15/09/2008 | Posted in CBT,
Hypnotherapy helps pole vaulter to Olympic gold
Those who were glued to the television for the Beijing Olympics might be interested to know that the Olympic Gold pole vaulting medallist, Australian Steve Hooker, had his fear of pole vaulting cured with hypnosis just a few years ago. Hooker soared to his Olympic Gold in dramatic style earning him an Olympic title and an Olympic record 5.96 metres on his final try. He is also the first Olympic champion from Australia in pole vaulting. Hooker said:
"The whole competition was mentally and physically the hardest thing I have done in my life. It was more boxing than pole vault. I should have skipped the second jumps altogether. They were not working for me. I should have gone straight to the third."Hooker explained that dreams of Olympic competition were impossible for him in recent years as he was close to quitting in 2001. Only a few years ago he was unable to cope with the mental demands of the tough discipline and had even been throwing tantrums in training. He added:
"I would run through a lot and not take off and it got to the point, by the end of it I thought about giving it in. It was so mentally draining going to training not knowing if I would be able to jump or not. I was throwing poles, cracking tantrums, I was in a miserable bad mood. Your whole life, it really brings it down when it's really what you want to do and you can't do it just because it's not clicking in your brain.”Hypnotherapy, combined with visualisation techniques, got him back on track. He told The Australian newspaper:
"I would talk to her at the start of the session and say, 'I want to talk about lowering the pole vault in my last couple of steps and jumping off the ground.' I would tell her the cues I wanted to work on, so she'd work it into the things that she was saying while I was under hypnosis.”The results came gradually for Hooker but, when they came, the results were outstanding and well worth waiting for, Hypnosis ensured that Hooker now has no trouble with the mental aspects of his sport.
10/09/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
The mind-body connection and IBS
IBS, otherwise known as irritable bowel syndrome, can cause serious problems for sufferers who want to get on with their daily life. It can give bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, constipation or flatulence. Around 15 per cent of the UK population is affected, although only half tend to seek medical help.
As we accept more and more, the mind and body are intricately connected - and the gut even more so, as there are more nerve cells in our intestines than in our nervous system. IBS sufferers can testify that emotional upsets aggravate the condition and so learning to minimise stress can help them; emotional retraining can help to control it. Early studies from a small number of specialists have indicated that the mind-body approach is more effective than each singularly.
Psychotherapy and hypnotherapy have both been shown to contribute to controlling the condition and relieving the symptoms. In hypnotherapy, patients usually visualise their colon functioning properly. In cognitive behavioural therapy, or short term psychotherapy, patients can change their symptom-provoking thoughts, such as thinking that a certain situation will cause their symptoms to reappear or thinking that their colon will always cause them problems.
In a UK study of 204 patients, where over two thirds of patients were helped with hypnosis, 81 per cent maintained their improvements for up to six years afterwards. Stress reduction or relaxation techniques have proved just as helpful as avoiding certain foods.
05/09/2008 | Posted in CBT, Hypnotherapy, Psychotherapy,
Chicken nugget addiction cured with hypnotherapy
After an amazing 18 years of eating only chicken nuggets and chips, student Carla Laban has a healthy diet at least, thanks to hypnosis. When Carla was two, chicken nuggets were the only good that did not make Carla throw up violently. From that point on, Carla would skip breakfast every day and have nuggets for both dinner and lunch. This meant she was eating around 30 nuggets daily, at an average cost of £5 per day. Thanks to hypnotherapy, Carla is now starting to eat pasta and vegetables. Carla said:
"I can remember having chicken nuggets and chips for the first and thinking, 'I can eat this without being sick. Before that, I couldn't eat anything without having a panic attack and my throat tightening up. I couldn't even stand the smell of other food. I used to get ill quite a lot. While classmates would have a cold for a week, I'd have one for four. People thought I was being fussy. They didn't understand that I physically couldn't eat anything else."Despite exercise to combat the unhealthy diet, Carla was still ill. When Coventry-based Carla was preparing for university her family arranged for her to see a hypnotherapist to wean her off the chicken nuggets. Thanks to hypnosis, she now eats more varieties of food and is still improving. The hypnotherapist started by helping Carla to make a small shift from nuggets to chicken goujons. Next, she moved to chicken pizza and slowly onto other food types. All sorts of phobias can be cured with hypnotherapy, including food phobias, however, each person is different.
02/09/2008 | Posted in Hypnotherapy,
CBT over the phone
A new telephone-based scheme was launched last week to help depression sufferers in the Shetland and Western Isles. NHS 24 has established the pilot scheme, NHS Living Life, which is expected to increase the region’s access to psychological therapies. Around 3,000 people per year are expected to use the service, which will run from 1pm-9pm, Monday to Friday.
The main aim of the service is to help people over the age of 16 to use Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). CBT is a form of psychotherapy that helps alter ways of thinking and behaviour that are unhelpful to the client. It is ideal for use during periods of distress or depression. NHS 24 Interim Chief Executive, Doctor George Crooks, said:
“While medication is frequently prescribed, there is a broad awareness that psychological therapies such as CBT can provide long-term benefits to patients.”CBT has been increasing in popularity in recent years and in many cases has been successfully combined with hypnotherapy, which is also a relatively speedy form of treatment. There are many people suffering from depression who are unable to access treatment because of a shortage of face-to-face qualified therapists, particularly in rural areas, and this scheme will hopefully allow people to be ‘more in control’ of their mental health.
01/09/2008 | Posted in CBT, Psychotherapy,
