Going To Try Hypnosis

[cabinetman]

For the past couple of years, LOML has had a problem getting to sleep, and staying asleep. The last few months she has woken up with nausea in the middle of the night. Her doctor has prescribed relaxants, sleep aids, and meds for the nausea.

So, I had this brainstorm for her to try hypnosis. We both agreed that treating the cause might be better than trying to drug the symptom. She has an appointment Saturday with a very experienced doctor that does hypnosis. Anyone with experience with hypnosis or any comments about this treatment?
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[bfrikken]

When I was a senior in high school (about 11 years ago), we brought in one of those entertainment hypnotists to put on a show at our senior all night party. It seemed like fun, so I volunteered to go up on stage and was picked. I was told that you are easier to hypnotise if you really want to. So I must have really wanted to. I felt like I was sleep walking through the show. The hypnotist can't apparently make you do things you aren't willing to do.

Anyways, I was up on stage in front of the entire class. Not normally my comfort area, but I'm not completely shy either. It was like everything was a dream with what he had us do. I did some tarzan yells, he took us back in time to where we were acting like 4 year olds. Good clean fun. My classmates still talk about it to this day.

At the end of the show, when we were being brought back, I remember the guy saying that 30 minutes of hypnosis was like hours of deep sleep. Something to that effect. But he was certainly right. I remember becoming alert again, and having a real fun night because of how refreshed I felt. Mind you, this was after midnight, so it was great. I trust with a doctor, you'd be in good hands too. I'd love to do it again sometime just for that feeling when I "woke" up.

[Im A Little Petunia]

Hypnosis

Hi Cabinetman:

Hypnosis isn't a panacea but is a great aid in relaxation, losing weight, kicking the smoking habit and many other things. Will it work? All depends on the one being hypnotized and how much they're wanting to work with their problem - if the person is trying to rectify a problem because someone else wants them to - then it probably wouldn't work as well if at all. It boils down to the person being committed for themselves rather than doing it because some one else wants them to.
(I was a hypnotherapist in my former life - :-) ) Tell your wife she'll probably do fine. Good luck
Lynn

[jseklund]

Cabinetman-

I tend to do quite a bit of reading- mainly on business, sales, persuasion, performance, etc. (And of course woodworking). One of the subjects that I have been interested in, and read a bit about, is Neuro Linguistics Programming (NLP). Long story short, this is a study on how we program out brains using language, etc. It was developed by two men who wanted to discover what REALLY makes a difference in performance- and one of the first people they worked with was Milton Erickson. Erickson was the father of modern hypnosis. I have read quite a bit on him, and how he did what he did. Hypnosis is NOT what most people think it is.

As BFrikken said- a hypnotist cannot make someone do something they don't really want to do.

As Lynn said- if they aren't committed, the results will be weakened or non-existent.

Hypnosis is basically suggestion. The hypnotist can only make suggestions to your brain. The benefit is, there are ways to communicate those suggestions to a part of your brain that you may not normally communicate with directly (subconcious). We tend to use both sides of our brain, and work out literal meaning with one side and symbolic meaning with the other. Hypnosis often deals with symbolic meanings, and allows us to make connections that we would not otherwise make- or our literal/concious side precludes us from making.

There's obviously a lot more to it, and there's a lot more science in hypnosis than most people realize. I am sure Lynn would elaborate on what I have said, since she has more experience. It's very interesting to say the least.

I have seen a lot of "quacks" practicing hypnosis also. As an extreme example I saw a guy who hypnotises "UFO Abductees" to uncover their memories. When you watch him perform, and know even the little I have learned about the subject, you realize he is "creating" memories in these people. For instance, if you read a book about Napoleon when you were 8, and when you're 32 I put you in a trance and said something like, "I am going to take you back to the time when you were on a horse in europe", your brain may make a connection and spew out a "memory" of you being Napoleon on a horse in Europe. Probably a bad example, but you get the point.

Anyway, it sounds like you have a competant person you have found, and I think there is a good chance it could be a big help. Good luck.

[iceman61]

I tried hypnosis about 4-5 years ago & it didn't help me at all. I really did want it to work. I do believe that it does work, it can help people, therefore I am not bashing it at all. I don't think you should even share any negatives you hear or read, including my post, with your wife because she needs all the positive support she can get in preparation for this. Be a positive support for her in everyway.

IMHO to be a good subject for hypnotism, you need to be be in a suggestable state of mind, and discussing any of the negatives you may find in your research could hurt her chances of success.

Good luck & I hope it works for her.

[Uncle Cracker]

Used it in college for sports. Doesn't work for everybody. One thing is certain... You have to believe it will work, or it absolutely won't... I can think of nothing where the acronym "YMMV" is more applicable.

[MilDoc]

Oh for G's sake! For NLP:
"The second problem is that most NLP advocates (perhaps unsurprisingly) take the view that scientific research is simply irrelevant here."
http://straightdope.com/mailbag/mnlp.html

Another "new age" fad. Want more references?

Hypnosis might work or might not for all the above reasons. And so might acupuncture or chiropractic, or ......

First, I don't know what kind of MD she has seen. But if he/she doesn't listen, spend some time understanding, just prescribes for symptoms, find one that does.

The investigations into sleep problems has developed into a field itself over the past 20 years and far too many docs don't get it.

Find a specialist in sleep problems. Maybe a sleep study in a qualified sleep lab is needed. Or maybe a GI specialist for the nighttime nausea, which can be a significant (and serious) symptom.

You live in Florida. Lot's of excellent docs there. Find one.

[cgallery]

Oh for G's sake! For NLP:
"The second problem is that most NLP advocates (perhaps unsurprisingly) take the view that scientific research is simply irrelevant here."
http://straightdope.com/mailbag/mnlp.html

Another "new age" fad. Want more references?

I looked up "new age fad" and "scientific research" in the dictionary and it said, "see Vytorin."

[MilDoc]

Nah. Vytorin is just BigPharm's BS, not new age. That would be pyramids to lower your cholesterol

[Alex Franke]

I think if she believes it will work, and it's a positive experience, then there's probably a good chance that it will work. In any case, I'd be interested in knowing if it does...

Nah. Vytorin is just BigPharm's BS, not new age. That would be pyramids to lower your cholesterol

I tried pyramids, but they were too hard to swallow.

[jseklund]

Oh for G's sake! For NLP:
"The second problem is that most NLP advocates (perhaps unsurprisingly) take the view that scientific research is simply irrelevant here."
http://straightdope.com/mailbag/mnlp.html

Another "new age" fad. Want more references?

Hypnosis might work or might not for all the above reasons. And so might acupuncture or chiropractic, or ......

First, I don't know what kind of MD she has seen. But if he/she doesn't listen, spend some time understanding, just prescribes for symptoms, find one that does.

The investigations into sleep problems has developed into a field itself over the past 20 years and far too many docs don't get it.

Find a specialist in sleep problems. Maybe a sleep study in a qualified sleep lab is needed. Or maybe a GI specialist for the nighttime nausea, which can be a significant (and serious) symptom.

You live in Florida. Lot's of excellent docs there. Find one.

Mildoc,
at least you use a reference, which is good. However, your reference has no references It also has many falicies in it, one that jumped out at me is,

"The second problem is that most NLP advocates (perhaps unsurprisingly) take the view that scientific research is simply irrelevant here. Again, they say only that NLP works, and interested parties are invited to try it themselves and make up their own mind. This stance is not necessarily inappropriate, as it is perfectly possible for something to be practical and useful without any peer-reviewed writing in its support. On the other hand, it is well known that self-assessment and subjective evaluation are often unreliable. In addition, NLP theory undeniably makes some assertions that ought to be empirically verifiable. For example, the NLP concept of "visual accessing cues" is based on the notion, stated as fact, that eye movement is a reliably better-than-chance indicator of whether someone is accessing a memory – i.e., telling the truth – or fabricating a lie. One very well qualified researcher, Mike Heap, was among the first to test this claim, and published a paper showing that it is not supported by the evidence. (Heap has also investigated other NLP claims, with similar results, and his papers make for interesting reading.) Many others have looked into "visual accessing" (see, e.g., here), and to date there is no empirical support for this concept."

This is simply not true. Anyone who studies NLP will be the first to tell you that you CANNOT tell if someone is lying by "accessing cues". All you can tell is what types of sensory data they are using to "code" the information they are accessing. For instance, if you are accessing an image of something you saw- most people look up and to the left. If someone's eyes move in that direction- chances are they are accessing some kind of visual cue. However, these cues can be different from person to person- some people may look to the right when using this kind of sensory information. However, for each person, the cues will remain the same.

I'll be the first to admit that I have never seen a peer-reviewed study done on this, and would love one. I have used NLP principles successfully in many instances- particularly in communicating with others in person. Some of the effects have been amazing. But alas, this is just more anecdotal evidence.

However, I would be suprised if a doctor such as yourself does not give any credit to something such as eye accessing cues. I have personally worked on training programs developed by one of the world's foremost authorities on brain trauma, and the entire program delt with saccades, eye cues, etc.- and how those cues gave tremendous insight into the types of damage and the location of such damage. These insights can be confirmed with MRIs.

NLP is far from unscientific new-age bunk. Unfortunately, I cannot blame you for this belief. Many people claim it is something that it is not, try to perform magic with it, and make it mystical. Much like hypnosis- there is a scientific basis and study that created these tools, but they are only tools. They are perhaps part of a bigger puzzle. Most people only get to see the stage act, and not the clinical application (rare as it may be).

[MilDoc]

There are a lot more references I could include. But I'm not going to argue the point.

If uit works for you, great. But don't expect miracles, or for it to work for everyone.

[jseklund]

There are a lot more references I could include. But I'm not going to argue the point.

If uit works for you, great. But don't expect miracles, or for it to work for everyone.

Yeah, I don't really want to argue it either. I'm not that die hard, I just find that a lot of this gets blown out of proportion by people who think NLP is some miracle, and then others (who may actually benefit from its use) write it off as junk without realizing much of what it is.

I don't think it's a miracle, and I don't think that it's junk. I think it's useful. Will it help everyone? Depends on the use/situation- and even then to varying degrees.

I guess the bottom line is- Cabinetman wanted to know if Hypnosis will help his wife. I think it could be very useful- and I KNOW that hypnosis is very misunderstood. It's not a miracle, and there is some science behind it- but the swinging watch, stage acts, etc. have created different perceptions among people.

[LinuxRandal]

Never seen NLP used in the method listed on straight dope. The stuff I saw it refered to was using soundwaves (like the whole baby listening to classical music), to put ones mind in some state (that could be viewed electronically, MRI or whatever), so it would produce brain chemicals, FROM THAT state. (like Dreaming).

The thing I saw on it (a few years ago), they were trying to use it as part (PART) of a pain management thing for sick and terminally ill patients.

[cabinetman]

I have no idea what NLP is. What I'm thinking is if a person has in their mind that there is no alternative for a problem, and a suggestion can be given that there is, hypnosis may be the ticket.

She's about at the end of her wits with having to take drugs.
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