• When you are suffering for any reason, you mind races, which makes it harder to think clearly.
• Doing battle with your thoughts or suppressing them makes it all worse.
• Simply placing your attention on a specific sensation for a short time separates you from your racing thoughts.
• Your body also calms down, your thinking brain functions better, you can better engage in learning, and live your life with more clarity.

 Dr. Daniel Wegner out of Harvard, wrote a paper in 1987 called, Paradoxical Effects of Thought Suppression.¹  He demonstratedthat the more you try not to think about something the more you will think about it. The paper has been nicknamed, “White Bears.” This not news to any of us. But he also demonstrated that there was a trampoline effect, in that you think about it a lot more. When you frame this discussion in terms neurological circuits and programming this phenomenon becomes a huge problem. Disruptive thoughts progress with age.

A basic tenet of many Eastern philosophies is that worrying about the future and thinking about the past causes internal unrest. There is anxiety around the future and many regrets and frustrations about the past. Staying in the present moment is key, but how do you accomplish it?

You cannot control your mind with your mind. When your mind is racing your body will be tense and tight. The harder you try to calm down your thoughts, the faster your brain will spin. Neurological circuits are deeply embedded, especially the unpleasant ones you instinctively fight.

Active meditation

As you cannot fix, repair, or outrun them, one option is shifting from them to more functional and enjoyable circuits. This is quickly accomplished by focusing your attention on a specific sensation from your immediate surroundings. Any sense works – sound, smell, taste, feel, pressure, and sight. My term for this tool is “active mediation.” It is an abbreviated version of mindfulness, and you focus on any sensation for a few seconds up to a minute. You have connected your consciousness to the present moment. The intention is incorporating this practice frequently into your daily routine until it becomes habitual.

Three steps from Eastern philosophy.

• Relaxation
• Stabilization
• Focusing on a sensation

I learned them in a workshop given by Alan Wallace, a prominent researcher in integrating Buddhist contemplative practices with Western science.

Active meditation in practice

I practiced this daily during my hectic days at work. I often did it with my patients in clinic, especially if I was running behind. We sat back in our chairs, let our shoulders sag, jaws relax, took a long deep breath, and slowly let it go. (Relaxation). We stayed relaxed for 5-10 seconds (stabilization), while I had them listen to the ventilation system. Then our attention shifted to voices outside the door, our feet on the floor, and back to the vent. It took about a minute.

Invariably, everyone felt more relaxed and I heard my voice change to a softer pitch. Our attention had shiftedoff of racing thoughts to the current moment through sensory awareness. I encouraged them to do this often until became automatic.

You can also do this much faster for just three to five seconds. Simply engage with any sensation for short periods as often as possible throughout the day. During surgery, I would engage with active meditation with essentially every move I made.  My “go to” sensation was grip pressure on my surgical instruments. There is more feel and control with light touch. Eventually, the sensation and moves I made become so automatic that I developed a “safe zone”, and it would have required a conscious choice to be unsafe. The consistency of my performance improved my enjoyment of the day as well.

Listening

Another rendition of this tool is listening; I mean really listening in a way that you can visualize the other person’s perspective and realizing that the words they are saying mean something different to them than they do to you. It is remarkably more interesting to hear other’s perspectives rather than replaying your own.

The past is the past

You cannot change the past or control the future, and neurological circuits are permanently embedded. Tryingharder to analyze and fix them stimulates and reinforces these patterns (neuroplasticity). Going to battle with them is deadly. Simply shift your attention to any immediate sensory input. That is it and it is that simple.

Homework

1. Begin using this strategy right now. Sit back in your chair and let yourself relax from your head to toe. As you do this, focus on different sensations.
2. Then do this for 5-10 seconds through the day. Just let your attention land on a sensation while you continue your activities.
3. Keep doing this daily and indefinitely. With repetition, you’ll do this automatically. It is an important foundational tool on which to rebuild your nervous system.
4. Small calming steps add up, body chemistry shifts from threat to safety, and your neocortex (thinking centers) function better.
5. You cannot control your thoughts, but you can separate from them and redirect your focus.

References

1. Wegener, D.M., et al. Paradoxical effects of thought suppression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (1987); 53: 5-13.

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Medical hypnosis

During one of the lunchtime presentations, I was introduced to the concept of medical hypnosis, by Jeffrey Lazarus, MD. Medical hypnosis isn’t at all similar to what you have seen in shows or on TV. The term represents different approaches that accomplish the goal of deep relaxation and focus. I had not realized how effective it could be until his talk. He presented a video of a young girl with a severe vocal tic. It was incredibly disruptive to a functional life. Her problem was severe enough that she was essentially housebound. Her parents were professionals and had sought out many solutions without success. She underwent a brief series of treatments with him and experienced one of the most remarkable turnarounds I’ve ever seen. The video showed her transforming from a wild-eyed withdrawn person to a pleasant, interactive young lady. I would not have thought this was possible, especially after only a handful of visits.

One of the main approaches to solving chronic pain is decreasing your bodies stress chemicals and deep relaxation is one of the strategies. A study was done in 2014 on 100 veterans with chronic low back pain (LBP).  Three groups were taught self-hypnosis and one group had active biofeedback. All of the groups experienced a significant reduction in their pain and improvement in sleep, but the hypnosis groups had more improvement. The intervention was successful in as few as two visits. (1).

Dr. Lazarus has been kind enough to share his insights on what I feel is an under-utilized treatment. He is a board-certified, Stanford-trained pediatrician who is internationally known in the field of pediatric hypnosis.  He has authored chapters and articles, has lectured extensively both nationally and internationally, and is the creator of “Keeping the Bed Dry®,” a comprehensive home video program that incorporates medical hypnosis for patients with bedwetting.

When I began learning about chronic pain, I didn’t understand the link between stress chemicals and the creation of physical symptoms. The essence of solving the anxiety created by mental or physical pain is to train your body to relax and decrease the levels of them. Medical hypnosis can achieve this goal quickly.

BTW, this is our cat, Sophia Rose.

The tragedy of my life is that I’m obsessed with this cat and she’s obsessed with my wife.

From Dr. Lazarus:

It is an honor to be included in one of these newsletters.  I admire Dr. Hanscom and his enormous contributions, self-disclosures, openness, honesty, and humility.

Reading Dr. Hanscom’s recent newsletter about warts made me want to share my story with you. I had had plantar warts (warts on the bottom of my foot) and saw a dermatologist who used standard therapy, including freezing them and putting topical medications on them. After seeing the dermatologist every 3 weeks for 15 months, they were still there, unchanged. And I was frustrated.

Then I remembered I had taken care of a five-year-old boy who had had hundreds of warts on the backs of his hands. They were terribly disfiguring. He had been to several dermatologists and even saw a surgeon who wanted to put the boy under anesthesia and remove them. Then he went and learned self-hypnosis, and a month later, the warts were gone. So, I called the local children’s hospital, Rainbow Babies and Children’s, and was referred to Karen Olness, MD, a professor of Pediatrics.  It turned out that she had co-authored the book on hypnosis in children, and she was very kind and agreed to see me as a patient.

Deep relaxation

We met one time and she taught me a technique commonly used in adults. It involved deep muscle relaxation, muscle group by muscle group. Then she told me, “When your body is relaxed, you can go to a place in your mind where you feel happy, safe, and comfortable. And when you’re in that special state of mind, you can tell yourself, ‘I will no longer feed the warts.’ And do this exercise twice a day and then call me in a month.”

To make a long story short, 3 weeks later, the warts were gone! Apparently I, too, was “done” and wasn’t going to put up with them any more! I called Dr. Olness and told her that I had to learn how to do this so that I could help my patients with problems that did not respond to traditional medicine. I have been fortunate to have received training from the top pediatric people and the top adult people in the field of medical hypnosis.

Principles of medical hypnosis

Medical hypnosis, also referred to as clinical hypnosis, mental imagery, guided imagery, visualization, or daydreaming with a focus, is a remarkably powerful tool. Unfortunately, when many people hear the word hypnosis, they think of the person with the swinging watch and mind control popularized in movies and cartoons. Of course, there is no such thing as mind control.

Hypnosis simply represents being in a highly-focused state of mind. Have you ever been “in the zone” playing your sport? Or been absorbed in a good book? Have your children ever been playing a video game, and when you called them, they didn’t even hear you? They weren’t being rude; they were simply engaged in their game.

With medical hypnosis, patients choose a specific therapeutic goal and then we help them to create an empowering experience, in their minds, that allows them to realize that they are able to do things that they previously were not aware that they could do. We call this “self-hypnosis” because the patient does this by him/her self. And, just like any other skill that needs to be learned and practiced, such as kicking a soccer ball, or playing the piano, the more you practice, the better you get at it. The more you practice, the easier it gets.  The more you practice, the faster you get it. Permanent pathways

Medical hypnosis has been shown to be effective for many conditions (2), including:

• Pain
• Headaches
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Functional Abdominal Pain
• Bedwetting
• Performance anxiety
  • Public speaking
  • Test anxiety
  • Sports performance
  • Musicians, dancers, actors
• Tics and Tourette syndrome (3)

Tics

Of all the patients I am privileged to treat, I find those with tics to be the most rewarding. If a child is not yet dry at night, although embarrassing, it is private. If someone misses school or work due to a migraine headache, a friend might acknowledge this by saying, “Oh, we’re so glad you’re feeling better and are back today.” But having tics is physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting. Plus, these patients feel embarrassed and are often ridiculed. So, helping patients with tics is my biggest joy, professionally, because it changes their lives so quickly and so dramatically.

There are two main types of tics: motor and vocal. Motor tics can be simple, involving a single muscle group, such as eye-blinking, or complex, involving more than one muscle group, for example, turning one’s head to the side. Vocal tics can be any sound, including coughing, throat-clearing, grunting, sniffling, etc. Tics are involuntary and occur intermittently. Patients with Tourette syndrome have tics that are present virtually every day for at least one year.  When I treat patients with tics, it doesn’t matter if they have vocal or motor tics; the treatment is the same.

Typically, patients with the above problems have significant improvement after only 2 to 4 visits. Afterwards, they feel empowered and have increased self-esteem. For more information about medical hypnosis, you’re invited to visit www.JeffLazarusMD.com. To learn about how medical hypnosis can help cure bedwetting, you are invited to visit keepingthebeddry.com.

I am learning that most major cities do have resources to offer this deep relaxation technique. I am looking forward to learning more. My wife thinks I could use a bit of it!!

1. Tan G, Rintala DH, Jensen MP, Fukui T, Smith D, and W Williams. A randomized controlled trial of hypnosis compared with biofeedback for adults with chronic low back pain. European Jrn of Pain. (2014) doi:10.1002/ejp.545.
2. Kohen and Kaiser. Clinical Hypnosis with Children and Adolescents—What? Why? How?: Origins, Applications, and Efficacy. Children. (2014) 1(2), 74-98; doi:3390/children1020074
3. Lazarus and Klein. Nonpharmacological Treatment of Tics in Tourette Syndrome Adding Videotape Training to Self-Hypnosis.  J Dev Behav Pediatr. (2010) 1:498-504.

The post The Magic of Medical Hypnosis first appeared on Back in Control.

The post The Magic of Medical Hypnosis appeared first on Back in Control.

• You can only engage in the tools that enable your brain to heal itself.
  • The basic starting point is regularly practicing active mediation.
• In fact, the more focused you are on getting rid of your pain, the lower the odds are that the pain will abate.
•  Pain will still be running the show.
  • It is important move forward with or without your pain
• The new neurological pathways do not have to embody pain.

I have a metaphor that I share it with many of my patients. Trying to “fix” chronic pain is like putting your hand into the middle of a hornet’s nest. You cannot be successful in controlling these powerful survival responses. The process is that of connecting with your true nature and letting go – like a bunch of balloons.

A Bunch of Balloons

Imagine climbing a large mountain the size of Mount Rainier. At the peak, there is a “better you.”  The climb represents our endless quest for self-improvement. This journey takes endless forms: self-help books, healers, psychologists, medications, etc. There is a significant problem with this situation: “What does that ‘better you’ look like?” You may have a vague idea, but generally it is a concept that is idealized and humanly unattainable. Additionally, you are expending a tremendous amount of your life energy on this endless quest.

Instead, imagine a bunch of balloons tied to a railing. The strings represent your neurological patterns that are holding you down. What the various reprogramming tools accomplish is to cut the strings. Eventually, you will take off. There is no longer a goal to achieve a “better you.” You are able to enjoy the life you have with what you have. You are also not expending any effort and the potential is limitless.

You are fine just the way you are this minute. There are many interferences connecting with your true value system. Once you re-connect with who you really are, your life will change. Remember: the consistent result of many patients going through this process is a rich pain-free life.  The main variable is the degree of commitment – and letting go.

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