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The Placebo Effect and Hypnotherapy

21/2/2014

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Brilliant episode of Horizon on BBC2 last night – “The Power of the Placebo” – superbly demonstrating the impact that placebos can have on people in a wide range of circumstances.

It is now proven that there are certain situations where the placebo can be as effective as using the chemical drugs and that tapping into this mind power in conjunction with medicinal remedy can enhance recovery.

So this then begs the question, how can we access this amazing power of the mind? 

Why, hypnotherapy of course!

To prove the point we saw a man being hypnotised before having a wisdom tooth removed without what we consider ‘traditional’ anesthetic.  He emerges from his trance with a calm demeanor, stating that his maximum sensation of discomfort only ranked a mere 4 out of 10 as the tooth was pulled from the tendon holding it in place.  With the professional guidance of his dentist who is qualified in hypnotherapy, he had enlisted the power of his own mind to enable the procedure to successfully take place in the belief that it would not hurt him…and so it didn’t.

I have experienced this effect in my own life as well.  Having lived with clinical depression for 18 years and taken anti-depressants on and off for many of those, when I first encountered The Emperor’s New Drugs by Irving Kirsch I was, quite frankly, sent into a sweat.  Whilst at that point in my life I had come off of anti-depressants and was hopeful that I would not need them again, I was in no way ready to have my belief shattered that they were able to fix me.  Whether as useful as a placebo or not, the fact was that for me, they were the one thing that had always worked  to alleviate my symptoms and buy me the emotional head-space to get back  on top of things in my life again.  If that was taken away then where would I go the next time it happened?

With the book filed on the shelf (in the section marked ‘Read when brave enough’) and the fear filed in the black box of my brain (marked ‘Confront when ready’) I carried on with my life without anti-depressants, secretly waiting for the day when I knew I would need them again.

Or so I thought…

Funnily enough, on the Saturday before the Horizon programme aired I attended the National Council of Hypnotherapy Extravaganza at which Dr David Hamilton gave a brilliant talk (as usual!) “How your mind can heal your body“, covering much of this topic.  Following this, I began to think about the book that I had never read and how in the time that has passed since that day I have completely overcome my depression and now know that I will never succumb to the illness again.

How?

Simple.  The belief that those little tablets once held for me has now been transferred to something else.  I now believe in the ability of my own mind to be able to keep me healthy mentally and emotionally, and to be able to counter any challenges which would have once started me on the downhill snowball run of my depressive life.  The tools, techniques and new thought patterns that I have put in place, along with regular self-hypnosis, mean that I have changed the way that I think about everything.  These have been tested in some of the most emotionally challenging times of my life over the past two years, and have passed with flying colours.

I have total faith in my own ability to keep my mind and thoughts healthy and live a happy life, no longer fearing when that next downward spiral will come.  I want to share this with as many people as I can, to help them break free from cycles of stress, anxiety or depression.  So if reading this article resonates with you, or perhaps makes you think of someone you know who is suffering, please get in touch with me so that we can work together to help your mind work for you, rather than against.

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    Author

    Karen Eeles - Hypnotherapist

    Archives

    February 2014

    Categories

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    Anxiety
    Depression
    Dr David Hamilton
    Horizon
    Hypnotherapy
    Irving Kirsch
    Placebo

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