Hypnosis can help …a growing body of research supports the ancient practice as an effective tool in the treatment of a variety of problems, from anxiety to chronic pain.”
“In [hypnosis], you can attain significant psycho-physiologic changes.”
Dr. Daniel Handel, National Institute of Health
“Though often denigrated as fakery or wishful thinking, hypnosis has been shown to be a real phenomenon with a variety of therapeutic uses…”
-Scientific American 7/01
“…hypnosis is not mind control. It's a naturally occurring state of concentration; It's actually a means of enhancing your control over both your mind and your body.”
Dr. David Spiegel, Assoc. Chair of Psychiatry
“Hypnosis has gained credibility in the past five years because of research using the latest brain-imaging technology…. Studies show hypnosis can help treat a multitude of disorders...”
-Business Week, 2/04
“Hypnosis can actually help you lose weight. ”
Harvard Medical School psychotherapist Jean Fain
“The technique has been accepted by the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association”
“Hypnosis: A safe and potent pain reliever”
“The purpose of hypnosis as a therapeutic technique is to help you understand and gain more control over your behavior, emotions or physical well-being.”
“Hypnosis is the most effective way of giving up smoking, according to the largest ever scientific comparison of ways of breaking the habit.”
“On hypnosis…His total loss, 35 pounds. ”
Losing It! The Ultimate Diet Challenge
“… hypnosis often is used to modify behavior and overcome phobias and bad habits -- it can help you make changes that you've been unable to make otherwise
“With weight loss the evidence is conclusive...hypnosis does help people reduce. ”
“I should have done it years ago…It's amazing I didn't even want cigarettes any more. ”
“…throughout the medical mainstream, it's common to be used for addiction…and psychotherapy.”
“…today it's considered a respected therapeutic tool, a well-established method of reaching the subconscious mind. Many patients have tried it and successfully cut back on smoking or overeating…”
“Hypnosis seems helpful in treating addictions, and the depression and anxiety associated with them…”
“Want to lose weight? Kick a bad habit? Well you might want to try hypnosis! … no longer regarded as mere hocus-pocus, it's been shown as an effective means of helping people quit smoking, shed pounds, reduce stress, and end phobias.”
“Approved as a valid treatment by the American Medical Association in 1958, hypnotism has become increasingly accepted by the medical community. Its use for chronic pain was approved in 1996 by the National Institutes of Health.”
“There's entrancing news about hypnosis; it's gaining credibility as a treatment for a multitude of troubles, from nicotine addiction to post-traumatic stress disorder.”
…that [hypnotic] suggestion will be planted in a deep level in his mind …helping him tap into some useful physical and psychological resources.”
“When you're overweight, there is a conflict between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind. The conscious mind says, "I know I want to lose weight,' " he said. However, the subconscious mind tosses up roadblocks such as emotional eating. Hypnosis can help get the two parts of the mind together.”
“Researchers at Harvard University have found it diminishes the need for anesthesia during invasive procedures such as angioplasty and breast reconstruction and speeds post-operative healing.”
“…hypnosis is increasingly being used to help with everything from quitting smoking to recalling lost memories.”
“…clients who learned self-hypnosis lost twice as much weight as those who didn't.” [description of average result of 18 studies done in the mid-nineties]
“A dozen studies have found that self-hypnosis effectively reduces migraine attacks in children and adolescents.”
“[Hypnosis] can help relieve symptoms, reduce pain and even sometimes speed healing. It's also been effective in changing unhealthy behavior. ”
“…hypnosis is effective in alleviating chronic pain associated with various cancers. Hypnosis can also be a part of the treatment program for irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory conditions of the mouth, temporomandibular disorders, and tension headaches, the panel concluded.”
“Hypnosis, once scorned as wizardry more appropriate for the stage than a doctor's office, has gained respect among medical professionals. Many view it as an efficient tool for treating problems not caused by serious disorders.”
“The word hypnosis comes from the Greek word for sleep,” says Dr. Hoover. “But actually, you are not asleep, you are focused and have more self-control. Researchers have done EEGs of persons in trances that showed their brains were highly alert and focused.”
“Hypnosis has moved out of magic shows and into operating rooms. Some bold surgeons are using hypnotic suggestion rather than conventional anesthesia, while other doctors contend it can alleviate anxiety, staunch bleeding, hasten healing and even clear up rashes and warts.”
“…in the past few decades the phenomenon has enjoyed an increasing amount of scientific interest, as well as widespread clinical application for an array of medical and psychological purposes, from removing warts to retrieving memories long buried in the unconscious.”
“Six weeks after the fracture, the hypnosis group healed to an extent that would normally take 8 ½ weeks.”
“Both hypnosis groups lost an average of 17 pounds in six months. The control group put on half a pound.”
“…one-way analyses showed the hypnosis group to be significantly more healed than the usual care controls. Results of this preliminary trial indicate that use of a targeted hypnotic intervention can accelerate postoperative wound healing and suggest that further tests of using hypnosis to augment physical healing are warranted.”
“In a study of 241 patients, who underwent operations to open clogged arteries, it was found that people who were hypnotized fared better and used less pain medication.”
“Hypnosis. What comes to mind when you hear the word? A caped magician swaying a pocket watch before his subject's eyes? Someone barking like a dog? What should come to mind is this: A smoker chucking the cigarettes forever; a dieter finally losing those persistent pounds; a woman giving birth without drugs or severe pain. Welcome to the real world of hypnosis.”
“A hypnotist can't make you do anything you don't really want to do. There's nothing spooky about it.”
“Hypnosis and guided imagery have no adverse side effects”
“People who were hypnotized while undergoing surgery without a general anesthetic needed less pain medication, left the operating room sooner and had more stable vital signs than those who were not, according to a study in this week's issue of The Lancet medical journal.”
“Studies reported in 1986 in the Journal of Clinical Psychology and the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology showed hypnosis to be an effective tool in losing weight and keeping it off.”
“Today, hypnosis--or hypnotherapy--is becoming a respected alternative for an array of conditions. It has long been used to help people quit smoking and overcome fears, such as the fear of public speaking, but now the practice is branching out into new areas.”
“… cutting-edge research has revealed that subjects under hypnosis perceive colors differently. You can see it on brain scans. And there are lots of new uses.”
“We believe that passengers will be entranced with this new service.” Virgin chairman Richard Branson on Virgin Airlines' new in-flight hypnosis offering
Press release
“As a relaxation technique, hypnosis can help reduce your stress. It's also used to relieve phobias, lessen anxiety, break addictions and to ease symptoms of conditions such as asthma or allergy. Using hypnosis can help patients control nausea and vomiting from cancer medications and morning sickness, reduce bleeding during surgery, steady the heartbeat and bring down blood pressure.”
“Imagine that when you eat, you feel satisfied sooner and therefore lose weight more rapidly. Imagine that the pain after heart-bypass or dental surgery feels merely like mild pressure. Imagine that your skin rash is clearing up. Recent clinical studies suggest that hypnosis…can indeed help motivated people accomplish those health goals.”
“Many patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, a painful disorder that does not generally respond well to conventional treatments, have found relief through hypnotherapy. Now British researchers say the benefits can last five years or longer.”
“Unfortunately, stage hypnosis is real hypnosis. It creates the illusion that there is a loss of control, which is not true. All of the people who are being hypnotized on stage are wide-awake. They know exactly what they are doing. But it's usually done in poor taste, and it really scares people.”
“Practitioners note that hypnotherapy works only for patients who are committed to the goals.”
“…In a study of 241 patients, who underwent operations to open clogged arteries, it was found that people who were hypnotized fared better and used less pain medication.”
“But science now knows the reality of hypnosis, where the subject temporarily suspends his normal way of looking at the world, not in a trance-like sleep, but rather extreme concentration. ”
“Now a new study in the current issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry offers evidence that hypnotized individuals do, indeed, experience distinct changes in brain function that mere role-playing would not account for.”
Why does it work? “Because the patients are in an altered state, solely focused on the message, soaking it up, rather than in a psychological mode in which they can trivialize or ignore it,”
“It is employed today to combat phobias, control bad habits and enhance performance. ”
“Can Hypnosis Help You Lose Weight? I'm 32 Pounds Lighter. ”
“…hypnosis can help adult patients control other forms of pain, relieve gastrointestinal problems, stimulate weight loss, clear up skin problems, and accelerate the healing of bone fractures and surgical wounds.”
-Newsweek, 9/04
-New York Times, 6/02
Stanford University School of Medicine,
-Jane Pauley Show 9/04
-Oprah Magazine, 8/04
Martin Orne, M.D.,
Professor of psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania
-Newsweek, 11/86
-Consumer Reports, 1/05
-The Mayo Clinic 12/03
-New Scientist, 10/92
-Dateline NBC 1/04
-Smithsonian Magazine, 3/99
Matt Damon describing his hypnosis experience to Jay Leno,
-The Tonight Show, 12/04
-Diane Sawyer,
Good Morning America, 6/02
Connie Chung,
-Eye-to-Eye, 12/94
-Psychology Today, 9/96
-Jane Pauley Show, 9/04
-The Capital (Annapolis, MD), 4/04
-Business Week, Feb 2/04
Carol Ginandes, Phd clinical psychiatry instructor
-Harvard Magazine, 11/03
Philip Shenefelt,
associate professor of medicine at the University of South Florida
-Tampa Tribune, 8/04
-Business Week, 2/04
Sam Donaldson
-Primetime Live, 12/95
-Oprah Magazine, 8/04
-Consumer Reports, 2/93
-National Women's Health Resource Center, 11/03
-National Institute of Health, 10/95
-Business Week, 2/91
Dr. L. Dean Hoover psychiatrist
-The Capital (Annapolis, MD), 4/04
-Newsweek 11/86
-Psychology Today, 1/02
-Harvard Magazine, 11/03
-Hypnotherapy in weight loss treatment:
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1986
-“Can medical hypnosis accelerate post-surgical wound healing?”
Results of a clinical trial, Department of Psychology,
Harvard Medical School, McLean Hospital, 4/03
-Boston Herald, 4/2000
-The Capital (Annapolis, MD), 4/04
-Business Week, 2/9
-Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8/04
-Associated Press, 4/04
-Cox News Service, 1/02
-Better Homes and Gardens, 2/04
Diane Sawyer
-Good Morning America, 6/02
-Virgin Atlantic, 4/04
-National Women's Health Resource Center, 11/03
-Consumer Reports on Health, 2/04
-The New York Times, 10/03
-Boston Globe 2/02, quoting Ted Benton of Winchester Hospital's Community Health Institute in Woburn
-Boston Globe, 2/02
-Boston Herald, 4/2000
Diane Sawyer
-Good Morning America, 6/02
-All Things Considered, NPR 8/2000
Dr. David Spiegel, psychiatry professor and medical director of the Complementary Medicine Clinic at Stanford University
-Washingtonian, 3/02
-Smithsonian Magazine, 3/99
Ira Allen, Center for the Advancement of Health
-Washingtonian, 3/02
-Consumer Reports, 1/05
