Do You Have An Addictive Personality?

If you’ve ever polished off a whole pizza or had one too many drinks, you know what it feels like to overindulge.   But what separates the occasional “over-indulger” from the full blown addict?  Are there personality traits that make one person more susceptible to addiction than another?

The idea that there is such a thing as “addictive personality” is highly debatable in the medical community.  Most experts agree that there is no singular recipe for addictive behavior.  However, there are certain factors that can affect the likelihood of someone developing an addiction:

• Family history of addiction
• Gender (e.g., men are twice as likely as women to develop drug addiction)
• Anxiety, depression and loneliness
• Antisocial personality
• Low distress tolerance
• Difficulty delaying gratification
• Abuse or trauma in childhood
• Profound inconsistencies in parenting

If you recognize the signs of an addictive personality in yourself or someone you love, don’t fret. Just because you have the traits, doesn’t mean you’re destined to develop a problem with addiction.  If you are struggling with an addictive behavior, you’re not alone.  There are many treatment options available.  Hypnosis is one alternative approach.

Hypnosis Lap Band Surgery Yields Great Results

What is the V-Band?

It’s the most advanced weight loss procedure being used by hypnotherapists today.  The concept was first introduced in the UK, where it was reported that a woman named Joh Smith lost 55 lbs after being hypnotized to believe she had gastric binding. It later spread to other parts of Europe and is currently making its West Coast debut at the Santa Monica Hypnosis Clinic.

The V-Band is a non-surgical procedure that uses hypnosis and the power of the subconscious mind to help you achieve the sensation of your stomach being constricted by a gastric band. As a result of this procedure, you feel satisfied with smaller portions, you eat less and you steadily lose the excess weight.

How Does It Work?

The procedure lasts less than 20 minutes.  While under deep trance, your therapist will suggest to you that you’ve been fitted with a gastric band.  After the procedure, you will be eating smaller portions. Every time before you eat, you will feel a tightening in your stomach, signaling you to only eat when your stomach is empty.  You will feel full quicker and will recognize that you are full when your stomach feels like a balloon that has been inflated to maximum capacity.

What’s the Success Rate?

Although there’s been a lot of positive press about the mental lap band, it is a little too early to tell what the success rate will be.  So far, this program has yielded very positive results. Because we want to be able to publish our results in a clinical journal, we have decided to offer the program to a select few for a deeply discounted rate.  Participants will be asked to give feedback and their photo and resulting statistics will be published.

How Do I Apply for The Clinical Study?

A few openings are still available in our clinical study. We would have to meet with you first to make sure you qualify for the study. If this sounds like it would be a good fit for you, please call us so we can get you in for a consultation.

Hypnosis: a Powerful Tool in Complementary Cancer Care

Initial studies have shown hypnosis to be extremely beneficial for cancer patients and loved ones who battle anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and other secondary symptoms associated with traditional cancer treatments. Aggressive cancers like mesothelioma can have harmful side effects associated with radiation and chemotherapy regimens. Hypnosis has been shown to demonstrate improved capacity to manage these symptoms in mesothelioma patients as well as that of other types of cancer.

Hypnotherapy has been used for many years in clinical settings. Hypnotherapy’s role in cancer management however, is relatively new and indications are that its utilization has not been fully maximized yet. Effective cancer treatment often depends on the patient’s ability to not only defeat the cancer through treatments but also to maintain their health and mental spirit throughout the painful side effects of cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation.

Often, the symptoms and effects of the cancer itself on the body are negligible compared to the pain and other side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. This is where acupuncture has been said to be most effective. Cancers such as mesothelioma, which are often unable to be removed by surgical means, are often treated with some combination of chemotherapy and radiation. While these potent therapies can be effective in eliminating some of the tumor mass and growth, they also profoundly affect the health of the surrounding tissue. Symptoms of these effects including fever, nausea, and general pain have been dramatically reduced through the utilization of hypnosis. Patients, who are able to withstand these symptoms and recover quickly, will often be able to be more aggressively treated, increasing the efficacy of the treatment regimen as a whole. Some specific hypnotherapy techniques utilized in pain management include altering the neurophysical configuration of pain, control of anticipatory anxiety, and targeted imagery.

Hypnotherapy techniques may not be appropriate for all patient’s pain and individual symptoms but it’s certainly worth exploring as it can do very little harm in experimenting with integrative therapies. The goal with alternative therapies, as with traditional mesothelioma treatments, is always to increase the effectiveness of treatment as a whole. If hypnotherapy can assist in any way in helping patients recover or manage symptoms of chemotherapy or radiation, then it will have contributed to the treatment regimens overall efficacy and should certainly be utilized.

References

Erickson MH: Hypnosis in painful terminal illness, in Haley J (ed): Advanced Techniques of Hypnosis and Therapy: Selected Papers of Milton Erickson, MD. New York, Crune & Stratton, 1967.

Sunnen, Gerard M.D. , Hypnotic Approaches in the Cancer Patient Ozonics International, LLC

Hypnosis In The Treatment of Drug Addiction

Hypnosis as An Adjunct Treatment for Drug Addiction.

The exact causes of drug and alcohol addiction are not fully known. Neither is there an exact remedy or cure for these ailments.  In fact, there are many treatment options available for drug/alcohol addition.  Hypnosis is one alternative approach.  Although hypnosis may not be a stand-alone treatment, when combined with other therapies, such as a 12-step program, hypnosis can be an extremely effective approach.

How Hypnosis Can Help In Relapse Prevention?

Hypnosis induces a mental state where the subject experiences increased relaxation and focus.  Due to the increased focus, the subject becomes more receptive to positive suggestions.  In a typical session, a hypnotherapist might give suggestions for:

• motivation to stick with the program;
• increased patience and feelings of worthiness,
• increased self-esteem and feelings of wholeness and serenity; and
• increased ability to regulate thoughts and emotions.

Internalizing such positive suggestions makes behavior modification more likely, and behavior modification is obviously a crucial component of relapse prevention.

Research Proving Hypnosis Works for Addictions

The following research shows hypnosis can be very effective in the treatment of drug & alcohol addiction:

• In a comparative study of hypnotherapy and psychotherapy in the treatment of methadone addicts, significantly more methadone addicts quit with hypnosis.  At six month follow up, 94% percent of the subjects who received hypnosis remained narcotic free.  (Manganiello AJ. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis 1984; 26(4): 273-9).
• In a study on hypnosis for relapse prevention training with chronic drug/alcohol users, individuals who used self-hypnosis at least 3-5 times a week, at 7 week follow-up, reported the highest levels of self-esteem and serenity, and the least anger/impulsivity, in comparison to the minimal practice and control groups. (American Journal of Clinical Hypnotherapy 2004 Apr;46(4):281-97)
• In another recent study, clients who received hypnosis treatments over a 1 yr period showed a 77% chance of remaining drug/alcohol free. (American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis,  Jul 2004  by Potter, Greg)
• In a case study, where a female subject with a $500 a day cocaine habit used hypnosis 3 times a day for four months, the subject’s addiction was broken and she remained drug free for 9 years.  Hypnosis was the only intervention and no support network was available. (American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis 1993 Oct; 36(2):120-3).

How To Keep Your 2010 New Year’s Resolutions

With New Years just around the corner, a lot of people are taking stock of what they’ve accomplished this year and what they want to achieve in the year to come.

Statistics show 40-45-% of Americans make one or more resolutions each year. Among the most popular New Year’s resolutions are resolutions to lose weight, resolutions to get fit, and resolutions to quit smoking and/or drinking.  The following table, taken from www.proactivechange.com shows how many resolutions are maintained over time:

- past the first week: 75%
- past 2 weeks: 71%
- after one month: 64%
- after 6 months: 46%

While less than half the resolutions are maintained past the 6 months mark, studies show making resolutions is still a good idea.   People who make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t.

If you’re one of those people who has a hard time keeping resolutions, here are 5 tips that might help:

1. Be realistic. If you haven’t exercised in three years, increasing your exercise regimen to 5 times a week may be a bit unrealistic.  But 2-3 times might be a more attainable goal.
2. Tell the world!  Don’t keep your resolution a secret. The more you share it with others, the more accountable you will be.
3. Reward Yourself.  It’s important to celebrate your achievement by treating yourself to something you enjoy.
4. Keep Track of Your Success.  Keep track of each small success you make toward reaching your larger goal. Short-term goals are easier to keep and small accomplishments will help keep you motivated. Instead of focusing on losing 30 pounds, say, focus on losing that first 5.
5. Use positive suggestions to motivate yourself. Self-hypnosis works great for this!  Please visit www.hypnoswitch.com for a free self-hypnosis manual.

Next Page »