Of course hypnotherapy, and the clinical use of hypnosis is not confined to West London.  Health Related Issues are constantly in the news. Please send your contributions to MtthH@aol.com. We will try to publish them.

 Hypnoanaesthesia - The media reports, in April, 08, that a hypnotist  had an 83 minute operation on his arm with no anaesthetic, by putting himself into trance.  This is a skill that almost everybody can learn.The procedure has been used to ease fears over surgery and chidbirth, and to help burn victims manage their pain.

 Chest pain.

  In the spring issue of medical journal Gut hypnosis is put forward as being successful for patients with  non cardiac chest pain.

 Dr. Peter J  Whorwell and colleagues from Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester, had previously shown that hypnosis works well with gastrointestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome.

 Based on this success they tested the strategy with patients with non cardiac chest pains.  The hypnosis started with participants being told that their symptoms could be due to disturbances of motility,viceral sensation and stress. Then after progressive muscular relaxation, 'chest focused ' suggestions were introduced, "centred around normalisation of function" of the esophagus. Patients were advised to practice the techniques daily.

 Measured against these were patients who received supportive listening. Eighty per cent of the patients in the hypnosis group had complete or moderate improvements, compared to twenty three per cent in the non hypnosis group.

Alopecia.

 Dr. Ria Willemsen, of Free University in Brussels, reported in The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology that ' Hypnotherapy may enhance the mental well-being of patients with alopecia areata and it may improve clinical outcome'

 They tested hypnosis as a treatment for 21 individuals with extensive hair loss on 30 per cent or more of their scalp. Patients were given various suggestions, such as to imagine the healing rays of the sun on their scalp. 16 of  them noted improvements.

Alcohol.

 The Sunday Telegraph, on March 11 07, reported that alcohol related illness in teens was up by 15% in the wake of the 24 hour drinking law, bought in in 2006. This rise is seen in Liver disease, blood poisoning and mental disorders, including depression and psychosis.

 An opinion poll reported in the Catholic Universe in March 07 said that 4/5 people find drinking to excess unacceptable, 7/8 find public drunkeness unattractive to the opposite sex, and 9/10 find that being drunk is embarrassing. Is it now time to bring alcohol use under control?

 The Telegraph reports, in May 07, that the DHS is advising pregnant women not to drink alcohol throughout the entire period of their nine month pregnancy. This may sound pretty scary, but hypnosis can help you stop.

Smoking

 A report in the Mail at the end of March 07 said that Smoking cigarettes could be more dangerous, and more addictive than hard drugs, including heroin. Effective hypnosis has a proven record with smoking cessation.

 The Sunday Telegraph, on 22 april 07, reports that smokers get charged an extra 50% on their life insurance premium. Giving up will save you money in all sorts of ways.

 The Sunday Telegraph, on 13th May, 07, reports that the Department of Health is considering a ban on smoking whilst driving, in an attempt to cut down on motoring accidents. Continuing to smoke may become more difficult. The Mail reports, on December 30, 07, that this ban is a certainty.

 The Telegraph reported, on 24.11.07, that there may be a link between Down's syndrome and smoking; and on 26.11.07, that there may be a link between smoking and premature baldness in men.

  The Nursing Times reports, in May 07, that NHS smoking cessation services are expecting a huge rise in the number of people using their services, when the ban on smoking in public places comes into force in July. They have worries about cuts to the service, which offers backup support. At effective hypnosis we offer an unlimited supply of free follow ups, which is not at the risk of any cut in service.

 The Advertising Standards Authority recieved a record number of complaints about an advert from the department of health, featuring people being dragged along by fish hooks. The aim of tthe advert was to illustrate the addictive nature of tobacco.  The authority deemed the ad to be  'offensive, frightening and distressing'. We wonder how distressing living with lung cancer would be deemed to be.

 The Hollywood actor, Ben Affleck, said that he had given up a twenty year habit of smoking with hypnosis, on the Oprah TV show, in January 08.

 The media reports, in January 08, that a cigarette company is to start to produce shorter cigarettes, in order that office staff spend less time away from their desks,  on smoke breaks. We are not sure who this is supposed to benefit. Is it the employer, who will have more work done for him? Is it the taxman, who will collect on the size of the packet, rather than the length? Or is it the smoker, who will preserve his life by a fraction? The real time to give up is now, to preserve life by far more.

 Time magazine, in association with CNN, put out a health feature in the first week of Febuary 08, reporting on the World Health Organisation's prediction that smoking will kill one billion people by the end of the century. Don't be part of this statistic, give up with effective hypnosis.

 The Archives of Internal Medicine, published in Feb 08, stated that people can live an extra 20 years by stopping smoking. We, at Effective Hypnosis, feel that this is too broad a statement. If people want to smoke, they have to exercise, and look after their body in order to survive.  Of course, we would rather they gave up with us.

 The Telegraph reports, in May 08, on research at Harvard Medical School, in Boston,  showing the benefits of stopping smoking. These are reported to appear quickly, lessening risks of hjeart disease, strokes and lung cancer within the first few years.

 The Telegraph reports, in May 08, that the link between cancer and tobacco was played down by the Mcmillan government, in 1956, due to worries about loss of tax income. At EFFECTIVE HYPNOSIS we believe that smokers will always seek to justify their habit, until they have had a change of heart. Hypnotherapy helps create this mindshift.

 The Mail reports, in June 08, that the number of heart attacks has gone down significantly since the ban on smoking in public places, in July 07.

  Diets

 American Psychologist reported, in April 07, on research at the University of California suggesting that up to two thirds of participants, in 31 diet plans, had put on weight after dieting. Effective hypnosis changes the mindset of people who want to lose weight, leading to success.

 The Telegraph reports, in May 07, warning of a cancer timebomb. Dr Greg Martin, of the World Cancer Research Fund,  says obesity levels are soaring, and not enough people realise the dangerous links between obesity and cancer. This, of course, is preventable.

 The government produced a report, in January 08, suggesting that three in five children, and the majority of adults will be clinically obese or overweight by 2050. This affects all of us.

 Lily Allen has reportedly lost three stone in weight through hypnotherapy.

Stress

 The Telegraph reports, in April 07, that 'Stress threatens worldwide epidemic of heart disease'.  The study 'High Blood Pressure and Health Policy : Where We Are and Where We Need to Go Next' was presented to the European Parliament in Brussels. It says that a third of adults in Britain suffer from hypertension. It says that people are dying unecessarily because they refuse to make changes.

However,  here at EFFECTIVE HYPNOSIS, we take the view that an epidemic is something that is not preventable - and life- style choices, like smoking, high fat diets, excessive alcohol intake, and obesity are things that CAN be prevented through hypnosis.

 The Journal of Neuroscience reports, in March 08, that the effects of continued stress lead to memory loss. Just think how it could effect your professional and social life.

 The Sun reorts, in January 08, that the age of 44 is the most depressing statistically. However, we at Effective Hypnosis feel that we can change your mood whatever age you are. The transformation you seek is within you. Hypnotherapy can help to bring it out.

 There were reports in the media, at the end of Feb 08, that the effectiveness of prozac was akin to the effectiveness of placebos. But what does this mean? According to David Hamilton, in his book 'It's the thought that counts', the placebo effect can be anything from 10 - 100%, so a placebo can be just as effective as a medical pill. In this study, placebo counted for 81%. This doesn't mean the drugs don't work, it means that the placebo effect is very high for anti depressants. The same brain changes were noted in MRI scans for those that took prozac, and those that took placebo.

 The resarch was a meta-analysis of fluoxetine(prozac), venlafixine(effexor), Nefazone(serzone), and paroxetine(Seroxat).. The power of the mind is considerable,  and hypnotherapy is all about accessing the power of the human mind." When we take a daily tablet we take a tablet of hope and faith, and hope and faith heal us, producing real chemical change" (Dr. David Hamilton). There is 90% of the mind that is not normally used, and if we can tap into this, we have a tremendous potential for change.

 The Mental Health Foundation published a report in March 08 'The Boiling Point', bemoaning ther fact6 that one in three people know someone who has trouble controlling their anger, and that there seemed to be little or no service geared towards it. Hypnotherapy is an excellent way of helpingh people to change their personality, and control their anger.

 Insomnia/ Sleep Deprivation

 The Telegraph reports, in January 2008, that Travelodge have produced a survey suggesting  that 60% of employees have their worst night's sleep on a Sunday, forcing one in four to call in sick on a Monday. It doesn't have to be this way - hypnotherapy can help you to have a completely calm, stress free sleep every night.