By Michael Porter, CHT.
More than one out of every five American deaths result from cigarette smoking, and an estimated 300,000 deaths a year may be attributed to obesity. In fact, the US Department of Health and Human Services reports that, “individuals who are obese have a 50-100% increased risk of death from all causes, compared to individuals with a healthy weight.”
With all the advances in modern medicine, you would think doctors would have discovered a way to keep us from killing ourselves with cigarettes and food. But they haven’t.
So it may sound strange to learn there’s a technique as old as mankind becoming rediscovered today to help cure the ills of modern society. What technique is this? If you guessed hypnosis, you’d be right.
While the American Medical Association approved hypnosis as a legitimate treatment tool in 1958 and the National Institutes of Health followed in 1996 when it recognized hypnosis as an effective intervention, the benefits of hypnosis have remained largely unexplored by the medical community until a short time ago. But recently the power of hypnosis has been the focus of increasing attention at prestigious institutions like Harvard, Stanford and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
Hypnosis, long misunderstood by the public and misrepresented by the media, is another name for relaxation and visualization techniques that help the subject envision a future outcome for themselves, for example, living tobacco-free. While in your day-to-day life you may battle with your conscious mind about wanting to quit, hypnosis helps you tap the power of your subconscious mind, which rules your decision-making.
In the interest of public health, researchers at University of Iowa set out to determine which treatment program for smoking cessation was the most effective. One way to compare the effectiveness of various programs is to conduct a “meta-analysis.” As described by Irving Kirsh at the University of Connecticut, meta-analyses allow comparisons of outcomes among different studies. In other words, the results of many studies can be combined to determine which method of treatment is the most effective.
What they found was surprising. Analyzing data from 633 studies, only 6.4% of the smokers could be expected to quit without any intervention. And only 15% quit with “self-care,” or using self-help books or mailing campaigns. On the other hand, hypnosis was found to be 3.5 times more effective than self-care, and more than twice as effective as nicotine chewing gum.
A similar research project at the University of Connecticut re-examined studies measuring the impact of hypnosis on weight loss. It was discovered that including hypnosis in the treatment program increased treatment efficacy by 147%. In terms of the amount of weight lost, subjects who had the benefit of hypnosis lost more than twice as many pounds as those without hypnosis, and they kept it off longer. Researchers concluded hypnosis had “a significant and substantial effect on the outcome…and this effect increases over time.” Because of this, “it is especially useful for long term maintenance of weight loss.”
It was also found that the benefits of hypnosis “can be maximized by individualizing the hypnotic component of the treatment,” or giving personal hypnosis sessions as opposed to a group setting.
These findings further support the research of Helen Crawford of Virginia Tech, who told the Wall Street Journal, “The biological impact [of hypnosis] is very real and it can be quantified.” In fact, hypnosis works so well that close to 15,000 doctors today combine hypnotherapy with standard medical treatment. Not only does hypnosis help people quit smoking and lose weight, hypnosis can be used to manage pain, reduce stress and aid with other health issues.
So where does one go to get hypnotized? Positive Changes is one place you might consider. Founded in 1987 by Patrick K. Porter, PhD, North America’s leading provider of hypnosis services is tapping into the power of hypnosis to help people lose weight, quit smoking and more. They say their success is due in large part to their exclusive, comprehensive Six-Point System, which is designed to ensure people safely and successfully achieve their goals. In every program the client receives personal hypnosis sessions to help them target the exact issues they’re facing in order to achieve the changes they desire.
All Positive Changes hypnotists go through extensive professional training and are certified by the Society of Psycho-Linguistics. This training is approved and certified by both the American Board of Hypnotherapy and the National Guild of Hypnotists. With 15 centers, these hypnotists help thousands of clients create lasting positive change each year.
Hypnosis for positive change—it may be exactly what the world’s looking for.
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