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Hypnotherapy in the Treatment of Phantom Pain
Much of what goes on in our bodies is controlled by the subconscious mind. A simple example is the process of moving from a sitting to a standing position. Infants (and stroke survivors also, for example) have to think consciously of exactly what their muscles need to do while they are learning to stand up, but it soon becomes automatic. Thereafter, when we want to stand up, we simply do it -- from then on, it's a process that's controlled by the subconscious mind. Having learned how to control the body, the subconscious mind is "conditioned" to experience certain sensations from arms and legs and to expect certain responses from them on "command." When arms or legs are no longer there, however, the subconscious mind continues to experience the old, learned sensations and to expect certain responses -- that is, until the subconscious mind is retrained to understand the new reality of the absent limb and have new expectations of sensation. Stress is anything that makes you change, adjust or adapt. And it's cumulative. For example, if you have a tense or difficult discussion with a spouse or co-worker, and later spill coffee on your computer, the stress of spilling the coffee doesn't replace the stress of the discussion. It just adds another layer to your stress level that day. Physical and mental damage can result from too much stress, so it's important to learn and to use good coping skills to relax and relieve the pressure. Here are just a few: Although we don't understand the subconscious completely, the literature is full of documentation of how the subconscious mind can control pain (which I prefer to call "discomfort" - a less emotional term), and even "cure" diseases, such as cancer. For example, the Institute for Noetic Sciences has documented over 3000 cases of such "cures." Certainly, one can explain phantom sensation and even painful phantoms in neurological and physiological terms, but we know the subconscious plays an important part, also. Surgeons, anesthesiologists, and other medical clinicians are trained to concentrate on the neurological and physiological explanations in recommending therapies to abate the pain. Hypnotherapy, however, concentrates on the subconscious mind for answers, with an impressive degree of success, I might add. Deep relaxation produces desirable physiological and biochemical responses that are exactly the opposite of those seen during stress. According to stress expert Dr. Edmund Jacobson: "An anxious mind cannot exist in a relaxed body". Imagery and visualization are very important tools in hypnotherapy. When working with individuals who suffer chronic phantom pain, I would take them into a deeply relaxed state and ask them to visualize what is going on in their bodies. I might ask them to visualize their body as a blueprint of limbs and organs with the mind as a "control room." I might ask them to journey down through the body from the control room--down an imaginary elevator to an absent leg, for example -- to see what is going on there. I might ask the individual to visualize what is causing the discomfort and then visualize "switches" in the control room that might be able to shut off the pain. What is the residual limb or the phantom trying to say through the discomfort it's transmitting? What can the control room do to stop listening? I might ask them to change their body blueprint to more accurately reflect the new situation, so there will be no conflict or confusion between what "was," and what "is." I might ask them to rate their discomfort on a scale of one to ten, for example, and then find the "volume control" with which they can "turn it down." I might also ask the subconscious mind to "negotiate" with the absent part to find out why it's "misbehaving" and reach an "agreement" that will result in new, non-painful, patterns of sensation. An encouraging thing about these kinds of techniques is that they can be effective in treating all kinds of discomfort. Thus, these methods can help relieve "real" discomfort in residual limbs as well as "phantom" discomfort in absent limbs. In terms of therapy, I believe in using a feather instead of a hammer. For phantom pain sufferers, neuroma resection, neural blocks, and other surgical therapies are hammers. Hypnotherapy is a feather. But because the subconscious mind is so very powerful, the feather is powerful, too. Richard Neves, PhD., can be contacted through Healthy Life Centers at (888) 865-1870 and http://www.iwanttoquitsmoking.com
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Alternative Medicine Body Mass Index Is Not The Only Focus of Your Weight Loss Plan. Think About The Stress in Your Mind The first of January will bring a new group of folks out to the local gym and the fitness equipment store. Many of us have been a part of this crowd once or twice in our lifetimes. We dedicate ourselves to health and fitness as our new year's resolution. Being Rubbed Up The Right Way! - The Therapeutic Wonders of Massage PROBABLY one of the most powerful preventive medicine tools available to us is that of Massage. It is one of the oldest forms of treatment and can be traced back many thousands of years to the ancient Greeks, Persians and Chinese who are said to have practiced massage as a spiritual art. The word Massage comes from the Greek 'massein' meaning 'to knead'. Today in this fast paced 21st century, it could be argued that we've never known a more hectic style of living. When we become stressed our activity becomes strenuous and our energy requirements exceed supply. Our bodies can become tired and stiff, our muscles cramped and sluggish with the overall feeling of being tense, fatigued and stressed. But do we take time-out? Do we look for ways to relax and slow down? Do we decide to nurture ourselves a little? Usually not! Let's face it, most of us just soldier on. We are so caught up on the treadmill of our busy lives that we have forgotten how to listen to our bodies. The experts and their statistics tell us that we are living longer than ever before. Our life expectancy is extending every few years with a result that most of us can now expect to live well into our eighties! Perhaps this is one of the reasons that more and more people today are now taking responsibility for their own health and well being. People are looking to complementary therapies to aid the recovery from tension, stress and fatigue. In our determination to be healthy and remain healthy many of us now use massage as a powerful form of preventative medicine and as part of an integrated approach to our personal health care. THE POWER OF TOUCH It has long been recognized that the power of touch is crucial to us as humans. We are all sensual beings and as a result our bodies respond well to massage and human contact. Research in the UK has proven that in many health institutions, such as hospitals and nursing homes, etc. patients responded better to treatment and were more content when there was more physical contact between their carers and themselves. Here's why it works - There are many types of massage techniques which can include, sports massage, mother and baby massage, Swedish, Shiatsu and Reflexology, but the basic principle of each is very similar. Massage improves circulation allowing your blood to send oxygen and nutrients to your muscles where ultimately they are converted into energy. Furthermore it assists the filtering out of toxins and drains the essential lymph system which is so important for a strong immune system. The result? A nourished, cleansed and relaxed body and a wonderful sense of well being that can last for many days afterwards! POINTS TO REMEMBER WHEN VISITING A MASSAGE THERAPIST: - 1) A qualified massage therapist will have undergone a substantial period of training and should be a member of an international association relating to his/her specific field of expertise. There are a number of excellent therapists in your locality and referring to your telephone directories should provide you with a qualified massage therapist or clinic in your area. 2) Your therapist will want to get to know about you on your first visit and will prepare a personal case history based on a number of questions he/she will ask. In order for the therapist to provide you with the best suited therapy during your session these questions are important and will touch upon medical, social, personal information as well as your family history of illnesses, etc. Based on the information compiled the therapist will then design a treatment specifically for you. 3) It is important for you to feel at ease with your therapist and it is the practitioner's job to make you feel comfortable and explain to you what they will be doing. 4) Always let your therapist know what you are planning to do after your massage. 5) If you are planning to have an Aromatherapy Massage, i.e. a massage combined with pure essential oils, it is best not to have a shower or bath for approximately eight hours as this period of time is needed to allow the full absorption of the oils into the body. 6) Finally when your session is complete your therapist will allow you some quiet time to relax on your own before getting up and heading off and continuing your day. So, as and from today, make a promise to yourself, commit to having a healthier body, system and rested mind and book that massage appointment now aren't you worth it? Are You Really Overweight? If you are overweight, you know it by how you feel, how your clothes fit or how you look. But, by how much are you really overweight? And how much weight do you need to lose? One measure of how much you should weight is by determining your Body Mass Index, BMI. This index gives you the relationship of your weight to your height. Here is the formula: Ayurveda - Principles & Practice Ayurveda which has been evolved around 600 BC, apart from treating ailments concentrated more in its prevention. This was followed by the Aryans & Dravidians who were inhabiting India and has been practiced ever since. In the 21st century, Ayurveda has become an indispensable branch of medicine due to its naturalistic approach, that depends on the diagnosis of ones physical base ie Vata, pitta and kabha, and to maintain a right balance. Neroli: The Fragrance that Exudes Contentment One whiff of this unique fragrance will be enough to make anyone feel immensely contented. Particularly effective for insomnia and depression, it lingers in the air, leaving a sweet exquisite scent behind. Just light an essential oil lamp in your bedroom and it will relax your spirits, balance your mood and relieve any work-related stress and worries. With the fragrance of Neroli, only good dreams will come your way. Healing Heartburn Holistically Everyone at some point in time has experienced some form of heartburn. Often, what we notice is a bitter, sour or acid taste in our mouths. At times, we may feel as if partially digested foods or liquids are moving from our stomach back towards our mouth. Sometimes we may also experience chest pain that increases when we lay down. Each of these is an indication of heartburn. Toxins Make You Fat and Shorten Your Life When your body is toxic, toxins hide and embed themselves in your body fat. This causes your cells and organs to become sluggish and lose efficiency. The fatter you are, the more toxins you can store. As your organs and body systems lose their ability to function properly, they lose their ability to metabolize and process fat effectively. This is one reason why some of you find it difficult to lose weight - your body is not functioning properly. When you start to lose weight, this causes fat to be used up in your cells as energy and causes toxins to be released into your blood stream. If you lose weight to fast, you will have excess toxins released into your blood and this creates a variety of unhealthy symptoms and conditions - headaches, mucus, flu like symptoms, joint pains. Excessive toxins in your blood can remain there for over a year and cause you harm and that is why you need to lose weight slowly like 2 lbs a week. What are toxins and where do toxins really come from? They come from Reiki REIKI is a form of natural healing through direct application of Universal Life Force Energy, or CHI (the term used by Chinese mystics and martial artists for the underlying Universal force, otherwise, energy). Through Reiki, energy is thought to be effected by thought. Reiki implies that our energy can be shaped and manipulated by thought patterns. Food Combining for Indigestion I'd like to share with you some basic food combining rules as set forth by the late Dr. Herbert Shelton many years ago. How to Use the Subconscious to Cope with Body System Triggers of Your Pain The musculoskeletal, immune and endocrine systems can all be potent triggers of pain signals in your body. Here's a way to use your subconscious mind to try to lessen the impact of those triggers. CPT Codes; What are you Getting Billed for? All of us visit some sort of medical office from time to time and some of us make the visit a routine. No matter how many times we go in for a checkup or treatment we usually end up paying a relatively inexpensive co-pay for the services rendered to us. So who makes up the difference and how do they pay it? Obviously, the doctors and nurses that we visit are not making a living off of our co-pay; so how do they obtain the additional money from our heath care provider? In this article, I will tell you the basic information about CPT Codes and what they are used for. Dangers of Dehydration - And The Importance of Kidney Cleansing The human body is composed of 75 percent water and 25 percent solid matter. To provide nourishment, eliminate waste and regulate all the functions in the body, we need water. Most modern societies, however, no longer stress the importance of drinking water as the most important "nutrient" among all nutrients. Entire population groups are substituting water with tea, coffee, alcohol and other manufactured beverages. Many people don't realize that the natural thirst signal of the body is a sign that it requires pure, plain drinking water. Instead, they opt for other beverages in the belief that this would satisfy the body's water requirements. This is a false belief. Benefits of Wheatgrass Juice - What, How, and Why! Since the late 1960's, wheatgrass has become frequently discussed in health and medical circles as one of natures greatest gifts. Classified as one of the most abundant superfoods known to man, wheat (and more recently barley) grass has been celebrated for its nutritional content, cleansing and cell regeneration capabilities as well as being in a form that is easily and effortlessly assimilated and digested by our bodies. Three Tips for Arthritis Pain Relief Massage ?not the areas that hurt Bladder Infections "If you let that fiery wise blood just sit there in your belly, great granddaughter," admonishes Grandmother Growth, "you'll get the urge to quench that heat. You'll get a tickle, a twinge, an urgent call. But you won't have the moisture you need. It's boiled away. It's gone up in steam. Snoring - A Small Change Can Make A Big Difference We all know how annoying snoring can be, both for the snorer and the partner. The effects and seriousness of snoring are becoming more apparent with snoring being linked to conditions like high blood pressure and coronary disease. The different types of snoring, range from a simple puff to a full on roar and there isn't one school of thought on the reasons behind snoring. Snoring, I believe, is a signal that the body's systems are out of balance. Finding which system is the difficult part. But correcting the balance may not take a huge change, take the example of Andy. Anxiety Warning Signs How do you know when you are suffering from background anxiety? It's important to be aware of the warning signs, because excessive levels of anxiety can disrupt your performance, stifle joy and lead to depression and illness. Vibrational Medicine Vibrational medicine attempts to treat people with various forms of pure energy. The influence of alternative medical systems such as Chinese, Ayervedic or Tibetan medicine have led in part to the development of machines that can 'image energy'. Heat energy imagers are an accepted part of our technology. We readily accept imaging heat, even though we can't see it, because heat is something we can sense through touch. With the 'energy body' it is not so straightforward. Very few of us have experienced this for ourselves and there is apparently no sensory backup to tell us it is there. An Udderly Ricidulous Home Remedy Home Remedies - Facts or Quacks? Starbucks Green Tea Frappachinos, Can They Prevent Cancer? Starbucks now offers the Green Tea Frappachinos, yes I had one and they are very tasty indeed. We all know green tea helps prevent many types of cancer, not to mention a host of other things. Green Tea is very good for your body. Starbucks makes their green tea frappachinos with Green Tea powder derived from Green Tea Leaves. As you watch them blend your drink you will probably wonder if it will taste good, if it can really help. Well you are in luck on both accounts. Although it might be a little on the fattening side at least you know it is doing good things inside your body due to the green tea.
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