Research
Self-hypnosis reduces anxiety following coronary artery bypass surgery. A prospective, randomized trial.
Department of Surgery, College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
OBJECTIVE: The role of complementary medicine techniques has generated increasing interest in today's society. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the effects of one technique, self-hypnosis, and its role in coronary artery bypass surgery. We hypotesize that self-hypnosis relaxation techniques will have a positive effect on the patient's mental and physical condition following coronary artery bypass surgery. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: A prospective, randomized trial was conducted. Patients were followed beginning one day prior to surgery until the time of discharge from the hospital. SETTING: The study was conducted at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, a large tertiary care teaching institution. PATIENTS: All patients undergoing first-time elective coronary artery bypass surgery were eligible. A total of 32 patients were randomized into two groups. INTERVENTIONS: The study group was taught self-hypnosis relaxation techniques preoperatively, with no therapy in the control group. MEASURES: Outcome variables studied included anesthetic requirements, operative parameters, postoperative pain medication requirements, quality of life, hospital stay, major morbidity and mortality. RESULTS: Patients who were taught self-hypnosis relaxation techniques were significantly more relaxed postoperatively compared to the control group (p=0.032). Pain medication requirements were also significantly less in patients practising the self-hypnosis relaxation techniques that those who were noncompliant (p=0.046). No differences were noted in intraoperative parameters, morbidity or mortality. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the beneficial effects self-hypnosis relaxation techniques on patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery. It also provides a framework to study complementary techniques and the limitations encountered.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9128126 |
synopsis: hypnosis significantly reduces pain and anxiety in post operative coronary bypass surgery.
Research on Hypnosis for Weight Loss
Research indicates that medical hypnosis supports weight loss and more importantly supports long term weight loss. There are three studies that come to mind:
Study One: Bolocofsky, David N.; Spinler, Dwayne; Coulthard-Morris, Linda (1985). Effectiveness of hypnosis as an adjunct to behavioral weight management. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 41 (1), 35-41.
The first study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, divided 109 people into two groups for a 9 week study. The first group were treated with changes in diet and exercise habits (the only way to lose weight) without the addition of hypnosis. The second group was given the same diet and exercise treatment and was also given hypnosis for reinforcement.
After 9 weeks, not surprisingly, both groups lost weight due to the changes in diet and exercise while under supervision.
What happened after the 8 month and 2-year follow-ups might surprise you. The group that did not have hypnosis did not lose anymore weight and in fact most gained most of their weight back.
The hypnosis group, however, continued to lose weight during both intervals and the studies showed that far more people in the hypnosis group met their long term weight loss goals.
The take home is that the hypnosis group continued the eating and exercise habits learned in the experiment while the non hypnosis group did not.
There is no magic pill for weight loss and you simply have to follow a healthy eating and exercise plan -- from this study, I believe it is clear that hypnosis supports diet and exercise adherence.
Study Two: Cochrane, Gordon; Friesen, J. (1986). Hypnotherapy in weight loss treatment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 489-492.
The next study, published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, investigated the effects of hypnosis in weight loss for 60 females at least 20% overweight and not involved in other treatment. The researchers interviewed each participant this time about their family background, educational background, and their belief as to their hypnotizability.
The group was split into hypnosis and non hypnosis groups with both groups being given weight loss behavioral treatments and counseling. The results were very interesting. The group using hypnosis lost an average of 17 pounds at the 6 month follow up. The group that did not receive hypnosis only lost a half of a pound. They also found that "hypnotizability" and social and educational backgrounds had nothing to do with the results.
Study Three: Kirsch, Irving (1996). Hypnotic enhancement of cognitive-behavioral weight loss treatments--Another meta-reanalysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64 (3), 517-519.
In this meta-analysis, (which is when researchers look across multiple studies), the results of the two studies I just mentioned and other studies were confirmed.
In the studies of hypnosis versus no hypnosis the average short term weight loss was 6 pounds for those not using hypnosis and 11.83 pounds with hypnosis.
Even more importantly, over the long term the average weight loss without hypnosis remained at 6 pounds, but with hypnosis it jumped to 14.88 pounds -- indicating again that the effects of hypnosis seem to continue over time.
What is impressive about these results is that doing hypnosis under controlled conditions is extremely difficult, and to have the research indicate that people are losing anywhere from about 2 to on average 16 1/2 times more weight under hypnosis than when they do not use it, I believe clearly indicates that hypnosis should be used by anyone who is serious about weight loss.
May the light at the core of your being illuminate the world!
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