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Category: Manage stress with hypnosis

  1. New Medical study shows that using a Hypnosis CD can reduce inflammation associated with stress and improves resilience.

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    A new pilot medical study has been published that has found the use of hypnosis can help to make physical changes in inflammation levels caused by stress.

    The study showed that a specially created hypnosis CD listened to by the subjects on a regular basis significantly decreased levels of the inflammation and also boosted the resilience of the participants.

    It has been shown that stress and anxiety can be associated with inflammatory changes in the body, and in many cases high levels of inflammation have been linked to a number of acute and chronic conditions.  

    Eleven subjects took part in the study conducted by M Schoen and K Nowack. They were all healthy and suffering from no other medical issues.  Each of them was given a hypnosis CD to help them reduce their stress levels.

    The CD contained two different hypnosis tracks. The first one was listened to before going to bed and lasted twenty five minutes, and the other shorter one was played in the morning. They were asked to listen to it for at least five days a week for twelve weeks.

    By listening repeatedly to the CD the individual could recondition their stress response, by minimizing the subjects’ ‘excessive emotional and physical reaction to perceived work and life stressors, while facilitating their coping skills and resilience’.  Blood tests and self-reported measures were taken both before and after the period spent listening to the CD.

    As well as the reducing inflammation the participants in the study also reported that they had less negative thinking and were responding in a more positive way in their day to day lives.

    Of course this is just a small study and the group is not large. The authors of the study do say that this needs to be undertaken with a larger group. It does help to show that even listening to a CD alone can help to make very real changes to the stress levels of the participants. Just imagine what you could do by having a tailor made solution to your stress? When I work with clients I also provide them with CDs of our work and I constantly see great changes in people’s ability to manage their stressful lives. Don't hesitate to contact me if you would like to ask further questions.

    The study details: Schoen M and Nowack K (2013). Reconditioning the stress response with hypnosis CD reduces the inflammatory cytokine IL-6 and influences resilience: a pilot study, Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice 2013; 19: 83-88.

    The aim of this investigation was to measure the impact of a self-administered hypnosis intervention on resilience and the inflammatory cytokine IL-6.

  2. overcoming exam nerves and preparing for success

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    I am working with quite a few students at the moment to help with exam nerves and stress. As we approach the season of exams many people struggle with the importance of these few weeks and how much impact they will have on their lives in the future.

    I am very fond of saying the expression "we get more of what we think about".

    It is very true and it applies in so many cases to people that I see. In the case of exams what could happen is this:

    You start to worry about what will happen in the exam and then you think that you will do badly in it, you also think that you probably won't get much sleep the night before and you will lie awake wondering if you will sleep. Then you also think that you will oversleep when you do get to sleep... and that as soon as you enter the exam hall you will begin to shake and forget everything that you have learned.

    Does this sound familiar? The truth is that if you do think that then you may well find that it comes true. You have begun to mentally rehearse the situation and you do "get more of what you think about" !

    This is why I work with my clients to help them prepare and imagine being calm, knowing they have done all of the work that they need to and that breathing, taking time and relaxing will really help to get them through the exam.

    When you think about it, you will find it makes great sense. Sometimes it is difficult though. We find we get into a cycle of worry and we struggle to get out of it.

    Rest assured that I work with many people who were in that cycle, and then after time changing their thinking habits they can go on to great happiness and success in all areas of their lives.

    As well as working with students and helping schools and teachers to explain my techniques to their students I spend a lot of time doing one on one sessions. It is clear to me that not everyone can afford these personal sessions so I have taken my "Exam Stress Buster MP3 download" out of my shop where it sells at £9.99 and added it to it's own page where you can buy it for just £4.99.

    I did wonder about just giving it away for free, but so much of what I do is about positive thinking that if you got it for free then there would be no need to bother listening or caring about it! I want you to listen to it, and I want you to be prepared and I want you to feel invested in it.. so that's why there is a small charge. That way I help more people and you really need to make that little bit more effort !

    If you would like to get the Exam stress buster download for yourself just click HERE

    Good luck with your exams... if you are prepared you can actually look forward to them !