Jun 29 2012
Vol. 40, July 2006
Recently I had a gentleman call asking if I help people with obsessive compulsive behaviors. I asked him to explain what he was talking about so I could get a better idea of what was going on here. He explained that he was very upset with his behavior which followed his never ending thoughts of needing sexual stimulation. It started around ten years ago when his wife started drinking heavily on the weekends. Continue reading
Jun 22 2012
Vol. 74, March 2009- Let’s Stop Labeling People
There is this idea in the medical world that patients need to be labeled in order to be helped. What happens when a person is given a label? Generally speaking that person learns to believe that they have whatever that disorder or disease is labeled which in turn gives them a very good reason to not have to be responsible for them selves. They are the victim. You see, they are ill and that means that they can’t help doing or thinking the things they do. It is just the way it is. This is especially true for individuals who are given a mental health diagnosis or two or three or more. Continue reading
Jun 22 2012
Stop for no smoking terror (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
There are 40 million adult smokers in the United State with 70% of them wanting to quit. Sadly only 5% of those who quit remain smoke – free after 12 months according to the CDC.
Nicotine replacement therapies were designed to replace harmful forms of nicotine ingested through smoking yet are only “mildly effective” according to the marketing data put out by NicVAX®. According to the research that I have done these replacement therapies are between 3 and13% effective or less meaning that there is between a 97 to 87% failure rate.
NicVAX® is going to be sold to aid in smoking cessation as well as to prevent relapse in a treated smoker. However the vaccine itself isn’t enough to do the job. Maybe they learned from the other nicotine replacement therapies that chemical treatment is not enough to do the job alone. For this reason their own marketing materials say one needs to use the vaccination in concert with behavioral modification counseling as stated in the paragraph below:
“(a) Nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) represent a first generation approach to assisting smokers to quit by substituting a less harmful form of nicotine than inhalation by smoking. NRTs are mildly effective and support smoking cessation in combination with behavioral modification counseling. NRTs come in gums, patches, lozenges and inhalers. Many forms of NRTs are currently available over the counter.”
If you are thinking of using this or any other form of chemical therapy to stop smoking it would be wise to think about the whole solution before going forward with any of it.
In one session you can stop your smoking cessation habit without the chemical reactions causing all the negative side effects one can encounter using the medical solution. I can tell you that if you are willing to invest the relatively small sum of money to stop your smoking habit with the use of hypnosis especially if done in an individualized session with a practitioner who is well versed in this specialization, your success rate will go up to anywhere between 63% and 95%. This would be a much better way to go using the power of your own mind instead of relying on some chemical that may have worse side effects than the even the smoking can have on you.
Chantex for example is being prescribed for smoking cessation to those who have been diagnosed with depression. There is a huge problem here because even the marketers of Chantix® have a black label on the box saying that one can have “…suicidal thoughts or actions while taking Chantix®.” They go on to explain that these side effects can occur upon taking the Chantex ® or several weeks after beginning. One can also develop anxiety, anger, panic, aggression, mania, etc.
My question to those of you who are wanting to stop smoking is simply this: Why would you want to pay this price to have your body and mind tampered with in such a manner when it is totally unnecessary? Why don’t you just allow a hypnotist to put you into a very nice and relaxed state for an hour or two leaving with the problem handled without all the side-effects to contend with?
If you chose to use the chemical methods, you can already understand that some form of behavioral modification is recommended to be able to fully stop your habit. If this is the way you wish to go, using a hypnotist for a session or two is going to be much more cost effective in getting the job done.
Jun 15 2012
Vol. 60, January 2008
According to a study conducted by the New York state mental health officials by Peter Jensen, Director of the Center for Children’s Mental Health at Columbia University there has been an increase in 1990 from 50,000 children aged 6 to 18 years taking antipsychotic medication children to 532,000 nationwide in 2000. This is excluding stimulants for ADD and antidepressants, the most commonly used psychiatric drugs. Continue reading
May 25 2012
English: Amy Winehouse at the Eurockéennes of 2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It is a rather sad day when a 27 year old talent such as Amy Winehouse is reported dead in her home. Reportedly she stated that she was diagnosed as a manic depressive, reported in the AP on July 23, 2011. She was unwilling to receive treatment for her illness, instead seemingly relying on smoking cocaine and drinking alcohol to handle her mood swings. This is the story for some 85% of manic depressives according to Kay Redfield Jamison, PH.D. author of many books on mood disorders including her own autobiography “Unquiet Mind” relating her own battle with manic depression decades ago. One thing that needs to be understood about both mental illness and addictions is that no one can be helped who doesn’t want the help. Given that mood disorders run in my own family I know first hand how this works. I myself sought treatment when my life was out of control and was filled with thoughts of suicidal ideation back in December of 1989. There was never a thought of following through on doing myself in, however, the idea of being free of all the darkness that was hanging over seemed a better place to be. I was one of the lucky ones, willing, wanting and able to get free of this illness, without ever deciding to enter the world of drugs as a method to handle my own mood swings. Luckily for me the thought just never occurred to me. With all the millions of dollars earned, showing up drunk to concerts, married and divorced from another addict who was in court as she for slugging people when fame brought on fans wanting to be closer than desired, and paparazzi looking for photos, it is apparent the excess brought on more troubles than it alleviated. Winehouse had stated that she never wanted the fame thinking of herself simply as a musician. Winehouse reportedly stated that she was fighting eating disorders as well, not an uncommon thing for the eating disordered to have issues of drug addiction. This happens more than many would care to know. When one thinks about it both illnesses are really a matter of obsessive thoughts leading to a compulsive behavior, unable to stop. In my practice about 50% of my eating disordered clients have had substance abuse issues as well. How sad that Winehouse’s parents reportedly knew that her life was to be over in the “not too distant future”, her father having already written his daughter’s eulogy before she even died. This was not a great surprise when one understands her complicating respiratory health issues. She was fighting early stage emphysema according to her father, Mitch Winehouse reporting that her lungs were operating at 70% capacity with an irregular heartbeat due to chain smoking and the smoking of crack cocaine. Without stopping her smoking of crack cocaine and cigarettes her doctors had told her that she would have to wear an oxygen mask and would most certainly die. So there is a very good reason for an autopsy to be done here because there are a myriad of possible causes to this talented yet, ill woman’s death. One thing is for sure though. If she had been willing to get treatment for the underlying issue here, that of her manic depression, Amy Winehouse may still be around today singing at her concerts and enthusing her fans with the great talent that was her. If you are having any of these issues, it is best to get them under control before your life is taken. Hypnosis can help to bring these behaviors under control. Just make sure that your practitioner has experience dealing with them because, as we found in Ms. Winehouse’s case, these are very serious conditions to be sure.
May 18 2012
Distracted driving
Donna M. Novi
My Godchild Zach, who just turned 17 got his drivers license recently and I cringe every time I think of him driving. He is a very responsible young person and a total athlete, jock as they say. I know because I asked and he told me he would never drink or do any drugs to begin with, much less drive after doing so. I had to ask. I believe him, he has given me no reason not to.
Neurological researchers around the country, spearheaded by Jay Giedd of the National Institute of Mental Health, have in recent years found that the brain is not fully developed until after age 18. The brain system that regulates logic and reasoning develops before the area that regulates impulse and emotions, the researchers say.
So even though I feel Zach is an extremely responsible young adult, more than most adults I know, I still cringe at the thought of my loved one on the road.
Another concern to me is that most people, from the young to the old have lost all respect for one another especially on the road. They certainly forget the rules of the road while driving it. They pass in the right lane, travel in the left lanes on highways. Speed limits are out the window for many. And especially in Massachusetts, there is no such thing as merging, yielding lacking any basic driver courtesy.
We could blame it all on the young people, since I am in that age where I am considered an experienced driver now, far past 18 years of age. However, I see everyone from the young to the old demonstrating total disregard for the rules of the road, demonstrating a total disregard for human life.
With all the sleeping pills out there and the world’s seemingly hectic life style, it is scary to think that people actually get behind the wheel the morning after. Because in fact that is truly what it is-the “morning after” you have ingested a mind altering drug.
The half-life of Ambien is about 2 hours. Most drugs are cleared from the body within 5 or 6 half-lives. Therefore, if one took the Ambien on Friday night, it should be out of his system within 10 to 12 hours, before the next afternoon. This is only an estimate. Each individual person will metabolize drugs differently depending on things such as weight, liver function, kidney function, and other factors.
I don’t know many individuals these days that get 10-12 hours of sleep, especially on a weekend. Antihistamines are another problem as many people take them, and then drive thinking nothing of it.
Half-life of some common ingredients in Antihistamines:
Half life is defined as the time it takes for HALF of the chemical to clear your body. So if you multiply the half life by 5 or 6 all of the drug should be cleared from your body. Understand that some of these drugs take over 20 hours to totally clear one’s body. Yet we don’t think twice about getting behind the wheel.
Even though it feels like one is fine to drive, some people who are clearly intoxicated feel as if they too can drive safely, as you are trying desperately to wrestle the keys away from that person. We have to understand that sometimes our brains just don’t react the normally on some medications given their influence on our nervous systems including our lack reflexes. With this being the case more care needs to be given to what we are doing before we get in our vehicles to drive.
Perhaps “they” just don’t realize the potential they have when “they” get behind a wheel to harm or even kill. I put “they” in quotes meaning of course not me. Now I understand how easy it is to think that if I were to be excluded in this situation I would be saying that I am super human, which I am not. I too am sad to report am guilty of tailgating too close to the car in front of me, talking on the cell phone while driving and other infractions that could contribute to or cause a fatality.
There is just way too much stimulation in vehicles today. Even TV’s, although in the back seat, one can still hear the Celtic’s play offs or the evening news if the kids are watching it. A huge distraction to any fan of theirs.
The GPS is a great device, however can be a distraction as well just as the chap stick that you drop and try to pick up while you continue to drive, keeping your eyes on the road at all times of course.
It was a great idea to put the radio controls on the steering wheels. I know this for sure as I was rear ended once while sitting at a red light. The young man having looked down to change the station did not look up in time. At least I was in my car, and not crossing the street.
Every time we get in the car, we have the potential to kill or be killed. Pretty scary stuff. Whether intentional or not, the potential is there.
Every time we pick up a gun the potential is there if it is loaded to kill, just like every time we get behind the wheel of a car-if it is “loaded” with gas, we have the potential to kill.
It doesn’t even have to be road rage, it can be simple as missing that exit daydreaming and then trying to compensate for time by speeding up.
I saw a cartoon in the paper today, a guy driving a car and the caption read “Let me call you back. I’m trying to eat, shave and reprogram my GPS.”
Are we really all that busy? Is it really a cartoon or is it reality?
If you are finding yourself feeling overwhelmed or lacking in sleep a good hypnotist can help you to get to the cause of the issue and relieve you of the need to take medications for these symptoms if all physiological causes have been ruled out by a competent doctor.
May 10 2012
Charlie Sheen in March 2009 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
By Donna Novi
“…It happened to Matthew Bomer one day at the airport.”
“I noticed myself at the ticket booth in Houston trying to charm myself into a first-class seat with the girls at the ticket counter,” says the actor, who plays smooth-talking forger Neal Caffrey on USA Network’s “White Collar.” “When you spend 12 to 15 hours a day on a role, a strange symbiosis happens where you influence the character and the character influences your life.”
“A thin line between player and role – Longtime characters can start looking awfully familiar to the actors who play them”
Lauren Beale of the “Los Angeles Times” asks was it Charlie’s show “Two and a Half Men” that caused his demise or was it Charlie himself? One can blame ones environment for ones losses or not. Regardless of what it was or is, Charlie Sheen definitely has some important issues he needs to deal with and confront.
Not dealing with these issues has indeed been detrimental to say the least to not only his career but his health and his overall life. One’s career does seem to overspill into ones life. The two are at times hard to keep apart, no matter how much one tries. Having a bad day at work makes it hard for most to have a good evening at home. Having a bad evening at home often makes it hard to have a good day at work as well.
Some are indeed better at this than others, but if you are like me, one who has to really practice at letting go of the negative, which seems sometimes to be every where I look these days, it does indeed take practice. It is almost impossible if ones suffers from a mental or emotional illness such I suspect, along with many other people, that Charlie’s Sheen does. Some have gone so far as to say Charlie suffers from Bipolar disorder. Others say he has a problem with substance abuse. Both of these characteristics he portrayed on his hit TV show, which was a comedy and very funny as I have watched numerous reruns. Although it may seem funny for some of us looking from the outside in, having to actually live a life such has Charlie portrayed on TV and now in reality is two different things. On TV there is non-reality and one can laugh and joke about it. In real life where one is dealing with reality one is forced to confront the things that are spiraling out of control and no longer appear funny. Or one can ignore these things and spirals so deep in a hole that they loose it all: your kids, your home, your money and even your life.
Distinguishing from the real and the not so real can be hard for some. For most it is called denial. Addicts are very good at this, maybe the drugs help them in this area. But, pretending it isn’t easy and only works for so long as we all have finite life’s that can only handle finite “stuff”. Our livers can only handle finite drugs passing through them filtering out the toxic stuff, as our minds can only handle so much interference with its natural state as well.
One can only deal with toxic waste for so long till one eventually looses it all, maybe little by little, or all at once. Eventually it gets taken away. All the good things we have built up over the years, if we are not careful how we manage things, in the blink of an eye it can be taken away from us. This includes not only monetary items, more importantly our health as well. Our health, which more often than not can’t be fixed or replaced should we stray too far not paying attention to our minds and our bodies in getting the help we need to get ourselves whole and well.
Charlie’s own father Martin Sheen told People Magazine in March 3, 2011 that he thought of his son as “emotionally crippled” and in February 23, 2010 Charlie entered a rehab for alcohol and cocaine addiction.
Charlie said he was going in for a “tune-up”.If one thinks of entering a rehab in terms of a tune-up, just like an old car, sooner or later that car is going to need new parts, and eventually those parts become unavailable and obsolete and death occurs.
The term rehab, or rehabilitation is a verb and according to wikepedia it means”
To restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.
To vindicate; to restore the reputation or image of (a person, concept etc.).
To return (something) to its original condition.
To restore or repair (a vehicle, building); to make habitable or usable again.
To restore to (a criminal etc.) the necessary training and education to allow for a successful reintegration into society; to retrain
To return (someone) to good health after illness, addiction etc.
To go through such a process; to recover.
It is similar to the term in recovery. Many people look at these two terms as ongoing processes. After all they are verbs. They check in and out of rehab and recovery as often as some people change the oil in their cars.Their cars however don’t have to last a lifetime. Until they get to the point that Charlie Sheen has, where it has affected his mental health and emotional well-being. It is possible Charlie has been bipolar all along and it has just come to surface it’s ugly head due to his addiction behaviors. Who knows what those drugs such as cocaine and other legal and illegal substances can do to one’s brain. Every human’s make up and brain wiring is as different as the DNA we carry. None of us are identical however we are enough alike to the point of where damages will occur. It is just how much damage and in what fashion that damage appears.
Some people can smoke cigarettes their whole lives and never develop lung cancer, where others are not so lucky. Some people develop bipolar disorder for what ever reason, and others do not. The key to living a long, happy and productive life is recognizing, accepting the facts and then dealing the right way with what one has been dealt with. Checking in and out of recovery and rehabs doesn’t correct things. It only prolongs the inevitable. As I pointed out in a quote at the beginning of this newslettter-you spend 12-15 hours in a TV role, or you hang around addicts for that long every day-you tend to become one. If you find yourself in that unfortunate situation, you need to remove yourself from the toxic environment and then find the appropriate help, unless you enjoy your situation. Similarly if you find your behavior is not appropriate and find yourself unhappy in your life, you need to take action. This includes mental health. For mental health will ultimately affect ones physical health.
Back in1972 B.J.Harman, J.D., Th.D., Ph.D., Director of Advisement, Whittier College in Whittier California wrote an article called “The Use of Hypnosis in the Treatment of Drug Addiction.” In his research found that with the use of hypnosis addictions could be stopped.
Harman sites W. J. Bryon, Jr.’s article “Hypnosis and Drug Addiction” in the Journal of American Institute of Hypnosis Vol. 8, 1967 that results in stopping addictions to hard core opiates (morphine, heroin, pantapon, etc.) have been poor. However, good results were had provided the five following things are present: 1) the patient himself must be motivated enough to have any lasting benefit: 2) the patient must be under constant supervision; 3) the drug supply must be permanently shut off from the patient: 4) extensive hypnoanalysis must be done to uncover every significant neurosis and direct suggestion must be given to for the patient for new ways to replace the use of opiates; and 5) this is the most important, the patient must be seen a minimum of one or two hours daily until a complete cure is effected with hypnotic suggestion continuing until one is positively assured that recurrence is unlikely.
A.M. Ludwig and J. A. Levine in their article “A controlled Comparison of Five Brief Treatment Techniques Employing LSD, Hypnosis and Psychotherapy” reported in the American Journal of Psychotherapy Vol. 19, 1965 in working with 70 drug addicts that when hypnotherapy was evaluated two weeks and two months after treatment programs employing hypnosis the success rates have consistently been between 60% and 70%. Without the use of hypnosis the rate of success dwindles down to 2%.
In a paper submitted by A. L. Ackerman to the California State psychological Association Convention, Coronado, California, January, 1971 called “TheT-Group Approach: Applications to a Neurotic Addict Population” it was found in 36 hour weekend encounter marathons, with female addicts given ego-strengthening suggestions based on J. Hartland’s work in the Book “Medical and Dental Hypnosis” while allowing them to feel pleasurable emotions that difficulties with addicts association with the criminal elements in order to procure drugs were largely eliminated.
All these studies go back decades. Dr. Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Addictions has completed many studies showing how the neurotransmitters in any addictive behavior works in the same manner. What one needs to do to help the addict heal is to give a way for them to experience the pleasure they are seeking in a manner that is consistent with health and well being. She has stated that hypnosis is a viable option, better than putting addicts on drugs that take away the “highs” while allowing the addict to function simply because of the side effects that these alternative drugs have, most especially that they too are difficult to stop.
Dr. Richard Gray in his research and work in the Brooklyn Program noted that one need not even use the word addiction in attaining the 30% success rate he did in a prison population court forced to go through his program. He too used pleasant states of being such as feeling confident, peaceful, happy, and capable that were anchored in using a simple technique from neuro-linguistic programming. He also integrated in the idea of his patients needing a compelling future where they were doing fulfilling things with their lives that made a difference to the larger world.
There is much more research pointing to the efficacy of hypnotism in the clearing of addictions.
Checking in and out of hospitals, rehabs and recovery programs only prolongs the situation. If you want to resolve and clear the situation an alternative method is hypnosis. You can see for yourself that It has been proven to clear the unwanted behaviors provided the person does what it takes to do so, or you can continue as Charlie Sheen and countless others until you loose it all, and ultimately your life.
