I'm really not sure if...
Although I am feeling buzzed and my energy is flowing, I'm really not sure if I am ready for another Dream Vacation for Two contest -- The last one nearly broke my heart... I thought that I posted some very practical tools for enhancing your awareness about awareness and for improving your practices and I hardly heard a peep from "you people". But, hey, my spirits are soaring - I am still juiced about being named the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association's (IMDHA) 2008 Educator of the Year along with my associate Dan Cleary. Our post -conference workshop on Mind/Body Approaches to Pain was well attended and we helped raise several thousand dollars during the IMDHA/IACT conference for a colleague in need. Our beloved friend, Henry Leo Buldoc had the audacity to nearly sever his hand with a chain saw without having insurance! I was deeply moved by the way Dan, our associate Okka Holthuis and the IMDHA were able to mobilize "A Helping Hands" effort on such short notice, but the highlight for me in our efforts to help a friend in need was when another friend and medical hypnotist, Jeff Cohen, won close to $700 in the 50/50 raffle and donated all of his winnings to helping Henry. His generosity sparked several people into making additional donations. Thanks Jeff! For more info or to make a donation- please visit: click here Another thing that pleases me is that two colleagues and friends are going to be teaching a class for dental professionals which has been approved by the American Dental Association for 16 hours of continuing education. Scott Sandland and Sue Hull will be teaching the first of these classes - "Modern Hypnosis for the Dental Professional" - August 23rd and 24th in Newport Beach, CA. For more information and to register, the website is: click here Before closing -- I want to revisit my disappointment by the lack of response to the "Awareness Test." The reason that I have repeatedly tried to call your attention to this brilliant UK Public Transportation advertisement for "Alerting the public to keep an eye out for bicyclists" is that beyond it's intended function, I believe this short film has the potential to offer relief to millions of people living with chronic pain. I must say that as I get ready to post this blog I am feeling, very excited by the possibility that you may actually take this 30 second awareness test this time around and comment on it. I would really like to know if you get what I mean, when I say that it can be used to help people living with chronic pain realize that it is possible to learn how to focus their attention away from their pain..... click here
I've gotten myself certified as a hand therapist and of late,, I seem to have had alot of clients redirected to me to deal with carpal tunnel syndrome and agonizing wrist and finger pain. One of the things I've noticed is that before coming to me, they are complaining to their family physician who prescribing a whole rotary of painkillers for them. By the time they get to me the pain is usually described as a general throbbing they can't specify location and it makes it even more difficult to recommend a treatment regimen.
Pain is actually interfering with my sessions and I've recommended to a few of them that if they want to proceed with the healing process, they first wean themselves off the pain meds so I can truly evaluate them. You mentioned in the article that you making people aware of how they are reacting to the "signal" of pain. Any session tips you could recommend for clients of my kind?
Thanks for your comment -
Please repeat the following Pain Relief mantra "All Pain Is Mediated In The Brain" to the tune of "The rain in Spain..." Thank you -
Take a fresh lemon and knife - to work -
You are going to begin your first, 5-minute pain relief session by slicing the lemon into quarters -- Selecting a quarter - spritz a little juice for effect and bite into and suck the lemon -- for a moment...
Now ask your patient to use his or her imagination and memory and imagine that they are slicing and biting into the lemon - Now ask if your patient in doing so produced digestive juices or if they tasted the lemon during this exercise -- Then point out that they have just demonstrated that their minds and brains can and did produce chemical changes based on their memories and imagination -- (Wow!)
In the same way their minds and brains can learn how to release endogenous morphine, which is the most potent pain relief, and feel good chemical on the planet-
Now tell them that you are happy to guide them through a few mental exercises that have proven to help people turn down, tune out or focus their attention away from the discomfort and ask if they would like to experience the relief for themselves-
Now guide the patient through the mental exercises in the link below and behold the pain relief power of these easy to use mind/body techniques--
http://www.therapytimes.com/blog/MichaelEllner/ind...
After guiding your patient through the above exercises tell the patient that amazingly, researchers have found that laughter automatically signals our minds and brains to produce endorphins and what you want them to do is to think of the funniest thing that they can think of in the privacy of the minds and begin to laugh and as soon as they begin to laugh, you want them to imagine a stream of feel good chemicals rushing from their brains and into their finger tips and that they can feel their finger tips tingling with glee and as soon as they feel the tingling-- Ask them to gently massage their finger tips with their thumbs conditioning themselves to release those feel good chemicals automatically whenever they massage their finger tips this way and have them take a few deep breaths and invite them back to every day time and space...
The results will amaze you and your patients!
Please remember to fill us in... Thanks
Wendy