Medical Hypnosis
Practitioner - Michael Ellner
The Medical Hypnosis, QUANTUM FOCUS™, NeuroLinguistic Healing and Creative Stress Management™ programs offered by Metro Wellness can help people from all walks of life develop the happy heart, peaceful mind and playful spirit necessary for leading the exciting, pleasurable and satisfying lives they seek.
The modalities offered draw on the latest discoveries and ideas from Mind/Body Medicine... Hypnosis... Spirituality... Philosophy... Physiology... Energy Medicine, Cognitive Science, Quantum Focus™, NLP and the extensive experience of Michael Ellner.
Hypno-healing uses imagery and suggestion to help people shift into emotional states that promote healing, self-empowerment and being more effective.
Our clients often see dramatic results emotionally, physically and behaviorally within several sessions.
An Alternative View of Chronic Health Problems
Michael Ellner © 2001
Intro: A Calling.... Every one knows of people with mysterious chronic health symptoms that refuse to improve and don’t seem to respond to any kind of treatment. Few realize that a trained hypnosis practitioner can help these people turn their lives and health around. Even many hypnosis practitioners do not realize just how much they can do for the people who are trapped in "The Zone”.
I hope to change that with this essay.
Welcome to The Zone The journey into The Zone for most people follows a predictable path. Their chronic health symptoms start out as a minor health problem. They don’t think much about these symptoms at first and expect to feel better. Over time they realize they aren’t able to shake their flu like symptoms. The low grade fevers, the aches and pains, the weakness and fatigue lingers and lingers and just won’t go away. So the person starts out by seeking a medical diagnosis in the hopes of a quick cure.
Usually, they consult a conventional medical doctor who tells them that their symptoms are found in a wide range of health problems like “Lyme disease”, “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” “Hepatitis C” “Chronic-Mono” and “Fibromyalgia” and it’s best to take a lot of tests. When all of the tests they have taken come back negative and their doctor is unable to give a definitive diagnosis, then begins the long and painful journey into the emotional stuck states I have named The Zone. Unable to explain their chronic symptoms, their doctor is also unable to offer any treatment. About now, the “health care”provider may start talking about secondary gains and/or psychosomatic illness and recommend the patient see a mental health professional.
Shocked and insulted by the notion that their doctor is suggesting that “all of their symptoms are in their head”, they don’t notice that their symptoms have taken on a life of their own. Without the validation of a “legitimate” diagnosis, loved ones quickly tire of the patient being sick and tired all of the time and their support systems start breaking down. At this point, anxiety attacks, memory loss, night sweats and deep felt feelings of isolation and depression may begin to manifest, in addition to their original chronic symptoms. The aches and pains become more intense and the weakness and fatigue becomes more threatening.
Feeling more desperate than ever, they visit a complementary or alternative practitioner in the hopes of resolving their health crisis. Depending on his or her orientation the practitioner blames all of their problems on some kind of energy problem caused by physical, emotional and spiritual disharmony. The patient is assured that relief is only a matter of changing their diet, their relationships and/or their environment. Many do change their diets, and try to implement the recommended life style changes to the best of their abilities, only to find that their symptoms persist. They unknowingly move deeper into The Zone.
The failure of the medicines, remedies and/or treatments are often blamed on “bad genes”, “bad karma”, “bad viruses”, “bad vibes”, “a bad moon rising“, “secondary gain” , “evil spirits” or just plain “bad luck” which tends to entrench their stuck states within The Zone. Filled with fear, doubt and bitterness, they begin a quest to justify their symptoms.
After running here and running there, trying this and trying that, they start to burn out, blame themselves for their inability to recover, and begin to wonder if they will ever regain their health. They are now unknowingly trapped deep within The Zone. They start to worry about their health all the time. They become hyper-sensitive to all of their bodily sensations. Unable to work, unable to sleep, barely eating, they slowly begin to stop taking care of themselves, which puts them at risk for developing far more serious health problems. And as they stew in their toxic emotions, they don’t even notice that they are just going through the motions of being alive. They don’t notice that their life has moved into the shadow of their health crisis. They don’t know that they have become stuck in The Zone.
Studying and assisting these people has become my life work. I share my experience and insights helping people with inexplicable chronic symptoms take charge of their lives and escape from The Zone, in the hopes that you will be moved to use your hypnosis training and skills to help the people in your communities who are stuck in The Zone.
Marco X. Note: This case history is being discussed with the client's permission and blessings.
Marco was one unhappy camper when we met for our first hypno-healing session. He was really stuck (No diagnosis intended or inferred). He suffered from chronic aches and pains, fatigue, weakness and intense feelings of dread. He was having anxiety attacks and memory loss and was unable to work or sleep. He was hyper-sensitive to his body’s sensations and worried about his declining health all of the time. He had digestion and elimination problems. He was broke, down and out, and spent much of his time obsessing over the loss of his ex- girl friend. Marco was also feeling very isolated because just about everyone who had been supporting him during his crisis was getting sick and tired of his always being sick and tired.
During our initial consult, I learned that over the last several years Marco had educated himself about health and healing and had seen a wide range of health care practitioners in his quest to diagnosis his health problem and regain his health. He painfully realized over time, that despite of all of his efforts he was getting worse rather than better.
I also learned that Marco, had recieved a wide range of probable causes for his chronic health symptoms and worsening condition including “heavy metal toxicity”, “Lyme disease”, “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome”, “Fibromyalgia” “chronic depression”, “chronic viral infections” “food allergies” and “chemical sensitivities” and that he secretly feared that he might have AIDS. He had seen dozens of conventional, complementary and alternative practitioners. He had taken dozens of tests to identify the source of his ill health - but they all came back negative and none of the “experts” he was consulting would give him a definitive diagnosis. He began to wonder if his health problems were all in his head. This was in part due to some of the feedback he was getting from his loved ones, who, lacking a definitive diagnosis concluded that: “he was just a lazy bum, who had to get off his ass and get a job like everyone else”. Marco told me that he was aware that just before his chronic health problems kicked in, he had lost his job and his girl-friend. He told me that he often felt this was somehow connected to his health problems.
The Way of the Hypno-Healer. Whenever I see a client, I always ask how they learned of my services. It turns out that several of the practitioners Marco had recently consulted, recommended that he work with me. I had helped his nutritional counselor overcome her life long fear of heights; his acupuncturist had seen favorable results when he referred one of his chronic pain patients to me; his holistic dentist told him of how I had recently helped one of her patients, who was so terrified of dentists - it was almost impossible to examine her, let alone perform the emergency dental surgery that she needed (Thirty minutes with me and she showed up for her surgery in a wonderful mood, claiming that she was feeling very calm and ready for her surgery. She was totally cooperative throughout her procedure and required much less novocaine than her dentist had expected). Marco had even recently heard about how I was helping people with chronic health problems on several health related radio programs that he regularly listened to.
With all this positive input, one might think that Marco would come in believing that just maybe, I could help him. But, like most people trapped in The Zone, Marco had reached a point where he had given up and believed nothing could help him. In fact, Marco had serious doubts that hypnosis could help and even if hypnosis could help, Marco didn’t believe that he could be hypnotized.
I respectfully disagreed and told him that he had a “black belt” in self-hypnosis and that I was confident that under my direction he would be easily able to hypnotize himself. After hearing me out, he quickly agreed. I also made it very clear that I believed that I could help him help himself.
I told him that I had made a remarkable discovery when I was helping people diagnosed with “HIV/AIDS” increase their coping skills and abilities. I explained that more than 50% of people who have received an “AIDS” diagnosis don’t actually have AIDS indicator diseases, but suffer from many of the symptoms he was experiencing. I explained that, as my “HIV/AIDS” clients learned how to creatively manage the intense stress and fears they were dealing with, something occurred that was absolutely amazing. As soon as my “HIV/AIDS” clients started feeling strong enough to take charge of their lives and health, their chronic symptoms (low grade fevers, nightsweats, aches and pains, weakness and fatigue) began to resolve. I told him I firmly believed if he took charge of his life, his chronic symptoms would also begin to resolve themselves. A bold statment, I know, but one that was based on my extensive experience and study.
Marco really wanted to believe me, but he told me that he really didn’t think that he could turn his life around, being so sick and all. I assured him that by working with me he would become more efficient and get more done than he had been able to in the past. I told him that he would soon start to feel better about himself and that people who feel better just naturally heal better. I educated him about his inner-doctor and asked him to put his faith into his innate healing resources. I remember telling Marco that I believed the reason his “unexplained” symptoms persisted was because his inner-doctor initiated a low grade healing action and forgot to shut it off. Knowing that a lighthearted approach to serious problems is often just what the doctor ordered, I added that maybe his inner-doctor was out to lunch or maybe he went fishing or just maybe, Marco's emotional states, beliefs, attitudes, expectations, stress levels and lack of energy was what was preventing his inner-doctor from doing his job effectively.
The first order of business was to help Marco recognize and escape from The Zone, so I hypnotically de-briefed him. The next step was to get him to move into a healthier states, so I hypnotically helped him off-load his toxic emotions. I hypnotically excited his imagination about his future and repeatedly told Marco that, based on my experience, the people who do the best, approach their challenges and their sessions with happy heart, peaceful mind and playful spirit. Next I hypnotically helped him to cultivate those qualties. I could see that Marco was getting it, as he approached our 2nd session with a happy heart, peaceful mind and playful spirit, and told me that he was feeling more hopeful all of the time. I used a bit of regression, and dash of progression and at the risk of digression - repeatedly pointed out that when it comes to healing it is always wise to avoid aggression - I repeatedly reminded him that the subconscious mind is great at resolving the issues of the past, simply by viewing healing images of the future. I went so far as to tell him that he would reach a point, where he could look back at this mis-adventure and laugh about it because it was behind him.
We intentionally ignored his symptoms and worked on improving his attitudes, beliefs, emotional states, and expectations. We worked on increasing his coping skills and abilities and we worked on increasing his energy level. By our fourth session, Marco could feel and see that our sessions helped him feel better and generated some needed energy. He could also see that many of his symptoms were resolving all by themselves. Marco was moving out of The Zone and I recommended that he put some energy into deciding what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. All of the imagergy we used had him enjoying an exciting, pleasurable, satisfying and rewarding life. I told him the best way to follow his heart was to lead with it. I encouraged him to really be with himself and decide to honor and treasure the rest of his life.
As I predicted, within six visits, Marco began to turn his life around. After careful thought he decided he did not want to continue earning a living as a plumber and that he really wanted to be a pastry chief. Feeling hopeful about his future and having far more engergy than usual, Marco negotiated a full time, work/study program at one of NYC’s most respected cooking schools. He found a part time job, rebuilt his self-esteem and he now has a new girl friend. And as expected, I am happy to report that Mario’s chronic symptoms are mostly behind him. FYI - in our most recent session - Marco was shaking his head and laughing about his ordeal - he told me that “It’s great to be out of The Zone”.
Discussion: The Doctor Inside Like a wellspring hidden far beneath the earth's surface, the innate healing resources that we were all born with, lie waiting to be called into action. This explains why for most of us, the majority of our health problems are self-limiting, of short duration and generally responsive to re-hydration, nutrition, loving care and rest.
One of the best kept secrets about healing is that all conventional, complementary and/or alternative healing systems simply tap into and in some cases bolster the persons own healing resources. Nobel laurete Albert Schweitzer, MD, summed it up quite neatly when he pointed out to his follow physicians that “Each patient carries his own Doctor inside him. We are at our best when we give the Doctor inside a chance to go to work”. His understanding is trans-cultural and the best healers in the world are already putting this wisdom to work when helping their patients and/or clients.
I view the chronic flu-like symptoms as part of a low level response of the person’s natural defenses that doesn’t shut itself off when it’s no longer needed. It’s as if their inner-doctor starts a healing process and forgets to shut it off, which is just another way of viewing the stuck state. I view my role as a hypno-healer as helping people get un-stuck, so their inner-doctor resets him or herself. It’s that simple!
Tragically, most conventional, complementary and/or alternative practitioners practicing today have forgotten or were never educated about the Doctor inside each and every one of us. Instead they put their faith in the “healing” powers of their medicines, remedies and/or techniques, virtually ignoring the inner-doctor.
Generally speaking, many of these so-called health care practitioners often add to their patient’s stuck states by convincing them that the failure of their medicines, remedies and/or techniques are the result of: “bad genes”, “bad karma”, “bad viruses”, “bad vibes”, “a bad moon rising“, “secondary gain”, “evil spirits” or just plain “bad luck”. I believe this is why, more often than not, in spite of their best efforts, these “health care” providers do not acttally help their patients and/or clients, who are suffering from chronic unexplained symptoms. This is evidenced by the tens of thousands of people with unexplained chronic health symptoms, who are running from one type of health care practitioner to another without a diagnosis and more importantly without benefit!
A Calling.... If, like me, you respect and appreciate the fact that the vast mental, spiritual and physical healing resouces we are all born with are influenced by our attitudes, beliefs, emotional states and energy levels, I urge you to get out there and help these people escape from The Zone.
In closing, please understand that I am not asking any of you to practice medicine without a license - we can make a significant contribution to the lives of people who are stuck in The Zone without diagnosis, analysis or treatment. We can act within the scope of a hypnosis professional. All we have to do is use our hypnosis training and skills to help these people escape from The Zone and get back on track - their inner-doctor will do the rest. I hope that the hypnosis professionals reading this, will be encouraged to explore working with the tens of thousands of people who are trapped in The Zone - You can make a huge difference! Thank you, for your consideration and please feel free toContact me if you want some support or additional information
Read about Michael Ellner
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