Stressed? Overwhelmed? Relax With Hypnosis!
by Jodi K. Carlson
 

“ The only requirement is allowing oneself the time to relax and enjoy the journey."

I met my dear friend Brian nine years ago. He is a wonderful family man and a devoted employee of a Fortune 500 company. Like so many people in today’s fast-paced world, however, separating from the daily pressures was not easy when Brian went home to his family. As he was fighting a losing battle with hypertension, Brian had resorted to having a couple of drinks every evening when he came home to ‘take the edge off.’ He didn’t like resorting to alcohol, and often dozed off shortly after dinner, only to struggle falling asleep naturally when it was time to go to bed. Brian was anxious to find a better approach to relieving his daily stress that didn’t have a negative impact on his health and would allow him to enjoy evenings with his family. When Brian approached me to explore hypnosis as an alternative approach, I was thrilled to help.

 

Brian and I spent some time identifying his goals and discussing how hypnosis could help him achieve those goals. After a couple of sessions, Brian’s frame of mind had completely changed. Now, after a long day at work, Brian takes a fifteen minute ‘conversion break.’  This time is spent in his study, with the lights off and his favorite smooth jazz playing softly in the background. He changes into comfortable clothes and reclines in his big, soft, buttery leather chair. As the gentle music works to calm and soothe his nerves, he escapes into his mind as he drifts into his own personalized ‘safe place.’ 

 

Brian’s safe places are those he has created. He can go there anytime he chooses to escape the stress and anxiety that seem to be plentiful throughout the day. One of Brian’s preferred journeys is a lush fairway on a secluded golf course. He visualizes a rolling, dark-green fairway framed by majestic cedars guiding his path. Or perhaps a cool, lush green forest as he sits listening to a crystal clear stream trickle between the mossy rocks. He may choose to visit a warm, white sandy beach as he sits watching the waves gently roll to shore, or a beautiful ancient temple, filled only with peace and serenity. Wherever Brian chooses to visit, he knows unequivocally that he is safe and in total control of all elements of his environment. Here, Brian imagines himself as he truly wishes to be: a healthy, happy, strong, confident relaxed man, at peace within himself and with others.

 

If Brian has had a day that carries lingering stress, he uses a vehicle in his chosen environment to send the troubles away. In the forest, the worries are put on a small boat and sent down the stream; within the temple, a pure white dove carries away a scroll on which he noted the worries; and, as you might have guessed, on the fairway he puts all his worries into the ball and ‘lets it rip.’  He does these exercises knowing deep within that the issues will be handled in the most perfect way possible for him.

 

Brian is also free to experience these sacred places in any way he chooses—whether it’s dipping his toes in the stream or meditating in the temple. Regardless, Brian knows that he will clear his mind and body of the tension and stress that have accumulated throughout his day. In these places, he can feel restorative healing while experiencing and enjoying a peace-filled, relaxed state.

 

After Brian’s fifteen minutes are complete, he intuitively returns from his journey. He gradually returns to the present moment, reminding himself he is in his home feeling refreshed, renewed, and revitalized. He remains completely relaxed, now ready to join his family and take pleasure in an evening with his wife and children. Brian is now a member of a steadily growing group of individuals who have found hypnosis to be an effective, non-pharmaceutical alternative to manage stress.

 

Simply stated, hypnosis is a relaxed and deeply focused state of mind. Many people can be trained to enter this state of deep inner relaxation and intentional serenity easily and confidently in just a few sessions with the help of a trained hypnotherapist. Once an individual has training, he or she can easily and effortlessly induce a state of self-hypnosis. As Brian was relieved to discover, hypnosis can be used anytime and anywhere to provide him relief—without the restrictions or consequences that can be associated with drugs or alcohol. The only requirement is allowing oneself the time to relax and enjoy the journey.

 

When we quiet the body and the mind, a hypnotic state sets into motion a wonderful chain reaction in our bodies. These come in the form of physiological responses such as balancing hormonal changes and increased functioning in our immune system. Hypnosis minimizes the effects of stress on our bodies by thwarting our innate ‘fight or flight’ response, thus lowering heart rate and blood pressure, and relaxing pent up muscle tension. These positive changes also facilitate other helpful changes, such as a lowered production of the body’s stress producing hormones and a marked increase in T-cell production within the immune system.

 

There are a growing number of scientific studies that show hypnosis and other mind/body therapies (such as meditation, guided imagery, and biofeedback) as absolutely effective options for treating illnesses in which stress is a major factor. For example, one major study at Duke University demonstrated that practiced relaxation resulted in reduced hypertension and reduced blood sugar levels in diabetic participants. Another such study showed that the practice of hypnosis could increase the chance that an in-vitro fertilization procedure would be successful for patients. While hypnosis is not meant to replace traditional medical care, it can serve as a useful and beneficial complimentary healing modality. A healing journey that is self-initiated and customizable can truly be an easy and restorative experience.

 

Working with a hypnotherapist you trust, you are free to create individualized images to construct your own blessed space. This becomes your place to fulfill your personal dreams and desires. Brian is in a much better place, and I’m grateful that he chose to explore an alternative approach. Whether it is hypnosis or another holistic modality, I encourage all to explore.

 

Jodi K. Carlson, Ph.D., CCHT, HC, has practiced hypnotherapy for 5 years. She holds numerous accreditations. See her website at www.healinglivesfromwithin.com or call (907) 232-1707 for more information. 

Rest and Rejuvenate from Autumn’s Bounty
by Jennifer Lush ND
 

“ The onset of autumn naturally provides a wonderful opportunity to slow down and harvest our labors of the preceding months."

 

As the spectacular Alaskan summer winds down, many individuals feel a sense of doom or gloom about the approaching cold and dark season. However, it’s worthwhile to consider how the natural progression of summer to fall can actually revive the body and spirit and to appreciate what this season can offer.

 

Autumn or fall is regarded as the third season of the year, from the autumnal equinox to the winter solstice, which is typically September 21 to December 21. Geoffrey Chaucer, the English poet, first used the word autumn circa 1374, derived from the Latin autumnus/auctumnus. The use of ‘fall’ to mean autumn in North American English comes from the phrase fall of the leaf, and it came into use by 1545 for this time of year when the leaves fall from the trees.

 

Harvest stems from an Old English word haerfest, which originally meant autumn, though later came to refer to the season for reaping and gathering grain and other grown products. The full moon nearest the autumnal equinox is called the Harvest Moon. Near the time of the autumnal equinox, the angle of the moon's orbit relative to the Earth's horizon is at its minimum, which causes the full moon to rise above the horizon much faster than usual. Because the harvest moon (like any full moon) must rise near the hour of sunset, harvest workers in the Northern Hemisphere may be aided by bright moonlight after sunset.

 

Alaska is a unique place to live, in part due to our intense summers full of light and long winters of dark days. As a result, many of us play very hard in June, July and August, participating in a variety of outdoor activities and not taking the time to rest and recuperate from one event to the next. The onset of autumn naturally provides a wonderful opportunity to slow down and harvest our labors of the preceding months. This may mean cooking up fish that have been caught during the summer, canning vegetables for the upcoming snowy months, or organizing photographs from the hiking and camping trips that occurred over the summer.

 

Autumn Foods

Nutritionally, autumn is an amazing time to nourish ourselves with the abundance of root vegetables: beets, carrots, onions, potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, and parsnips. We also have zucchinis, squashes, and pumpkins ripening for our consumption. Vegetables and their leaves are green due to pigments called chlorophylls. When chlorophylls are abundant in the plants’ cells during the growing season, the chlorophylls' green color dominates and masks the colors of any other pigments in the plants. Thus, the leaves and vegetables of summer are characteristically green.

 

But as autumn approaches, certain influences both inside and outside the plant cause the chlorophylls to be replaced at a slower rate than they are consumed. This effect slowly fades and the other pigments that have been present begin to show. These are called carotenoids and they give the plants colors of yellow, brown, and orange. The reds, the purples, and their blended combinations come from another group of pigments in the cells called anthocyanins. These pigments are not present in the plants and leaves throughout the growing season but develop in late summer in the sap of the plant cells due to complex interactions both inside and outside the plant.

 

The vibrant colors of beets, squashes, pumpkins and root vegetables represent their high levels of carotenoids and anthocyanins. Both of these compounds have extremely high levels of antioxidants.  For example, the antioxidant beta-carotene (a carotenoid) is found abundantly in sweet potatoes, carrots, squashes, and pumpkins. Some green leafy vegetables (including collard greens, spinach, and kale) are also rich in beta-carotene. Other antioxidants that we can consume in high amounts from our vegetables (as well fruits, grains, fish, nuts and seeds) include lutein, lycopene, selenium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin D.

 

One of the many ways in which antioxidants help our bodies is via cellular repair and prevention of damage due to free radicals. During endurance exercise (such as running, hiking, climbing, biking, and kayaking) oxygen utilization is increased from 10 to 20 times over the resting (non-exercise) state. This greatly increases the generation of free radicals, which can cause damage to the cells and increase the risk of diseases such as arthritis and cancer. Medical research has shown that increased intake of vitamin E protects against exercise-induced oxidative damage. Therefore, consuming the bounty of harvest vegetables after the heightened activities of the summer months will aid in rejuvenation and disease prevention. Antioxidants are also natural immune-boosting compounds. Consuming autumn vegetables provides us with the opportunity to boost our immune systems for use in the upcoming months during which we are inside more and exposed to increased amounts of viruses.

 

Natural Rest

Sleep is another activity which is often decreased during the long days of summer. Autumn is thus a perfect time to reset our internal clocks and rest more. During deep sleep, the secretion of growth hormone (which allows for normal growth and maturation) occurs in children and young adults. Some cells in the body have shown increased production and reduced breakdown of proteins (used as the building blocks for many functions in the body) during deep sleep. As these proteins are needed for cell growth and repair, we can see how deep sleep has restorative power. Also, activity in parts of the brain that are known to control emotions, decision-making processes, and social interactions is greatly reduced during deep sleep. This shows that deep sleep may help maintain optimal emotional and social functioning during the waking hours.

 

Sleep may also help the body conserve energy and other resources needed by the immune system to attack pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria.  Infections and fever often induce sleep because cytokines (chemicals produced by the immune system to fight infection) have sleep-inducing properties. There is increasing evidence that cytokines are expressed and perform functions in the normal brain. Researchers are just beginning to unravel the complex interrelationship between the immune system and the sleep function, but the possibilities are vast.

 

So, as you find yourselves coming indoors earlier during the autumn evenings, take time to appreciate the bounty of fall vegetables that you have to choose from. You are helping keep your immune system powerful against infections and diseases by eating a colorful array of these foods. Relax after dinner and know that the extra hour or two of sleep that you are now craving will help your body save energy and restore itself from the busy summer you’ve just experienced.

Jennifer Lush is a Naturopathic physician who practices family medicine at Avante Medical Center. Please go to www.avantemedicalcenter.com or call 770-6700 for more information.