Blog Archives - Page 9 of 27 - Lindner Center of HOPE

Peter White, M.A., LPCC
Lindner Center of HOPE, Addictions Counselor

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this is a period of unprecedented changes marked by great uncertainty shared by literally everyone. One of the complex realities of dealing with this much uncertainty is that we should feel a wide variety of difficult emotions – confusion, fear, disorientation, sadness, and anger to name a few. In a way, it is healthy to not feel okay at this time. But at the same time, it is important for us to acknowledge that we want to manage these difficult emotions in a healthy way. One common vulnerability in managing difficult emotions is depression. Although challenging, we can get good at identifying and countering the presence of depression during difficult times. We can effectively treat and manage depression so that it does not make our coping less effective.

Depression is a condition involving thoughts, emotions and physical reactions. It is opportunistic in periods of uncertainty expanding its ability to disempower and disquiet ourselves and our relationships. Depression’s biggest advantage is its negative judgement – hopelessness, helplessness, worthlessness and guilt are all hallmarks of depressive thought process. “It’s not going to get better. There is nothing I can do to make it better. I don’t deserve to have it be better,” are all examples of depressive distortions that can plague the mind and divorce us from our natural capacities to endure and thrive. In a way, depression fills the mind with judgements that are fundamentally untrue. There is always hope. Things can always improve. We always have some options to improve our situations, or at least find how to endure with as much forbearance and gratitude as possible. And of course, we all deserve to have our suffering relieved. They may seem like simple reframes, but they are the fundamental effort of successfully countering depression so that we can move forward with all our strengths and resources. Fear is appropriate and understandable in times like this with major uncertainties and potential pending losses of security and predictability. I always encourage clients to honor their fear, comfort themselves with the many blessings of their lives that help them endure and rebound from loss, and resist the power of depression to convince them that they are alone and without options

As noted, depression infects both the mind and the body. Depression disrupts our metabolism, so we might experience fatigue, sleep disruption, changes in our appetites, difficulty in concentrating and decision making. Given that depression has a corrosive effect on body, mind and spirit, it is most effective to counter it with body, mind and spirit. Keep moving, maintain a wholesome routine mixing both work and pleasure. An easy acronym to remember is GRAPES. G. stands for gentleness and gratitude in thought. R. stands for relaxation, even for brief moments. A. stands for the recognition of our accomplishments, especially the simple ones-caring for ourselves and our loved ones is always an accomplishment. P. stands for pleasure, again especially the simple ones- food, music, reading, nature, or whatever there is that reminds you that life has its joys. E. stand for exercise, or if not rigorous physical activity, any movement that brings the reward of the body moving through space. And S. stands for remaining social. All of the above are anti-depressive activities – effective reminders that hopelessness, helplessness and especially worthlessness are untruths to be dispelled during our moments of fear and doubt.

Let me end just highlighting the social. All humans, especially so right now, share the experience of fear and doubt related to uncertainty. Near invariably, we are all comforted when these fears are shared amongst our loved ones and our fellows in a spirit of honor and trust. Nearly all of us have experienced a darkness of spirit that is quickly dispelled by kind words from friends. If nothing else, resist the power of depression to convince you that you are alone and do not deserve the fellowship of loved ones and peers. Clearly now, our experience of uncertainty is a deeply shared experience. I encourage you to become robustly social, so that within the shared uncertainty, we can all experience the power of ourselves and others to endure and overcome this frightening time strengthened in our spirit of togetherness.

You can’t affect the cards that are dealt, but you can determine how you play them.

Milton Erickson, MD
Psychiatrist
The father of modern hypnotherapy

When we think of hypnosis, we typically think of a stage performance in which the subject is crowing like a rooster or engaged in some outlandish behavior designed to entertain. Many view hypnosis as a “party trick” or an “act” for amusement. However, the practice of medical hypnosis can be traced back thousands of years in cultures around the world. It was once used for pain management during surgery until doctors started using ether. Today, physicians, licensed psychotherapists and psychologists commonly use it as a tool for change. Hypnosis or hypnotherapy, has been known to help patients with everything from depression, anxiety and phobias to smoking cessation, weight loss, stress management and irritable bowel syndrome. Some hospitals even use it as a tool to reduce pain in individuals before, during and after surgery, as well as in patients with chronic conditions or diseases. Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention, reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.

One major myth regarding hypnosis is that the individual is unconscious – and powerless. Most people have a clear memory of what happens during hypnosis, while another’s recollection might be not as clear. Some might be able to move their head or lift a finger if they’re prompted, whereas others will remain impassive. Everyone’s experience with hypnosis can differ. While “under” hypnosis, you are not rendered unconscious; you are simply in a deeply relaxed state. In fact, we enter “trance” states all the time. Most of us are familiar with highway hypnosis, the phenomenon in which the person can drive a vehicle great distances, responding to external events in the expected, safe and correct manner with no recollection of having consciously done so. Another example of a common trance state is watching a movie. When we watch a movie, we know actors are up on the screen. We know that this story is not happening in real life. But for those few hours, we can experience emotions and a connection to the story. A movie can create an experience of happiness, sadness, suspense, fear or joy.

Hypnosis is a deeply relaxed state in which suggestions can be given to assist the individual in changing a maladaptive behavior. Do you remember when you were playing as a child and fell down, and your parent kissed your “boo boo,” and you instantly went back to play? Suggestion can change our behaviors.

One of the major problems within the field of research is when clinical trials are conducted and a medication or placebo is given to a subject, the placebo (a sugar pill) turns out to work too well. Researchers don’t like this. Unaware subjects who receive the placebo should not report a difference from the sugar pill, but sometimes they do. The subject’s belief or the “suggestion” that the “pill” is going to improve how one feels, in fact, improves how he or she feels. Recent studies have also found that even a physician’s own presentation of the effectiveness of a new medication to the patient, can result in a patient’s higher perception that the medication is going to be effective, resulting in a more positive result for the patient.

Even though hypnosis has faced many misconceptions through the years, it remains an effective technique in making behavioral changes and improving the lives of many individuals. Not everyone may respond to hypnotherapy in the same way, but this can also be said about other treatment approaches. In searching for a hypnotherapist, find a licensed professional within the mental health or medical fields, and who has been certified to conduct this clinical hypnosis. The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis is a resource, which can assist in locating a certified hypnotherapist in your area. Like meditation, guided imagery, acupuncture, and music therapy, Hypnotherapy can be a valuable tool in providing a healing science to facilitate the body’s innate healing response.