Health & Wellness Clinical hypnotist offers release from old patterns for good BY LINDSAY SANDERFUR Hypnosis involves moving the conscious mind temporarily aside to reach the subconscious mind. We enter altered states naturally, as when driving or daydreaming. Hypnotherapy uses hypnosis for therapeutic (healing) purposes. According to WebMD, hypnotherapy is often combined with psychotherapy or talk therapy, with a therapist guiding a person into a relaxed, focused state. Melbourne clinical hypnotist Alexandra Callner specializes in negative emotional release and trauma. She is in good standing with the National Guild of Hypnotists, the largest organization for clinical hypnotherapy. “I was trained in traditional hypnosis,” she says. It worked on her clients about 80% of the time, usually after four to six sessions. But then “something would trigger them and they would fall off their wagon of happiness.” She went on a quest to discover more about the human brain. “My first field of study is neuroplasticity,” she said. Plasticity refers to nervous system changes. Neuroplasticity defines the term as structural and functional
adaptation to stimuli. It happens after a stroke or TBI (traumatic brain injury). Lasting change means hardwiring new behaviors. “I do a very specialized form of hypnosis,” she said. “Possibly only 3,000 of us in the world do it. It’s especially for depression, anxiety, grief, trauma. I combine NLP (neurolinguistic programming) with a form of timeline therapy and add my own selftalk exercises. “And it’s rapid,” she adds. “I see drastic results by the fourth session.” Callner’s 12-session program has been successful for many clients. Scott is a disabled Army veteran with bodily injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. “I’ve been in therapy most of my adult life dealing with these problems,” he said, admittedly skeptical at first. “I wasn’t even familiar with what hypnosis is really like.” After three or four sessions, he said that it has been “a complete gamechanger.” His chronic shoulder pain completely disappeared after the first session and everyday physical pain has dissipated. “I also have sleep apnea and I have a horrible time sleeping,” he said. Prescription sleep medications work,
but they cause next-day fatigue. “The VA monitors my sleep apnea,” he said. After his sessions with Callner, “my occurrences in a month have dropped in half.” Author and podcast host Mark Tullius credits one session with a permanent change in his way of thinking relating to morning workouts. “But where the big shift was,” he said, “was trauma release hypnosis.” A security guard, bouncer, fighter and football player, Tullius was accustomed to violence. Brain mapping techniques helped him gain some control over his emotions relating to a prior TBI. But his lingering anger concerned him. A honk from the car behind him could put him into a rage. “Even though my brain’s ability to deal with stress had gotten better, I still had those old patterns,” he said. He decided to try Callner’s program. “It has been awesome for me,” he said “I would definitely say it’s been beneficial to my family as well. It’s just a really powerful program. It lets you explore parts of your past – what lessons did I learn from this moment?” During sessions, you don’t actually relive the event.
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Hypnotherapy is often combined with psychotherapy or talk therapy.
“Everybody wants to dig down in and see what the gory details are,” Scott said. “And she just doesn’t do that. We don’t have to talk about any specifics that I don’t want to talk about. She has this method to get me to be able to deal with those situations.” He added, “I wish I would have known about this 30 years ago.” SL
3.3 million people in the U.S. suffer from migraines
BY BRENDA EGGERT BRADER
More females than males have migraine headaches. The highest frequency is in young adults in their 30s, but older adults can be affected with chronic migraines. Those who get migraines may begin with them in their childhood and continue to have them through elder adult life. Parents can even pass down
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migraine triggers from fatigue, bright lights or based on weather changes. “Twelve to 15 percent of the population (or 3.3 million people in the U.S.) suffers from migraines,” said Randal Davis, a doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and board-certified family medicine and neuromusculoskeletal physician at Health First. “Migraine is a term we use for severe episodic headaches commonly
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seen with a pulsing sensation,” Davis said. “Common clues that begin the migraines suggest unusual changes, strong odors or neurologic sensations. “The reason people have migraines is thought to be more likely due to neurologic misfiring. Additional triggers include stress, change in schedule, sleeping patterns, along with neck pain or chronic neck injuries and some follow menstrual cycles. Certain foods also can do the job, such as caffeine, wines, cheeses or even peanuts. “Some people can tolerate a bit of debilitation,” Davis said. “Some severe migraines can cause disability in some patients.” The length of time a migraine attack lasts can vary, too. The National Headache Foundation said migraine attacks last four to 72 hours. “Medications range from provider input as most doctors will offer a controller medicine taken every day,” Davis said. He said it generally depends on severity to have it daily. Some controller medicines prevent migraines from coming on in the first place. Abort medications are used to conclude the headache. Infusion medications (intravenous injection) are also being used. “You try to tailor medicine to the least amount you can,” Davis said. “I bet I see 15 percent patient load with migraines and broadly use seizure medicine, anti-inflammatory, hormones and infusion medicines. Different
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Dr. Randal Davis is a doctor of Osteopathic medicine and a boardcertified family medicine and neuromusculoskeletal physician with Health First.
vitamins can be helpful, but the patient must be careful as some are not good. If in doubt, always talk to your doctor.” Davis suggests osteopathic manipulative therapy for treatment. Osteopathic manipulation (OMT) is an entire system of evaluation and treatment designed to achieve and support health by restoring normal function to the body. Manipulation means the therapeutic application of manual pressure or force. “It helps limit unnecessary medications for patients, reduces cost and unnecessary expense.” SL
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