9 minute read
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.
“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
SENIOR LIFE/Shutterstock
Hypnotherapy is often combined with psychotherapy or talk therapy.
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 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 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 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
SUDOKU Solution on page 30
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Dr. Randal Davis is a doctor of Osteopathic medicine and a boardcertified family medicine and neuromusculoskeletal physician with Health First.
BY LINDSAY SANDERFUR
Ahh, summertime in Florida. It’s a season when tourists and locals alike congregate outdoors and flock to the beaches.
According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, by the age of 70, one in five Americans will develop skin cancer, and melanoma risk doubles after five or more sunburns. Even one significant childhood sunburn can double the risk. And 90 percent of skin aging is sun related.
—Dr. Terrence Cronin Jr.
An awareness of short-term and long-term effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation is essential. But how do we protect our skin from the damaging effects of UV rays?
“There are a lot of things that we can do as dermatologists on the front line regarding this issue,” said Dr. Terrence Cronin Jr. of the Cronin Skin Cancer Center in Melbourne. “We recommend that patients avoid the sun as much as possible.”
While outdoors, he advises wearing hats, sunglasses, long sleeves, leggings, comfortable fabrics geared toward sun protection, and sunscreen.
Sunburn is caused by UVB rays while UVA rays cause tanning and premature aging, according to the Skin Care Foundation.
A broad-spectrum sunscreen protects against UVA and UVB rays. Sunburn is an obvious sign of skin damage, but short-term “premature aging of the skin” and “liver spots, brown freckles, and changes to the skin that are not cosmetically appealing occur from longterm sun damage,” Cronin said.
“Atrophy or thinning of the skin where the skin becomes very fragile and bruises very easily” are not signs of aging, but sun damage, he said.
Compare your forearms to your buttocks, which receives little to no sun to determine if your skin is undergoing sun-related changes.
“If you develop a sore that doesn’t heal, or see a mole that’s changing, you should probably have it looked at by a dermatologist,” he says.
DNA damage is also connected with long-term sun exposure, according to “The New Science of Skin Cancer” by Erin Reimel and Marnie Schwartz. A diet rich in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids can help neutralize free radicals. DNA repair creams are also available.
How do we choose sunscreen?
“There are chemical and physical ones,” Cronin said. “Zinc and titanium dioxide block the sun and reflect it back. These can make the skin sparkle. These are very good sunscreens. Chemical ones tend to be a little more elegant and not so obvious when you wear them. They provide greater coverage of all UV light.”
Waterproof is best when sweating outdoors, as with laboring, swimming or surfing, he said.
Are sunscreens safe? “Fear of sunscreens is not necessary,” Cronin acknowledged. “There was a recent report of a contamination of spray-on sunscreens with benzene, a cancercausing contaminant. Most are safe, and the ones with the contaminant have been taken off the shelf and replaced. I do think that there are different sunscreens you can use.”
For UV-free tanning, “you can use rub-on tanners, or go to responsible tanning salons where they will do a spray-on tan. These are cosmetic, not real tans. Many people do this before big events such as prom or a wedding,” Cronin said. SL
For more information, contact Cronin Skin Cancer Center in Melbourne by email at tcronin2@aol.com.
Dr. Terrence Cronin Jr.
SENIOR LIFE Shutterstock
Premature aging of the skin, liver spots, brown freckles and changes to the skin occurs from long-term sun damage.
PASQUALE REINO, DO
8045 Spyglass Hill Road, Suite 104 Melbourne, FL 32940 (321) 344-9030 f l.hughston.com
Doctor Reino is a board certified orthopedic surgeon. He graduated from Westminster College in Wilmington, PA and received his doctoral degree from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2007. Dr. Reino completed his orthopedic surgery residency at South Pointe Hospital and was Chief Resident at the Cleveland Clinic Hospital in 2012.
From 2012-2016, Dr. Reino was in the US Navy as an orthopedic surgeon. He worked at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, treating service members returning from Afghanistan with complex war injuries. Providing care for returning war heroes was very rewarding personally and professionally. While stationed in Yokosuka, Japan, for two years, he focused on hand surgery and complex arthroscopy. His final tour of duty at the Naval Hospital in Jacksonville, FL, focused on hand surgery, arthroscopy, and total joint replacement. Dr. Reino rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and was awarded two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and one Joint Service Commendation medal.
He practices advanced techniques in joint replacement – direct anterior total hips, computer aided total shoulders, and robotic assisted knee and partial knee replacements. He has an added focus on outpatient total joints, minimally invasive approaches, and fast recovery therapy. Dr. Reino also specializes in hand surgery, including endoscopic carpal tunnel surgery and arthroscopy of shoulders and knees.
