Within the last 20 years, researchers have discovered a definite link between allergies and emotions. In one study, guinea pigs subjected to stress and exposed to a chemical irritant showed greater skin sensitivity than another group of non-stressed animals exposed to the same irritant. Studies on people have yielded similar findings. Researchers have discovered, for example, that stress and personality factors contribute to contact dermatitis and that the psychological state described as "suppressed weeping" can give rise to hives.

     Bronchial asthma has also been tied to emotional factors. Studies suggest that people with asthma may have "unconscious dependency wishes" and that feelings of frustration or conflict related to those unconscious desires can trigger an attack.

     Not surprisingly, people suffering with allergies or asthma tend to have elevated blood levels of IgE. And its been demonstrated that stress may increase IgE levels in animals. Although this has yet to be clinically confirmed in people, the link between stress, emotions and allergy is now widely accepted.

            Mind/body therapies to potentiate physicl healing are usually of the so-called “altered-states” variety. An altered state of consciousness, (ASC), also named altered state of mind, is any condition which is significantly different from a normal waking beta wave state. The expression was used as early as 1969 and describes induced changes in one's mental state, almost always temporary. A synonymous phrase is "altered states of awareness". Examples of altered states therapeutic methods would be hypnotherapy, guided imagery, visualization and relaxation therapy. Hypnosis, however, has a unique advantage over other mind/body altered-states techniques above and beyond its capacity to elicit emotions and make imagery more vivid and powerful - and that is "Direct Suggestion". Properly worded direct suggestions to the subconscious mind enables it to actually order the body's immune system to fight and destroy invading cells, viruses, tumors, bacteria and so forth and to start repairing diseased or injured tissue, organs, nerves, bones, etc. and this is a very powerful and important advantage. The treatment of warts is a graphic illustration of the self-healing power. Believed to be caused by viral invasion, warts qualify as a "real" physical condition. They are visible, touchable and lasting. Yet they respond to hypnosis. It is one of the great mysteries of science that warts can be ordered off the skin through the utilization of direct suggestion under hypnosis.   

     It becomes clearly obvious that any mind/body program dealing with allergies must also include stress management. In addition, it's also been found effective to teach patients self-hypnosis and instruct them to imagine themselves in a safe environment whenever they find themselves exposed to a threatening food or chemical. This takes advantage of what the mind can do for the body; a message is sent from the brain to the rest of the body, putting the patient in a stronger biological state. Another technique that works for some patients (but not all) is to have them "will away" the allergic reaction. Again, in self-hypnosis, they would suggest to themselves "I will not react" at the first inkling of symptoms.     When an asthma attack strikes, a reaction of panic and a fear of not being able to draw in enough air, may be overwhelming and can cause the attack to worsen. Bronchodilators and drugs can be lifesaving tools at such times. Ideally, though, the asthmatic should strive to avoid the panic, or a least to short circuit it. And there's lots of evidence that progressive relaxation techniques via self-hypnosis can help avert an asthma assault.    When doctors in San Antonio trained eight asthma sufferers in self-hypnosis, they found gratifying results. The six who completed the study reduced the severity of their symptoms in just two months, and in three months reduced the frequency of their attacks plus had fewer visits to the emergency room compared to the previous year. They also seemed to need less medications. The implications are clear. Where indicated treat your asthmatic patient for stress and teach them self-hypnosis for relaxation.

     One of the more amazing aspects of the use of hypnosis in this area is the way asthma sufferers literally can be turned on and off. A simple suggestion to a hypnotized asthmatic that he or she has just come into contact with something that normally causes a sensitivity reaction causes that reaction to occur, simply because a person believes it to be so. The other side of the coin - the beneficial side - allows an asthmatic to click into a hypnotic state in order to shut down an attack.

     Pair bonding and anchoring can be used very effectively for allergies. This is a technique used to associate a pleasant emotion with an unpleasant behavior or unpleasant experience. For example, I had a patient who was allergic to dust but usually reacted only if he saw that the environment was dusty. He then began to cough and have all the symptoms of an asthma attack.

     I asked him to tell about a time when he was outside enjoying fresh air and breathing with no difficulty. He told me about an experience he had when he spent a week in a mountain cabin in Vermont. Every morning he would get up just before dawn and take a walk around the lake near the cabin. He remembered these mornings as being some of the most pleasant of his life.

     I used his positive experience and the pleasant emotions it elicited to eliminate his undesirable reaction to dust by having him picture and imagine himself walking along that beautiful lake as the sun was coming up, breathing in the cool, fresh, clean, mountain air, feeling wonderful and breathing easily. I then suggested that, whenever he noticed dust anywhere, he would simply recall the clean, fresh, air of the lake in Vermont and he would breathe, easily and freely again.

     So, what I did was require him to go back in time to a pleasant scene, one which had an element (in this case, fresh, mountain air) that was in direct opposition to the element that caused the problem (dust-filled air). In pair bonding, you first identify the negative element that is the major contributor to the person's problem, "match" that problem to some experience that counteracts it and then "anchor" in the desirable response.

Dr. Bruce E. Kaloski

V.P. / Only Nature’s Finest

www.onlynaturesfinest.com

successtrak@earthlink.net