Breast Enlargement Hypnosis: Fact or Fiction?

Breast implant surgery is on the rise, as are a multitude of other surgeries for body augmentations to meet public demand to look better, or even look 'perfect'. There are now many websites in existence that claim their program can increase the size of your breasts (or penis) using only the natural state of hypnosis; but can these claims be justified?

The below is taken from: http://www.nationalnewstoday.com/

A study featured on the The Learning Channel and conducted at Manchester University in England is of particular interest to proponents of breast enlargement hypnosis. Researchers separated participants into two groups: one group did actual muscle-building activities and the other spent the same amount of time simply visualizing muscle growth. Remarkably, the group engaging in hypnotic visualizations saw almost half of the increase gained by the group engaging in physical activity. If visualizing alone is enough to build muscle by over 16%, then it is enough to build breast tissue by the same amount or more.

Interested in discovering how visualization can help increase bust size naturally, Allan R. Staib and D. R. Logan of the University of Houston studied the effects of daily, guided imagery sessions on breast size. Results showed an average increase of 2.11 inches as well as reduced waistlines in each of the participants.

A study conducted by Dr. Richard D. Willard at the Institute of Behavioral and Mind Sciences in Indiana, and published in the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, showed similar results. At the end of 12-weeks of daily self-hypnosis and visual imagery exercises all 22 women analyzed experienced an average increase of 2.11 inches, and reported more well-proportioned and firmer breasts.

And from http://www.enhanceyourbreasts.co.uk/Research.html an exert from the study, R D Willard, Breast Enlargement Through Visual Imagery and Hypnosis. "The American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis"

'At the end of 12 weeks, 28% of women had reached the goal they had set at the beginning of the program and desired no further enlargement. There were 85% who could tell that a significant enlargement in their breasts had been accomplished. 46% found it necessary to buy a larger brassiere. 42% had a loss in weight of greater than 4 pounds and still had an enlargement of their breasts. The average increase in circumference was 1.37 inches. The average increase in the vertical measurement was 0.67 inches and the average increase in horizontal measurement was 1.01 inches.'

But how exactly are these changes even possible? Cheetu.com provides this explanation:

Breast Enlargement Hypnosis works by allowing your body to communicate to the deepest of its inner levels, using its own language. This communication allows for the creation of cells, tissues, nerves and muscles, all made of the required hormones necessary to help with the development of your breasts.

It does though lead on to an obvious question. "How does hypnosis communicate with your body?"

The communication occurs by bridging across to your subconscious mind. In essence the complexity of the language of the body means that we only have control of 2% of all of its potential through the conscious section of our mind. It is the subconscious that has contact interaction with the body, and as a result it is the subconscious that allows the body to operate.

All functions no exceptions …

Hypnosis is by far and away the most effective method to communicate with your subconscious mind. The use of hypnosis can easily provide the commands needed to generate all the required elements of breast enlargement.

I can hear you already asking the next question, "How Does Breast Enlargement Hypnosis Help Create My Breasts?"

There are three simple steps to the process…

1. Relaxation

2. Visualization or Imagination

3. Indirect suggestions.

Relaxation:

During hypnosis, it is the conscious mind that is being hypnotized, and it is basically being told to take a subservient role to the subconscious mind. It is during hypnosis that the use of the subconscious mind allows us to communicate at the deeper levels.

Visualization:

It is often said that "a picture is worth a thousand words", and when you consider it, you will realize that a movie is just thousands of pictures put together. Visualization is a mental movie, where a series of pictures is created within the mind. This visualization is the best way to communicate with your subconscious mind, providing a clear image of what it is required to create.

By visualizing bigger and more attractive breasts, you can command your subconscious mind to create the breasts that you want. Through continual practice, you will begin to see the first results of the visualization in only two or three weeks.

Indirect Suggestions:

Indirect suggestions are messages that are sent to your subconscious mind, these messages though are designed so that they do not create any form of conflict, all that they do is to sink down into your inner mind. Despite the name, once the indirect suggestions are in the mind, they act directly.

Scientific research appears to support the claim then, but it does not show breathtaking alterations to every person that undertakes the program. So can Hypnosis really be used to change  your body? Yes. But some perspective and reality needs to be taken into consideration. It appears to work for some people, in-line with their genetic predisposition. If you are a cup size 32A the chances of jumping to a 32D appear to be minimal.

The question of body change was answered superbly by Psychotherapist, Counsellor and Hypnotherapist David Fairweather (website):

If you are looking to change your weight within the healthy range for your age as advised by a health advisor, then almost certainly hypnosis can help you. If you are in the midst of puberty and your body has yet to reach it’s genetic potential, then hypnosis may possibly help you maximize your genetic potential. If you are a 40 year old 5’2” male who would like to be a 25 year old 6’ male, then hypnosis absolutely cannot help you!

We are not lizards, we cannot grow new limbs, so it stands to reason that, once fully developed into adulthood we also cannot alter our matured bodies or fix age related baldness, simply by sending desires out to the universe and believing their fulfillment to be true. Sorry.

Your brain is certainly in control of everything about you including your ongoing cellular regeneration (healing, repairing cuts and bruises, fighting cancerous tumours etc) your biochemistry (creating and circulating seretonin, stress hormones, immune system functioning etc), and to some extent, your genetic potential, however, we are limited by the restrictions of reality.

Most psychosomatic conditions are triggered by stress, even blindness, deafness and physical immobility “caused” by the brain as a result of psychological trauma. Many somataform and psychosomatic conditions, can be resolved by accessing and engaging the sub-conscious mind (hysterical blindness for example), so stress related bald patches are open to treatment, the reversal of age related baldness, not so much.

Reality is where I do my therapeutic work. At times, that may involve working within a subjective inner reality, but, unless believing you have grown 10” or that you are not really bald, is sufficient success, then by all means you do not have to settle for my subjective truth, I’m sure you will find someone willing to take your money to strive for unrealistic physical enhancements, but please do not be offended that I would rather decline your business. Sorry.

10 Things to do in 10 Minutes That Can Improve Your Life

By Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D.

It usually takes us much longer to change our moods than we’d like it to take. Here are ten things you can do in ten minutes or less that will have a positive emotional effect on you and those you love.


1.    Watch "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. See it online at Oprah.com. This is a deeply moving segment that may be the best ten minutes you've ever invested in front of a computer.


2.    Spend a little while watching the sunset with your mate. Nothing extra is necessary. Just sit and take in the natural beauty of the sky and appreciate being able to share it with the one you love.


3.    Sit quietly by yourself. It doesn't really matter where or when. Just let your feelings bubble up and then experience the thoughts flowing out of your mind. Clearing your head and heart will give you extra energy to get through the rest of the day.


4.    Write a thank you note to your mate. When was the last time you thanked your partner for just being who he or she is and being with you? Doing this in writing will give your partner something to cherish for the rest of his or her life.


5.    Take out your oldest family photo album and look through it. The experience will fill you with fond memories and perhaps make you a bit wistful for days gone by.


6.    Play with a child. Most kids have short attention spans; ten minutes of quality time from a loving adult can make their day. It will also help you stay in touch with the child inside of you.


7.    Visualize or imagine a positive outcome for any issue. Medical doctors recommend visualization to patients with chronic and potentially fatal illnesses. If it can help them, it can do the same for you. 


8.    Go to bed with the one you love ten minutes earlier than usual. Then spend that time just holding each other. Let the feeling of warmth from your mate move through you.


9.    Hang out by some water. Studies show that hospital patients who can see a natural body of water from their beds get better at a 30 percent faster rate. If you're not near the coast or a lake, try taking a bath. Doing so is also healing.


10.  Get your body moving. Shake, twist, and jump around. Let yourself feel the joy of moving to your favorite music, or just the sounds in your head. Run, walk, and bike to your hearts content. You will live longer and love it more.


Sadly, many people measure happiness by how long the experience lasts. The truth is that a few minutes of joy here and there can make a big difference in what you get out of life.

Video: How to Spot a Liar. Pamela Meyer

As a follow up to the last post, this is Pamela Meyer speaking at Ted Talk Global 2011 about everything connected to lies.

Body Language and Detecting Lies

You've likely heard that body language accounts for up to 55% of how we communicate, but reading non-verbal cues isn't just about broad strokes. The same gesture can indicate a number of different things depending on context. In this post, we're going to take a look at three common situations in which non-verbal cues are especially important—detecting lies, going on a date, and interviewing for a job—then explain how to interpret body language more accurately so that you can read between the lines when a person's words aren't necessarily conveying the way that they honestly feel.

We lie a lot. When having a conversation with a stranger, chances are we'll lie in the first ten minutes. Sometimes we'll lie more than once in that same period of time. These may not always be big lies, but we still do it. We all willingly partake in deception from time to time because it helps us avoid conflict, but often we're better off knowing the truth. While words can be deceptive, the human body is a terrible liar. This is where reading body language and using your own effectively, can be extremely useful when communicating with others. First, the basics.

Body Language Basics

When you're reading body language, your primary goal is to determine whether or not a person is comfortable in their current situation. Once you do this, it's a process of using context and other cues—which we'll get into later—to figure out the specifics. There are plenty of ways a person may indicate their comfort level, but here are a few of the most common.

Positive body language:

• Moving or leaning closer to you
• Relaxed, uncrossed limbs
• Long periods of eye contact
• Looking down and away out of shyness
• Genuine smiles

Negative body language:

• Moving or leaning away from you
• Crossed arms or legs
• Looking away to the side
• Feet pointed away from you, or towards an exit
• Rubbing/scratching their nose, eyes, or the back of their neck

A single cue can mean a myriad of things. For example, crossed arms falls under the category of negative body language and can suggest that a person is physically cold, closed off, or frustrated. It can even indicate that they've simply had too much to eat. It's necessary to pay attention to multiple behavioral cues as a single one can be misleading. While it will help to indicate comfort level, to really understand why you need to look deeper. This means paying attention to other cues as well as their context. As we get into the specific situations, we'll look at how these cues work together to help uncover the truth in a given moment.

Spot a Liar

One of the biggest advantages of learning to read body language well is being able to judge when someone is lying with a fair amount of accuracy. Your intuition is never going to be 100% accurate, but with a little practice you can become more aware of when you're being fed a load of crap. It's very important to recognize what kind of lies you are actually detecting. The techniques we're going to discuss in this section correspond to big lies—the lies people tell when they are uncomfortable or afraid of the truth. These skills will get you almost nowhere in detecting white lies, small lies of omission, and what people do most often: exaggerate. Those types of deception are very hard to detect, and it's important to remember that, regardless of the type of untruth, you'll never know for certain. You can, however, pick up on common cues so you know when to hold a healthy suspicion about what a person is saying.

Pamela Meyer, author of Liespotting, conducted significant research on the ways we lie to figure out the common patterns in our body language. She found that liars often exhibit much of the behavior you'd find in any other uncomfortable person, but with a few very specific additional traits.

Fake Smiles

People are bad at offering a genuine smile when they're lying. In fact, a genuine smile (often referred to as a Duchenne smile), is often said to be impossible to fake. This is why many of us end up with awkward family photos. We may think we look like we're smiling, but to most anyone it looks like we're faking it. This is because your smile is in your eyes, or, more specifically, the wrinkles around them. You display a few crows feet when you smile genuinely because your smile pushes up your cheeks which bunches up the skin near your eyes. It's fairly hard to fake this. You need to feel some sort of genuine happy emotion at the time to do it, and when you're uncomfortable this is next to impossible. This is why a non-genuine smile can be a helpful indicator of a lie in progress.

Stiff Upper Body and Too Much Eye Contact

Liars like to overcompensate when they're lying, and so they'll often try to remain still and offer eye contact. This will often result in so much eye contact it's often a little unsettling, and their body will become stiff because they're attempting not to fidget. Normally, people move and do not hold eye contact for extended periods of time. When uncomfortable, however, people will often rub their neck or eyes and look away to the side. Rather than exhibit the positive body language that would imply comfort, liars tend to opt for doing very little. This, in and of itself, is an indicator. Look for tense shoulders and an unusually high amount of eye contact and you'll be more likely to spot a liar.

Context and Paired Behaviors

In addition to all these non-verbal cues, you'll need to pay attention to the context. Liars will often offer more details in their stories, suggest punishments for the "real culprit" if they're being accused of something, and answer you questions with a question to give them time to fabricate an answer rather than provide you with the truth. These behaviors, when paired with standard negative body language and the previously mentioned cues that liars exhibit, give you the right mix of untrustworthy behavior. Separately they may not mean much, but together they point to dishonesty.

It's important to remember, however, that some people are just awkward and exhibit this kind of behavior with regularity. You should take the way a person normally acts into consideration as well. Watch their mannerisms and eye movements when you know they're telling the truth and compare that to the times when you think they're lying. When you see consistent change when certain statements are made, you'll know how this specific person acts when they're thinking of what to say rather than recalling information. Again, this or anything else previously mentioned isn't sufficient in detecting lies. You have to look for multiple cues or what you'll just discover that you're fooling yourself into believing you know the difference between fact and fiction.

Read People on a Date

When you're out on a first date, body language can be an incredibly helpful tool. If you're not paying attention to the non-verbal cues your date is exhibiting, you can often go on talking about something that makes them uncomfortable or they find unpleasant. While you don't want to go into a date hiding who you are, you do want to put your best foot forward so, in the event you are a decent match, you can bring up the riskier topics a bit later once your date already likes you. This, of course, means paying close attention to your date's behavior which can be difficult when you're supposed to be speaking charismatically and listening to what they're saying. With a little practice, however, you'll get the hang of watching for the right signals and won't have to spend much time thinking about them.

You're not looking for anything complicated on a date—just the general indications of comfort and discomfort we outlined earlier. This means you're simply paying attention to how guarded your date is with their body. Initially, most people will be fairly guarded. They'll cross their arms, keep a reasonable amount of distance, and keep their palms facing themselves. This is okay and fairly common on a first date, and your goal is to change that body language into something more open and welcoming. You'll do this naturally when you connect with them, but you can encourage open body language by providing it yourself. We tend to mimic the behavior of others to some extent, so if you're warm and comfortable it will help your date change his or her behavior to match. This means keeping your arms uncrossed and open, offering a genuine smile whenever feasible and appropriate, avoiding distance from your date, and even showing your palms. All of these things imply that you're comfortable and will help make your date more comfortable as well.

You also want to be careful not to psych yourself out just because you picked up on some negative body language. Levels of comfort fluctuate frequently on dates because it's often a little nerve-wracking for most people in the first place. Don't worry about making a few mistakes. As a piano instructor would tell you for a recital, if you play a wrong note you should just keep going. Watch the non-verbal cues to see how you're doing and focus on anything that provides positive body language. If you receive extended moments of negative body language, move on to another topic. Of course, sometimes you're just not going to click and the date is going to be an awkward evening full of negative non-verbal cues. If this happens, the same piano-playing principal applies: don't get hung up on a problem—just move on.

Communicate Effectively in a Job Interview

Job interviews are a lot like first dates in the sense that you're trying to convince another person, whom you don't know, to like you. The key difference is that on a date you're both meeting on equal ground. When you go into a job interview, however, the interviewer has most of the power and you have, essentially, none at all. This creates an environment where you're going to likely be considerably more uncomfortable than the interviewer. You'll display negative body language as a result, and that's not good. When interviewing for a job, you want to override any non-verbal communication that makes you seem closed off.

A charismatic beginning can make all the difference, as first impressions are hugely important in hiring decisions. A smile, pleasant handshake, warm greeting, and the previously mentioned positive body language will set the stage for a comfortable interview. You don't know what sort of (potentially negative) expectations your interviewer is bringing to the table, so it's never a bad thing to override them by demonstrating you're a pleasant and charismatic individual.

Offering up the previously discussed positive body language is easier said than done when you're uncomfortable, so the best thing you can do to override that discomfort is to feel prepared. (A lack of preparation is the main reason you suck in an interview, after all.) Even if you begin to feel unprepared later on, walking into the room with confidence will at least help you make that important first impression. To prepare, research the company. Remember a few useful "sound bites" to use and fall back on if you're struggling. Know what differentiates you and makes you special and remind yourself right before you walk into the room. Preparation breeds confidence, and it'll be easier to display positive body language when you're feeling good about yourself.

While natural comfort is going to be your most valuable tool, there are a few tricks that can help you out. Assuming American cultural standards, eye contact is more important in a job interview than most other situations. If you have trouble meeting someone's eyes, just look at their mouth. You'll also want to avoid blocking your own eyes in any way, as doing so can convey discomfort (among other negative feelings). Just like on a date, leaning slightly forward is a positive cue for your interviewer. It also helps to appear to be a good listener, as you'll be talking most of the time. When you ask your own questions, or your interviewer has something to tell you, eye contact is especially important. You can also convey that you're in a "listening mode" by occasionally placing part of your hand over your mouth. This helps indicate to others that you're not going to talk and therefore paying attention.

All of this said, every interviewer is going to understand that you'll be a little nervous. It's natural and no reasonable person should or would expect anybody to walk in with no tension whatsoever. If you're a little bit tense, don't worry about it. That much is expected. In fact, too much comfort might convey to some that you're overconfident and not taking the interview seriously. In the end, your fate rests in the hands of another human being so there's only so much you can do. They may not like your shoes or prefer to hire someone younger or older. You never know what you're going to run into, but you can at least try to tip the scales in your favor with the help of some positive body language.

Remember: Body Language Is Only Part of the Picture

A better understanding of human body language can be useful in your own communication and in understanding others. It can also be a lot of fun to feel like you know what other people are thinking, when they're lying to you, and how comfortable they are in a given situation. That said, you're not a psychic. You can't read minds and the non-verbal cues you interpret are never going to tell you exactly what someone is feeling or thinking with spot-on accuracy. These techniques will help you find clues that can help you understand other people. Use them to communicate better and gain a better awareness of those around you. Don't pretend they're magic. All you're doing is paying closer attention to your natural, human intuition.

By Adam Dachis, original source http://lifehacker.com/

Special thanks to Samantha McCullough, William J. Tebbenhoff II, and Tyrone Mann for their contributions. This article also references information from the work of Pamela Meyer and Joe Navarro. 

Treating Drug Addiction With Hypnotherapy

'Malkovich' left this comment on my blog post "How Can You Be Addicted to a Behaviour?": 

'Hypnotherapy sounds exciting. Do you know any cases that managed to deal with drug addiction with this method? I think it's all in our minds most of the time.'

To answer this question I found a great article from hypnotichealing.co.uk/ that discusses some of the main points surrounding uses of hypnosis for drug addiction. Beneath that I have included some research (including a case study) that shows how effective hypnosis can be in successfully treating drug addiction. 

It has often been said that one of the hardest things to tackle is drug addiction. However there are ways to help people who are addicted to drugs. One of these is to use hypnosis. There are several centers that use group hypnosis to tackle this problem.

First of all, just as it would happen in an individual session, the sufferers will be prepared, by being given a thorough explanation of the process. Then trance will be induced, deepened and used by giving detailed suggestions geared towards cessation of the destructive habit.

Suggestions to this effect will probably make willing subjects give up their addiction for the foreseeable future, provided their motivation to change was strong.

The only problem with this is its generalized approach. Because the therapy is not individualized and since people get addicted to drugs for all kinds of personal reasons and might be at different stages in their process of healing,  it might be that this way of working is only suited to some and not to all.

It is well known that hypnotherapy can be highly effective in treating people with an addiction to cigarettes. In the same way other addictions can be treated very effectively because the same principle is at work: hypnosis bypasses the critical conscious mind and deals directly with the subconscious.

Clinical trials have showed that out of ten individuals that tried group hypnosis to treat their drug addiction, all of them stayed drug free for six months after their sessions came to an end. However, after two years had passed, seven out of ten stayed drug free while the other three went back to taking drugs.

Obviously these results are very positive, and while results may not show up immediately, after a few sessions it has been proven that people stay clean for an average of two years or more.

There are some factors that are going to influence whether an addict is going to respond positively to this “group” approach. First of all, as already mentioned, there must be a strong motivation to stay free of drugs and a willingness to try hypnotherapy.

One of the first things you should ask yourself, if you have a drug problem, is whether you are willing to admit that you do have a problem and if you would be comfortable to join a centre for rehabilitation. Once there you could try many of the different techniques that will be on offer and if you don’t succeed with the others, try group hypnosis.

If on the other hand you feel you’d rather seek individual treatment you could see a hypnotherapist as well as a counsellor / psychotherapist and tackle the problem with their joined support. It is very important when you do this that you are truthful and you collaborate fully with them. They are bound by confidentiality and they will be able to help you more if you answer their questions with honesty.

Hypnotherapy, whether used in a group or not is very helpful in the treatment of addictions and it has been found to be highly effective in treating people with all sorts of issues. The only prerequisite is to be open to it working.

Whether you decide to go for the group sessions or the individual therapy, one session is not going to enough. A few sessions will be necessary (probably more when group hypnosis is concerned), but you will be able to feel the results fairly quickly, within the fist few days or weeks after you have started seeing a hypnotherapist.

And for the research... (courtesy of http://www.answers.com/)

Hypnosis Shows 77 Percent Success Rate for Drug Addiction                                               Treatment has been used with 18 clients over the last 7 years and has shown a 77 percent success rate for at least a 1-year follow-up. 15 were being seen for alcoholism or alcohol abuse, 2 clients were being seen for cocaine addiction, and 1 client had a marijuana addiction                                                                 Intensive Therapy: Utilizing Hypnosis in the Treatment of Substance Abuse Disorders. Potter, Greg, American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Jul 2004.

Hypnosis For Cocaine Addiction Documented Case Study                                                       

Hypnosis was successfully used to overcome a $500 (five grams) per day cocaine addiction. The subject was a female in her twenties. After approximately 8 months of addiction, she decided to use hypnosis in an attempt to overcome the addiction itself. Over the next 4 months, she used hypnosis three times a day and at the end of this period, her addiction was broken, and she has been drug free for the past 9 years. Hypnosis was the only intervention, and no support network of any kind was available.                                           

The use of hypnosis in cocaine addiction. Page RA, Handley GW, Ohio State University, Lima, OH USA 45804. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 1993 Oct;36(2):120-3

Significantly More Methadone Addicts Quit with Hypnosis. 94% Remained Narcotic Free Significant differences were found on all measures. The experimental group had significantly less discomfort and illicit drug use, and a significantly greater amount of cessation. At six month follow up, 94% of the subjects in the experimental group who had achieved cessation remained narcotic free.                               A comparative study of hypnotherapy and psychotherapy in the treatment of methadone addicts. Manganiello AJ, American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 1984; 26(4): 273-9.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_statistics_on_the_effectiveness_of_hypnosis#ixzz1vMNYaPMI