A stroke is scary. Suddenly your brain doesn't work the way it did before. This can affect the way you talk and move. Recovery is difficult and often takes a long time. You have to see a physical therapist or an orthopedist to relearn basic things. This can be incredibly frustrating and depressing. Of course, you want to speed up recovery in every way possible.
Therefore, in this article, I discuss how hypnosis can support burnout recovery.
A blood clot or plaque that has dislodged can temporarily prevent blood from reaching certain parts of your brain. If a part of your brain does not get enough blood, you may have a stroke. Depending on the severity of the stroke, you may only have motor problems, problems with speech and, in some cases, a change in personality.
If you look at the problem very practically, the most inconvenient is the loss of speech and some limbs because you can no longer do the most basic things. Thereby, after a while you can start to totally ignore the arm or foot that no longer does what you want.
If you have had a stroke and as a result, for example, no longer use a part of your body, chances are you have taught yourself not to even try to use that part anymore. You have taught yourself non-use instead of use. This is a very normal reaction because otherwise you are constantly reminded that you cannot move that arm and that, in turn, is very frustrating.
Unfortunately, frustration is part and parcel of the recovery process because, at the end of the day, the goal is to learn how to move that arm, hand or foot again. Falling and getting up suddenly takes on a new meaning.
Recovery from stroke always requires physician guidance, hypnosis can support and speed up recovery.
Hypnosis for improving motor skills
Research on the effect of hypnosis on recovery from stroke has been conducted since the 1950s. In most cases, a hypnotic suggestion is given to visualize movement in your hand or other part of your body that you can no longer move properly. A case study involving six subjects who had all had a stroke at most six months prior shows that hypnosis has a good effect on improving motor function and strength in the hand.
In the process, the subjects' motivation was also increased and they became more aware of the body part they could no longer move properly before. Subsequently, they were also able to perform the improved movements with less effort.
That sounds super right? That this is possible with hypnosis?
In the study, hypnotic intervention consisted of three phases.
In the first phase, a movement was chosen that the subjects could perform well before having a stroke, but which now failed after the stroke. Next, the subjects were put into hypnosis. Then, with eyes closed, the subjects had to visualize how their hand or arm became strong again, was revived and could move again as before they had a stroke. Then they had to visualize what the movement was like at the moment after the stroke. This was intended to give the movement its place in the hypnotic strance.
That visualization need not take place in some kind of white space where only your limbs can be seen. For example, one of the subjects was a captain of a ship. During the induction of hypnosis, they first visualized him working on his ship on a quiet sunny day and then going to his cabin and then performing the visualization there. There some rules were also established, such as he had to stay positive, distractions were allowed to pass by without affecting concentration.
Next began the visualization of the exercise, such as touching all fingers with the thumb first with the right hand that was not affected by the stroke and then with the left hand that was affected by the stroke. Only when this went well with both hands during visualization with eyes closed did one proceed to the second stage.
In the second phase, subjects had to perform these visualizations with their eyes open and alternately with their eyes closed. The goal was to transport the successful visualization into a more alert hypnotic state. So the hypnosis was slightly less deep with the eyes opened than when they were closed. When the confidence in successfully visualizing with the eyes had increased one moved on to the third stage.
In the third stage, in addition to visualizing, the actual movement is attempted. In the captain's case, this resulted in touching the thumb with the ring finger for the first time since the stroke.
After the fourth session, he was even able to tie his own shoelaces.
Engagement with treatment also needed to be strengthened. This was done by providing hypnotic suggestions about the importance of movement. For example, by connecting the movement with positive associations from the past.
By increasing engagement and importance, personal investment in treatment, such as practicing at home, was reinforced. In the captain's case, he began repeating the exercises at home daily after the third session. He also indicated that when it happens spontaneously it went perfectly that it was a relaxed movement that is much more fluid than when he was doing it consciously and that is exactly the purpose of hypnosis. To influence your subconscious so that you don't have to think about normal movements that you haven't really had to think about since you were six.
Hypnosis also made it possible to reduce dejection after failing a particular exercise by reminding the subject that previous exercises had improved.
So during the study, it was found that the movement the subjects could make increased as did the strength in the arm affected by the stroke. There was also a reduction in spastic movements. The2nd subject sometimes suffered from spasms at the elbow, and they disappeared after only the first hypnosis session.
Because of the improvements, subjects were also more positive about the possibilities and more hopeful about the future, so this can happen for you too with hypnosis.
Unfortunately, there are no studies yet specific to speech recovery after stroke.
Hypnosis against muscle cramping after stroke
A common complaint after a stroke is muscle cramping. In Indonesia, hypnotherapy has been studied to see if it can cause muscle cramping to decrease. In this study, they mapped patients' complaints including their mental states. With the complaints and beliefs the patients had about their condition, they then went about their work in a structured way.
For example, if someone had low confidence in being able to overcome certain problems, hypnotic suggestions were given to increase this confidence before beginning progressive relaxation techniques that focused on muscle relaxation.
These exercises helped against muscle tension suffered by stroke patients.
In short:
A stroke is a time when your brain is not getting enough blood. This can sometimes be recognized when you start talking strangely. It is important to contact a doctor or helpline immediately for medical help.
After a stroke, there is often brain damage from dead brain cells. Recovery always takes place under the supervision of a physician, but can be supported with hypnosis. Research shows that hypnotic visualizations can cause you to gain control more quickly over body parts you no longer do anything with. Arms with which you no longer have a connection can be made conscious and put back into use through hypnosis.
Unfortunately, there are no studies yet that show hypnotherapy also adds value to speech recovery.
It is well established that hypnosis can help reduce muscle tension in people who suffer from it after stroke.
In the process, hypnosis can also help reduce the stress and tension associated with the recovery process and increase motivation to do something about the issues at home.
Want to learn more about the benefits of hypnosis? Then check out the Hypnosis Institute Netherlands' events and trainings.
Sources:
http://www.kemalapublisher.com/index.php/ppi-ukm/article/view/35
Marion Neumann
on10 Jan 2019Edwin Selij
on11 Jan 2019