Autoimmune Disorders and Hypnosis: How can Hypnotherapy Help?
I learned about immune system problems when I had shingles on my eye as an adult. Out of nowhere, my eye was swelling and in a visit to the doctor, I learned that the chickenpox virus which entered my body as a little girl was resurfacing itself. The cause of the shingles is mostly unknown but it’s strongly related to stress. And yes, I was going through a stressful time myself.
Although autoimmune diseases are known to be associated with factors such as weight, genetics, smoking, or certain medications, there are also a lot of psychological factors that can worsen the symptoms or prolong the recovery time.
Hypnotherapy has been considered an alternative adjunct therapeutic tool for autoimmune disorders for decades. It can be helpful with autoimmune diseases in various aspects. Some of the most common hypnotic treatments are helping with pain management, using imagery for healing, releasing anxiety that may be present, or even dealing with the disappointment that was created due to a change of lifestyle due to the disease.
Now, let’s look at it more closely.
What is Immune System?
The immune system is the body’s defense mechanism against bacteria, viruses, and other harmful threats. It’s made up of special organs, tissues, cells, and chemicals such as white blood cells or bone marrow. In other words, the immune system is the protector shield of our body against outside intruders.
There are two main parts of the immune system: The innate Immune system and the acquired immune system. The innate system is inherited and active from the time of birth. The acquired immune system, with the help of the innate system, produces cells to protect the body according to the exposure later in life.
Immune system = fighting off invaders
What is Autoimmune Disorder?
So, what goes wrong? When and how the immune system decides to turn on you?
According to John Hopkins Medicine, there are 4 reasons for the immune system to be weak:
· Being born with a weak immune system
· Getting a disease that weakens your immune system
· Having an immune system that is hyperactive
· Having an immune system that turns against you
In this article, we will mainly talk about the immune system that turns against you. Basically, your own immune system attacking your healthy tissues.
When someone has an autoimmune disorder, their immune system cannot distinguish healthy tissue from outside invaders. This results in attacking the body’s normal, healthy tissues.
Some of the most commonly known autoimmune disorders are Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Rheumatoid Arthritis, Type 1 Diabetes, and Addison disease.
When writing this article, I did lengthy research, and according to the majority of the resources, the cause of autoimmune disorders is still unknown. Many factors contribute to autoimmune disorders’ development and progress. One of them can be as simple as your diet.
How is the Mind Linked to the Immune System?
Recently, scientists are discovering a profound connection between the immune system and the brain. From the University of Virginia, neuroscience professor Dr. Jonathan Kipnis identified a network of lymphatic vessels in the meninges that shuffle fluid and immune cells from the cerebrospinal fluid to a group of lymph nodes in the neck, the deep cervical lymph nodes (Scientific American). Previously, Kipnis and his colleagues also concluded that the immune system has significant influences on cognition.
Finally, through various research studies that have been done over the last decade, it has been concluded that there is some kind of relationship between the brain and the immune system.
John Hopkins Medicine describes the autoimmune disease as “Having an immune system that turns against you”. Just this description alone is very telling.
If we know that the brain can be correlated with the autoimmune disorder, this can be an area to improve the symptoms of the autoimmune disease.
A research study that was published in the Continuing Medical Education starts with this quote:
“The body and the mind are intimately linked, often completely subconsciously”. The article continues by saying “The true cause of many diseases is based on an individual’s reaction to an event not consciously remembered yet subconsciously reacted to when the patient is exposed to a perceived survival threat later in life”.
Another article that was published in Psychology Today was written by Linda Walter, LCSW, grabbed my attention. In her article, Walter talks about how autoimmune disorder cases are almost always from developed countries. In underdeveloped countries, many people don’t have access to clean water, a variety of food, flushing toilets, etc. On the contrary, in developed countries, we have access to all of those plus more technology and life-enhancers. In busy modern life, we have so much to do, so many things to stress about, and no time to pay attention to what our bodies and minds are signaling to us.
Deepak Chopra said, “every thought and emotion you experience touches every single cell in your body. So, what do you think happens to your body when you constantly feed it negative thoughts?”. When we constantly feed ourselves with stress and negative emotions from the past or the future our bodies become more vulnerable. As we now discover more and more about the mind and the immune system connection, we can conclude that your negative emotions will affect or trigger your autoimmune system to react abnormally.
“The true cause of many diseases is based on an individual’s reaction to an event not consciously remembered yet subconsciously reacted to when the patient is exposed to a perceived survival threat later in life”.
Can Hypnosis Help with Autoimmune Disorders?
Hypnotherapy is a therapeutic tool that works directly with the subconscious mind, subconscious beliefs, and repressed emotions. For years, the research around hypnosis has been mostly case by case or subjective which decreased the credibility of hypnotherapy as a treatment option for autoimmune disorders. However, hypnotherapy has been used as an alternative and/or adjunct therapeutic tool to help with symptoms and results of autoimmune disorders.
One of the research studies that was published in the Psychology & Health magazine, was done to measure the effectiveness of clinical hypnosis on rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In the study, out of 66 patients; 26 patients learned hypnosis, 20 patients were in the relaxation control group and 20 were in the wait-list control group. Patients who received hypnotherapy received imagery of reducing symptoms of RA and autoimmune activity. Results show that patients who received hypnotherapy showed significant improvements in the body through objective and subjective measures, more than relaxation and meditation.
According to another study that was published in the European Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, to test the effectiveness of hypnosis on stress-related immune deficiency, patients received self-hypnosis and self-relaxation training or imagery. Four studies showed that hypnosis improved immune response to stress and improved the effects of stress on mood.
Hypnosis is also very effective in pain management which can help with managing the symptoms of the autoimmune disease. In a research study that was done by researchers at the University of Verona, out of 50 patients, 25 of them received hypnosis and 25 of them were in the control group. The group that received hypnotherapy showed a statistically significant decrease in pain and anxiety and a significantly lower risk of receiving pharmacological pain treatment in the long term.
The list of studies on the success of hypnosis as an adjunct treatment for autoimmune disorder goes on and on. So, yes, hypnotherapy can be a helpful therapeutic tool for symptom management and relief method for autoimmune disorders.
What are some of the successful hypnosis methods for autoimmune disorders?
There are lots of hypnotic tools that can be used for healing. My favorite one is using imagery and especially using the person’s own imagery of healing. Imagery is a very powerful tool by itself. When imagery is used under hypnosis, the effects are heightened. Under hypnosis, imagination can feel like a real-life experience and the mind can get into a healthy mindset.
There are also hypnotic pain management techniques that have been found to help with easing the pain or releasing tensions such as glove anesthesia technique, comforting lights technique, or the control room technique.
When someone has an autoimmune disorder, their life usually changes drastically. They often cannot do the things they loved to do in the past. In addition to all the symptoms that are disturbing their daily life, this loss of abilities creates extra tension. In the end, this extra tension adds back to the symptoms. Anxiety and stress management under hypnosis can bring significant positive results to decrease the intensity or the frequency of the symptoms.
Finally, self-hypnosis is another great hypnotic tool that gives total control to the person. During self-hypnosis, repeated positive suggestions or images can lead to deeper healing. Plus, during self-hypnosis, the person can work at their own pace and even just the relaxed feeling under self-hypnosis can help with physical symptoms.
A successful hypnotherapy example with Alopecia Areata
One of my very first clients was someone who had Alopecia Areata which is sudden and significant hair loss due to the immune system attacking hair follicles. According to his doctor, this was the type of alopecia that was known as the scarring alopecia which means the lost hair wouldn’t grow again even after the medical treatment.
Of course, the fact that he lost a significant amount of hair suddenly and his hair won’t come back was already very stressful by itself. When these added to other stressors that were going on in his life, losing more hair was an inevitable result. You see, it’s almost like a chain. The more you stress the worse the symptoms get. The worse the symptoms get, the more stress increases.
First, we worked on managing the existing stress and anxiety under hypnosis. We also worked on worrying thoughts such as what will happen if he ends up losing all of his hair soon. Later we worked on deeper problems that may have caused the alopecia in the beginning. Finally, in about 6 sessions, we started seeing baby hair growth in those areas that he lost hair in the past, including the areas that his doctor thought he wouldn’t grow hair again! This tiny growth became his hope and he ended up growing all his hair back stronger than ever!
This example shows how much stress and worries can worsen the progress of the disease. This also shows the importance of the hopeful mindset that can eventually turn things around during autoimmune disease.
All in all…
When it comes to your health, always ask for medical help first. Someone who is licensed and experienced in the area will direct you towards the best possible help. Meanwhile, don’t forget the importance of your mind and how it can affect your healing process. Don’t be afraid to ask for additional help with stress, anxieties, or negative beliefs as they may hinder your success when getting your health back.
***The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.