Kyrah
Welcome to this forum. I think this forum needs people like you to be members, so I hope you make your contribution to many threads. You say
Do you know of any study that supports that statement, or any part of it? It would be great if it was a double blind study.
Also how successful are you? How do you know the answer to this question?
Hi RJH, and thank you for the warm welcome. I'll do my best to supply references without being able to supply links. The first article is found on the MayoClinicproceedings website and explains the difficulty of using double-blind studies for hypnosis:
"Evaluation of clinical trials of hypnosis is complicated by the nature of hypnosis. The gold standard of a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial is virtually impossible because cooperation and rapport between patient and therapist are needed to achieve a receptive trance state. The few hypnosis trials that were blinded involved suggestions delivered by audiotape during surgery while patients were under general anesthesia (assumed to be a hypnoticlike state). Evaluation of these trials is limited by the lack of standardized techniques for hypnotic induction, evaluation of the level of trance, delivery of suggestions, or number and length of sessions."
There is also a reference to rapid healing:
"Two trials evaluated the potential for hypnotic suggestions to facilitate faster wound healing after injuries or surgery. A pilot trial of hypnosis for patients with nondisplaced ankle fractures showed marginally faster healing, diminished pain, and increased mobility and functionality.84 Eighteen presurgical patients were assigned randomly to a hypnosis group that received positive suggestions for healing, a control group that received supportive attention to the patients’ concerns, or a standard care group. Surgeons were unaware of their treatment group.85 Patients in the hypnosis group showed significantly improved healing at 1 and 7 weeks postoperatively compared with the other groups "
This is an excellent abstract and references 144 articles so while it's a long read, there's a lot of good information here.
On mind-body muscle mass increase:
"Studies at the University of Manchester, in Great Britain, revealed amazing results about Mind Body Muscle increase in just one week. One group of people did only hypnotic exercises and another group did real exercises for the same amount of time of as the hypnosis group. The group who did real exercise increased their targeted muscle size and strength by 30% whereas the group who ONLY did the hypnosis exercises increased the targeted muscle size and mass by 16%.
Bolocofsky, David N.; Spinler, Dwayne; Coulthard-Morris, Linda (1985)"
Scientific research on hypnotic breast enlargement:
"Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Vol:54 489-482
1. Peter H.C. Mutke. M.D. (UCLA) performed the first study. He presented his results as a research paper to the Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles, February
28, 1971. As of 1994, Dr Mutke was still with UCLA and has been active in the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners.
2.Williams, J.E., Stimulation of Breast Growth. “Journal of Sex Research,” 1974, 10:316-326. His thirteen volunteers averaged 2.11 inch increase in the circumference of their breasts (2 cups sizes).
3. Staib, A.R., and Logan, D.R., Hypnotic Stimulationof Breast Growth. “The American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, “ 1997, 4:201-208. They repeated Dr. Wiliams’ results with similar results. They also found women’s waist size increased by 1.4 inches. Their follow up study showed that 81% of the breast enlargement was retained several months after the women stopped their visual imagery.
4.Willard, R.D., Breast enlargement through visual imagery and hypnosis. “The American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, “1977, 4:195-200. Dr Willard used a different technique than Dr. Williams (who used ae regression and age progression) and achieved an average 1.44 inch increase in breast size for his 22 volunteers. Every woman had an increase in their breast circumference.
5. Wilson, Donlad L. MD, “Natural Bust Enlargement with Total Mind Power”How to use the other 90% of your brain to increase the size of your breasts. 1979 Book. Has the scripts and a great bibliography. Dr Wilson ran a clinic in California with great success.
6. Beran, Roy (a neurologist at Adelaide Children’s Hospital, England) presented the results of his study to the February 1979 National Convention of Hypnotherapists in Adelaide, Dr Beran showed that the breast volume (he measured the breast’s cubic displacement of water) more than doubled during the three month hypnosis program.
Excerpt of the Results sectionof the Willard study:
At the end of 12 weeks, 28% had reached the goal they had set at the beginning of the program and desired no further enlargement. There were 85% who could tell a significant enlargement in their breasts had been accomplished, and 46% found it necessary to buy a larger brassiere. Forty-two percent had a loss in weight of greater than 4 pounds and still had 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…. {note: the study was continued past 12 weeks to let those who hadn’t reach their goals to do so.}
In this study, 63% of the subjects had had children and complained of pendulous breasts. These subjects expressed a desire to reclaim the fullness and contour of the breasts which they had before pregnancies. All of theses subjects reported they were very pleased with the increase in fullness and firmness of their breasts at the end of the study…..
The only two subjects who subjectively felt there had been no significant increase, did have a measurable increase in size. Both subjects had difficulty obtaining visualizations. All of the subjects reprted an increase in firmness of their breasts. All of the subjects who began the study withone breast smaller than the other found them to be equal in size at the end of the twelve weeks
Investigated the effects of hypnosis in weight loss for 60 females, at least 20 % overweight and not involved in other treatment…hypnosis was more effective than a control group (17 vs 5 pounds on follow-up).
Kirsch, Irving (1996)."
On hair growth:
"Hypnotherapy may enhance the mental well-being of patients with alopecia areata and it may improve clinical outcome," Dr Ria Willemsen, of Free University in Brussels, and colleagues write in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology"
The doctor tested several individuals against a control group to determine how effective hypnosis is in dealing with alopecia areata. "Willemsen's team explored hypnosis as a treatment for 21 individuals with extensive hair loss on 30% or more of their scalp that had lasted for at least three months."
"These patients, all of whom previously failed to respond to treatment... were followed for anywhere from six months to six years."
When the testing was completed, it was noted that nearly 60% of the group had grown hair on at least 75% of their scalp, which was a huge improvement. What was more, 3 out of 4 people within this level of achievement had experienced total hair growth - Willemsen, R., Vanderlinden, J., Deconinck, A., & Roseeuw, D. (Aug 2006). Hypnotherapeutic management of alopecia areata. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 55(2), 233-237."
(Personal note: this study mentions that 5 people experienced significant relapse but does not explain why - which leaves me to wonder if their personal circumstances had an influence on the success or lack thereof)
As far as how successful I am personally, I've never whipped out a tape measure and measured clients myself, so I have to go on what they tell me. The average increase is 1.5", and as I mentioned in my earlier post, the number of times and consistency with which the trigger is fired is a major factor. One woman who was very motivated reported an increase of 3", but I would imagine this should be considered an anomaly and not the norm.
