schizophrenic and hypnotised?

[Unregistered]

Hello there all..
I was recently hypnotised by a comedic hypnotist and had a great time.. After the show I was watching him hypnotise individuals and really got to see how hypnotism can heal people..
I was later dicussing hypnotherapy with a friend who has some phsycological problems. She claims to "see people" and "hear voices" but isnt clinically diagnosed with schizophrenia (she doesnt want to tell anyone). I suggested hypnotherapy as possible thing to help her. She wanted to get hypnotised to be part of the "show" but was afraid shed freak out during the show. Does anyone have any information on this? Could hypnotherapy make this better or possibly worse?
Any info would be great!
Thanks~

[Jack]

Hello,

If your friend believes she hears voices and sees non-existant people an hypnotherapist would be able to help her to understand what is happening.

She was quite right not to become involved in a stage show, stage shows are for entertainment, not for therapy.

She could see a good, professional clinical hypnotherapist who has experience in serious mental illness as a first step, at least that will help her to decide on the second step. IMO Hypnotherapy in itself will not effect much change in a genuine schizophrenic, but so far she doesn't know if that's the case.
Jack

[Unregistered]

"She claims to "see people" and "hear voices""
Everybody does. It's totally normal. There is nothing wrong with these functions of the brain. Many "schizophrenic's" were just miseducated that there's something wrong with doing that and they were never shown that they can control these functions of the brain... Hearing voices in your head is also commonly known as "thinking".. just because some people use their own voice and others don't because they don't know what their mind does is it no "illness".. seeing people is also called having fantasy.. it's also the base of most creative thinking and most of the wonderful art in this world..
Show her that she can transform.. morph the pictures and sounds in her head to her liking!

[Jack]

Hello Guest,

I understand what you are saying, but there is a difference between 'normal' cognitive rambling and the genuinely perceived multi-voice presences found in particular types of personality disorders. Most of us do not hear voices which tell us to kill people and feel the compulsion to obey. We may feel like killing particular people at particular times but we can both logically and emotionally tell the difference between between a short lived thought and an overwhelming compulsion. The same applies to visuals. Check out the thread on porn compulsion. There's looking and there's acting. I agree with you about creativity.

Jack

[betlamed]

I also think that if you SUFFER from a condition, you should do something about it -- whether you call it illness, schizophrenia, or not, is just a question of definition. If, for example, you suffer because you are beautiful it is of no big help to know that beauty is not an illness. Maybe then you suffer even more because you can't even name the cause anymore.

bl

[Terry (existing)]

My sympathy, but you are visiting the wrong board. We are not here to deal with medical problems, and you used a medical term to ask your question. Now I know that the general public use such terms without proper knowledge, but it is wrong, and though your friend may well be suffering from a named mental problem, you have no right to suggest it without an examination by a medical doctor. In the event that this is comfirmed, only someone with a medical degree can deal with it. We as hypnotherapists may not by law offer advice on this other than to suggest a visit to a properly qualified person. I sense the frustration in your last post, but you did several things wrong, you ask on behalf of someone else, and this causes us a problem. You ask about what you suggest is a medical problem, and we are unable to reply in a proper manner as I have explained, and finally, you have failed to read other such questions on this board, or you would have known better....In other words, you have no right to be frustated, while we have every right to feel that way........

[Jack]

I think it is very difficult, if not impossible to state where hypnotherapeutic work ends and medicine begins, or vice versa.

In the early days, I remember a client who ostensibly had anxiety problems and came to me for treatment. Despite a rigorous pre-session chat it was only made fully clear to me after the session that my client had been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia for 14 years, was under the care of a psychiatrist, on heavy medication and had spent some time in secure accomodation. There were indications during trance that all was not as had been stated and for that reason I shortened the session, brought him out and questioned him further. Since he was still partly in trance he answered truthfully. I contacted his psychiatrist and she mentioned that he was an intractable case in her opinion, and she would not have advised hypnotherapy.

I agree with Terry that advising on, or dealing with 'medical' problems is not in the remit of an hypnotherapist unless working with medical personnel, but it is often difficult to know what the real problem is with an unknown and perhaps devious client until a session ensues.

However, we do not have any such caveat in the UK, so it is not currently illegal to work with severely mentally ill people without a medic, it is just extremely inadvisable.

Jack

[CHyRO]

Hello there all..
I was recently hypnotised by a comedic hypnotist and had a great time.. After the show I was watching him hypnotise individuals and really got to see how hypnotism can heal people..
I was later dicussing hypnotherapy with a friend who has some phsycological problems. She claims to "see people" and "hear voices" but isnt clinically diagnosed with schizophrenia (she doesnt want to tell anyone). I suggested hypnotherapy as possible thing to help her. She wanted to get hypnotised to be part of the "show" but was afraid shed freak out during the show. Does anyone have any information on this? Could hypnotherapy make this better or possibly worse?
Any info would be great!
Thanks~

I have been a voice hearer for about 15 years. Often voices have taken extreme forms of telling me to kill myself, and to verbally abuse other people, making derogatory remarks, or sometimes the voices tell me what is going on in the other persons mind, be it good or bad. Some times the voices have been as loud as shouting in my head etc. I tried anti-psychotic medication for a while, just destroyed my creativity. So I have used at length cognitive therapy. Usually I look at circumstantial factors, such as stress that bring on the voices or tiredness or lack of food. When they occur I now no longer fear them as that is the most distressing part as you think you might obey them, but I never have. I use a logical rational that stressful factors have brought them on the stress will subside, the voices will subside, they will only last for a particular time period then my mind will move on to something else. Some people call it mental chatter, being absorbed in a very creative activity also helps eg. playing a musical instrument or painting a picture, each of which can serve to channel the destructive mental energy into something more productive.

On the schizophrenia front I have been diagnosed as having a psychotic illness, as I have always had sufficient insight to cope with my mental states, usually a hospital admission is required for a diagnosis of schizophrenia where there as been a complete breakdown in social functioning. I have had messiahic belief systems and often in the past the feeling that I am existing on several time continuums at the same time.

Hypnotherapy might help your friend not tried it myself.

[Unregistered 32]

Look, schizophrenia ia a problem with the brain.It is a dopeamine disorder.
The brain it self is not functioning properly.Medication is the only way to treat it.There is currently no permant cure for it.although, schizophrenia is the usally most suspected illness in acute stage.hospitalization is required by a pychiatrist....not a pychologist.There ia diffence.Take her to a doctor.
Hypnosis is a cool thing....it's not anti - physchotic meds and monitoring by a doctor in the specialized field.That it there's your answer the correct one.

[skip]

Unregistered,

Ill not disagree with the advice you offered.

I would disagree with some of the beliefs it contains that you may not even be consciously aware of.

Specifically: "The brain it self is not functioning properly."

Oh contrare, the brain is doing schizophrenia perfectly. The suggestion you made presupposes the brain isnt doing it deliberately, for some reason as yet unknown. I recognize that the results are undesirable, and I realize that it is inappropriate levels of dopamine, BUT we cannot rule out that it isnt organic in origion, but for some other reason that hypnosis could benifit.

"Medication is the only way to treat it."

Medication doesnt 'treat' it. You yourself evidently recognize that by virtue of your last statement. Medication seeks to alleviate the symtoms only, and offers no hope of 'cure'.

"There is currently no permant cure for it."

This would be more accurately stated, "There is no known medication protocol that cures."

Now I am certainly not suggesting people ignore your very prudent advice. By all means they neet to seek professional help and if indicated take medication to alleviate the symptoms. People often do very self destructive things as a result of this disorder. I would add, do this in addition to working in other areas to effect a cure.

The brain is the 'organ' which 'orders' and 'monitors' dopamine levels, and if its calibration is off, instead of an inability to produce dopamine, then who is to say the brain cannot be recalibrated to respond more appropriately?

So while I agree that your advice is prudent, I would also suggest that it is limiting in ways that it doesnt need to be.

skip

[haitham]

[QUOTE=Terry (existing)]My sympathy, but you are visiting the wrong board. We are not here to deal with medical problems, and you used a medical term to ask your question. Now I know that the general public use such terms without proper knowledge, \QUOTE]
I totally agree with Terry, I had a semellar case more or less, hapened to be because of the magnet waves in my cellular phone according to my doctor.

[Jack]

Hello Unreg,

I'm in agreement with most of Skip's post.

Apart from that whilst, doses of L-dopa do indeed lessen the severity of schizophrenia that does not mean that the condition is a dopamine disorder. It is nearly totally unknown what the causes of the condition are. Dopamine is perhaps involved but since medication does not totally 'cure' the condition that is only part of the story.

Jack