Well, a recent study pretty much proves what hypnotists have known for a very very long time . . . what you believe can kill you.

The study has shown that fear can make an illness much worse.

Over two years, hospital employees conducted a study that measured the fear of death of a group of people coming into the hospital with a temporarily blocked coronary artery. They also measured the level of each patient’s tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF) molecule. This molecule increases system-wide inflamation, which has been shown to damage the heart. They found that the people who reported high levels of fear had four-fold increase in inflammatory response independent of the actual severity of their condition. This worsened the episode, and not just for the moment. Three weeks later, people with high levels of fear showed low cortisol levels and low heart rate variability. Cortisol is a stress hormone. Low levels of it show that bodily inflammation is still high, making things harder on the heart. Heart rate variability serves as a measure of heart function. When the heart can’t adjust well to different circumstances, heart rate variability is low. Both of these factors are bad signs.

The orchestrators of the study at St. George’s Hospital in London aren’t sure whether the treating the inflammation itself would have effect, or whether they would need to treat the patient’s emotional response as well. For the time being they encourage doctors to reassure their patients, and encourage them to talk about their emotional state. They also want people to know that major strides in medicine make coronary artery blockage a treatable phenomenon. Although it should be treated as an emergency, it is not a harbinger of doom.

Essentially, fearing something makes it happen. Be afraid . . . or, better yet . . . if you are overwhelmed with fear, a hypnotist can help.

See the original study at http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/05/25/eurheartj.ehr132.abstract and read Esther Inglis-Arkell‘s excellent essay on it at http://io9.com/5807029/medical-science-proves-that-fearing-illness-makes-your-illness-worse.

In Taiwan and wish to book a stress reducing or fear removing hypnosis session? Go to http://www.briandavidphillips.com and contact me. Or, if you’re not in Taiwan, try some of our relaxation audio products in the store here.

All the best,
Brian
http://www.briandavidphillips.com