Blog Archive

The holidays can be joyful, but they can also be quite stressful.  From the full calendar of festivities and events, never-ending to-do lists, and financial strain to the drive to create (or recreate) perfect memories and the void created by missed loved ones, many find the time between Thanksgiving and...

Close to 28 million people in the United States have asthma, a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes your airways to tighten, swell, and fill with mucus, making it difficult to breathe. An asthma attack — also known as an exacerbation or symptom flare — typically consists of: Noisy wheezing...

Most people experience random bouts of abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, bloating, gas, or nausea at some time or another. But for anyone who’s living with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), these disruptive gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are a routine — and often unpredictable — occurrence.  Fortunately, with the right approach, you can...

Insomnia is a complex and widespread sleep disorder that affects one in three adults worldwide — and millions of adolescents, too — at any given time. Even when conditions are perfectly conducive to getting rest, insomnia can: Make it hard to fall asleep when you go to bed (sleep onset...

Hypnosis is a natural, noninvasive therapy option that helps children manage physical and emotional issues. In a safe and supportive environment, children learn to harness the power of their minds to experience relief from symptoms and improve their well-being. Ran D. Anbar, MD, FAAP, and the Center Point Medicine team...

According to the Washington Post during the past two decades more than 85% of school shootings in the United States have occurred in the hands of people younger than 25, and the majority of these occurred in the hands of children under 18 years of age.    It has been suggested...

One of my 18-year-old patients beseeched me to write a blog about vaping.  He told me that he has tried to quit vaping nicotine on a few occasions and was dismayed to find that his addiction to nicotine was harder to break than his use of weed.  He explained that...

Many teenagers have told me that they wished that there were no smartphones.  They have related many reasons that the smartphone causes them to become anxious.  “I check my phone many times a day to make sure that I am not missing out on something with my friends.  If nothing...

Some of the children I counsel become anxious about their physical symptoms and even worry about the possibility of developing symptoms.  The most common health related fear among the children in my practice is of pain.  The most common anxiety related fear is throwing up.  Still others fear bleeding.  To...

5 strategies for changing your thought pattern  Life often involves being confronted with unfortunate events.  While many things in life occur outside of our control, with practice we can learn to nearly always control how we react to events.   I consider using a 5-pronged approach in counseling my patients about...

13 reasons why people may choose to avoid interacting with their subconscious  I have been teaching patients how to access their subconscious for the past 20 years.  During therapy, many of my patients have found their subconscious to be a source of great wisdom and knowledge, which they have used...

Animal-assisted therapy has become more popular in recent years.  It has been shown to improve emotional well-being of patients, as well as people with behavioral issues.  Animals have been reported to help facilitate a sense of calm and comfort, and can even improve people’s feelings of self-worth and self-regulation.  Often,...

We are built to experience pain to become aware that something is amiss.    Pain can be triggered by either a physical injury or an emotional state.    In the case of physical pain, the nerves from the site of the wound send a signal to the brain that is interpreted as being painful.  ...

Sources of stress are all around us and therefore are unavoidable.  We can become stressed by other people, happenings in our personal lives, pressure we put on ourselves, and events in the world at large over which we have no control.  Some people are stressed by not having enough to eat, and...

Creativity is one of humanity’s greatest gifts.  Through creativity we have been able to advance the arts, sciences, health, athletics, and our spiritual understanding.  Creativity allows us to expand our boundaries, and joyfully embrace our lives.  Unfortunately, our traditional educational system tends to stifle creativity by insisting that children learn...

Gifted children often face challenges   As they mature, some gifted children with extraordinarily advanced intellectual skills adjust well socially and emotionally.  However, others tend to develop psychological issues including anxiety and depression because of their difficulties in dealing with their unique challenges.  These challenges can be addressed effectively with instruction...

Almost anyone can benefit from learning how to better manage their emotions.  Sometimes this is an easy thing to recognize, but sometimes it takes an extra dose of perspective to bring it to light.    With that in mind, how do you help people you care about become aware of this...

Most of the memorable lessons I learned at college occurred outside of its academic environment.  On the same day I was accepted as freshman at UC San Diego in 1975, I was turned down by Stanford University, which was my first choice and the only other university to which I...

My favorite story in the Bible is about Joseph from the book of Genesis.  Joseph’s experiences and perspective illustrate many of the spiritual lessons I have learned about in my life.  Joseph is one of 12 sons born to Jacob, who has children with four women (two wives and two...

5 ways that people with autism can improve themselves  Autism can be defined as a neurodevelopmental disorder that causes difficulty with social interactions and problems with verbal and non-verbal communication.  These difficulties can lead affected individuals to develop self-stimulating, aggressive, and other socially inappropriate behaviors. The autism spectrum is diverse,...

The title of this blog does not include the term “hypnotherapist” because that word implies that the main tool used by certain therapists is hypnosis.  If such therapists exist, they are not very good, since hypnosis by itself is not a therapy.   When a therapist utilizes hypnosis as part of...

Grief can be thought of as a reaction to loss.  Most often we think of grief as occurring following the loss of a beloved person, but other losses can cause grief as well, such as death of a beloved pet, a best friend who moves away, declining health as result...

As a pediatrician, I am used to working with parents to help provide the best possible care for their children.  One of the big differences between hypnosis therapy and traditional medical therapy is that the child needs to play an active role for the therapy to succeed.  Therefore, most of...

I learned about the importance of hypnosis as part of my practice of pediatric pulmonology when I recognized that oftentimes psychology played a major role in causing and relieving my patients’ symptoms.  For example, my patients with asthma were more likely to complain of shortness of breath when they were...

Healthcare providers are trained to make a diagnosis to guide the course of evaluation and treatment of physical and mental health conditions. A diagnosis can help healthcare providers rapidly decide regarding appropriate courses of therapy, ideally based on scientific evidence for specific therapies. Additionally, a diagnosis allows for classification of the patient, including for insurance billing purposes and provisions of appropriate...

Imagery typically is used as part of clinical hypnosis, but effective hypnosis therapy can also be provided without use of imagery.   When imagery is used, patients can be taught to imagine themselves  In a calm, safe location as a way of achieving a peaceful state of mind. Such imagery is useful in the treatment of...

The subconscious can be defined as the part of your mind that you’re usually unaware of. However, you can establish a connection with your subconscious through hypnosis. Once you do so, you can actually interview this part of your mind. In my experience, most people find their subconscious to be a source of wisdom, knowledge, and truly useful guidance.   The subconscious tends to be highly...

Some patients develop an inability to burp (abelchia) because a muscle that surrounds the bottom of the throat (the cricopharyngeus) remains overly tight when they attempt to allow air to pass upwards through their food pipe. This has been recently termed as “retrograde cricopharyngeal dysfunction. (RCD)” (Karagama, 2021).  Studies have...

How do most of us react when our doctor tells us that we need to lose weight?  Typical responses might be, “I know, but it’s too hard.  I’ve tried,” or “I should do that in a few years.”   And how do we react when we develop a health complication of obesity, such as diabetes, hypertension,...

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) presents in children with various symptoms including frequent daydreaming, forgetting, or losing things, restlessness, talking too much, making careless errors, taking unnecessary risks, difficulty resisting temptations, trouble taking turns, and difficulty in getting along with others (Felt, 2014).   While genetics play a role in whether a child develops ADHD, the child’s environment plays a significant role in whether the symptoms of ADHD cause major...

There are many ways to help yourself promote and maintain good health.  These include allotting time for sufficient sleep, regular exercise, eating a well-balanced diet, socializing and helping others, challenging your mind with life-long learning, and dealing effectively with stress.  As we embark on a new year, consider setting goals to incorporate...

Netflix released the thriller movie Hypnotic on October 27, 2021.  This movie turns out to be yet another entry in the film industry’s 101-year history of contributing to the public’s misconceptions about hypnosis. Unfortunately, the resultant erroneous beliefs present a significant obstacle for the dissemination of information about the important clinical utility of therapy...

3 ways to use our minds to feel and function better  Therapy with hypnosis can yield many improvements in health, behavior, academic achievement, athletics, creativity, and spiritual understanding.  However, it is not always necessary or possible to find a therapist with whom to work.  Fortunately, there are many helpful methods used within hypnosis therapy that you can use on your own.  This blog will explore three of these. ...

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association declared a national emergency in children’s mental health in a statement released on Oct. 19, 2021.    According to the statement, childhood rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality have risen over the past decade, and by 2018 suicide was...

Some anxiety before tests is useful, as it can help motivate a student to prepare for a test, and it can help the student remain careful during a test (Porcelli and Delgado, 2017).  However, when anxiety becomes too great it can impair test performance.  Some students become so nervous before a test that they cannot...

Kindness can be defined as being friendly, helpful, generous and considerate.  People who practice kindness do so without expectation of anything in return.  Being kind is a way of expressing love.  The practice of kindness has been shown to improve self-esteem, mood, empathy, and compassion.  It can decrease blood pressure and the...

Many years ago, I taught one of my patients how to allow his subconscious to write “automatically.”  The set-up for this is disarmingly simple.  I suggested that he enter a state of hypnosis by imagining himself to be in a calm place.  He picked the beach.  I explained that he can allow his eyes to...

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) causes people to have recurrent unwanted, or unreasonable thoughts or sensations (obsessions) or make them feel driven to do something repeatedly (compulsions).  Common obsessions include fear of germs, while common compulsions include wanting to keep things in a particular order.  If a compulsion cannot be accomplished, a person with OCD tends to become anxious.  OCD represents a type...

I very much agree with Dennis S. Brown’s statement that “The only difference between a good day and a bad day is your attitude.”  How we approach our challenges can either bog us down or propel us forward.  For example, if you are about to meet a new person, worries about how they might perceive...

Common warts are caused by an infection of the top layer of the skin from human papillomavirus. The infection causes the skin cells to grow quickly, which leads to the development of the wart.  Warts affect 5-10% of children and often in adolescents between the ages of 12 and 16.  They are frequently found on...

Motor tics are spasmodic contractions of muscles, which typically involve the face and are habitual.  Examples include squinting of the eyes, grimacing, or even turning of the head.  Sometimes motor tics involve muscles of the trunk, arms, and legs.  Typically, tics begin between the ages of 5 and 10 years.  Many tics...

Many of us have experienced shortness of breath with vigorous exercise, which improves rapidly with rest.  A sensation of shortness of breath can occur for many other reasons including anxiety, which sometimes can lead to constriction of the airways that creates an additional physical cause of difficulty breathing.  Lung diseases such as asthma or pneumonia and...

Picky eating is a relatively common problem in early childhood and affects nearly half of children.  However, when children refuse to eat enough food so that it affects their health they can be classified as suffering from avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID).  This condition may occur as frequently as one in twenty children.  The affected children frequently report that they are fearful about eating food because it...

More than 70% of adults in the United States are overweight (with a Body Mass Index of greater than 25), and more than half of these are considered obese (with a BMI of greater than 30).  Among children, the prevalence of obesity is about half of that of adults, which...

Nausea is a very common symptom that affects most everyone at some point in their lives and causes uneasiness of the stomach.  Sometimes it occurs before throwing up.  Nausea can be caused by infections, ingestion of a substance such as alcohol, chemotherapy, acid reflux from the stomach, motion sickness, eating...

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can present with stomachaches, bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, irregular bowl movements or a combination of any of these symptoms.   The word “syndrome” in its name means that physicians are unsure of its cause.  That being said, IBS usually is associated with psychosocial stress, and often improves greatly when...

Insomnia affects nearly a quarter of children.  Insomnia can cause difficulties with falling asleep, frequent awakenings during the night, and waking up too early in the morning.  As a result of insomnia children can be tired, irritable, become more anxious, have difficulty at school, and even develop stomachaches.    Sometimes, when children have difficulty falling asleep one of...

Headaches can be caused by many triggers including alcohol (especially red wine), certain foods (such as meats that contain nitrates), poor sleep, poor posture, skipped meals, and stress.  The most common type of headache is known as “tension headache” that causes a dull, aching pain or pressure on the forehead,...

Teenagers (and occasionally younger children) can develop a habit of pulling their hair from their scalp, eyebrows, or eyelashes.  This habit is known medically as trichotillomania, and sometimes called “trich.”  The behavior often starts around puberty and can be triggered by stress.  People affected by trichotillomania sometimes feel anxiety if they cannot...

Many children (and some adults) are afraid of needles and other medical procedures.  Such fears can cause children to refuse to receive essential immunizations, have blood testing in order to monitor their health conditions, or even visit their doctor because they are afraid they might receive a shot.  When working with someone who is afraid of needles it...

Skin conditions have a large psychological component, in that stress tends to exacerbate various skin conditions from eczema to rosacea and psoriasis.  Stress also can lead to the development of hives.  Thus, as with many medical conditions, skin ailments have a significant psychological component, and thus can benefit from use of hypnosis. ...

There are many potential reasons for difficulty swallowing.  These include acid reflux that leads to irritation of the food pipe (esophagus), different kinds of tumors or scarring of the food pipe, and neurological problems that causes the nerves involved in swallowing to malfunction (for example, in someone who has suffered brain damage).  A common cause of difficulty in swallowing involves a sensation...

Students at college face a number of challenges including keeping up with their classwork, studying efficiently, planning their future careers, maintaining a good balance between achievement of academic goals and healthy social activities, staying in a good state of health including through eating, sleeping, and exercising sufficiently, and even development of their...

Diabetes is a disease that occurs when the body cannot regulate blood sugar (glucose) well, which causes an elevated level of sugar in the blood.  This elevation can lead to development of many complications including heart disease, stroke, kidney problems, eye problems, dental problems, and nerve damage. Diabetes affects nearly 10% of Americans, and most of...

Depression affects nearly 20% of high school students at some point.  People who are depressed experience feelings of sadness, hopelessness, lack of interest in activities they used to like, lack of motivation, poor sleep, lack of energy, changes in appetite, and thoughts of self-harm or that they would be better...

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place electronically through cell phones or computers. This kind of bullying can occur through texting, emails, photos or videos posted in social media, and during online gaming. Cyberbullying can occur in groups or individually. It includes sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about the...

There are many causes of cough including upper respiratory infections, asthma, allergies leading to post-nasal drip, pneumonia and pollution. However, another cause of cough that often is not diagnosed by physicians is habit!  Cough that is caused by habit typically starts because of an infection, but once the infection resolves, the cough...

Although we do not fully understand how hypnosis works, we do know that hypnosis cannot cure many diseases including cancer.  That being said, there are many ways hypnosis can be used to help a patient with cancer.  Hypnosis and counseling can be used to help a patient cope better with the physical,...

Burn injuries in children lead to 300 children seeking emergency care every day in the United States.  Burns cause physical pain, psychological distress, and can also lead to long-term physical impairment as a result of scarring.  The pain associated with burns can be caused by the injury, but sometimes there is even greater pain caused by the...

Most children outgrow bedwetting by the age of 5 years.  However, 7% of boys and 3% of girls take longer to stop bedwetting.  By the early teen years less than 2% of children still experience this problem.  Medical causes of bedwetting include urinary tract infections, constipation, and diabetes.  Most of the time bedwetting after...

In the early 20th century, asthma was thought of as a psychosomatic disease, which means that the illness was caused by psychological problems that lead to development of physical symptoms.  At that time, it was thought that a child’s development of anxiety related to separation from his or her mother led to the development of asthma.  Research...

When many people think of anxiety, they consider it to be a bad thing. However, anxiety is useful in small doses, and this likely is the reason we have developed to have a capacity for anxiety.  A feeling of fear or apprehension is very useful if you are about to climb a cliff with narrow paths, since a worry that you...

It is surprising to many people that allergies have a big-time psychological component.  For example, take someone who is allergic to a certain flower, which causes him to develop asthma flare-ups.  If he is shown this flower, encased in a glass vase so that he cannot inhale any of the flower particles...

Usually, during the first one or two sessions with a new patient, I discuss the importance of positive self-talk as a prelude to use of hypnosis in a positive way. I demonstrate to my patients that telling themselves that they can be strong or weak actually translates into increased or decreased muscle strength when I ask them...

At Center Point Medicine we use hypnosis and counseling to treat patients who have medical and mental health problems. However, once kids learn how to use hypnosis to help themselves, they are free to apply this technique to any aspect of their lives. For example, many athletes want to know how hypnosis...

When our hypnosis and counseling services at Center Point Medicine proved to be greatly needed and successful, I had hoped that other physicians would follow my lead. There are so many children in this country who could benefit from hypnosis and counseling, and yet there is extraordinarily little access to health care providers who can provide such guidance.  Helping...

I used hypnosis to help patients  while I was practicing as a pediatric pulmonologist for 15 years at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY.  In my last few years in Syracuse, I split my time between practicing pulmonary medicine and medical hypnosis.  I enjoyed both aspects of my practice, but...

Spirituality can be defined as a feeling or sense that there is something greater than oneself. It can encompass faith in a guiding entity or be evoked by being in an awesome natural environment, entering an ornate lobby, or listening to inspiring music. Becoming aware of the great power of the subconscious mind through hypnosis, as described in...

The subconscious is responsible for many of the phenomena that we observe and experience with hypnosis.  Further, I teach many of my patients how to interact with their subconscious so that they can gain from its insight, knowledge, and wisdom.  What is the subconscious?  I tell my patients that the subconscious represents the part of their mind...

Virtually all people who want to help themselves with hypnosis gain at least some benefit, since everyone can improve their mind/body connection with achievement of a healthier mental state and practice.  On infrequent occasions, imporvement occurs immediately, and on most occasions some benefit can be observed within a few weeks of hypnosis...

The mind is much more powerful than most people might imagine.  Within our minds we have the ability to change our perception of reality as well as to gain a much deeper understanding of what underlies our thoughts and actions.  Hypnosis can prepare us to better use our mind power.  It works by diverting our attention...

Contrary to what is portrayed commonly in the entertainment industry, hypnosis is not a tool for kidnapping or mind control. It is not practiced by snakes or evildoers. It is not facilitated by inanimate objects (or psychedelic eyeballs) with uniquely mesmerizing powers. It is not sleep.   To find out what hypnosis IS, please read the January 19, 2021...

Treatment with both hypnosis and biofeedback involves teaching our minds and bodies to become calmer. However, while hypnosis relies on teaching patients to calm themselves by focusing on words, images, or thoughts, biofeedback involves training patients to regulate themselves by showing them the results of electronic monitoring of their body’s reactions. ...

Hypnosis with younger children is different in content and appearance than with older children, adolescents and adults.  The key to effective hypnosis is to speak the patient’s language, and thus with younger children therapists and parents need to rely more on rhythm, rhyme, and imagery than we might use with an older individual. ...

Both hypnosis and meditation involve changing of the mindset from usual conscious awareness. When we are in our usual state of awareness our conscious mind can be highly active, occupied fully with our tasks at hand, and is unaware of input from the subconscious.   How Meditation and Hypnosis are Achieved  Meditation involves a singular focus such as the breath (mindfulness breathing meditation) or a mantra (transcendental meditation). Such a mental...

Hypnosis is a state of consciousness during which people are more suggestible. The suggestions can be given by a therapist or doctor and can also be given by people to themselves.    Counseling occurs when someone is given assistance or guidance regarding how to resolve a personal or psychological issue.    When people...

Because of COVID-19 and its associated life disruptions, many children have become emotionally and physically affected.  Some children have become anxious about becoming sick, or about the health of their family members.  Others have become depressed because online learning is difficult for them and/or they miss in-person social interactions with...

Children’s emotions usually affect what they say about their physical symptoms.  For example, if your child has a mild stomachache is he or she more likely to complain of this on a day when there is a test at school, which the child has been dreading, or on a day when the family...

A most wonderful fact about hypnosis is that your child can learn to control his or her mind better through entering hypnosis.  Once your child achieves improved mind control, the applications are limitless.  Your child can enhance any aspect of his or her mental abilities such as achievement in school,...

Everyone can achieve a state of hypnosis to some degree. There are people able to use hypnosis easily and they can achieve incredible experiences in that state. Researchers call such people high-hypnotizables. Others have a challenging time achieving a typical hypnotic state. These people are termed low-hypnotizables. Some researchers believe that if you are a low-hypnotizable individual, you cannot benefit from hypnosis. This is incorrect. In fact, I would...

It seems like a simple question. What is hypnosis? The answer is quite complicated and people, including experts in the field, cannot agree on a definition. Hypnosis involves a shift in the thinking pattern. To my patients I define hypnosis as “using your imagination to help yourself.”  However, that describes what we can do with...

Based on my experience, hypnosis should be an essential tool in the kit of every health care provider.  Without use of this tool, or another way of addressing patients’ psychological issues, the majority of patients suffer needlessly!    Why Psychology Plays Such an Important Role in Health Care  Every patient has a brain that affects how they process information. ...

Welcome to this blog regarding hypnosis.  My name is Ran D. Anbar, MD, and I am the President and Founder of Center Point Medicine.  In this first blog entry I want to share about my introduction to the world of hypnosis.  In the spring of 1997, when I was practicing as a pediatric...