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VISUALIZATION & HYPNOSIS IN DIABETIC AMPUTATION
How can a 5 minute visualization change the outcome of a diabetic amputation?
I was working in a community setting, with a man with out of control diabetes. He was experiencing a lot of stress, had a poor diet, lack of exercise and as a result, his blood sugars were all over the place – routinely high requiring his standard dose of insulin plus a sliding scale. He was an accident waiting to happen.
He started with a simple, ingrown nail on his big toe. Soon, the toe turned black, then gangrene set in. The large toe was amputated. The wound was redressed every day by nurses, but the wound was not healing. It was getting worse. The leg to the knee had turned an ominous dark color. We continued to change the dressing, but his prognosis was not good. Unfortunately, over the years, I have seen this same scenario all too often- a poorly controlled diabetic faced with the amputation of a limb.
One day, while changing his dressing, the patient ask, “What do you think about my foot?” I looked at the wound. It was not healing. After a month of dressing changes, there was little improvement even though his blood sugars were now controlled. The leg also remained dark in color, was quite warm to the touch, all the way up the leg, to just below the knee. The patient said the entire leg throbbed constantly with pain.
I ask, “ Do you want me to be honest with you?” He said yes. “Honestly, I think there is a good chance you could lose your leg.” The patient looked very sad. He said, “I know, the doctor wants to cut my leg off up to the knee. I wouldn’t let him to do. I don’t want to lose my leg.” In a community setting, while doing dressing changes, it is not possible or appropriate to do a full hypnosis session to control pain, manage and promote healing of a wound, increase circulation and decrease anxiety and stress. A traditional one hour hypnosis session, in a quiet environment can do all that and more. But, I have found that I can teach a patient a very quick visualization that can achieve great improvement, even
in a busy clinical setting.
I quickly explained that I had had good success with visualization with other patients facing amputation in the past. This can also work well with a variety of other patients to control pain, promote healing, and decrease stress, as in cancer, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, and Burger’s Disease to name a few.. I explained my theory concerning the body’s invisible electrical system, about phantom pain and Kirlian photography and why I thought the visualization worked. Bottom line I explained, “it can’t hurt you and it might help a lot. It might seem like hocus pocus, but the body has an amazing ability to heal itself, if we can just learn to channel that energy. It is said we only use 10% of our mind.” I ask,” Are you willing to try it?” The patient replied with a somber face, “I don’t want to lose my leg. I’ll try.”
In less than 5 minutes, sitting in the chair with his eyes closed, I taught him how to “send healing to his toe, foot and leg, and to improve circulation. He opened his eyes, and much to both of our wonder, the leg was immediately improved. The leg and foot was now a pinker color and it was cooler to the touch. He looked at me in amazement and said, “It stopped hurting!” “Okay” I said, “continue to practice this visualization I just taught you as often as you can throughout the day.”
Over the next month, the dressings continued. The patient said he was faithfully practicing his visualization and the improvement was noticeable. The amputation wound was pinker in color and was slowly closing. The leg would sometimes be darker in color, but then pink up again. The leg remained cool in temperature and the best part, the patient’s phantom pain never returned, and he STILL had his leg. The man was delighted. His blood sugars remained controlled and his progress was evident. Months down the road, he still has his leg, he is still doing his visualizations, and he is a very happy man walking around with two legs..even playing basketball the last time I talked to him.” I have seen visualization and hypnosis work “magic” in case after case, be it an addiction to drugs, cigarettes, food, or alcohol, and with a medical or psychological root cause. I am hopeful to see the possible doorway to preservation in any pending amputation, be it medical, traumatic, or combat, and to be able to teach control or elimination of phantom pain. The possibilities for our returning Iraq/Afgan vets could be tremendous and for many chronic problems as in diabetes and cancers.
I am very excited to see the blending of Western, Eastern and alternative medicine that can bring the best of all worlds to the patient for optimal healing. I believe we are on the cusp of a wonderful new frontier in healing. I am excited to be a part of that!
The Healing Power of Art, copyright Sally Mitchell, 2008
I rediscovered my art when my children were small and my first marriage was on the rocks. I remember vividly the day I painted one particular watercolor –one lone dove flying toward the sun, into the light and out of the darkness. That painting helped me make a very painful decision to leave my unhappy, stifling marriage. I packed us up and left that same day. I titled the painting “Freedom.” I have it still.
I realized over time that during my most difficult periods in life, I painted my most powerful pieces. My colors are very strong the emotion is powerful. All of my artwork has a story behind it. Sometimes I didn’t realize what the story and the piece really meant at the time, but in time, the meaning was revealed to me.
My most important spiritual piece to date is a very large acrylic paint, “Psalm 142, Thou Art My Refuge.” Tremendous healing and peace came through for me as I painted. Angels, many animal beings and people of all cultures emerged on the canvas. The painting emerged in honor of my ex-husband Dan, his combat experience, and in honor of the troops now in the Middle East.
I don’t agree with the current war, but honor our men and women who serve. Combat PTSD was the core issue of the emotional pain and grief behind this painting, as my ex-husband and I struggled in our relationship. After two days of painting, I opened my Bible, looking for meaning, and the page I turned to was “Thou Art My Refuge.” Tears welled in my eyes. The painting hangs today next to my front door as guardian. It has deep meaning for me. Not everyone see the angels and the other beings in this painting. To some it looks like a colorful abstract. To others, they see what I see..the angels and other beings. Ultimately, it only matters that I see them.
The choice of colors is instinctive, and means one thing: painting fast and loose or careful with detail, yet another. The theme means still something else. Each painting tells its own story. Stormy or calm- happy, angry or sad.
So, as a practicing healer, I took my love of art and healing, into the prison system. My group was an art therapy group for chemically addicted inmates, based on the AA/NAs 12 steps. My Art Therapy Program is described in detail on my website, under my bio-easily adapted to schools, inpatient/outpatient groups, and prisons.
I based my group on the premise of Brief Therapy. “Draw me your past, what brought you to prison, then draw me your present. Now visualize where you want to go in the future.” One inmate carefully drew a mountain horse ranch, right down to the last nail. “Now,” I said, How do you get there?” His first plan of action, have all his gang tattoos removed so he would be able to get a good job. And so began his healing through the terrible world of methamphetamine abuse into healing, a plan of action, and hope.
When you stop smoking!
- Within 20 minutes, blood pressure, body temperature,
and pulse rate will drop to normal.
- Within 8 hours,
smoker’s breath
disappears. The carbon monoxide level in blood drops, and the oxygen
level rises to normal.
- Within 24 hours, chance of heart attack decreases
- Within 48
hours, nerve endings start to regroup. Ability to taste and smell improves.
- Within
3 days, breathing is easier.
- Within 2-3 months, circulation improves.
Walking becomes easier. Lung capacity increases up to 30%.
- Within 9 months,
sinus congestion and shortness of breath decrease. Cilia that sweep debris
from you lungs grow back. Energy increases.
- Within one year, excess risk
of coronary heart disease is half that of a person who smokes. Saved
$1200/year at a pack a day.
- Within 2 years, heart attack risk drops to
near normal. Saved $2400.
- Within 5 years, lung cancer death rate for average
former pack-a-day smoker decreases by almost half. Stroke risk is reduced.
Risk of mouth,
throat, and esophageal cancer is half that of a smoker. Saved $6,000.
- Within
10 years, lung cancer rate is similar to that of a person who does
not smoke. The precancerous cells are replaced. Saved $12,000,
not to mention less sick days at work, lower health care costs and health/life
insurance.
- Within 15 years, risk of coronary heart disease is the same as a person who has never smoked. Saved $18,000..NOW can you afford hypnosis sessions and counseling support to stop smoking for you and your family.
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