Medical hypnosis has been shown to be as effective, and often more effective, than medication for certain medical conditions. Yet, despite a great deal of medical research supporting medical hypnosis as a very successful treatment option, it is often still considered “alternative medicine.”
“Big Pharma” refers to “large pharmaceutical companies (= companies producing medical drugs), especially when these are seen as having a powerful and bad influence.“*
It is no secret that the major drug companies have lobbyists to try to influence people in our Congress. And it works!
In addition, you can’t turn on the television, listen to the radio, or open a magazine without seeing an ad for drugs, both prescription and over the counter. How many times have you seen or heard “Ask your doctor about this drug?”
And at the end of the commercial, you hear someone with a very fast voice listing all the possible side effects for that particular drug!
And this type of advertising works! Otherwise, these companies wouldn’t do it!
Years ago, drug companies were able to hide unpublished data that revealed that most of the benefits of anti-depressants was due to the placebo effect! That’s right; if an anti-depressant was used in a study, and it was not effective, the drug companies were able to prevent the study from being published!
This was first described by my friend and colleague, Irving Kirsch, PhD, in his ground-breaking book, The Emperor’s New Drugs: Exploding the Antidepressant Myth.
Medical hypnosis has been medically proven to be effective for:
- Migraine headaches
- Bedwetting
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome and other gastrointestinal conditions
- Tics and Tourette syndrome
- Chronic pain
Yet, most lay people, and most clinicians, are not aware of the efficacy of medical hypnosis for the above conditions.
Of course, with medical hypnosis, there are no side effects!
Plus, it is empowering! Patients learn to use the power of their mind to control their bodies and life challenges. They are able to say, “I did this by myself, with no medication!” And, this builds increased self-confidence and increased self-esteem.
*Cambridge English Dictionary.