Hypnosis and AutogenicTraining

CHAPTER III of

Introduction to the Methods of Relieving

Dr. Bernard Auriol

translated from french by Vanessa Leroux

 

 

 

1. HYPNOSIS

Hypnosis is one of very old and very effective techniques making it possible to abolish the tensions related to muscular and vegetative defenses of the anguish. In turn preached or rejected with contempt by the doctors, who declare it able all to cure or nothing to make, it arouses a constant interest in the public because of its pace of mystery, of the magic relents which escorts it, of its more or less mystified use within the framework of the variety.

Hypnosis is related to the natural suggestibility increased by the training. The various effective methods cause cerebral circuits " looping back ", thanks to a focusing of the conscience. This process is supported by the transfer which the prestige or the competence of the hypnotist causes.

The hypnotist uses various processes to reinforce the spontaneous suggestibility of the subject : context which reinforces its prestige.

It repeats the suggestion to create a  neuronic reverberating way:

This is made possible by the fact, now clarified by the cerebral ideography, according to which any perception (real or imaginary) is accompanied by an outline of action, also negligible it is, related to the significance of this perception. This is all the more effective as the flood of the attention, which structure the mental life, is able to emerge from a precise project. It is to say that the state of paradoxical awakening is completely ready to support in a very broad measurement this type of phenomenon if one places oneself under particular conditions. It became obvious, with the technique known as of so-called "flight yogic" suggested by Maharishi, that the state of paradoxical awakening is highly favourable with the increase in " ideomotor faculty", that it is during or even after this state (in the hours which follow). The same obviousness arises for the medical relieving which leads to very interesting possibilities of cure of symptoms.

The hypnotist uses the suggestion to increase the suggestibility, and seeks to lead his subject in a state of particular paradoxical awakening which preserves and cultivates a privileged relationship between the two protagonists.

Suggestibility is maximum towards the seven years age, larger at the woman than at the man, supported by drug-addiction, all the more effective as they are phenomena related on the emotion and the images. One easily obtains all kinds of illusions and hallucinations. One can also attenuate burns, produce phlyctaenae, make reappear a latent herpes, cure warts, produce bleedings (marks), etc. One also believed to be able to improve certain faculties: a precise experimentation shows that it is true only for the subjects which used their capacities badly : one can then allow them less to inhibit oneself.

Hypnotized can slacken or tighten themselves , undergo a suggestion tending to deteriorate or improve its health. It can be made deaf, blind, be paralysed. It can make be born on its body a wound or prevent the appearance of an ignition (negativation of tuberculinic cuti-reaction). It can cure morose ideas, black pessimism, phobias, obsessions, anxiety, sexual disorders, sleep disorders, rheumatic pains, psychogenic sterility , migraines, gastric, vesicled, cardiovascular, respiratory or dermatological functional disorders, etc. Hypnosis is useful in enuresis, tics,  stammering. This partial enumeration is enough to show how much this practice could be useful for many doctors, in many circumstances. However the "technical " orientation of medicine, the need for acting quickly, the lack of training, and relent it "occult" of hypnosis make that it is practised rather little.

The reasons which bring this disaffection on behalf of the doctors (currently, it exists medical formations) seem me to be as follows

To preserve the benefit of hypnosis without tying a "tranferential" relation massive of dependence, some people learned how to hypnotize themselves. A part of their personality plays the Parental part (the hypnotist), the remainder of the person playing the part of Child (hypnotized). Thus these people are capable of autosuggestionner or, at least, to obtain a state more resting, more comfortable, comprising a certain pleasure, reinforcing the confidence and the love of oneself. This training is sometimes rather not very stable, as Eric explains it " I ceased of  autohypnotise me  during a few months ; when I wanted to start again, I arrived no more there ! ".

A very systematic use of suggestibility to the waking state and passing by the state of paradoxical awakening is carried out by Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). It is not a question to be strictly accurate of a technique of relieving what will avoid us speaking about it lengthily. Its effectiveness on many symptoms cannot erase the disadvantage which represents in my eyes its accentuated character of handling of the patient by the therapeutist, even if one limits of them the disadvantages by the ethics of this last.

History: The Coué Method Here is the formula suggested by Emile Coué
" You say to the subject: "you Sit and close your eyes. I do not want to try to deaden you, it is useless. Please close your eyes simply so that your attention is not distracted by the objects which strike your glance. All the words that I will pronounce will set in your brain, will be printed there, will be engraved there, will be encrusted there, that is needed that they remain always fixed there, printed, encrusted, and that, without you're wanting it, without you're knowing it, in a completely unconscious way of your share, your organization and yourself will have to obey their. I say to you initially that, everyday, three times per day, the morning, at midday, the evening, per hour of the meals, you will be hungry, i.e. you will test this pleasant feeling which makes think and say: ' Oh! I would eat with pleasure!' Indeed, you will eat with pleasure and great pleasure without however eating too much. But you will have care of chewing a long time your food in order to transform them into a species of soft paste which you will swallow. Under these conditions, you will digest well and you will feel, neither in the stomach, nor in the intestine, any embarrassment, no faintness, no pain. The assimilation will be done well, and your organization will benefit from all your food to make of it blood, muscle, force, energy, life, in a word.	Days organized by Monique Saillard-Popy, with the participation of Dr. J.P.Cattoné, of Drs Parmentier and Auriol and R. Centassi
Since you will have digested well, the intestinal function will be achieved normally and every morning, while picking you up, you will test the need to evacuate and, without needing never to employ any drug, to resort to an artifice whatever it is, you will obtain a normal and satisfactory result. Moreover, every night, as from the moment when you will wish to fall asleep until the moment when you will wish to wake up the next morning, you will sleep of a major sleep, calm, quiet, during which you will not have nightmares, and when you will wake up, you will be completely quite bearing, completely dispos. On another side sometimes, if it happens to you to be sad, to be dark, to make you trouble, to crush black, from now it will not be thus any more, and instead of being sad, sinks, instead of you to make sorrow, to crush black, you will be merry, quite merry, merry without reason, it is possible, but merry all the same, as it could sometimes happen to you to be sad without reason. I will say more: even if you have true reasons, real reasons to make you trouble and sorrow, you are not done any. Sometimes if it happens to you to have movements of impatience or anger, these movements, you will not have them any more; you will be, on the contrary, always patient, always main of yourself, and the things which annoyed you, aggravated you, irritated you henceforth, will leave you absolutely indifferent and calm, very calm. If sometimes you are attacked, pursued, haunted by bad ideas and unhealthy for you, by fears, frights, phobias, temptations, resentments, I understand that all that moves away little by little from the eyes of your imagination and seems to be based, to be lost as in a remote cloud where all must end up disappearing completely. As a dream disappears with the alarm clock, thus all these vain images will disappear. I add that all your bodies function well; the heart beats normally and the blood circulation is carried out as it must be carried out; the lungs function well; the stomach, the intestine, the liver, the gall bladder, the kidneys, the bladder, fulfill their functions normally. If one of them currently functions in an abnormal way, this anomaly disappears a little each day, so that, in a little time moved away, it will have disappeared completely, and this body will have taken again its normal function. Moreover, if there are some lesions in one of them, its lesions are healed day in day, and they will quickly be cured. I still add this, and it is an extremely important thing: if, until now, you tested with respect to yourself a certain distrust, I say to you that this distrust disappears little by little to make place, on the contrary, with confidence in yourself, based on this force of an incalculable power which is of each one of us. And this confidence is an absolutely essential thing with all human being. Without self-confidence, one never arrives at nothing, with self-confidence, one can arrive at all (in the field of the reasonable things, of course). You thus take confidence in you, and confidence gives you the certainty which you are able to make not only well, but even very well all the things that you wish to make, in the condition who they are reasonable, all the things also which it is in your duty to make. Therefore, when you wish to do something of reasonable, when you have to make a thing which it is of your duty to make, always think that this thing is easy. That words: difficult, impossible, I cannot; it is stronger than me, I cannot prevent myself... disappear from your vocabulary, they are not French. What is French, it is: it is easy and I can. If you regard the thing as easy, it becomes it for you whereas it would seem difficult with the different one, and this thing, you do it quickly, you do it well, you also do it without tiredness, because you will have done it without effort. While if you had regarded it as difficult or impossible, it would have become it for you, quite simply because you would have regarded it as such. " Coué proposes to introduce the suggestions here corresponding to the case to treat. " In short, I hear that from all points of view, so much from the physical point of view than from the moral point of view, you enjoy an excellent health, of a health better than that which you could enjoy until now. Now, I will count until ' tthree' and when I say ' three', you will open the eyes and will leave the state where you are, and you will leave there well quietly; while leaving there, you will not be numb, not tired , quite to the contrary, you will extremely feel yourselves, vigorous, alert, dispos, full with life; moreover, you will be merry, quite merry and quite bearing under all reports/ratios. One, two, three. " The disc of A. Coué, Balance and Health, Astra, DC 001 are not best publicities for its method. Some experts try to perpetuate this method (cf MF Saillard Popy). One can find on the Net examples of sentences , suggested by Mr. Marjollet. It uses the Coué method under the name of E-force and suggests that the autosuggestions go only after their energetisation which one would obtain by being made them address by e-mail! It draws up thus a list of addresses commercially usable...

2. The lower cycle of the autogenic training

Johannes Heinrich Schultz (German neuropsychiatrist, 1884-1970) developed about 1930 technique of the "autogenic Training " to learn with that which would wish it to profit from the advantages of car-hypnosis.

After lengthily having tried out and having questioned the people capable of car-hypnosis, it established the useful stages of the autogenous training :

preparation

 

First stage

At the beginning of the first exercise, one proposes the formula "I am completely calm".

There certain people meet their first astonishment and their first difficulty, even their first revolts "When I say that I do not feel myself at all calms and that does not calm me".

I explain that this formula does not want to be effective as a magic potion but must be taken as the signpost placed on a road :

This immediately made seize that it is completely useless to repeat thirty-six time this formula, is with an aim of being convinced some (what would be illusion) that is to say to make it effective (what would require much time and could lead to the opposite effect). This uselessness of the repetition remains true with regard to the whole of the formulas in Training.

The first week, one will make 1st three times per day. The second week, 1st and the 2nd three times per day, etc.

 

First exercise

The formula used is " my right arm (or left) is completely heavy " that one must pronounce only once internally (to be satisfied to make oneself present at the arm without endeavouring to avoid the distractions : they are normal and occurred to them a failure does not indicate). The patient can make use of a visual image like that of a lead arm, or sound like that of a gong or a bassoon .

This first exercise will be only one minute or two but will have to be made regularly, without any failure, three times per day. With the end of the meeting, and that will remain true all along the training (and thereafter), a "recovery" is prescribed. It must accurately be carried out in order to return from the a little vaporous state of relieving to a vigilance well connected on reality. It is omitted only if the exercise is carried out with the bed, like entry as regards the sleep of the nap or the night.

This recovery consists with

It happens that one proposes a more progressive recovery . It is then a question of carrying out on the level of only one phalange of only one finger, only one hand, the smallest movement which one is able to conceive. It is generally tested like a kind of catch halfway of the volunteer and the involuntary one. If the subject has got time, it can be devoted to this inchoatif movement on all the levels of the body. It will thus gradually ensure the starting of all the osseous segments with an increasing width, utilizing successive "quanta" of mobilization.

One asks about noting at the end of each meeting carried out at the house the hour, the duration of the meeting, the felt feelings and all that appears interesting to him.

This regularly pleasing exercise practised, in the best cases, a feeling of gravity in the right arm as of the first meeting and the perception of this gravity on other levels in the following days. It is already the sign of a good relaxation which the therapeutist can control by mobilizing the arm slightly. In certain cases the results are long in coming. It is not necessary to worry some since relieving always occurs provided that one carries out the exercises with regularity and perseverance. According to the cases, the monitor of relieving will persist in the first exercise, while waiting for that the subject obtains a certain muscular relaxation, or it will pass to formulas of generalization and the exercises of heat. When the subject can live its relaxation without any disorder, one allows him to prolong the exercise time that it wishes it in so far as no disturbance occurs.

I think useful however to warn against the abuse by indicating a fork of duration : at least five minutes, at the most forty-five minutes.

 

Second exercise

The formula suggested will be " my right arm (or left) is completely hot ". The person will be able simultaneously to make use of a representation of heated arm (by fire in winter, the sun on the beach, etc). Here also, it is impossible to force the things. It is enough to wait patiently until the feeling occurs. It can begin with a very small corner from the arm, by the entire arm, another part of the body. Sometimes the subject already felt heat during the exercises of gravity.

One can measure an increase in the temperature of the skin of a degree or a degree and half. It is due to the increase in blood circulation on this level.

In "Arlésienne" (ACT II TABLE II SCENE II), Alphonse Daudet shows us how much the hands temperature is related on the anguish or the depression. Rose: you see well that it was not with his uncle... who knows where it went? Vivette: let us see, godmother, you do not torment... it cannot be well far... here is a package from reeds very fresh half-compartments of this morning. It will have intended to say to the women who one lacked trays for the worms with silk, and it will have come serper from the reeds per first hour. Rose: but why didn't it return to lunch? ... it had not carried its bag. Vivette: it is that it will have pushed to the farm of Giraud. Rose: you believe? Vivette: surely. Here a long time that Giraud invite it. Rose: it is true. I had not thought of it... yes, yes, you are right. It must have gone to lunch at Giraud. I am content that you found that... wait until I sit down a little... I cannot about it more (it assied on the reeds.) Vivette, kneeling and taking the hands to him: malicious godmother to be done such an amount of torment... see, your hands are all cold. Like it the proverb says ("cold hands, hot heart"), it is sometimes true that certain feelings are related to a state of stress.

 

At least, the temperature of the members is under the dependence of two factors: 1. the central temperature (which brings the members up to a higher temperature in the event of infection for example (the fever) 2. the peripheral circulation, which depends on the more or less great contraction (constriction) of the surface blood vessels. When the individual is anxious, in prey with the stress, threatened, blood "is put at the shelter" and the vital zones are privileged. When it is quiet, peaceful, that it "slackens", not only the tonicity of the voluntary muscles decreases, but also that of the involuntary muscles, in particular those which constitute a share of the vascular walls (surface or digestive small arteries). The large arteries are elastic arteries because the media contain quasi only elastic fibres. The arteries of smaller gauges are known as muscular because the media contain more muscular cells smooth than elastic fibres. The small arteries are particular because there is no more the adventitious one. One finds nothing any more but cells muscular smooth and the intima, the latter being exclusively formed of the endothelium. Between the small arteries and the veinules, there is a network of capillaries only made of an endothelium. Circulation, in such precise place of the body depends on the opening and the closing of sphincters. The force of constriction of the veins is weaker than that of the arteries. The blood vessels are endowed with unquestionable a contractility. The small arteries are equipped with a "muscular" envelope. The control of these vascular smooth muscles depends on the sympathetic nervous system which involves a reduction in diameter of the vessel (vasoconstriction). This vasoconstriction is used for example for thermoregulation: it makes it possible to retain or dissipate heat. The irrigation of a fabric adapts thus to the needs for this fabric (via mechanical, immunological and metabolic mechanisms). But the Nervous system can act in a "central" way to decrease the diameter of the blood vessels in all the organization or some of its parts. One names vasomotor tonicity the degree of permanent contraction of the blood vessels. This regulation of vascular tonicity will be done by transmitter substances (acetylcholine, catecholamines):- the acetylcholine (parasympathetic secretion) involves a vasodilatation, it is to say that it increases the diameter of the blood vessels.- noradrenalin (sympathetic secretion) gives a vasoconstriction on the receivers alpha-1 or alpha-2 and the receivers beta (this is why, the propranolol - or very other beta-blocking - makes it possible to treat the adrenergic urticaria of stress.The exercise of "hot member" of the autogenic training tends to decrease tonicity basic vasomotor; i.e. to bring closer the subject a state deprived of stress. It is, so to speak, the opposite of a syndrome of Raynaud, in which the vessels contract and deprive the member of the blood which it needs.

 

 

 

Third exercise

(that one can invert with the following, especially whenever the anguish is localised with predilection at the cardiac level).
One represents the heart and one feels his beats, or the beat of blood at any place of the body. One says "my heart internally low calmly" (Geissman and Durand de Bousingen). One is satisfied to perceive his beats without trying to slow down the rhythm (which in fact slows down little by little as show it the electrocardiographic studies).

Fourth exercise

It is there too a question of feeling to breathe without acting on the rhythm or the depth of breathing. One pronounces « my breathing internally is completely calm », or « that breathes »
(Schultz - Geissman and Durand de Bousingen).

Fifth exercise

One represents a heat on the level of the solar plexus and one says « my solar plexus radiates a soft heat ».

Sixth exercise

My forehead is agreeably fresh ". One represents the freshness that the forehead feels when gentle breeze blows in hot weather.

This training of the lower cycle of the Autogenic Training requires from one to six months of exercise on average. The subject can be devoted to relieving more or less a long time with each meeting (from 5 to 20 minutes). It feels each time large calms, the physiological relaxation and a distance with regard to the internal and external disturbances.

Y. Ikémi (Conference of Tsukuba) used a static sensographe at three points (San-EI) to measure unconscious movements of the body. It showed that they decrease enormously after a regular practice of Training for three months, comparatively with pupils not having learned the technique.
The effects on the E.E.G. were still incompletely studied. According to the cases, one observes either a layout of pre-sleep (stage of drowsiness), or a regularization and a light acceleration with increase in the principal frequency of the alpha rhythm. Ikémi showed the deceleration of the rhythm, the unit {delta + theta} being significantly increased compared to the unit {alpha + beta}. The same author showed that the potential evoked in the cortex by luminous glares was extremely reduced at the time of the autogenic training. In the same way, one observes a modification of the electric response of the brain to varied stimulations. These modifications clearly differentiate the autogenous state from the sleep, hypnosis and the neuroleptized state (distractibility).

The galvanic skin response (or électrodermale reaction) measurement capacity of the skin to lead the electrical current. It is known that the emotion increases this capacity (the perception of a noise, for example). During the autogenous state, one observes an important reduction of this reflex which shows that the subject concentrated on its body becomes less sensitive to what occurs in the external world.

Indications of Training Autogène (relaxation)

The simple use of this basic technique two to three times per day is enough, very often, in cases of spasmophilia, anxious or depressive phenomena, "functional" disorders or even "psychosomatic". Luthe also proposes to use organo-specific formulas (F.O.S.) during the state of " organismic disconnection " gotten by the preceding exercises. By these formulas the patient involves himself to perceive like heavy, hot, fresh or functioning normally such or such body, such or such function of the organization. Luthe also makes state practical effectiveness of intentional formulas (F.I.) type " Tobacco is indifferent to me" or "I know that I avoid eating between meals". At the introspective permanent one "I am interested in others"; etc.

 

G Soubiran-Bonvalot retains the interest of training in the professional overwork of the hyperactive ones. AT is also used in the event of reactional overwork with a traumatism. The results seems less obvious with hypochondriac ones, " psychopaths", "psychotics". With however some successes for the two last labels. People of paranoiac structure and people suffering from characterized paranoia seem well to benefit from this technique.

Demangeat showed the value in the anxiety neuroses and the cardiorespiratory neuroses (smothering, tachycardia, etc). If the patient uses the autogenic training in prolonged meetings, occurs what Luthe calls of the "autogenous abréactions ", indicating by there all kinds of psychic and neurophysiological experiments allowing the discharge of located energies in such or such cerebral zone of connection with such or such zone of the body and such or such traumatic experiment. Vittoz had already underlined similar phenomena by simple concentration on an area (emissivity).

We indicated a possible bringing together with the phenomenon of laying on hands of the healers, charismatic sects and in parapsychology. One finds similar things in Yoga and bioénergie (as for example when one concentrates, helped by the therapeutist, on a scar). Janov announced also cathartic phenomena which can be brought closer .

One observes certain modifications of the body diagram evoking what the advanced Yogi tests during the access to the " siddhis" ("capacities" of Yoga) impression of lightness, of levitation, to leave his own body, etc. In all forms of meditation, of speech, contemplation (etc), can occur visual, auditive phenomena or modifications of lived body analogues to some of the abréactions described by Luthe.

At the practical level, the use of the Autogenic Training of first degree requires side of the therapeutist who lived himself the experiment and who had the occasion to discuss his first cures (as a monitor) with an experienced expert or with the framework of a Balint type group. He can be a general practitioner, a psychologist, reeducator of psychomotricity, kinesitherapist, midwife, nurse, or any other person having some psychological culture and the suitable didactic formation.

An experiment of Relieving in H.P.

This experiment was undertaken by Mrs. Stringaro, specialized nurse .

Remarks collected as for felt during the meetings of relieving :

Francis L : I do not believe in it, that does not bring anything to me. I wait, I do not feel anything, I come by respect, I do not try to remake relieving in the Community apartment.

Geraldine B: That slackens me during the meeting. The relaxation is still there until the evening, that does not change anything the remainder time. If we made it every days I would like it.

Sylvie B: Me ! that release me, it's nice because it is not too long (10-15 mn), I'm more realised at the end of the morning. Satisfy because it is not difficult. That does not make a long time that I make some. (does not remake it at home).

Sylvie L :J' would like that to last a long time because I am distressed, I would like that to calm me. That makes me good, I am glad to make it, that enables me not to be irritated (does relieving at the house on a carpet).

Jacques B: I do not do it. I think of another thing. Sometimes I listen. I made it before, that does not bring anything to me, it is as if I were in bed.

Philippe G : That lasts 5 minutes, it goes, then I have a silence in my organization, that puts me in paralysis, my arm bends down directly, that frightens me. I do not think of nothing, I do not like that, that frightens me. I am afraid that one day the stimulating one benefits from us, does not make us return. I am afraid.

Azziz A: Me, that releases me, I like that it is in group. More difficult at the house, alone. That brings me pleasure when I do it. I try to concentrate me, to follow what she says, but sometimes I have images, I see myself elsewhere (sun, good images).

Jacques M : That me release, that makes me good. (does not remake it at the house, I will not be able to only remake it).

Rene D : That releases me , that slackens me, that removes to me contractions of my wrist. I remake it from time to time the morning when I wake up.

Therapies and Critical Confidence The multiplication of therapies and therapeutists, whatever the laws of their framing, obliges their customer to evaluate them, approve them or reject them, then to choose them. This step being realized, remains to build an alliance between the selected therapeutist and this customer. If it proves practically viable, the customer will be able to continue work until his term under condition of the confidence continued with this therapeutist. What does not go without trap because therapeutists are ready to become more or less venerated Masters, invested of gourales qualities! Not only these chiefs of sectarian communities whose media bring back the crimes or embezzlements to us. Not only the Reverend Moon, Jim Jones or the Solar Temple. But also creators of method, charismatic leaders of spiritualistic and therapeutic groups or some haloed analysts of tranferential slime. It is to say that the therapeutist must keep himself of his effect and the customer of his necessary confidence; which must remain critical. Without liming himself in the systematic opposition, victory to lose there, triumph of the symptome on its therapeutist or basic paranoia.

to follow

see also