Page 1 of 2 Can You Anesthetize the Mind?
Can You Anesthetize The Sub-Conscious Mind?
Many years ago I was taking a hypnosis class from a elderly hypnotist by the name of Vic Karnila. During this training he stated that it was impossible for a physician to anesthetize the subconscious mind. He told me that when an individual is under general anesthesia it was really like a person being in deep hypnosis but without the ability to use his conscious mind to defend against unwanted suggestions.
He said this was one of the most dangerous situations a person could experience, as any suggestions negative or positive, verbalized by the attending physician or nurses would be instantly accepted as absolute truth by the patient! While doing research on this subject, I discovered the following 1985 article published by the SF Examiner Magazine in my old files. I would like to share it with you now. Patients "Eavesdrop" on Surgeons The greater use of narcotics and muscle relaxants, with the consequent lightening of anesthetics to induce unconsciousness, seems to be increasing the number of surgical "awareness episodes" say a number of anesthesiologists and psychologists. Taken together, these reports suggest that even though patients may have no conscious recall, they can hear operating room conversations while they are "asleep" and can incorporate such information unconsciously into their behavior and attitudes toward recovery. At the University of California Medical Center at Davis for instance, psychologist Henry Bennett performed a carefully controlled study in which a suggestion was made to surgical patients just before bringing them out of anesthesia.
Most of those who received the suggestion - that they pull at their ears during a subsequent interview - did exactly that, even though they did not recall the instructions. Bennett concludes: "Patients do hear under anesthesia - they just can ’ t tell you that." Particularly with lighter anesthesia, he says, "your brain is not dead, but in fact is quite active." "In addition," said Bennett in a recent telephone interview, "some convalescing patients were able, under hypnosis, to recall operating room conversations, including doctors' comments such as "This is the wrong kind of gauze" or "This leg won ’ t work right." Their recall was verified by tape recordings, made during surgery, of sounds in the operating room. Kentucky psychologist Willard Mainord said in a recent telephone interview that he "could not believe my own results" several years ago when he studied 24 people, all undergoing similar back operations with the same surgeon. While they were still under anesthesia, 12 of these patients heard their surgeon address them by name and say, "The operation has gone well and we will be finishing soon. You'll be flat on your back for the next couple of days. While you are waiting, it would be a good idea if you would relax the muscles in the pelvic area as this will enable you to urinate and it will not be necessary to use a catheter." All 12 patients who receive this suggestion under anesthesia avoided catheterization (the temporary implantation of a tube to ease urination). But only five of the 12 "control" subjects avoided it, a success rate that has only a three in one thousand chance of occurring by accident, Mainord says. To see if another scientist could achieve similar results, Mainord contacted Chicago neuropsychologist Barry Rath. Intrigued, Rath "leaned down to the ears" of 44 still-unconscious patients last year, he explained recently. To half, he whispered "good suggestions" such as, "You will feel little pain, you will be able to urinate easily and you will recovery quickly." To the other half, he whispered a "nonsense" message such as, "It's a beautiful day."
Page 2 of 2 Can You Anesthetize the Mind?
Like Mainord, Rath was amazed by the results. "The people getting the 'good suggestions' did substantially better post-operatively," said Rath. "They reported less pain on a scale of 0 to 10, they asked for and used less pain medication and they were discharged from the hospital an average of one and a half days sooner than the others! None of his patients consciously recalled anything being said to them, though some in a hypnosis-like state, were able to recognize the phrases that had been spoken to them. The conclusion, says Rath, is inescapable: "We are not shutting down the system as completely as we thought. People who appear to be unconscious and out of touch with the external world aren't. People in an operating room should be very careful about what they say on the negative side. And on the positive side, we may be able to improve recovery by utilizing this effect! University of New Mexico anesthesiologist Dr. Jacob L. Mainzner, who has collected 100 anecdotes of "awareness episodes" during surgical anesthesia, agrees. "There is just no adequate test of awareness during anesthesia. There may be awareness even if there is no conscious memory," he says. For the past few years, New Haven surgeon Bernard Siegal has deliberately spoken messages of hope to his anesthetized patients. "I tell patients they will hear my voice throughout the operation and that I will call them back. And I say, 'You will wake up hungry and thirsty and you'll have no trouble urinating! I also play classical and spiritual music during the operation;' he said. "I'd say to any surgeon, just try it on your next 10 patients and you'll prove it to yourself. I even tell people please not to bleed while I'm operating and I don ’ t mind talking directly to their immune systems." "Most of this would be easily accepted if we would combine mind and body and teach it that way in medical school, instead of having mind doctors and body doctors. "It's the unconscious area I really communicate with. That is where ‘ miraculous ’ healing occurs." And where danger lurks, as well. Says Siegel bluntly, Surgeons can kill people by saying, ‘ I don't think you're going to make it this time! ’ All interchanges are very significant. SF Examiner magazine. Can You Anesthetize the Mind? I feel that this article should be copied and sent not only to surgeons but all physicians and nurses. Research indicates that it is a fact that when a doctor is talking to a patient in his/her office, that patient is most likely in a state of hypnosis. The critical factor of the conscious mind has been bypassed by both the physical facility and the perceived authority of the physician. For most patients, whatever the doctor or nurse tells patients goes directly into their subconscious mind and becomes a part of their belief system without analyzation. We need to remember the powerful mental law that affects all of us, "What the mind expects to happen tends to be realized." Every patient undergoing general anesthesia should have a post-operative script prepared with instructions indicating it should be read to him just prior to being removed from the operating room. This should be a very positive script developed by the hypnotist, the patient and the physician assuring successful outcome of the surgical procedure, elimination of post-surgical discomfort and suggestions for rapid healing......G. Kein
Omga Method
Medical Hypnotherapy
