Cutting and Self Injury

"Well, when I was cutting, I hated it when I got lecturing kind of attention. It was scary. I mean, down right scary. The first time anyone ever spoke to me about it is so clear in my mind. And it happened when I was in sixth grade, over seven years ago. They called me down to the guidance office and they asked me about the marks on my arms, then they just started lecturing me. Almost yelling at me about it. And the first thing I did after they let me go back to class was go to the bathroom, pull my razors out of my pocket and cut myself four or five times".

This is a comment by a young woman named Mary. It illustrates in one paragraph the complexity of this problem, which in the main effects teenagers. The higher percentage it seems are female, but it's not at all unusual for young men to be afflicted also. One common misconception is that all self injury and cutting is in order to get the attention of those around you; this is not always so. More often than not, the injuries are hidden from view, in which case it would be impossible to gain attention.

Here is a link to a site which proposes some reasons and theories as to why this situation develops and occurs. I don't agree with all of it, as I'd like to see more empirically orientated research and evidence. Nevertheless, it is food for thought and much more needs to be done to salve this very common issue.

http://eqi.org/cutting1.htm

If you know someone afflicted, or if you're afflicted yourself, please feel free to contact me. Your confidentiality is totally assured.

Labeled and Bar Coded from birth?

Do you ever wonder about who creates the labels that we wear?
This is an excerpt from the website http://experimentalchimp.wordpress.com

I believe it illustrates sadly, but so graphically, the world in which people with what are sometimes minor mental health issues can be dragged down into the abyss and darkness of the 'snake pit'. Alternatively, and quite often, people with simple, but painful life issues at hand can be labeled by the system as dysfunctional and permanently incapacitated.

It's part of the human condition, in my opinion anyway, that once 'labeled' by an 'expert' in the field, people tend to take it on board and begin to 'live it'. After all, don't they know best? It's akin to 'pointing the bone'.

As humans, we have a malleable mind. We can be convinced, coerced and directed by what we view as educated opinion.

Here is the excerpt for you:

Psychiatrist’s verdict: Just **cked up.

February 13, 2007

I went to my appointment. I took along my notes (handwritten because I don’t have a working printer at present). It’s just a shame I didn’t actually get to take them out my pocket.

There was a medical student sitting in with us. He kept quiet most of the time but jumped into the discussion towards the end. He seemed a decent sort. The psychiatrist started out fairly brusquely. She’d seen the notes the locum psychiatrist had taken and didn’t like the look of them. So we went over my history again. She fired questions at me and I did my best to answer.

She got a bit friendlier after we started talking about my problems generally. She thinks the bipolar thing is a red herring. Apparently I’m not depressed enough. My symptom profile doesn’t match. So what’s wrong with me? Well, I have lots of problems and she thinks I’ll need long term therapy. What sparkly new drugs do I have to try? None at all. Because I didn’t tolerate the sertraline well, I’m obviously overly sensitive to antidepressants.

Reading between the lines, I think we have another vote for borderline personality disorder. And given how anxious she was to pass me on to a psychotherapist, I’m guessing it’s more of the old-style, let-me-wash-my-hands-of-you-now borderline diagnosis than the de-stigmatised diagnosis it’s become in this modern not-so-mental mental-health world.

She perked up a bit about the sleep issues. She agrees the sleep problems are severe and need to be sorted out. It was kind of interesting watching her change her opinion about this during our conversation. She started out saying she’d refer me to a colleague who specialises in sleep disorders (yay!) but this could take months (boo!). Then, after we’d talked a bit more, she told me, “It won’t take that long actually.” By the end of the consultation she was referring me urgently and if this was not possible, she’d ask her colleagues advice and treat me herself.

Oh, and I told her about the codeine usage. Her advice was “I can’t approve of it, but don’t get addicted to opiates, you have enough problems as it is.”

So here I am all unmedicated, came for drugs but only got self-hatred.

I’m not hugely pleased by this hands-off approach to my mood problems. Having a bad reaction to one SSRI doesn’t necessarily mean that I’d have a bad reaction to all of them. Nor does it mean that other types of antidepressant should be ruled out. It feels like what it is: The psychiatrist deciding there’s nothing that can be done for me, so why waste the time, money and effort.

To recap, It’s been two months since I went visibly insane. I have now seen: A triage nurse. An A+E doctor. A GP. Another GP. Two members of the Community Mental Health Team. My GP again. A locum psychiatrist. My GP for the third time. A consultant psychiatrist. And now I’m being referred to a sleep specialist and a psychotherapist. It’s not much fun being the parcel in the notorious passing party game. I wonder what they’ll find when the last layer of wrapping comes off.

Years of therapy coupled with specialist treatment for a sleep disorder that’s often only marginally manageable. This doesn’t sound like even a hint of a future in which I can have a decent life. Then again, it does sound very much like the future in which I try asking for medical help and kill myself when that fails.

You see, it’s always good to have a plan B.

Hmmm, touching is it not........ Dan

The pain of it all!

We all know what pain is, physical pain that is. It ranges from the moderate throb of an earache to the excruciating horror of a dislocated joint. It seems that we all experience levels of pain in a different way, our minds handle it uniquely according to our own level of coping.

Despite its unpleasantness, pain is an important part of the existence of humans and other animals; in fact, it is vital to healthy survival . Pain encourages an organism to disengage from the noxious stimulus associated with the pain. Preliminary pain can serve to indicate that an injury is imminent, such as the ache from a soon-to-be-broken bone. Pain may also promote the healing process, since most organisms will protect an injured region in order to avoid further pain.

My Grandfather was an example of someone who had the ability to endure the most awful pain without so much as a flinch. He was wounded and maimed dreadfully in WW1 and I imagine, in order to live a life and survive at all after that, he developed coping skills. Unfortunately he expected everyone around him to have the same skills! Looking back to when I remember him sitting in his chair, I now know that he was off in a trance, detached, separated from the pain he felt. He was in fact in a hypnotic state, although he himself did not know it at the time. He was disocciated from his own physical feelings.

I really like the story of Milton Erickson which tells of the time he was called upon to treat an aging lady. She was moribund, suffering terribly with the pain of cancer. When he arrived to see her, she was quite hostile, unhappy and unconvinced that anyone at all could relieve her pain. Erickson persevered, he knew the dreadful sensation of deep pain himself. In order to explain very quickly to this lady just how it was going to work, he asked her that if she suddenly saw a great tiger at the door of her room, licking its chops and ready to devour her, would she still feel pain? Of course she wouldn't, and very quickly she realised which path Erickson was taking. She spent much of the rest of her time, pain free, listening to the purring of a great cat beneath her bed.

In my dealings with clients suffering, and needing relief from pain, I view their pain as a construct. Psychologically speaking, pain is very basically made up of three things.

• Memories of past pain events
• Present pain
• Projection of how this pain will progress

By inducing a hypnotic state and changing the way that the mind views any, or all of the three mindsets shown above, we are certain to change the pain felt right now. People also relate quite negatively to the word "pain", so from the outset I drop that description and call it discomfort. It's very important to note at this juncture that removing all pain by hypnosis is both unwise and potentially very dangerous. Pain is, after all, there for a reason.

Finally, the most basic form of hypnotic relaxation technique will have a profoundly beneficial effect upon pain. Anyone reading this who has broken a bone will know that as soon as the supporting cast is applied, the pain subsides. Why is this so? The reason is simple; the limb, all its tendons, muscles, fibres and nerves relax once they are supported. This of course reduces the physical trauma at the point of the break, easing the .... discomfort.

I wish you a pain free day!

"It is hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head"

Estimates vary as to how many people in their life will suffer with an anxiety related disorder, such panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder or generalised anxiety disorder. Calculations vary, but statistics seem to point to a figure between 1.5 and 4.5% of the population. That is a lot of people. It crosses all borders and boundaries, colours and creeds.

Many people are afflicted, yet sadly, many never find a cure. This is for many reasons I imagine, but largely due to the fact they are not aware that it is possible to overcome anxiety. Part of the process of overcoming, I believe, is to "know the enemy". Develop an understanding of what's going off in your brain, mind and body that creates this most frightening of issues. Knowledge is the primary tool with which to begin the fight back to non-anxiety.

In this segment of my Blog, I'll endeavor to describe the basics of what takes place in your brain and body during a state of high anxiety, panic or period of obsessive compulsive behaviour.

Lets begin within the brain, and focus on a small portion of it known as the "amygdala". The Amygdala (amygdalae; plural) are a pair of small organs within the medial temporal lobes of the brain (located near the base of the brain). The amygdala are part of the limbic system and their primary role is in the processing and memory of em0tional (fear, terror etc) reactions such as the anxiety reaction or 'flight or fight' response.

In humans, the amygdala perform important roles in the formation and storage of memories associated with emotions including anxiety. Scientists have shown that fear conditioning, experienced for example by those who develop an anxiety disorder such as generalised anxiety, panic attacks, phobias or obsessions (OCD), happens within the amygdala and is stored by it as an inappropriate anxious reaction.

The amygdala reacts to 'fear conditioning' in the same way as Pavlov's dogs were conditioned to salivate on hearing a bell; this kind of conditioning is called operant conditioning and was studied extensively by eminent psychologist Burrhus Frederic Skinner who found that through repetition, the subconscious mind could be affected in a way which would alter the autonomic reactions stored in it.

John Broadus Watson, an eminent psychologist with theories similar to Skinner's, believed that he could take a human child and 'create' the kind of person he wanted by manipulating their behaviours; this stands to reason when histories of anxious people reveal the catalysts for their condition, more often than not, a specific catalyst can be identified and these include family situations, bereavement, exposure to other sufferers and general social environment amongst many more.

Through behavioural modifications, the amygdala can be modified to react differently. During high anxiety, the amygdala can be modified to react with higher levels of anxiety and this can then become fixed causing an anxiety disorder such as panic disorder, OCD or phobias. Similarly, those with anxiety conditions can, through a structured programme, modify the inappropriate reactions of the amygdala in order return it to a more appropriate level, thus eliminating the anxious symptoms associated with the disorder.

Interestingly, it is now theorised that the anxiety and panic response is a 'pre-programmed' response which is present from birth. The level of 'normal' anxiety is pre-set genetically but can be modified through behaviour. These behavioral modifications happen when the amygdala becomes 're-calibrated' at a higher than normal benchmark level.

This raises the general level of anxiety and in turn also affects the level of anxiety experienced in 'emergency' or perceived dangerous situations, which is controlled by the amygdala. This extreme level of anxiety can give rise to panic/anxiety attacks.

The amygdala, like all areas of the brain, can be affected by medication, however, there is no clear evidence to suggest that medication can eliminate panic attacks by addressing the amygdala directly. Panic/anxiety attacks medication is usually an antidepressant or a sedative and whilst these have therapeutic value in some conditions, the amygdala and panic/anxiety attacks will not be therapeutically treated.

In a nutshell, this means that panic and anxiety, which originate in the amygdala, can only be eliminated using behavioral methods, reassurance, support and vigilant reconditioning of the amygdala's anxious response.

Panic attacks are the extreme manifestation of anxiety - anxiety itself can be reduced and eliminated by addressing the amygdala directly.

The amygdala produces panic attacks because of learned behavior. By targeting the brain's ability to learn new behaviours directly, scientists such as Watson and Skinner have shown that distinct and powerful changes can happen which affect the anxious response originating in the amygdala.

The amygdala is involved, in humans, with the formation and storage of emotional reactions and events. Scientific research has found that in fear conditioning, which is what happens during the development of an anxiety disorder, the senses 'feed back' anxiety provoking signals to the Amygdala causing it to store memories of that anxious event. This then causes the amygdala to react differently when the event arises again. Over time, or during times of high anxiety (bereavement, divorce, work stress etc.) this 'learning process' can cause an anxiety disorder to form, sometimes without warning and very quickly.

Memories of emotions experienced become ingrained in the neural synapses and create 'fear behaviour' with the Amygdala. The central nucleus of the amygdala are connected directly to the creation and perpetuation of the fear responses and control the release of stress hormones which cause the common symptoms of anxiety disorders.

John Broadus Watson was an American Psychologist who established the Psychological School of Behaviourism. Watson believed that he could take twelve healthy infants and by applying behavioural changes, could 'design' people to be how he wanted them to be.

Watson stated that emotions such as fear could be conditioned using behavioural techniques. He took a small child (11 months) called 'Little Albert' and conditioned him to become fearful of random objects: a rabbit, a dog and (believe it or not) some wool! Watson presented these objects and at the same time, made a loud noise.

The experiment worked and Little Albert became conditioned to respond with fear when presented with the objects alone. He had conditioned anxiety and this sent shockwaves through the psychological community that had, until then, believed that fear, was pre-programmed in the subconscious (Sigmund Freud).

As unethical as this experiment was, it proved that fear responses could be raised by fear conditioning and that anxiety disorders can be created and eliminated given the correct treatment.

Burrhus Frederic Skinner was an American psychologist who pioneered research and advocated behaviourism which concentrates on understanding how behaviour is the manifestation of environmental history with regard to the experience of consequences.

Skinner also proposed the use of behaviour modification, much like Watson, he believed that a person could have their experience of life modified by behaviours. Skinner developed the theories behind operant conditioning as a way of engineering society, happiness and people's experiences of their lives.

Skinner believed that any experience backed up by a consequence would become imprinted on a person's psyche; the experience of anxiety disorder sufferers would back this up; repeated stimulation of the amygdala through anxious behaviour would reinforce and imprint those behaviours as a form of 'habit' into the subconscious mind.

Conversely, by using behaviour modification as discovered and pioneered by Watson and Skinner, the reversal of the formation of 'anxious habit' is also possible.

Hypnotherapy is an excellent tool with which to modify behaviour in a very subtle, yet powerful way.

There! Heavy going in places, but I hope that it enlightens the ones who need it the most. If you're one of the millions of sufferers worldwide, consider all of your options regarding approaches to treatment. Above all, do not give up. You can change your mind!

Get motivated!

The definition of motivation is to give reason, incentive, enthusiasm, or interest that causes a specific action or certain behavior. Motivation is present in every life function. Simple acts such as eating are motivated by hunger. Education is motivated by desire for knowledge. Motivators can be anything from reward to coercion.

There are two main kinds of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is internal. It occurs when people are compelled to do something out of pleasure, importance, or desire. Extrinsic motivation occurs when external factors compel the person to do something. However, there are many theories and labels that serve as sub tittles to the definition of motivation. For example: "I will give you a candy bar if you clean your room." This is an example of reward motivation.

A common place that we see the need to apply motivation, is in the work place. In the work force, we can see motivation play a key role in leadership success. A person unable to grasp motivation and apply it, will not become or stay a leader. It is critical that anyone seeking to lead or motivate understand "Howletts Hierarchy of Work Motivators."

Salary, benefits, working conditions, supervision, policy, safety, security, affiliation, and relationships are all externally motivated needs. These are the first three levels of "Howletts Hierarchy" When these needs are achieved, the person moves up to level four and then five. However, if levels one through three are not met, the person becomes dissatisfied with their job. When satisfaction is not found, the person becomes less productive and eventually quits or is fired. Achievement, advancement, recognition, growth, responsibility, and job nature are internal motivators. These are the last two levels of "Howletts Hierarchy." They occur when the person motivates themselves (after external motivation needs are met.) An employer or leader that meets the needs on the "Howletts Hierarchy" will see motivated employees and see productivity increase. Understanding the definition of motivation, and then applying it, is one of the most prevalent challenges facing employers and supervisors. Companies often spend thousands of dollars each year hiring outside firms just to give motivation seminars.

Another place motivation plays a key role is in education. A teacher that implements motivational techniques will see an increased participation, effort, and higher grades. Part of the teachers job is to provide an environment that is motivationally charged. This environment accounts for students who lack their own internal motivation. One of the first places people begin to set goals for themselves is in school. Ask any adult: "What is the main thing that motivates you." Their answer will most likely be goals. Even the simplest things in life are the result of goal setting. A person may say, "I want to save 300.00 for a new T.V." Well, that is a goal. School is where we are most likely to learn the correlation between goals, and the definition of motivation. That correlation is what breeds success.

So, as you can see, motivation is what propels life. It plays a major role in nearly everything we do. Without motivation, we would simply not care about outcomes, means, accomplishment, education, success, failure, employment, etc.. Then, what would be the point?

Losing the motivation which propels us can be distressing. Hypnotherapy is an excellent modality that may be utilised in a very subtle way in order to "re-motivate" us. By arousing our self esteem, plucking gently at our ego, and seeding new thoughts and ways of being in our subconscious, it can change the tack we're on and alter our course in life.

Try it! Get motivated!

For all you would be mothers to be .........

Here is a very interesting article posted recently. It relates to the use of hypnosis in childbirth; in this case a cesarean section:

...........For the first time in the country, Iranian doctors have used hypnosis as the sole anesthetic to deliver a baby via cesarean section.

On Saturday at noon, 24-year-old Aida Hassanlou gave birth to her 3.950 kilogram baby girl, Saqi, by C-section while she was awake but under the effects of hypnosis.

Dr. Roya Khodaei Ob/Gyn, who performed the C-section at Eivaz-Zadeh Hospital, Tehran, told reporters that her patient did not take any anesthetic drugs and only hypnoanalgesia techniques were employed during the operation.

However, anesthetists were present in case of an emergency and her vital signs were carefully monitored the whole time.

According to Dr. Khodaei, hypnosis blocks the perception of pain, just like a pain-killing drug, but without the sedation or side-effects.

“Similar methods can be used in natural childbirth as well,” she noted.

Following the easy and successful 45-minute caesarian section, Dr. Hossein Almasian, the clinical hypnotherapist who used hypnosis on Hassanlou, said "Even at the point when the patient was feeling slight pain, everything was under control during the operation."

“Pain management” is one of the most effective of all hypnosis applications, he added.

Volunteering to be the first women to undergo a C-section without conventional methods of chemical anesthesia, Hassanlou had attended pain management sessions with Dr. Almasian for four months, before her due date.

“I trust my hypnotherapist,” the pioneering mother-to-be had said before the operation.

OZ-UK contrasts

Well, the world seems to be in a spin temperature wise at the moment. The differential betwixt the UK and parts of Australia kind of sums it up.

Record falls of snow and plummeting temperatures have brought many parts of Europe and the UK to a standstill.

While, on the other hand, parts of Australia are blistering in 40+ degrees of heat.

It seems to me that this old world is just about as unpredictable as its inhabitants!






Out of pure interest ...... the coldest UK temperature ever recorded was -27.2'C, and the hottest temperature ever recorded in Australia was 53.1'C at good old Cloncurry in Queensland.

It may surprise many in the UK to know that lowest temperature ever recorded in Australia was -23'C at Charlotte Pass in New South Wales.

What has this to do with hypnosis? Not a single thing, but at least you relaxed while you read it! :o)

Phobias and other scary things .....

Some phobic reactions appear to the non-phobic onlooker to be absurd, but, to the sufferer it can be a truly horrifying experience indeed. An acquaintance of mine is dreadfully phobic of green tree frogs (a la Kermit). To the onlooker, non-phobic of these tiny creatures, the reaction may appear extreme indeed. Screaming, perspiring, pale, almost cataleptic and totally terrified. People have been known to faint during these episodes of terror, mother natures way of protecting us from pain and horror.


It is not always known where the individuals phobia developed, or at what point in life the seed of irrational fear became implanted in that part of the mind responsible for such things. At other times, its easier, after some analysis, to decipher when and whence it came.


Here is a brief example that eminates from an experience I had with a client who was phobic about syringes and injections, that is, trypanophobia. As a youngster he was taken to the doctors for the normal vaccinations that we have in early life. He was afraid, as is quite natural. A combination of things then unfolded which lay the grounds for a future phobia. He was anxious and crying, the doctor was, I'm told, less than understanding, and indicated to the parents that he should be firmly held and restrained firmly during the procedure. The father was shouting, mother almost hysterical and in tears. Due to the muscular tensions developed during this minor tussle, the injection was far more painful than it could have been. Ergo, there we have it, the seed of a future pattern for the reaction to a simple injection. It stands to reason from a child's perspective that if a grown up is distraught in such a situation, then it must be terrifying indeed! After all, grown ups know best, do they not?

Most professionals classify phobias into three categories:

• Social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder - fears involving other people or social situations such as performance anxiety or fears of embarrassment by scrutiny of others, such as eating in public. Social phobia may be further subdivided into
  • generalized social phobia, and
  • specific social phobia, which are cases of anxiety triggered only in specific situations.
  • The symptoms may extend to psychosomatic manifestation of physical problems. For example, sufferers of paruresis find it difficult or impossible to urinate in reduced levels of privacy. That goes beyond mere preference. If the condition triggers, the person physically cannot empty their bladder.
• Specific phobias - fear of a single specific panic trigger such as spiders, snakes, dogs, elevators, water, waves, flying, balloons, catching a specific illness, etc.
• Agoraphobia - a generalized fear of leaving home or a small familiar 'safe' area, and of possible panic attacks that might follow.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), social phobia, specific phobia, and agoraphobia are sub-groups of anxiety disorder.

Many of the specific phobias, such as fear of dogs, heights, spiders and so forth, are extensions of fears that a lot of people have. People with these phobias specifically avoid the entity they fear.

Phobias vary in severity among individuals. Some individuals can simply avoid the subject of their fear and suffer only relatively mild anxiety over that fear. Others suffer fully-fledged panic attacks with all the associated disabling symptoms. Most individuals understand that they are suffering from an irrational fear, but are powerless to override their initial panic reaction.

Hypnotherapy is an excellent modality which is used to remove the associations that trigger a phobic reaction.

Some therapists use virtual reality or imagery exercise to desensitize patients to the feared entity. These are parts of systematic desensitization therapy.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be beneficial. Cognitive behavioral therapy lets the patient understand the cycle of negative thought patterns, and ways to change these thought patterns. CBT may be conducted in a group setting. Gradual desensitisation treatment and CBT are often successful, provided the patient is willing to endure some discomfort and to make a continuous effort over a long period of time.

Below you will find a link to a comprehensive list of phobias, maybe you'll discover one that you have that you didnt even know existed!!!

http://www.phobialist.com/reverse.html

All the best for now .... see you at www.cqhypnosis.com

Dan

Naturally, therapeutic ....

My name's Dan Elliott and I'm a Hypnotherapist in Queensland, Australia. I'm a great believer in using the internet to "spread the word", and the Natural Therapy Pages are well worthy of praise in their ability to do so.

I see that already, some of my international associates are members of this Facebook page, and it's a joy to join them.

Whatever modality of therapy you come from, belong to, associate with, I wish you all well and I'll be seeing you right here! Also, you can view my information site at www.cqhypnosis.com

For once I'll keep it brief ;o)

Pleasure for the visual senses ......

I have to admit it. I've always been a photographer wannabe! There is something intrinsically soothing to the mind in the action of capturing a nanosecond of time in a picture. The mere fact that this moment will never be the same, nor will it ever recur again. Whatever enters the lens of your camera is absolutely and totally unique. It's not that you created it, but, what a feeling of absolute joy in the archiving of it as a photograph. I have to say also that this creative activity is very therapeutic in nature. It can easily give one a warm inner glow of satisfaction; and what could be better than that!

Today, I guess the process of photography has changed. Photographers at all levels now use digital cameras. Of course there will always be a place for film cameras, but digital equipment has brought about a renaissance of sorts. It allows a photographer to sort rapidly the success from the dross, the mediocre from the exceptional.

Of recent times, I was introduced to a photographer by the name of Nikki Dimmock. I have to say that to my eye some of her work goes far beyond the exceptional. Particularly in natural light portrait work and that of children, she has captured that certain element which many photographers strive for, and rarely find. Nikki is a local photographer and is based in Gladstone. I don't think it will be too far into the future, before her name becomes a byword for quality photography in her chosen field.

The composition of her photographs is superb, and as you will see, the quality is superlative.

Enough said. Feast your eyes on what follows, and remember the lady's name. Nikki Dimmock.

I won't preach ... honest I won't ....

This one is totally self explanatory ..... I will not say a word .... no I won't .... I'm trying hard not to!

It can make things very hard at times ......

The very delicate issue of erections ........


A healthy sex life is, for the majority of people, something which gives them great pleasure and fulfills a basic human need. It creates bonds, maintains relationships at a level desirable to both parties, and is also good for the mind and body. Being sexually active keeps us healthy!

There are times though when things go awry, and this often exhibits itself in men with an inability to have, or maintain a full erection. This situation can of course be damaging to the ego and creates a plethora of issues.

There are many possible causes, and I will insert some really interesting information which comes directly from the 'Andrology Australia' website, who may be contacted at: 1300 303 878. I'm sure they won't mind this pointer toward their site, after all, its a big problem to some people.

How does an erection happen?

Getting an erection relies on nerve messages from the brain, blood flow in the penis and a balance of chemicals in the body.

There are two tubes of spongy tissue that run along the length of the penis. A tough fibrous, partially elastic outer casing surrounds this spongy material.

Erections happen in response to sexual arousal. They begin with a message from nerves at the end of the spine, telling the blood vessels entering the spongy tissue of the penis to let more blood in. The spongy tissue then arranges itself in such a way that more blood can be stored in the penis. Blood flowing out of the penis is blocked off so the penis fills with blood and stretches within the outer casing, giving an erection.

In both the spongy tissue and blood vessels, muscle cells react to chemicals in the body, some which cause an erection and some which encourage a flaccid (soft) penis.

When a man is sexually stimulated, a chemical called cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) is made, which helps to keep an erection. Phosphodiesterase inhibitor 5 (PDE5) is a natural enzyme that normally breaks down cGMP, causing the erection to be lost. The balance of cGMP and PDE5 controls whether the penis is hard or soft. If cGMP stays in the penis and is stopped from breaking down, it produces a better erection. By stopping PDE5 from doing its job, this helps keep a high level of cGMP, and thus keeps a strong erection.


What part does the brain play in getting an erection?

The brain plays an important part in getting an erection. For an erection to happen the brain must be stimulated by sensations (real or imagined), for example, images, smells or sounds. When it receives this stimulus, impulses are sent down the spinal cord to the penis through nerves leaving the lower part of the spinal cord.

Erections can also happen from local feelings around the penis such as touch or a full bladder, which send impulses directly into the spinal cord to affect the erection nerves. The brain also sends a stimulus for an erection to happen three or four times through each night’s sleep.



CAUSES


What causes erectile dysfunction?

Note:
Even if a physical condition is the major cause of the erectile dysfunction, psychological factors may also play a part.

Many factors can interfere with getting an erection and often two or three factors are present at one time. Erectile dysfunction is often a sign of another serious, but possibly undiagnosed medical problem.

In other instances there may be no obvious cause for the erectile dysfunction. Research is helping medical scientists to understand what is happening in these instances and in doing so, is leading to new treatments becoming available.

High blood pressure, high cholesterol, cigarette smoking and diabetes can interfere with the functioning of muscle cells in the penis. Whilst the effects of these are partly reversible, when these medical problems have been present for a while, they can cause a permanent loss of the ability to get an erection.


Known causes of erectile dysfunction include:

Psychosocial issues


Performance anxiety
Sexual attitudes and upbringing
Relationship problems
Employment and financial pressures
Depression
Psychiatric disorders

Serious health (metabolic) problems


Diabetes
High blood pressure
Obesity
Chronic renal failure
High cholesterol
Sleep apnoea

Reduced blood flow


Atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries)

Interference by medication, alcohol and other drugs


Cigarettes
Alcohol and drug abuse
Drugs used to treat:
- Blood pressure
- Cholesterol
- Depression
- Psychiatric disorders
- Prostate cancer

Interference with nerve function


Spinal cord trauma
Multiple Sclerosis
Diabetic neuropathy
Pelvic surgery (prostate, bowel)
Parkinson's Disease
Alzheimer's Disease

Urological problems


Peyronie's Disease
Pelvic trauma


There, wasn't too hard was it ........ hypnosis is, and has been used to ease the psychological forms of this problem ... contact me with any questions.

My regards to you all, Dan. As always I can be found at www.cqhypnosis.com

The Fallen Soldier

A slightly different issue in this Blog, but one close to my heart nevertheless.

Being involved with the particular type of work that I do, I find it very ironic indeed that during WW1, between 1914 to 1918, the Germans realized that hypnosis could help treat shell-shock quickly. It allowed soldiers to be return to the trenches almost immediately. A formularized version of hypnosis, autogenic training, was devised by Dr. Schultz.

Which leads me indirectly to the core of this Blog, which revolves around the suffering of so many in WW1 and WW2 .........

In the village of my birth, Jacksdale, in the Midlands of England, stands a memorial to all service personnel who were lost in, or served in, The Great War and World War 2. It was erected at a cost of 440 Pounds in 1921.

In the year of 1959 the stone soldier atop the memorial fell from his position, and was smashed to pieces on the roadway beneath. The circumstances of the incident still remain a mystery. I well remember seeing the shattered stone strewn all about. The loss of this monument, to the brave men who gave their all in some cases, caused great sadness in the village.

Some years ago, citizens of the village got together and decided to raise monies in order to install a 'new' soldier. This took all involved a great deal of time and effort.

Nevertheless, their efforts paid off, and a new soldier was duly sculptured from British stone, and on the 14th June 2009 erected on the original memorial stand.

It appears that the whole village, plus many dignitaries and representatives of all three armed forces attended, as they did originally in 1921. A proud, but solemn day. It stands witness to the fact that when people are motivated by a common cause, little is impossible to accomplish.

A small video stands testament to the act, you may have to cut and paste the following URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHvYvdfqiXk

I am not an advocate of war or conflict, but I believe that the memory of these people should live on in perpetuity, if for nothing else than to remind us of the horror of war. I know many of the surnames on that memorial. Every family in the village was touched in some way by the losses marked thereon.

It warmed my heart to witness the commitment of these people in the land in which I once lived.