The state of your mind
The state of your mind
Having said that , it is now firmly established that the mind and body are intricately interconnected and that state of mind can directly influence the working of the immune system , and vice versa .
Extreme and prolonged anger , anxiety and the stress of depression all weaken the immune system , just as healthy sleep , optimism and happiness can strengthen it .
There is compelling evidence that hypnosis can be used to help promote immunity . Relaxation – a lowering of stress in the body – can help boost immunity , and hypnosis , as we know , can be incredibly relaxing . But it seems that beyond the purely relaxing aspects of hypnosis there is good evidence that immunity can be enhanced if certain particular kinds of suggestions are given while you are actually in hypnosis .
Research performed at Washington State University in Pullman found that hypnosis can potentially strengthen two different types of immune cells that fight off disease . ( 1 ) Sixty-five students participated in the study . Thirty-three participants were highly hypnotisable and responded well to hypnotherapy induction .
All 65 participants were randomly assigned to three separate groups . One group received hypnosis , one group received relaxation therapy , and one group served as the control group and received no form of therapy or treatment .
The participants who received hypnosis displayed a significant increase in two important types of white blood cells . Those who were highly hypnotizable and received hypnosis showed the largest increase .
Speaking at the American Psychological Association ’ s annual conference in 1993 , the researchers said that this shows that hypnosis can help people boost their white blood cell count and thus boost their immune system and so enhance their capacity to fight off disease .