Gastric Band Hypnotherapy
Heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes are to name but a few of the conditions which see an increased risk from obesity and being overweight.
As the most overweight country currently in Europe, Britain is now looking to alternative methods of weight-loss after experiencing little success with traditional methods such as dieting, healthy eating and exercise.
Recently public interest for a procedure known as 'gastric band' surgery has increased tenfold after a number of celebrity admissions and much media coverage. The surgery involves placing a restrictive device around the upper part of the stomach which will create a pouch only capable of holding a certain amount of food. This reduced space where food will now go after a meal will fill far more rapidly than the entirety of the stomach, meaning the feeling of fullness will happen much more quickly and consumption will be reduced.
Although gastric band surgery is highly successful in many cases, around 80% of patients will experience unpleasant side effects such as nausea and regurgitation of food. In addition to this, those who do not adjust well to the band may have to have it removed which again means more discomfort.
The British Medical Journal has reported gastric band operations having risen from 238 a year to more than 2,543 in 2007 with an estimated 240,000 people waiting to have surgery. The NHS do offer the procedure to those who fit certain criteria but with a long waiting list, strict eligibility guidelines, a heavy price tag for those choosing to go private and a long list of potential side effects many people are looking into alternative options, one of which is Gastric Band Hypnotherapy.
What Does Gastric Band Hypnotherapy Treatment Involve?
The procedure will involve a number of different techniques such as positive suggestion, visualisation, CBT, NLP and other techniques depending on the way we need to work with you.
One of the key benefits of hypnotherapy is that it will also help to address any emotional and psychological issues which have caused an individual to begin over eating in the first place, helping them to eliminate these so they can maintain a healthy weight even years after their initial hypnotherapy treatment.
Your first meeting with your hypnotherapist will include an initial consultation. This stage of the process will involve a discussion with your hypnotherapist regarding your eating habits, your BMI, what weight loss methods have already been tried, mental health and attitude towards food.
This session is an opportunity to gather information about you so we can ensure treatment is personally tailored to best suit your needs. You will also be asked about your medical history, all of this will help to put together a comprehensive picture of you and your weight problems enabling us to give you the best treatment possible.
The operation
The procedure itself will be intended to mimic that of the real surgical procedure. We will usually begin by taking you into a deeply relaxed state of hypnosis, which will see your pulse rate drop to a rate not far from the level it falls to whilst you are asleep. In this state of deep relaxation your subconscious can then be accessed and you will be far more susceptible to positive suggestion.
You will then be taken through the operation step by step and throughout the procedure though you will be deeply relaxed you will still remain aware of what's going on around you. Your hypnotherapist will take you through the entire procedure from being put under the anaesthetic, to the first incision, to the closing off the gastric band to having the final stitch put in.
Soon after the procedure is complete individuals will hopefully feel the sensation of fullness after just a few mouthful’s which will mean they feel hungry less often and eat less when they do eat.
Aftercare
Individuals usually find they achieve a steady ongoing weight-loss and we request that patients return so they are able to monitor the weight loss and see if an adjustment to the gastric band is needed (this is also a requirement of actual surgery) to either speed or slow down the weight-loss.
Additional follow up sessions also include CBT to help individuals to identify and understand their actions and take responsibility for them, a technique which will help a great deal in preventing the same problem from reoccurring in the future.
Patients will also be encouraged to return for a long term weight management session with their Hypnotherapist where they will discuss and formulate a maintenance plan which will help patients to maintain their weight on a long term basis.