A great deal has been written about the effectiveness of hypnosis in getting rid of bad habits such as smoking, or neuroses that contribute to abnormal or antisocial behavior.
During hypnosis, the hypnotist ‘suggests’ that the subject experiences a change or changes in sensations, perceptions, behavior or thought processes. In the application of hypnosis to weight loss, there are several different approaches, but at the Elite Clinic in Marbella, Spain, a new angle has been offered.
Marion Corns, a 35-yaer-old British mother of three, is firmly convinced, after five sessions with a special hypnotist, that her stomach has been surgically shrunk, with a gastric band, to the size of a golf ball. No surgeon’s knife ever touched her, and she is fully aware of the whole hypnotic procedure, but her subconscious has been deceived!
In Marion’s case, the ‘operation’ was described step by step, with computer-generated special effects right down to the sounds and odors of an operating theatre.
The patient says that she can remember everything, even the clink of a scalpel and the anesthetic smell. Although Marion is fully aware of this deception of her subconscious mind, she lost about 56 pounds in the four months following her final treatment because she can eat only small portions and feels “too full” if she tries to eat more.
Martin, the owner of the Elite Clinic says that he began working seriously on his ‘Gastric Mind Band’ hypnotic procedure when a client suggested the idea after hypnosis had helped him stop smoking. In Martin’s opinion, and certainly in Marion’s, the imaginary surgery offers great benefits, since it involves none of the risks of a real operation, while producing the same or superior results.
Other hypnotic techniques for encouraging weight loss may focus on the causes of overeating. Some concentrate on reprogramming the subconscious to believe, for instance, that chocolate will cause nausea, or that healthy foods really do taste better.
Effective reprogramming can also boost self-esteem and will power for a multitude of positive results.
The human mind, as we are beginning to understand, is a very powerful organ indeed.
With the combination of Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), hypnotherapy and guided imagery, Marion Corns is one of the first to reap the benefits of ‘hypno-surgery’, but she is surely not the last.
The idea of literally changing the way we think about and react to different stimuli and circumstances is certainly not a new one, but the field of what might be called “corrective hypnosis” is still in the experimental stages.
The small clinic in Spain where Marion’s ‘cure’ was developed is beginning to make a reputation for itself, and specialists in other areas will undoubtedly be expanding and fine tuning this fascinating aspect of medicine for the mind and body.
Almost by definition, a ‘fad’ diet is one whose popularity is based more on publicity than on confirmed results. The frequent claims of proponents who are quoted making such statements as, “I lost thirty pounds in three weeks!” can and often do lead to dangerous misconceptions. 
It is shocking to learn that a child taking medication for their ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is seen as a user of Class 2 drugs by other people.