Hypnotherapy & Counselling Skills
Year 1 (July 2013)
Module 8

(Word Count 1,873)

Choose a medical Condition that interests you and research it. Write about the possible uses of hypnosis in the treatment of the condition as you see them.

I have chosen diabetes as a subject of interest; partly because this condition has more recently become prevalent in my own extended family, and partly because I‘m interested to explore the impact that hypnosis may have upon what is now classified as a worldwide epidemic

The problem in people with diabetes is that either they don’t produce enough insulin, or the insulin they do produce doesn’t work properly, or their cells don’t respond properly to insulin. The net result is that glucose isn’t cleared from their bloodstream. Their blood glucose levels are then too high and the body tries to clear them away by various compensatory methods, such as increased urination. Insulin helps to reduce the glucose levels produced by the breakdown of carbohydrates in food.

As more studies have been conducted, medical professionals now understand that diabetes brings with it the hidden risk of depression. In fact, diabetes can increase the odds of a person developing depression by 50% With depression comes a distancing of relationships, difficulty in the workplace or in school, and an overall sense of doom and defeat. Considering that 35% of all diabetics have significant depression and 11% have major depression, it is easy to understand why hypnosis can be so beneficial. Nearly all the family members I consulted with to ascertain their own experiences of diabetes confirmed that they too have experienced diabetes-related bouts of depression
For many doctors, the first treatment option they recommend is prescribed drugs. It would of course be foolish to minimize those cases when drugs are necessary.