'4 •j»l»i'K?

l»
A unique method
of self-onolysis ^
that gets to the C
root of your problems
and simply, safety
corrects them.

Over 220,000 copies sold!

Clinical Psychologist and Author of

SELF HYPNOTISM
The Technique

and Its Use

in Daily Living
 SELF HYPNOTISM:

Other books by Leslie M. LeCron

HyjTfnotism Today (with Dr. Jean Bordeaux)

Experimental Hypnosis (a collection of articles by leading authorities^

edited by Mr. LeCron)

Techniques of Hypnotheravy
 J^eslie ^m. c£Mron

The Teclinique

and Its Use

in Daily Living

Prentice-Hally Inc.

Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

 SELF HYPNOTISM:
THE TECHNIQUE AND ITS USE IN DAILY UVINC
C 1964 BY
LssLXB M. LeCeon

ALL fiXGBTi RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS BOOK

lUT BB REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM, BY MIMEO-
CRAFH OR ANY OTHER MEANS, WITHOUT FEB.*
1O88I0N m
WRXTENO FROM IHB FUBU8HER.

Library of G)ngre88
Catalog Card Number: 64-10742

28th Printing December 1986 PBK

1st Printing March 1988 RWD CLASSICS PBK

This book isa reference work based on research by

the author. The opinions expressed herein are not
necessarily those of or endorsed by the Publisher.

ISBN D-13-fi03^7fl-fl PBK

ISBN D-13-flD3331-D RUD CLASSIC PBK

B&P
To my wife Lyn
 Digitized by tine Internet Arcliive
in 2012

http://arcliive.org/details/selfhypnotismOOIesl
 ci/oretcon

LESLIE LeCRON is by no means a

J beginner in the field of hypnosis.

He is considered, and rightfully so, an

established and highly qualified author-
ity on the subject. He has written several
other books of a more technical nature,
books which are now being used by
those working in the field of hypnosis.
He is the editor of an excellent book en-
titled Experimental Hypnosis, and he
has served as a pioneer lecturer and di-

rector of Hypnosis Symposiums, an or-

ganization which teaches the techniques

of hypnosis to various professional groups
throughout the country.
Having had the opporninity of listen-
ing to his lecture courses, I welcome the
privilege of expressing my personal com-
ments here. It is gratifying to know that
Mr. LeCron has written a book that will
not only benefit the health of many thou-
sands of people but will also enlighten
physicians, dentists, psychologists and
other professional people regarding the
inestimable value of hypnosis and auto-
hypnosis.
Today, more than ever, people are
seeking ways of helping themselves.
They want to know how they can enjoy
better health, achieve equanimity or
peace of mind, and how they can become
successful in life. Mr. LeCron proves to
his readers that they can attain these
goals via RIGHT THINKING. Be-
cause we are all susceptible to being in-
Huenced by our own thoughts, after we
8 Foreword

have mastered his techniques, we are free to do many new and wonder-
ful things. This book makes possible the understanding of our inner
selves. It utilizes the power of our subconscious minds, teaches us how
to develop body-mind relaxation and inspires confidence in our indi-
vidual potentialities.
Self-help, as the author points out, has many advantages over
other forms of therapy. It is based on the premise that self-knowledge

leads to self-confidencewhich in turn leads to effective self-discipline

and ultimately results in a happier and healthier way of life.
Mr. LeCron*s formula for successful living can best be sum-
marized in his own words:
Exploring the inner mind is the key to knowing yourself. It will un-
lock the door to the reasons for character and behavior problems, for
emotional disturbances and illnesses, for traits such as phobias and
fears and and for many other personal problems such as
anxiety,
everyone has. When you know the motivations and reasons behind
these things, it Is far easier to solve or overcome them and to make
the changes which will bring health, happiness and success.

As a practicing psychiatrist I can vouch for the many benefits

which patients derive from self-suggestion therapy. No one denies
that certain conditions require the help of a specialist. But there are
many things a person can do, with proper guidance, that will enable
him to help himself. A book, such as this one, that helps people help
themselves, is very much needed. People need to know more about
emotionally induced illness. They need to know how to manage their
emotions successfully, how to develop personality-maturity and culti-

vate a better sense of values.

This book achieves these very objectives. It teaches the reader the
techniques of utilizing the power of his own mind for self-improve-
ment.
Frank S. Caprio, M.D.
 ^/^cKnoivledgments

Acknowledgment is herewith
xJLmade to the puUishers for permis-
sion to quote or abstract from the follow-
ing books:

Julian Press for quotations from my book

Techniques of Hypnotherapy, in-
cluding an article by Wayne Zim-
merman, M.D.; also from Origins
of Illness and Anxiety by J. A.
Winters, M,D.
G. P. Putnam's Sons, Inc., from Mohiliz-
ing The Mid-hrain by Frederick
Pierce.
Huna Research Publications, from Self
Suggestion, by Max Freedom Long.
Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, Inc., from
Conditioned Reflex Therapy, by
Andrew Salter.

Stanford University Press, from Psycho-

therapy hy Reciprocal Inhibition,
by Joseph Wolpe, M.D.
Prentice-Hall, Inc., from Autocondition-
ing, by Hornell Hart.

9
 & tenh
ontents

Introduction 19

You must know the source of the frdhlem 19

Can you treat yourself? 20
Everyone has some quirks 20
Advantages of self-help methods 21
Set your goals and reach them 21
Use the whole hook 21

I What you should know about your subconscious 23

The make-wp of the inner mind 23

Automatic writing 24
The suhconscious as a mechanical computer 25
The suhconscious controls the mechanism of the body, ... 26
How the suhconscious thinks and reasons 26
Guilt and self-punishment 27
How memory works 28
How the inner mind protects us 29

2 How you can communicate directly with your ^inner

mind'' 31

What about psychoanalysis? 31

More about automatic writing 32
Other ways of communicating directly with your inner
mind 33
The pendulum method 33
Finger movements 36
How to question your suhconscious mind 37
Some other %ncovering" methods 39
How to develop automatic writing 40

3 Hypnosis: A powerful force for good 43

Popular misconceptions about hypnosis 43

What about dangers in hypnosis? 45

II
12 Contents

Why don't more physicians use hypnosis? 46

Some of the characteristics of hypnosis 47
You've heen self-hypnotized many times 49

4 Self'hypnosis gives you the key to a happier life 51

How to induce self-hypnosis 52

How to measure the depth of hypnosis 54
Awakening yourself—relaxed and refreshed 54
Practicing self-induction and testing the results 55
The eyelids test and the hand-clasp test 56
Suggestions for self-hypnosis 57
Some uses of autohypnosis 57
How to use partial age regression 59
An induction talk to aid in learning self-hypnosis 61

5 How the use of autosuggestion can improve your life ... 65

How suggestion affects medical research 65

Rules to follow in making suggestions 66
Some further rules about suggestion 68
Emil Coue and his ideas 69

6 Eliminate emotional troubles from your life 73

Some Freudian ideas 73

Pavlov and conditioned reflexes 74
How suggestion is used in therapy , 75

THE SEVEN MOST C30MM0N i?ACTORS

CAUSING EMOTIONAL TROUBLES AND ILLNESSES

Conflict 78
Motivations 78
Effects of suggestion 80
Organ language 84
Identification 84
Masochism 85
Past experiences 87
Contents 13

7 How bad emotions injure your health 89

When self-therapy is not advisable 90

Anxiety and fatigue 90
Negativism 91
Inferiority feelings 91
Immaturity 91
Psychos^omatic illness 92

8 The value of positive thinking and healthful relaxation 97

Are you a negative thinker? 97

How our fears affect us 99
Hostility and anger 100
Frustration 102
Guilt 102
Worry 103
Jealousy and envy 104
Relaxation 104
How to relax 105
How to use this relaxation method 106
Deep "breathing to relieve tensions 107
Yoga and your health 108

9 How to overcome feelings of inferiority and a poverty

^'complex'' Ill

Do you have physical disabilities? 112

A disability needn't keep you out of the swim 113
Proper suggestions bring perfect figures 113
How inferiority feelings are developed in childhood 115
The poverty complex and what to do about it 117
How to conquer the ''gambling fever" 118
How to set goals for yourself 119
Overcoming inferiority and poverty complexes 120
Your balance sheet or self-inventory 122
BALANCE SHEET OF CHARACTER, PHYSICAL AND OTHER
ATTRIBUTES 123
14 Contents

10 How to conquer had habits and overcome pain 129

Do you want to stof smoking? 129

A successful a'pproach to the ^rohlem 130
How to control desire 131
How you can control pain 131
Reliving an experience as a way of modifying pain 133
How you can induce hypnotic anesthesia 133
Sometimes pain has a psychological cause 135

ii Heal your own emotional scars 141

An illness may he a defense 142

Safeguards in your self-therapy 143
Reviewing the seven elements commonly causing emotional
ailments 144
How handle periods of depression
to 145
Insomnia and how to induce restful sleep 146
Fears cause sleeplessness 147
Self-therapy uncovers the cause 148

12 Fears and phobias can be conquered 153

How phobias develop 154

Ridding yourself of a phohia 154
Uncovering the frightening event 155
Desensitizing yourself to disturbing situations 155
How to deal with resistance 156

13 Keep slim and youthful without dieting 161

That extra poundage 161

Why do people overeat? 162
You do not have to diet! 164
Write out your reasons for wanting to reduce 164
How to change your eating habits 165
The red flag method 165
Other digestive disturbances 166
Contents IS

Nausea and what to do about it 166

Constipation 168

14 Never suffer from headaches again! 171

The why of these headaches 172

Migraine can he a family characteristic 173
How to treat the condition 174
Other types of headache 175
Self-treatment of the chronic headache 175

15 The key to a happier sex life 181

The frigid woman and the man who can*t 184

Treating sex problems 186
Men have sexual troubles too 186
Sexual blocks and their causes 187
How to maintain emotional balance 189
Old age and sexual vigor 189
Technique for the impotent male 190

16 Master your emotions and overcome allergies 193

Allergy and its causes 194

Asthma and self-treatment 198
Is asthma an allergy? 198
The birth experience as original cause 201
A look at allergy 202
The skin 202

17 Common ailments and how self-therapy helps you

remedy them 205

Conscious insight into causes isn*t always necessary 205

Arthritis —and what can be done about it 206
Other cases of arthritis and bursitis 208
Slipped disc and backache 209
Torticollis or "wry neck" 209
16 Contents

18 You have the power! 213

Reviewing the ways for self-hetterment 215

Carrying out your program 216
Arrange a definite schedule 217
Never overlook safeguards 218

Books for further reading 219

SELF HYPNOTISM:
The Technique

and Its Use

in Daily Living
 ton
cJnlroductti

NUMBER
A of books have been
written offering ways for self-im-
provement and methods for overcoming
emotional difficulties. The approaches
taken by these books have ranged from
positive thinking to self-hypnosis, from a
completely materialistic point of view to
the religious or metaphysical outlook.
Many of these books have offered advice
and techniques of definite value. Some
people who have read them undoubtedly
have used the methods and found them
helpful. Other people probably pur-
chased the books intending to use them
but did not take the trouble, particularly
when they discovered the methods com-
plicated and time-consuming.
In general, the methods set forth by
the authors of these books attempt to
guide the reader in changing his way of
thinking and in influencing the subcon
scious part of his mind. But most of these
self-help books fail to consider one es-

sential point: they fail to tell how un-

favorable conditions develop and to ex-
plain what causes these conditions.
You must know the source of the
problem. In order to improve yourself it
is of utmost importance to find out the
source of your problems. You must in-
vestigate character traits and behavior
patterns. You must consider the possibil-
ity of emotionally produced illnesses.

A direct path to the inner mind, with

insight into origins and causes of all

personal problems, is the only real key to

19
 —

20 Introduction

overcoming psychological difficulties and to changing your patterns of

thinking and behavior. You will find such a key offered here, a
rather unique and interesting one the crystal 'pendulum. Its results
are so astounding you will think this pendulum almost magical. Yet
this technique has been used by hundreds of physicians, including a
number of psychiatrists, and it is a proven new approach to uncover-
ing origins and causes quickly and easily. By using it, you have the
power to change your whole life.
Reading these pages will give you a better understanding of the
way the subconscious part of the mind "works,** how it affects you.

You will learn how to contact the subconscious directly and how to
influence it for your own self-improvement.
Can you treat yourself? But a question arises. Is the emotionally
disturbed person, or one suffering from some personal problem or ill-

ness, able to help himself? Or must he depend on professional treat-

ment? you have a psychologically or emotionally caused illness,
If

should you attempt to treat yourself? Of course, there are some condi-
tions too deep-seated and too severe to be relieved without professional
aid. However, there are many, many other symptoms and conditions
where self-help methods can be applied, where it may even be easy to
get well or clear up problems and wrong-thinking patterns through
self-treatment This is true whether the diflBculties are emotional ones,
harmful traits or habits, or, as stated above, even psychosomatic ail-

ments. Too often, with the latter, a physician will treat only the symp-
tom and not the cause. Drugs rarely will remove the causes which are
buried deep within the inner mind.
Everyone has some quirks. Conflict and stress are among the
more usual causes of tension. Under modern living conditions is any-
one completely free of tension and stress? It has even been said that
there is no such thing as a "normal'* person. We all have some quirks.
We all show illogical and compulsive behavior at times and suffer
from emotionally produced diseases. Even a common cold may be
psychologically caused.
Usually these diflBculties are centered in the subconscious part of
the mind. Seldom do we have conscious knowledge of their causes,
but the inner mind knows all about them. The combination of con-
scious understanding of causes with the self-help methods of what to
do about them as described in this book can remedy matters.
Early chapters tell you about the inner part of the mind, its make-
Introduction 21

up and the way it works; why we behave at times in a harmful, irra-

tional way, and why emotional illnesses develop. You are provided
with several methods for learning directly from your subconscious the
reasons why you "tick" the way you do. Later chapters give methods of
self-treatment to overcome such conditions and to change your wrong
habits of thinkingand behaving.
Advantages of self-help methods. Anyone with problems quite
naturally wishes to be rid of them as quickly as possible — at once, not

next year. Sometimes milder conditions can be corrected in a very

short time; others may take longer. It is to be expected that treatment
by a competent psychotherapist, a clinical psychologist, a psychiatrist,

or a physician who practices psychosomatic medicine would often

require less time than self-help. However, the expense involved, the
difficulty in some localities of finding such a therapist, a record of
previous failures in treatment, a situation where conditions are not too
serious, and still other reasons may make self-treatment desirable.
Set your goals and reach them. If you wish to benefit yourself, a
general knowledge of the usual sources of disturbance and illness is
not enough. You must know which ones apply to your own particular
condition. Generalities must be narrowed down to specific causes.
Those which don't apply can be discarded. You must learn the ones
which do affect you. These causes are seldom consciously known; your
task is, therefore, to bring them into conscious awareness. The end
result will be worthwhile. You will be able to live rather than merely to
exist. Success will come in a surprisingly short time for many who em-
ploy these self-betterment methods. Health and happiness and success
are everyone's goals and they can be reached through your own efforts.

Use the whole book. Some of the chapters about specific illnesses
may not seem to concern you direcriy. Nevertheless, these chapters
should be read because the matters mentioned will frequendy apply
to other conditions. Some of the possible causes for headaches may be
the same as those producing arthritis or other ailments.
Many case histories are given which will help you learn how to
gain from the subconscious part of your mind information you do not
know consciously.
At the temple of Apollo at Delphos there is an ancient inscription
— ^*'Know Thyself." The real key to health and happiness and success
is self-knowledge.
Leslie M. LeCron
 Gkaf^ler 1

program
INyouyour self-betterment
for
should know something about the
make-up of the mind and the way it

works, particularly about the inner part

of the mind. It is from this inner mind
that our difficulties come. You will learn
how to influence it, how to learn the
causes of the conditions you would like
to change or overcome. It can best be in-
fluenced through hypnosis. You will
learn about hypnosis and how to use
autohypnosis in the next chapters.

What You
Should Know
About Your Subconscious

The make-up of the inner mind.

Almost everyone knows there is an inner
part of the mind. It has been called "sub-
liminal,'* "subjective,*' the "id,** and by
various other terms. In psychiatry the
most commonly accepted designation is

the "unconscious" mind. But uncon-

scious has two meanings, the inner mind
being one. It also means a period of un-

consciousness, such as when a person is

asleep, under an anesthetic drug, or

knocked out as with a blow. Here the
word "subconscious" will be used as most
descriptive and preferable.
Most unfortunately we still know
little about the actual make-up of this

23
24 What you should know about your suhconsdous

part of the mind way it works. Even the ancient Greek physi-
or of the
cians Hippocrates and Aesculapius were aware of there being such a
part of our mental make-up. In modern times Sigmund Freud ad-
vanced our knowledge tremendously with his research into subcon-
scious processes and with his psychoanalytic concepts. Since his day
further research regarding the subconscious mind has been slight. This
is most remarkable for it is recognized that much illness is emotionally

or psychologically caused. Estimates vary as to the amount or per-

centages. Some physicians believe that about half of all illness falls

into this category. Others have claimed as much as 80 per cent. A

leading Canadian authority, Dr. Hans Selye, believes stress to be
involved in generating all illness, even including infectious diseases,
for stress lowers resistances so we become open to infections.
In the United States and to a somewhat less extent in other English-
speaking countries, Freudian ideas are taught in all medical schools
and other psychiatric training centers. Hence most psychiatrists accept
them. In all other parts of the world Freud has had small acceptance
and psychiatry is based on the work and theories of the Russian physi-
ologist Pavlov. These theories will be described later.
The Freudian view of the make-up of the inner mind is undoubt-
edly correct in some respects, but it fails to account for all its opera-
tions and, on the whole, describes it in too mechanical a fashion. Freud
did give us a much better understanding of some of the ways it operates.
He believed that the mind as a whole consists of three main divisions.

Our awareness, the part with which we think and reason, he called
the ego. Another part, best thought of as the conscience, he termed
the superego. Below consciousness is a part which he called the id,

this being the seat of memory and of our basic instincts. Later Freud
theorized as to a fourth part lying between the id and the ego, just
below the level of consciousness, calling it the preconscious. The term
subconscious as used in this book would include Freud's id, pre-
conscious and superego.
Dr. Carl Jung, famous Swiss psychiatrist, believed that the super-
ego is not just conscience but is the most spiritual part of the mind. He

termed it the suverconscious mind. Jung believed it to be a part of a

God, or a part of the
universal subconscious, direcdy connected with
Supreme Being. This idea was adopted from some of the Oriental
philosophies.
Automatic writing. There are still other ideas about the make-up
 —

What you should know about your suhconscious 25

of the inner part of the mind. The late Anita Miihl, a leading woman
psychiatrist, experimented with automatic writing in trying to learn

more about it. Automatic writing is a fascinating matter. If you hold

a pen or soft pencil in the hand, the subconscious can control the
muscles of your hand and write intelligibly without your being aw-are
of what is being written. You can read a book or magazine while the
hand busily writes. Interestingly, a few "automats" have been able
to read with the conscious mind while the right hand writes on some
subject and the left hand at the same time writes about something
entirely different. Three mental activities carried on at once! A Ouija
board, for example, is similar to automatic writing.
Dr. Miihl claimed that four out of five people can learn to w^ite
automatically, although several hours of training may be needed.
Others have found the percentage much less. Almost any good hyp
notic subject can write automatically while in hypnosis. People who
doodle are usually able to learn quickly, doodling being the same type
of activity, and doodling may be quite meaningful if you could inter-

pret it.

In experiments using fifty different subjects, Dr. Miihl was able

to secure automatic writing from seven different levels of the sub-
conscious, each identifying itself. These ranged, she reported, from a
part corresponding to Jung's superconscious to the lowest level of the
mind which often identified itself as "the old Nick" or "the Devil" in
us. This seems to be a part containing our basic drives and instincts
our caveman attitudes.
The subconscious as a mechanical computer. Still another
theory of the make-up of this inner part of the mind has been well
described by Dr. Maxwell Maltz CPsycho-cyhernetics, Prentice-Hall,
Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey). Norbert Wiener was the first to

advance the idea of cybernetics, which states that the subconscious

works very much as does an electric computer, acting through the
brain. It is purely mechanistic, although so complicated that the most
elaborate computer would be a toy in comparison. This theory would
seem to deny the ability of the subconscious to reason.

Some psychologists, the behaviorists, have denied the existence of a

subconscious mind, believing that we are entirely controlled by our
conditioning and what has happened to us — that all our behavior and
thinking is purely mechanical. This concept no longer has acceptance
by present-day psychologists. It is easily refuted by the fact that auto-
26 What you should know about your subconscious

matic writing can be produced, which definitely shows the existence

of an inner part of the mind which
and reasons.
thinks
This can further be demonstrated by means of subconsciously con-
trolled movements made as signals in response to questions worded so
they can be answered yes or no, which will be described in a later
chapter. This is something almost anyone can do and it is merely a
variation of automatic writing. It has been said, and is undoubtedly
true, that the subconscious mind reasons only deductively, while the
conscious part reasons both inductively and deductively.
The subconscious controls the mechanism of the body. One of
the duties of the inner mind is the control of the body mechanism,
working through the brain. It is something like a thermostat. One
part of the brain regulates the autonomic nervous system and through
it and gland. Probably the subconscious is able to
controls every organ
and electrical reactions as well. Hypnotic experiments
control chemical
have been made which scientifically prove the control by the sub-
conscious of many such mechanisms.
By hypnotic suggestion circulation of the blood can be controlled,
heart beat slowed or speeded up, action of organs and glands changed,
the rate of healing of a wound or injury gready increased, body temp-
erature lowered or raised. Many other body changes can be induced
through hypnotic suggestion.
How the subconscious thinks and reasons. If we expect to influ-
ence the subconscious with the aim of self-benefit, it is important to
understand the way it works. At times it seems to be somewhat child-
ish and immature. It takes everything entirely literally. Often we do
not say what we really mean. For instance, a commonly used phrase is

'*that makes me mad.'* We mean that we are angry, but we are actu-
ally saying that we have become insane.
When a person is in hypnosis, the subconscious seems to be nearer
the surface, or sometimes may largely have taken over conscious think-
ing, as it does writing in automatic writing. If a person in the waking
state is asked the question, "Would you tell me where you were born?"
he will almost invariably answer by naming the place. He interprets
the question as a desire to know the location and names it. In a fairly

deep state of hypnosis, the person would reply by saying "yes" or more
likely would merely nod. That is the correct literal answer. Yes, he is
willing to tell you. It is a good example of how the subconscious takes

tnings literally.
 What you should knoiv about your subconscious 27

A possibly detrimental situation may arise from this literalness of

the subconscious. We do not have to be in hypnosis to pick up ideas.

Sometimes a physician, baffled at a failure to cure some illness, may
say to his patient, "I am afraid you can't be helped. You will have to
learn to live with this condition.'* What does this mean literally? It

means that the patient will die if he loses the symptom! Such an in-

terpretation could prevent the patient from ever getting well of losing
the symptom. He might then die. Naturally the physician making
such a remark did not mean it as it was taken.
As we grow up, learn and mature, our conscious viewpoints about
many things undergo changes. The subconscious may also change its

viewpoints, but more often will retain those of childhood. If something

happened to you at the age of six, your subconscious is hkely to con-
tinue to look at it with the viewpoint of a six-year-old. A childhood
incident where one is frightened, perhaps by a snake, may develop
into a phobia about snakes which will persist, causing the person to
go into a panic at seeing a harmless garter snake. Consciously the
person recognizes that some snakes are harmless, although repulsive.
Even the picture of a snake could bring a panic reaction.
A part of your self-therapy will be to bring changes of subconscious
viewpoint towards some of the things that have happened to you in the
past.

i Guilt and self-punishment.

at times, inspired
We
by the subconscious. Usually
all exhibit compulsive behavior
this is not consciously
recognized as compulsive unless it is quite illogical or unreasonable.
Sometimes we may realize we are behaving compulsively and will
wonder why. Some compulsions may be very harmful or may handi-
cap us greatly.
One of my patients, a schoolteacher, spent three to four hours
every day compulsively washing her hands. They were always raw
from this continual scrubbing. and had
She could not stop doing it,

no idea why it seemed necessary. Of course the cause went back

to something she had done with her hands about which she felt guilty.
She was trying unsuccessfully to wash away the guilt. Shakespeare
wrote of this in Macbeth, with Lady Macbeth washing her hands
in this way and crying, *'Out, out, damned spot!'*
Strong guilt feelings may bring about a compulsion for self-

punishment. The technical term for self-punishment is masochism.

In large factories it has been found that 80 per cent of the accidents
28 What you should know about your suhconscious

during work happen to only 20 per cent of the emploj^ees. This shows
that they are often subconsciously inspired and thus are intentional.
Everyone does things at times and has thoughts for which he feels

guilty. It is part of human nature. A very large percentage of ac-

cidents stems from a subconscious need for self-punishment.

This inner part of the mind seems to pay no attention to end

results, only to an immediate need. If a person has a compulsively
inspired bad accident, he may lose his income for a time, may be
under heavy medical and hospital expense, may be permanendy
crippled. He may even be killed. If the accident was masochistic, he
is not the only one being punished. His entire family will also suffer.

But these end results are ignored by the subconscious. Strangely, some-
times one part of the subconscious will compel a person to do some-
thing wrong, another part, the superconscious perhaps, then punishes
him for doing it.

How memory works. The inner mind is also the storehouse of

memory. It would seem that we record every perception when re-
ceived much as if a motion picture had been made with sound effects

and even with all the other senses registered, not only sight and
hearing but touch, smell and taste as well. Under hypnosis the picture
can be replayed.
Only a very small part of all the things that happen to us are
subject to conscious recall. Most people have very few conscious
memories of things occurring to them before the age of five years.
Perhaps a few exciting or very interesting events may be remembered.
Now and then there may be a very early memory, but often it is some-
thing we were told about long afterwards. We only think it is a real
memory. Nevertheless, everything that happens to us is there in our
subconscious memory in the greatest detail. We can forget consciously,
but the subconscious never forgets. Much that we consciously forget
continues to affect us in many ways. Hypnosis can be used to prove
the extent of unconscious memory.
Very often emotional difficulties trace back to our childhood con-
ditioning, sometimes to traumatic (frightening or shocking) experi-
ences. Frequendy we repress the memory of unpleasant experiences.
We push them out of the conscious mind because we do not want to
think about them. Then they can become lost to conscious recall. Yet
they may fester in the subconscious and later cause much trouble.
What you should know about your suhconscious 29

Repressed in this way, we then have no conscious knowledge of the

*cause of the trouble.
When memory begins is a nice question. Is it at a few months of
age, a year or two years, or can there be even earher memories? Some
physicians famihar with hypnosis are convinced that there is in the
subconscious an actual memory of being born. Some even beheve there
can be prenatal memories. Dr. Nandor Fodor wrote a book QSearch
for the Beloved, Hermitage Press, New York) trying to prove the

existence of birth and prenatal memories through the interpretation

and analysis of dreams.
A person under hypnosis may seem to remember the experience
of being born and will tell details of what apparently happened. I am
convinced that these are usually real memories; however, this is very
difficult to prove scientifically. A hypnotized person may merely be
fantasizing or remembering something which he has been told but
has forgotten.
Recalling early or repressed memories may be of great help in
relieving emotional difficulties, in creating character changes, and in
overcoming psychosomatic illnesses. Ways of doing this will be dis-
cussed in later chapters.
How the inner mind protects us. An important duty of the inner
mind is your protection. This part of the mind is always aware and
functioning, whether you are awake or asleep. It is even aware when
the conscious mind is "out" as from a blow or when under an anesthetic
drug.
The mother of a baby may be sleeping soundly, but at the first

whimper or cry from her child she will instantly awaken. Her sub-
conscious has said, "Come on, wake up! Something may be wrong
with the baby.*'
If you inadvertently touch something hot, your inner mind sends
messages instandy to the muscles of your arm and you snatch your
hand away before you can think and analyze the situation. In many
other ways the subconscious is always alert to guard you from harm
and danger. Yet, paradoxically, it can also cause illness, even self-
destruction.
Our behavioral difficulties, character disorders and traits, neuroses
and psychoses, and psychosomatic illnesses are all conditions involving
the subconscious part of the mind. These conditions can be overcome
by changes of both conscious and subconscious attitudes and view-
 —

30 What you should know about your suhconsciouis

points, changes eflFected by insight into the origins and causes of these
conditions.
From the foregoing description, it might seem as if there is an-
Of course this is not a proper concept. We have
other person inside us.
one mind, made up of different parts. The mind has been compared to
an iceberg floating in the sea; the conscious part is above the water,
the subconscious is that under the water a very large part of the
whole.
The total person is a unit, a mina and a body, each influencing the
other. The whole individual must be considered in dealing with
emotional disturbances. The inner hulq works through the brail to
control the body and to affect it.

SUMMARY

You should now have a fairly good understanding of your

mental make-up. You think and are aware with the conscious
part of the whole mind. Under the surface of awareness is the
subconscious and the superconscious. Little is known about
either, though the latter is especially elusive.

From automatic writing, we know that the subconscious

reasons, though it seems to reason rather immaturely in some
ways. It takes everything literally; it often retains childhood
viewpoints and in self-therapy these may need
be changed. to
It has control of the entire body mechanism and in some ill-
nesses this ability may be used for recovery. It never forgets
and everything that happens to us is in our memory, though
only a small amount can be consciously remembered. In hyp-
nosis, memories of forgotten past experiences can be recalled.
The subconscious may punish you at times for things you have
done; yet one of its duties is to act to protect you from harm.
 Gkaf^i er 2

the program
INwhich you be
will
for self-betterment
following, what
you have learned of the subconscious will
be used so that you can influence it, find
out the reasons for detrimental behavior
patterns and the causes of conditions
which you wish to change or eliminate.
You can affect your subconscious so you
will be able to put it to work for you and
take advantage of some of its remarkable
abilities.

Insight into the causes or reasons for

How You Can

Communicate Directly

With Your "Inner Mind"

a condition is one of the principle goals

in making changes. There are a number
of ways of finding out these causes.
What about psychoanalysis? In
psychoanalysis the main techniques used
to gain such insight are free association
and the interpretation of such dreams as
a patient may have. Free association is

the term for the verbalization of all one's

thoughts. The patient says whatever
comes to mind, no matter what it is or
how ashamed he might be of it. He is
told it is important to hold nothing back.
What may seem to him to be of slight
consequence may be of great importance.

31
32 You can communicate with your *'inner mind!*

It is not easy to learn to speak so freely. It usually takes some time

for a person to be able to tell everything that comes to mind. Some find
it impossible. Naturally there is much waste of time, for our thoughts
may be about completely unimportant matters. We tend to repress un-
pleasant things. The patient may block and be unable to bring out any-
thing of value for session after session. Gradually he should, at least
theoretically, reach the sources of troubles and with insight they should
begin to disappear. When knowledge comes, there must also be a kind
of digestive process and a change of subconscious viewpoint.
Dreams often give important clues to problems. Understanding
the real meaning may be easy if the dream is not too complicated and
full of obscure symbolism. More often, considerable knowledge and

skill are required in order to understand the meaning of a dream.

For this purpose popular dream books are completely worthless

and full of nonsense. Psychiatric texts can be read which teach proper
dream interpretation. They will be found to be fascinating reading.
In planning self-therapy it would be helpful to study one of these
books if you are willing to take the necessary time, though it is by no
means necessary. Probably the best texts are GutheiFs Handbook of
Dream Analysis (Liveright, New York), and Fodor's New Approaches
to Dream Interpretation (Citadel Press, New York). A popular paper-
back edition of Gutheils book has been published but unfortunately
is now out of print.
Psychoanalysis can be a successful method of treatment but the
time involved is so long and costs are so great that it is a matter only
for the wealthy. It is difficult to find accurate statistics as to results,
but those published show it to be effective with only about one person
out of four.
Other techniques are faster and give far better results. Hypno-
analysis is where analytic methods are used but with the patient under
hypnosis. The same goals are reached in far less time. Other tech-
niques with hypnosis are still more rapid and better in result.
More about automatic writing. Probably the ideal way of gain-
ing information from the subconscious mind is by means of automatic
writing. It should be realized that the subconscious knows just what is

causing our emotional difficulties and our psychosomatic illnesses. This

is the information we seek. With automatic writing, questions can be
asked of the subconscious mind and replies written out. It may even
You can communicate with your "inner mind" 33

volunteer information at times. However, repressions may prevent

our learning the desired information.
Automatic vmting is a fascinating phenomenon. With it, words are
usually run together without spacing. The writing may be clear, but
sometimes the letters are not well formed so it may be hard to read.
It may be done very slowly, though sometimes the hand will race

across the paper. The writing may be in the normal way from left to
right but sometimes it will be backwards, upside down, mirror writing,
or even a combination of all these ways. Often there is condensation.

The word hefore might be written b4; the figure 2 used instead of
any of the three ways of spelling the word. Why bother with extra
letters?

Other ways of communicating directly with your inner mind.

Since automatic writing is not always possible or feasible in terms of
time, a variation is available which almost anyone can do readily.
This involves setting up a code of communication by means of sub-
consciously controlled signals. Technically these are called ideomotor
responses. Questions must be worded so they can be answered yes or
no and the subconscious answers with signals. These consist of move
ments of an object which can be held so that it dangles and thus forms
a pendulum.
The pendulum method. The pendulum may be any small light
object such as a finger ring or an iron washer. A diread about eight or
ten inches long is tied to this object. A ball made of Incite with a short
chain attached can be purchased and makes an ideal pendulum. Some
department stores sell a device called a "Magic Eye,*' which is a com-
mercial adaptation of this means of communicating with the inner
mind. As sold, it is supposed to be a method of predicting the future
and is merely an adaptation of the Ouija board.
The pendulum has been used for hundreds of years as an attempt
to foretell the future. Our use of it has nothing to do with prognosti-
cating. It is merely a device for gaining information from the sub-
conscious mind. It is by far the easiest and quickest way of learning
the causes of emotional illnesses and other conditions.
This technique has been taught to several thousand physicians by
a small group of physicians, dentists and psychologists known as
Hypnosis Symposiums. It has been used in many thousands of cases
to great advantage, its users including a number of psychiatrists.
In using the pendulum you should hold the thread or chain be-
34 You can communicate with your **inner mint*

tween the thumb and forefinger, with your elbow resting on the arm
of your chair, or on a desk, or perhaps on your knee. The weight then
dangles freely.
Four basic directions of movement of the pendulum are possible.
These are a clockwise circle, counter-clockwise circle, back and forth
across in front of you or in and out away from you. The inner mind
can be asked to make its own selection of movements. One is to
signify yes, another no, A third should mean I dont know, and the
fourth I do not want to answer the question. This last may indicate
resistance and is therefore important.
You may specify the meaning of each movement, but it is better
to let the subconscious make its own selections. This seems to bring
better cooperation on its part. It also shows you that the subconscious
does think and reason.
Holding the pendulum, you should voluntarily move it in each
of the four directions, then hold it motionless and ask which is to
mean yes. In doing this no words are usually necessary. You merely
think the request. The subconscious is asked to select any of the four
motions which is then to represent an afiirmative reply. You might
—
word your request this way ^"'My subconscious is to select one of
these four motions of this pendulum to mean yes in answer to ques-
tions." The pendulum will work better if you watch it.

Usually it will start to move within a few seconds, but sometimes

it may take a moment or so "to warm up the motor." If it does not
start to swing very quickly, think the word yes to yourself several
times. Be sure you do not move the pendulum voluntarily. Try to hold
it still, but you will find it will move of its own accord. If you still find
there is no movement, have someone else ask the questions to establish
the four movements for reply.
When your affirmative response has been set up, ask for selection
of another motion to mean no, then for one of the two remaining ones
to mean I don't know. The fourth will then represent not wanting
to answer.
Probably you vvdll find this very interesting. Many people exclaim
in surprise as the pendulum swings in answering. Movements may be
somewhat slight, but usually the arc of the swing is long and very

definite.

There is nothing magical in this. It merely shows to the most

skeptical that the inner mind does think and reason, and also that it is
 You can communicate with your "inner mind" 35

^;^A•:,

k.
36 you can communicate with your "inner mind^

able to control muscular movements. The subconscious continually

controls such movements. As you read this it is controlling your breath-
ing muscles. When you w^alk you do not think of all the movements
involved and the necessary coordination, although you had to learn
these as a child. Afteryou had practiced a bit, had fallen many times,
you set up a conditioned
reflex and your subconscious took over control

of all the muscles involved. Your movements in vi^alking then became

involuntary. The same is true in learning to typevi^rite. Your typing
w^ould be very slow if you had to think consciously of the typewriter
keys and how to strike them.
Almost everyone will find that the pendulum will move for them.
If it does not for you, it is almost certainly a sign of resistance. Your
subconscious may feel that you wish to learn something from it which
it is not ready to let you know.
Finger movements, A
means of questioning the inner
similar
mind is by means of made by movements of the fingers with
replies
involuntary control. This may be somewhat harder to accomplish and
may take a little longer when you are awake. If it is done under
hypnosis, few will find their fingers do not respond. Sometimes replies
may be made by finger movements when the pendulum will not
respond, and vice versa.
To establish finger movements place your hands in your lap or on
the arms of a chair. The fingers should be outstretched and free to
move. Then ask your subconscious to select any one of the ten fingers
which is to lift to represent yes. When one has lifted then ask for an-
other to lift to mean no, and so forth. Be sure not to move the fingers
voluntarily. If you prefer, you may designate which finger is to move.
The right forefinger could mean yes, the left forefinger no; the right
thumb for I doni know and the left thumb for not wanting to answer.
You could designate other fingers as you wish, perhaps all on one
hand.
As you ask for a movement, observe your fingers closely. You will
probably feel a slight tingle in the muscles of the one which is about
to move, as the muscles start to lift it. It should rise towards a pointing
you will find that it trembles or wiggles a bit as it
position. Invariably
comes up. The movement usually is quite slow at first, though it may
become more rapid with practice. It may lift only very slightly or
may rise to a straight pointing position. In using either the pendulum
or finger movements be very sure you make no voluntary effort and
You can communicate with your "inner mind!* 37

when you are aslving questions you should avoid consciously guessing
what the answer will be.
How to question your subconscious mind. Wording your ques-
tions properly requires some and knowledge. You will learn more
skill

about this from the case histories which will be given and from the
discussions about certain conditions. The questions must be clear, not
vague or ambiguous. Remember, the subconscious takes everything
literally. Questions must be worded so you are saying what you really

mean.
When replies are made some questions you may be surprised to
to
find the pendulum swinging at a diagonal, or some other finger than
those designated may move. Here your subconscious is trying to tell
you something. It may mean ^perhaps or mayhe. It may indicate that
your question is not clear or can't be answered properly.
When using this technique in self-therapy, it is best to write out
the questions you wish to ask, being sure they are clear and properly
worded. Then note the answers as you receive them. Besides use in
self-therapy,you may find it helpful to get other information from
your subconscious. If you must make a decision about some matter,
the inner part of your mind has access to much more data in your
memory than you have consciously. It may tell you which procedure
would be best for you to follow.
Sometimes if you believe your intuition is working and you have
a "hunch" about something, you can check it with your subconscious.
If you lose something and cannot find it, questioning of your sub-
conscious may locate it. You will find still other uses as you become
more familiar with this means of communicating with your sub-
conscious.
I would recommend by means that you avoid trying to obtain
all

predictions from your subconscious. There is some evidence that this

part of the mind at times may have some knowledge of the future,
but this is not proven scientifically. You probably would get answers
to questions about the future, if your subconscious is cooperative and
wishes to please, but in all probability it would only be guesswork or
fantasy. Trying to find which horse will win a race is likely to be
expensive!
In my experience and that of many therapists who have learned to
use this ideomotor questioning technique, the answers given are
usually correct With most people the subconscious will not give false
3S You can communicate with your "inner mini*

information but instead will sometimes say it does not wish to answer.
Some people will lie compulsively and then misinformation might
be offered. Answers may be taken with a slight grain of salt until they
can be verified, but as a rule they can be depended on. A person who
is a pathological har or who has set up a habit of frequent lying may
find his subconscious undependable in answering, but this is very

exceptional.
If you believe a wrong answer may have been given, it is well to
re-word your question in some other way. Perhaps it has not been
clear. In questioning patients, I have often found the pendulum or
fingers answering affirmatively while the patient will verbally be say-
ing the answer to that question is certainly no. Invariably the sub-
conscious reply is the correct one.
Another use of this type of questioning is in dream interpretation.
Even a skilled analyst is not always sure of the meaning of some
complicated dream. Interpretation can be checked by questioning,
for the subconscious produced the dream and knows its symbohsm
and inner meaning.
There are some diagnostic possibilities here, though they have not
been explored scientifically to any extent. The inner mind certainly
can tell whether or not some illness is purely organic and physical or
if it has some emotional or psychological causes. Itmay be possible
that it would know what organ or part of the body may be afiFected in
some illness, but a physician using this questioning for diagnosis
would certainly trust his medical knowledge instead of depending on
the patient*s subconscious knowledge. He might question in this way
for verification in case of doubt. Some have done this and have found
the answer given proved later to be correct.
A young woman patient complained to me one day that she was
having much pain in the pelvic area. She had visited her physician
—
the day before a gynecologist. He had examined her to see if she
might have a tubal pregnancy or if anything else was wrong but had
found no reason for the pain. Today it was much worse.
She asked if pendulum answers might tell us anything about the
cause of the pain, so some questions were asked. In replying to one
as to whether there was a tubal pregnancy the answer was yes, I
urged her to see the physician again that day as something certainly
was causing the increase in pain. When he made a more thorough
examination he found she did have a tubal pregnancy.
You can communicate vnth your *'inner mind** 39

An interesting experiment has been made with a number of

obstetricians and other physicians collaborating and reporting their
results. Since the inner mind has so much knowledge, would that of
a pregnant woman know the sex of the unborn child? Using the
finger or pendulum responses, 402 women were questioned. Three
hundred and sixty correcdy predicted the sex of the child, including

three sets of twins, where the fact of their being twins and their sex
were both stated correctly. Among the errors, most of the women
predicted the sex as being the one for which they had a preference.
Probably wishful thinking entered and the replies wee on a voluntary
basis rather than unconsciously controlled.
If you are using technique with some other person
this questioning

it is usually possible to movements are being made con-

tell if the
sciously or if they are involuntary. With the pendulum, the hand or
fingers may not seem to move at all, or any movement will be very
slight, although of course there is some movement of the hand or the

pendulum would hang motionless. If the person being questioned is

consciously controlling the motion, the hand can be seen to move and
the swing of the pendulum is more pronounced.
With finger movements, the answering finger invariably will
tremble a bit and will lift slowly, sometimes taking some time before
it begins to lift. With practice and experience the movement may be
more rapid, but there will still be a wiggling effect. The finger may
lift only a fraction of an inch, or may come up to a full pointing
position, though slowly. When there is voluntary control, the move-
ment is much more rapid, lifting higher. Ob-
always smooth and very
show you if the person you are questioning is voluntarily
servation will
causing the movement. In this case caution him to let the movement
be of its own accord.
In self-help practice you will sometimes be using autosuggestion.
For it to be effective the idea must be acceptable to this inner mind,
or it will not be carried out. Questioning may show if the subconscious
is willing to produce the result you wish.
Some other "uncovering" methods. There is still another way to
obtain answers from the subconscious, though it is not as accurate
because the conscious mind may affect the situation. This is to
imagine, with the eyes closed, that you are looking at a blackboard.
Then ask your question and request the subconscious to write the
answer on the imaginary blackboard in white chalk. If you have a
40 you can communicate with your "inner mind*'

good imagination and can readily visualize in this way, answers can
often be had. When it "works/* it is a rapid method.
Another type of uncovering device is sometimes helpful. When
there is trouble in locating some cause or reason for a condition, a sug-
gestion may be given the subconscious which if carried out will bring
the answer. On going to bed at night, with the eyes closed, suggest
to yourself that sometime during the next day you will have a revelatory
thought about your question — that you will suddenly find the answer
in your mind and recognize it as the answer. The suggestion should
be that some time next day such a thought is suddenly to pop into
at

your mind. You must be specific as to what it will be about. It may

fail to come, of course, but frequently you will find the answer.
It should be recognized that the great majority of our thoughts
spring from the subconscious expressly through the association of
ideas. One thought prompts another. We can direct our thinking
processes, but much bubbles up directly from the subconscious.
You will find in other chapters, from the case histories given, much
more as to how to use questioning. You will learn the types of ques-
tions which you will want to ask yourself and how they should be
worded. You certainly will find that working with the pendulum or
finger answers is a fascinating matter. Exploration of the inner mind
is the key toknowing yourself. It will unlock the door to the reasons
for character and behavior problems, for emotional disturbances and
illnesses, for phobias, fears and anxiety, and for many other personal

problems. When you know the motivations and reasons behind these
things, it is far easier to solve or overcome them and to make the
changes which will bring health, happiness and success.
While a home-devised pendulum will be found quite satisfactory,
the lucite ball typeon a chain can be obtained from the manufacturer,
The Wilshire Book Co., Div. X, 8721 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood 69,
Calif. Two sizes are available, one at a dollar, a larger one at two dol-

lars. The plastic ball has the added advantage of being an excellent

object on which to fix attention in inducing autohypnosis.

How to develop automatic writing. Before beginning a program
of self-help it would be a good idea to find out whether you can readily
learn automatic writing. You may find you have a facility for it and
it is worth a bit of time to find out. If you are a "doodler,*' you are
likely to be able to write automatically. If you can, it will give you
You can communicate with your "inner mind!* 41

another access to your subconscious and will be a great help in your

program.
It is best to sit in a comfortable chair without arms. Take a bread-
board or a lapboard of some kind and lay it across your knees. Cut off
a piece of paper from a roll of shelfpaper, so it will cover the entire
board. If you develop as an "automat," you can use such a roll of paper,
pulling out enough to cover the board, and as your writing covers
the sheet, then pull out another section of the paper.
If you sit your arm does not have as much freedom to
at a desk,
move as when iton a lapboard across your knees. Use a very soft
rests

pencil or a ballpoint pen which writes heavily, such as a laundry

marking pen. Instead of holding it in the normal writing position, take
it between the thumb and forefinger. Hold straight up and down, with

the point resting on the paper. Start at the top left of the sheet of
paper.
Now tell your subconscious mind that you would like to have it

control your hand and write about anything it would like as a subject.
Write your name, holding the pen or pencil as described. Make a few
circles and then return your hand to the upper left-hand edge of the

board. Make no further voluntary movement. Some people find the

hand will move almost at once. More often it may not move for sev-
eral minutes. When it begins to move of its own accord it may merely
make lines or geometric figures, as though it were warming up or
practicing. Watch the hand closely and keep thinking that it is going
to begin to move. You may find a tingling feeling in the muscles or
you may find that you have rather lost track of the entire arm, as
though it were no longer a part of you. If it writes, try not to anticipate
the words as they come.
The handwriting will not be like your usual writing. The words
probably will not be separated. Movements may be rather jerky. The
hand may move very slowly may
race across the board. You can
or
try shutting your eyes, ifwhich helps to keep you from
you like,

knowing what is being written as the hand moves.

Keep trying for at least twenty minutes if the hand does not move
sooner. You might even try a second time if there is failure. When you
have learned autohypnosis, you may use this technique to get good
results. If you cannot produce automatic writing, do not be discouraged.

Probably no more than one person out of five can do so without much
effort and practice.
42 You can communicate with your "inner mind!

SUMMARY

In this chapter you have learned that you can communicate ,

directly with your inner mind and obtain information from it.

This can be done by asking questions and obtaining answers

through movements of the pendulum, or the fingers, or seeing
words written on a blackboard "in your mind's eye." You may
even be able to develop automatic writing and with it gain
more detailed information.
These techniques will be of the utmost advantage in under-
standing the conditions which you vdsh to change.
 Glmer 3
program
INyouyour
naturally wish
for self-betterment
to accomplish your
goals as rapidly as possible. Self-hypnosis
offers you a very definite shortcut, and
results will come more quickly if you use

it. You may have the usual misconcep-

tions about it, but with a proper under-
standing and knowledge about youit,

can utilize its many advantages. Hypno-

sis offers the easiest access to the sub-
conscious part of the mind; through
hypnosis the subconscious can most

Hypnosis:

A Powerful
Force for Good

readilybe influenced to bring about the

changes you want.
k Popular misconceptions about
hypnosis. The public has many miscon-
ceptions about hypnosis, some of which
are shared by physicians. Nevertheless,
probably twenty to thirty thousand
women in this country have gone
through childbirth under hypnosis. In
addition, there have been thousands of
others who have had therapeutic treat-
ment in which hypnotic techniques have
been used. Unfortunately, however, the
misconceptions are still prevalent and
many who could benefit from hypnosis
do not have its help.

43
44 Hypnosis: A powerful force for good

Almost everyone has the idea that a hypnotized person becomes

unconscious. Most of us have a normal fear or dislike of losing con-
sciousness. Actually, a subject is always completely aware even in the
deepest stages of hypnosis. He knows what he is saying and doing.
There is never loss of consciousness while in hypnosis. There really
is very little sensation other than a feeling of listlessness or lethargy.
You can move if you wish, but it seems to be too much trouble. Talk-
ing may require an effort due to the lethargy. There is so little other
sensation that many who go only into a light state may think they
have not been affected at all. This is quite usual.
When one is deeply hypnotized there is a recognition of it. Even
in a medium state one feels that something is ''different." The skillful

operator tries to produce some hypnotic phenomena which will let his
subject realize he is The operator may suggest
in hypnosis. that the
subject's eyes cannot be opened. The subject finds to his surprise
that he cannot open them. Suggestions of extreme heaviness of an
arm may prevent its movement when an effort is made to lift it. When
such suggestions work, it shows the subject that he is in hypnosis. If
awake, he would open his eyes or move his arm readily.
Another popular misconception is that the subject must carry out
any suggestion given him. But the operator is not omnipotent and the
subject is never ''in his power.*' Hypnosis would be highly dangerous
if the operator had such control. Thousands read books about hypno-

sis and learn how to induce it; some certainly would take advantage

of having complete control of a subject. Newspapers would publish

any news story about crimes or other bad uses of hypnosis. No one
will do anything under hypnosis which would be against his principles
nor will he carry out a suggestion unless it is acceptable. Fear of loss of
control can prevent induction or hold the subject back from reaching
deeper stages.
Another fear often entertained, but based on a mistaken idea, is
that the hypnotized person might say something he would not want
to talk about. Since there is complete awareness, the subject knows
what he is saying. He would no more betray a "state secret" under
hypnosis than he would when awake.
Somewhat along the same line is a belief in the inability to lie or
give misinformation under hypnosis. If a person wished to be untruth-
ful while hypnotized, he could readily lie.

A young man once brought his wife to me to be hypnotized so he

Hypnosis: A ffowerful force for good 45

could learn from her whether or not she had heen unfaithful to him.
He was intensely jealous and paranoid. He was informed that I would
do this only if she was willing and that he could not be present while
hypnosis was induced but could talk to her following induction. I told
her alone that she did not need to comply with his urging and while
hypnotized could answer him in any way she wished. The wife said
she had nothing to conceal and was quite willing to be questioned
under hypnosis. When he asked her about it, she denied any in-
fidelity, which satisfied him, at least for the time being. His paranoid

jealousy would probably lead to further suspicions later. His mistaken

belief in her inability to lie under hypnosis aided in preserving their
marriage, however.
"What if I should not wake up after being hypnotized?" is a
question sometimes asked. This is an exceedingly rare occurrence,
awakens on being told to do so. In fact, anyone
for a subject easily
can awaken himself at any time. In the few times when there is
difficulty in awakening, there is always some motive or reason for it.

Perhaps the subject is merely very comfortable and dislikes to leave his
pleasant state of relaxation. If the operator went away and left a
subject in hypnosis he would awaken whenever he wished to arouse
himself.
What about dangers in hypnosis? Are there any dangers in hyp-
nosis? An inexperienced operator who knows little about it might
cause some trouble. He might forget to remove some suggestion he has
given, such as forgetting to bring back sensitivity when hypnotic
anesthesia has been induced. This might cause some difficulty, as a

rule, however, suggestions would soon lose their effect in such a case.
It certainly is foolish to permit an unqualified person to hypnotize
you. Stage hypnotists, who seldom know much about it other than
how to induce it quickly and to produce some phenomena would fall

into this category. A physician, psychologist, or dentist with training in

the use of hypnosis is aware of the few possible dangers and knows
how to avoid them easily.

As to self-induction, thousands have learned it and I have yet to

hear a report of any bad result from The one precaution should
its use.
be to remove any suggestion or phenomena before awakening yourself.
This book is not intended as a text on hypnosis. For the benefit
of those who might wish to learn more details about it, the following
list of primary textsmay be helpful. There are scores of good modem
46 Hypnosis: A fowerfiil force jor good

boolcs on the subject and only a few can be mentioned here. Most
public libraries would have at least one of them.

LeCron and Bordeaux, Hypnotism Today, New York: Giune and

Stratton,
Cooke and Van Vogt, Hypnotism Handbook, Los Angeles: Borden
Publishing Co.
Estabrooks, Hypnotism, New York: Dutton.
Weitzenhoffer, General Techniques of Hypnotism, New York: Grune
and Stratton.

Why dont more physicians use hypnosis? The question is some-

times asked as to why hypnosis is not used by more physicians and
dentists. There are several reasons for this. Professional men usually
have the same misconceptions as does the public. Many of them fear
it use because of scare articles which have appeared in medical jour-
nalsand popular magazines. Most of these have been written by
who oppose the use of hypnosis except by psychiatrists.
psychiatrists
The American Psychiatric Association advocates the use of psycho-
therapy by general practitioners and medical specialists, and the AMA
has made a similar recommendation.
One of the main reasons why it is not utilized more is the matter
of the time needed. Thirty to forty (or more) minutes for hypnotherapy
is usual. If a busy physician sees forty to fifty patients a day, he seldom
can take this amount of time for an individual patient. Some pro-
duction-line doctors see eighty or more patients a day! Scarcely enough
time per patient for any good treatment.
Dr. David Cheek of San Francisco, a leading gynecologist with
years of hypnotic experience, published an article in Northwest Medi-
cine (February, 1962), pointing out the fears and woeful lack of knowl-
edge about hypnosis in the medical profession, including the psychia-
trists. He mentions a questionnaire sent out to 930 California psy-
chiatrists about hypnosis. Only fifty reported ever using hypnosis as a
technique and only twenty of the fifty said they found it of great
value. Being acquainted with most of the twenty, I can add that they
have found it of extremely great value.
Obviously something is wrong if only some two per cent find it

valuable. Why is it extremely valuable for them and not for the other
thirty who have used it? The only answer is that the others must not
have enough knowledge about it and do not know how to use it
Hypnosis: A powerful force for good 47

would find it valuable. This leaves the icgret-

effectively, or the)^ too,

table situationwhere almost 98 per cent of the California psychiatrists

are ignoring something which obviously is of great value. Presumably
these same percentages apply, more or less, to the entire United
States. It is not so in Russia, where most psychiatrists use it.

Still another good reason for lack of professional interest is that

physicians have had almost no opportunity to learn hypnotherapy,
either while attending medical school or in post-graduate courses. Only
three or four such courses in hypnosis have ever been offered by
medical schools. Dental schools also have been negligent in this regard,
though several have offered instruction.
Probably fifteen to eighteen thousand physicians, dentists and
psychologists have had instruction in hypnotic techniques, but through
privately given courses. In 1952 I felt there should be such courses
given by a panel of instructors and organized such a group. We have
offered some seventy-six symposiums teaching hypnosis to professional

men. They have been given in various cities all over the United States,

and also in Canada, Mexico and some Caribbean countries. Later,

several similar groups were organized.
As a result of the interest aroused in this way, two national profes-
sional societies are now functioning, with a total of nearly four thou-
sand members. Each publishes a quarterly technical journal about
hypnosis. Their members are the leaders in the field, though there are
others actively using hypnosis who do not belong to the societies. Some
who have taken classes use it not at all or infrequently because of some
of the reasons outlined above.
So that any interested reader may locate a physician, psychologist,
psychiatrist or dentist who does use hypnosis and who practices in the
reader's area, the names and addresses of these national societies are
given. By writing them, being sure to enclose a stamped, self-addressed
envelope, a qualified practitioner can be located. They are:

The Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 353 W.

57th St., New York, N.Y.
The American Society for Clinical Hypnosis, 800 Washington
Ave., S.E., Minneapolis, Minn.

Some of the characteristics of hypnosis. The depth a person

reaches in hypnosis is usually classed as a light state, a medium one,
or a deep state. In light hypnosis the following symptoms or phe-
48 Hypnosis: A powerful force for good

nomena can usually be produced or will be shown —relaxation with

a tendency not to move, a fluttering of the eyelids when closed, in-
ability to open them on suggestions to that effect, hand-clasp test, list-

lessness, a feeling of heaviness particularly in the arms and legs, limb

catalepsy (extreme rigidity or looseness of the muscles of the limbs,
with a tendency for them to stay in any position in which they are
placed), and a partial type of age regression. Some of the phenomena
mentioned will be explained later.

For the medium depth of trance —

complete body catalepsy, anes-
thesia of any part of the body, either partial or complete, greater relaxa-
tion, partial amnesia on awakening if suggested, greater lassitude,
control of some organic functions such as bleeding and salivation
In deep hypnosis —complete age regression, ability to open the eyes
without awakening (possible often in a medium trance), complete
anesthesia, complete amnesia, control of body functions, positive or
negative hallucinations of all five senses, time distortion.

There are other symptoms and phenomena but these are the main
ones. There is rapport with the operator in all stages. Posthypnotic
suggestions can be effective at any depth, although the deeper the
trance the more likely they are to be carried out. A posthypnotic sug-
gestion is one given in hypnosis which is to be executed after awaken-
ing.

It is possible to tell how deep a person is by observing

in hypnosis
symptoms, testing, or by questioning with ideomotor responses, which
will be described in the next chapter. Certain things are characteristic
of each of the three stages of depth, as listed above, though individual
responses may vary. One individual might not produce hypnotic
anesthesia in a very deep state while another might do so in only a
light stage.

The most important phenomenon used in self-therapy is partial

is the ability to return in time to some past event
age regression. This
orsome certain age and to relive it with all five of the senses. It is
much more than merely remembering something. Complete regression,
sometimes called revivification, is never actually complete, of course.
A deep state is required for this and itwould be exceptional to be able
to regress in this way with autohypnosis. When an operator tells a
subject he is now some certain age, the subject seems to become that
age with the complete type of regression. He will behave like a five-
year-old if told he is that age. The identit)^ of the operator would not
Hypnosis: A 'powerful force for good 49

be known to him. Life from the suggested age on seems to be blotted

out. Scientific research has shown such a regression to be vahd, not a
pretence.
The partial type of regression is easily obtained in only a very light

state with most people. Here the subject will go back and seem to re-

live an experience just as it happened, with all five senses functioning,

seeing, hearing, etc. But he is also aware of the operator's identity and
of his own actual physical location. There is a kind of duality in-
volved.
It is this type of regression which is best used in psychotherapy
and in self-help. It is easy to invoke and the subject is able to analyze
and understand what is happening to him during the regression. He
will be able to understand how some past experience may be affecting
him in his present life. With the complete form of regression there
is no insight or understanding of this, because it is viewed with the

same viewpoint held at that time. With either type of regression

events at a very early age may be brought out which cannot otherwise
be recalled. Examples of how regression is used will be given later.
Youve been self-hypnotized many times. You have entered
hypnosis spontaneously literally hundreds or even thousands of times,
depending on your age. We all slip into a trance at times every day
of our lives, though such situations are not labeled hypnosis.
Dr. Griffith Williams, of Rutgers University, has written of these
spontaneous states in an article in Experimental Hypnosis (New
York: Macmillan, LeCron editor). Daydreaming is nothing but a state
of hypnosis, perhaps light, sometimes deep. When we concentrate
intently on anything, such as reading a book, watching a motion
picture or TV program, or even on our work, we tend to slip into a
trance. It is even probable, as Estabrooks has pointed out, that we do
sowhenever we experience a strong emotion, such as fear or anger.
In any religious ceremony, particularly if there is music and ritual,
many in the audience will enter hypnosis spontaneously. Almost any-
one who drives a car will recall situations conducive to hypnosis out —
on the open road, relaxed at the wheel, eyes fixed on the white line
of the road, the monotonous hum of the motor, and you suddenly
you have passed through some town and are beyond it but with
realize
no memory of having gone through it. You have been in hypnosis,
experienced symptoms of amnesia, and then awakened yourself.
Awareness of these common spontaneous states which we all ex-
50 Hypnosis: A powerful force jor good

perience should relieve any fear or apprehension about being hyp-

notized or using autohypnosis. A trance state is quite a common,
jflormal phenomenon.

SUMMABY

In this chapter you have learned the facts about hypnosis.

Properly used it is not dangerous and professional men trained
in its use know how to avoid the few dangers. It is perfecdy
safe in every way to use self -hypnosis. While you
in hypnosis
are always fully aware and never "pass out" no matter how
deeply you may go. You never lose control of yourself.
Thousand of professional men have been trained in the use
of hypnosis and now use it in their practices. Names of some
in your own locality can be obtained from one of the two
national societies.
You have learned some of the interesting phenomena which
can be produced with hypnosis in the three stages of depth.
The common spontaneous states of hypnosis which we all

enter daily are normal and knowledge of these should relieve

you of any fears about it
 Qliafjl ev 4

NOW that you know the facts

hypnosis you are ready to learn

about

how you can hypnotize yourself for your

own benefit. While in hypnosis you can
influenceand affect your subconscious
mind more readily. You can put your
inner mind to work for you.
Most people find self-hypnosis rela-
tively easy to master. Some may find it

difficult, others will find they succeed

well on the first attempt. It will probably
require practice, for a learning process is

Self^Hypnosis

Gives You the Key

to a Happier Life

involved. It may take several attempts.

The easiest and quickest way to learn
autohypnosis is to visit a physician or
psychologist who One,
uses hypnosis.
two, or perhaps three sessions might be
necessary. (Stay away from anyone who
advertises himself as a hypnotist!) After
induction by the therapist, you would be
given posthypnotic suggestions for in-
ducing the state yourself. Some brief
formula to follow will be suggested, both
as to entering and deepening hypnosis.
You will be carrying out the posthyp-
notic suggestion when you follow the
formula and will slip in readily. With a
few. practice sessions, you should quickly
reach a good depth.

51
 a

52 The key to a hamper life

How to induce self-hypnosis. Lacking an opportunity to be hyp-

notized first by someone else, the following method will show you
how For practice in self-induction, it is best
to hypnotize yourself.
at first some object for eye fixation. When you have become
to use
proficient this will not be necessary. Almost anything w^ill do—
picture on the wall, a spot on the ceiling, anything at which you can
look without discomfort. One of the best objects is a lighted candle
placed in a saucer or holder where it can be watched comfortably. The
flickering flame of the candle has a hypnotic effect. Watching a fire
in a fireplace also is effective. The lucite ball pendulum is also an
excellent object on which to concentrate. If you have a record player,
you will find soft, slow music will be helpful.
A comfortable position should be taken, either sitting or lying
down. As you watch the flame of the candle, (or whatever) take three
or four deep breaths to aid in relaxing. It is not necessary to say any-
thing aloud; give yourself suggestions by thinking them.
One suggestion might be, *'As I watch this candle my eyelids will
become heavier and heavier. Soon they will be so heavy that they
will close. Soon I will be in hypnosis.'* You can put this into your own
words, repeating it several times as you watch the candle. As you feel
your eyelids become heavier, let them close whenever you wish. A
minute or two should be enough; prolonged staring is completely un-
necessary.
As your eyes close, you should have a key word or phrase ready to
serve as a signal to your subconscious to bring you into hypnosis. A
good one is "relax now," though any will do. The "now*' in this phrase
is important because it means immediately, not sometime later. This
phrase should be repeated slowly, three times.
You should then begin relaxation of your muscles. Start at your
feet. Let the muscles of your right leg relax from the toes up to your
same way. Wiggle your toes and tighten all
hip; then the left, in the
the muscles them go loose and limp. Then let the
first, then let

stomach and abdominal muscles relax, following with the chest and
breathing muscles.
You will probably notice that your breathing becomes slower and
more from the lower part of your lungs —abdominal breathing. Some-
times this speeds up at first, as does the pulse, as one goes into hypnosis.
While sinking a little deeper both tend to slow down a bit.

Then let your back muscles relax, following with the shoulders
The key to a ha^er life 53

and neck. Often we have a good deal of tension in this area. Continue
with the arms, from the shoulders to the finger tips. As you go a httle

deeper, the facial muscles will also relax and loosen of their own accord.
One of the signs of hypnosis is a smoothing out of the facial muscles,
with a lack of expression shown, a kind of woodenness of the features.
You are now ready to go deeper. Think to yourself, "Now I am
going deeper and deeper," repeating it several times. Unless you dis-

like riding escalators, such as are in many department stores, imagine

yourself standing at the top of one. In your mind's eye see the steps
moving down in front of you and visualize the railings. Count back-
w^ards slowly from ten to zero, imagining as you start to count that
you are stepping onto the and standing with your hands on
escalator
the railings while the steps move down carrying you with them deeper
and deeper.
When you reach zero in your count, think of yourself as stepping
off the escalator at the bottom. The first three times you practice self-
induction, visualize yourself going down three different flights of the
escalator, from floor to floor, counting each time as before. When you
have become more proficient, going down only one level should be
enough.
If you dislike riding escalators, as some women do, substitute an
A patient once told me he did not like to go down
elevator or staircase.
and asked if he could go up instead. Why not? It makes no difference.
Going down is associated with the idea of deeper. If you prefer to go
up, avoid the words deep and deeper and substitute far and farther
instead.
You should now be at least lightly in hypnosis. Some will find they
have gone quite deeply by this time. More suggestions can be made of
going still deeper, if you wish. To help in this you might then imagine
yourself as being some place where you could relax well and enjoy it.

This could be an imaginary scene — at a lake or on the sea, up in the

mountains, fishing, boating, at home in —
your living room ^anything
pleasant. Concentrating on such an imaginary scene will tend to take
you still deeper.
The beginner probably will be wondering if he is getting results.
Your mental attitude should be positive rather than negative. In your
early practice sessions do not care if you are having success. Practice
will bring it. Be sure not to "try." Trying holds you back, while being
54 TJze key to a hamper Hje

passive and not caring will help. Take it for granted that you are at

least lightly in hypnosis, as is probable.

How to measure the depth of hypnosis, A person in hypnosis

does not remain at any given depth. There is a fluctuation. In a deep
stage you may become aware of a kind of wave pattern. You tend to
sink down into the trough of the wave, then to come up on the crest,
very slowly. If you sense this, you undoubtedly have reached a good
depth.
Hypnotic states are usually classed as light, medium or deep (deep
is often termed somnambulism). You may wonder how deeply you
have gone. In your first half-dozen practice sessions, pay no attention.
Subsequently you can learn from your inner mind as to the depth you
reach. If we give the subconscious a yardstick with which to measure,
it can supply this information. It seems to have the ability to establish

such a measurement quite accurately, as tests have shown. You can

learn the depth by questioning your subconscious with ideometer re-

plies.

A yardstick for the inner mind to use can be an imaginary yard-

stick of thirty-six inches. We can arbitrarily say that a light state the is

first foot, one to twelve inches. A medium state is twelve to twenty-

four inches, and a deep one is twenty-four to thirty-six inches. There
is a still deeper stage which has been called a plenary trance, but for
even an excellent subject to reach such a depth takes several hours of
continued induction. Few are able to go so deeply and it is probably
impossible with self-hypnosis. You may disregard this entirely. It has
no advantage, except in research.
While you are in hypnosis you can find the depth by using finger
responses to questions; after you have awakened you can use either the
bngers or the pendulum to learn from your subconscious the depth
you reached.
Questions can be worded something like this; "What is the deep-
est I have been today? Have I been as deep as or deeper than twenty
inches on my yardstick?'* If the answer is no you should ask, "Have I
been as deep as or deeper than fifteen inches?" If the first answer is
yes, ask as to twenty-five inches. By bracketing in this way you can

find the exact depth. You could narrow it down to a definite figure if
you wish, but within five inches is enough for all practical purposes.
Awakening yourself —relaxed and refreshed. When you wish
to awaken yourself, you need merely think, "Now I am going to wake
The key to a hamper life 55

up." Then count slowly to three, or to five if you prefer. You will find
that you will always awaken relaxed, refreshed, feeling exceptionally
well. However, it is well to give yourself a suggestion to that effect
Subjects have, on occasion, complained of a slight headache on awak-
ening. This and the reason for it is not apparent. Any possibility
is rare
of this will be prevented by such a suggestion.
While in hypnosis time may seem to pass very quickly. You may
find you have been in the trance for half an hour when it has only
seemed like a few moments. If you are tired when you induce self-
hypnosis, you may drop oflF into a normal sleep. This can be prevented
by suggestions of remaining in hypnosis until you awaken yourself.
The length of time you wish to be in hypnosis can be regulated. While
looking at the candle, or before beginning the relaxation process, give
yourself a suggestion of awakening spontaneously after a given num-
ber of minutes or at a certain time. You will then do so.
In a deep state there is and
considerable lethargy, both physical
mental. It is too much trouble to move or even to think very much. It
may be hard to concentrate your attention on whatever you may be
trying to accomplish. Therefore, when giving yourself suggestions, it

is much better to go no deeper than a medium stage. Probably the ideal

depth for most autohypnosis is from about twenty to twenty-five inches
on our yardstick. Much can be accomplished even in a very light state;

a medium one is best.

When the idea has been offered to the subconscious and repeated
about three times, letting yourself sink a bit deeper will permit the
subconscious to register and digest the suggestions more thoroughly.
While it does this, your mind should be diverted from whatever sug-
gestions have been made to something else.

Practicing self-induction and testing the results. In your initial

sessions of induction, allov/ about a half-hour or at least twenty min-
utes for getting into hypnosis and deepening the stage. For the prst
four or pve attempts you should not try to find out how deeply you
have gone. It might be discouraging if you learned it was only a very
light stage or none at all. Each time you practice, you should slip in a
little deeper. After about eight or ten sessions you probably will be
reaching about as great a depth as you can achieve, though this is not
always so. After the fifth session some tests may be made. Of course if

you are sure you are reaching quite a deep state after one or two at-
tempts you can proceed sooner with tests. When you have succeeded
56 The key to a hamper life

with some of the tests, then you can begin producing some of the

interestingand often valuable phenomena.

The first test should be what is called "hand levitation." Let your
arms, resting beside you or on the arms of your chair, relax completely.
(This is after you have hypnotized yourself.) Concentrate on your
right arm, if you are right-handed; on the left if left-handed. You may
be feeling a heaviness in your arms. Suggest to yourself that the
heaviness will quickly disappear, imagine the weight of the arm drain-
ing out.
Then think, "My arm is and lighter, lighter and
getting lighter
lighter. All the weight is dwindling away. Soon it will be as light as
a feather. My hand will begin to lift up into the air. The arm will
bend at the elbow and the hand will float up, lifting up higher and
higher. Soon my hand will touch my face."
As you make these suggestions, a feeling of lightness vdll gradu-
ally develop in the arm. Before the hand lifts, you may be aware of

movements of the fingers, followed by the whole hand beginning to

float upward. Keep repeating these suggestions. Be sure there is no

voluntary effort made to lift the arm, but do not hold it back. It will
move of its own accord, controlled by your subconscious mind.
The time needed for the hand to reach the face will vary consid-
erably with different individuals. It may take several minutes, though
rarely that long. When
arm first begins to lift, you will notice that
the
it moves in movement being very slow. As the arm rises
little jerks, the
higher, the movement may become faster (you can suggest this) and
with less jerkiness. When your hand has touched your face, let the
arm fall into any comfortable position. If this test is successful, you
can be sure you have reached a light state of hypnosis.
Try again in your next session if there is failure.

The eyelids test and the hand-clasp test Another test may be
made. While closing your eyelids tightly, suggest that you are going
to count to three and will then be unable to open the lids. Repeat this

with the thought, "The harder I try to open them, the tighter the lids

will stick together." Then make your suggestions something like this:
—my
*'One eyelids are glueing tightly together, glued fast together.
Two— it*s as though they were welded into one piece, welded together
and I cannot open them. Three —now they are locked, locked tighdy
together."
The key to a ha'ppier life 57

Keep repeating the word locked again and again while you now
try toopen your eyes. If the test is successful, the lids will stay closed
no matter how hard you try to open them. In accepting these sugges-
tions, your subconscious blocks the nerve impulses from reaching the
muscles of the eyelids so they do not move. The suggestions should be
given slowly, allowing time for them to become effective. Don't rush
it.

Another good test similar to this is called the hand-clasp test. It is

done by clasping the hands together in front of you, or above your

head with the palms turned out away from you. While you squeeze
the fingers and knuckles tightly together you give the same suggestions
as with the eyes but substitute hands for eyehds in the wording. If you
are holding your hands in front of you, be sure to squeeze the palms
tighdy together.
Suggestions for self-hypnosis. When there is difficulty reaching
hypnosis with the simple method given previously, a longer induction
may be needed. More suggestions can be made, an actual induction
talk can be employed. After you have repeated your key phrase three
times, and before using the imaginary escalator, give yourself sugges-

tions somewhat as follow:

*'As I lie here comfortably, I will find myself relaxing more and
more with each breath I take. My eyes are closed now and I will begin
to feel a pleasant lisdessness creep over me. I'll give way to this feeling.

It is so pleasant to relax. My arms and legs will begin to feel heavy. I

am drifting into hypnosis and relaxing more and more. It is as if all

problems have been set aside and nothing seems to matter. I will feel
a sense of comfort and well-being. Drifting deeper and deeper, deeper
with every breath I take. As I count backwards and imagine the
escalator (or elevator or staircase) I will go deeper with each count."
This induction talk may be memorized or changed into your own
phrasing, keeping the ideas expressed in it. When you have said it to
yourself, then use the escalator technique for furdier deepening.

When your early practice sessions have been completed and you
begin making tests or suggesting phenomena, you will find that any
successful test or production of phenomena tends to take you still

deeper.
Some uses of autohypnosis. Self-hypnosis can be of great value
in many ways. It is the best means available for overcoming insom-
58 The key to a happier life

nia. If you ever have such difficulty, put yourself into hypnosis on
going to bed. Then you can suggest passing from hypnosis into natural
sleep, wording it like this, "I vi^ill gradually relax more and more, be-

coming sleepier and sleepier. Within a few moments I will fall sound
asleep and will sleep soundly all night long." After making such a
suggestion, your mind should be diverted at once to anything pleasant,
with no further thought of sleep. This is quite important —thinking
about it tends to prevent your subconscious from producing sleep. A
good night's rest should follow.
Insomnia is sometimes a deep-seated neurotic symptom. Suggestion
may not overcome it, therefore, and you will need to uncover the
causes. Methods for doing this for the insomnia case will be described
later.

Self-hypnosis has many other advantages. You will find yourself

more relaxed during your daily life. Hypnotic suggestion can inhibit
fatigue. If you are tired at the end of the day and must go out that

evening, a few moments in hypnosis, with suggestions of waking re-

freshed and rested, will bring back feelings of vigor and vitality.
When you have learned how to produce hypnotic anesthesia, there
will be times when this ability will be of much help. Being able to shut
off pain may be a real asset in visiting your dentist, or following a pain-
ful accident. However, pain has a purpose, and discretion and com-
mon sense must be used in turning it off. A pain in the abdomen might
be a symptom of appendicitis, and to shut it off could be dangerous.
People dying of cancer, in great pain, have been taught autohypnosis
and so have been more comfortable in their last hours. Hypnotic anes-
thesia should only be used when it obviously is all right to stop the
pain.
Self-hypnosis may be very helpful in studying and learning. If you
are a good enough subject to be able to open your eyes and stay in
hypnosis, you can study while in the trance. Concentration, ability to
absorb new material, recall ability and examination performance are
much improved under hypnosis.
When you intend to open your eyes while in hypnosis, a suggestion
should be made that you will go even deeper as you open them. There
is a tendency to awaken, or for the depth to lessen, on opening the
eyes. Probably this is due to associating opening of the eyes with
awakening, as we do from sleep.
The key to a happier life 59

HOW SELF-HYPNOSIS HELPED THE SCHOOLTEACHER. A ScllOolteacIier

who had returned to summer school to make up a course in plane

geometry in order to earn her degree told me she was having great
difficulty with the said course. She was halfw^ay through the six-week
term and said she hated the subject, did not understand it and could
not force herself to study properly.She was an excellent subject, so I
advised her to study under autohypnosis and to take her examination
while in a trance. She followed the advice and received an excellent
grade. Others have also found their grades increased with this method.

The main purpose of self-hypnosis is to influence the inner mind

through suggestion. It will greatly shorten the time in reaching your
goals inany program of self-therapy.
How to use partial age regression. In your self-help program you
will sometimes need to use age regression. There should be no attempt
to induce deep hypnosis in this respect, for you would then have no
insight into the effect of past experiences. You can regress if only
in a very light state of hypnosis. Your first effort should be to go back
some very recent and unimportant experience. This is more
in time to
than simple memory recall You should aim to relive an experience
with all five senses functioning.
While in hypnosis, select as your goal the last meal you ate when
someone was with you. Suppose it was breakfast with your wife pres-
ent, as an example. Give yourself the suggestion, *1 am now going
back in time to my breakfast this morning and will relive the experi-
ence. I am drifting back in time, back in time to my breakfast this
morning.** Repeat this suggestion. Try now to visualize the situation.
At first the scene may be a bit hazy. Then it will tend to clear and
become more vivid.
Try to see the table in front of you and look at your wife. See
what she is wearing; note the color and design of her clothes. Try to
bring out other details as the scene becomes more vivid. Get a feeling
of position. Feel the chair or seat under you.
Now go to the moment when you drank some coffee. Look at the
cup; see its color; pick it up and feel it in your fingers. As you lift it to
your mouth, smell the pleasing odor. Sip and taste the coffee.

After you have put the cup down, look at whatever food is before
you and see it clearly as to color and shape. Then go to the moment
when your wife spoke to you about something. Try to hear anything
60 The key to a hamper life

she may have said. You can actually hear her voice. Try particularly to
develop the hearing sense, listening to whatever may have actually
been said.

All of these things tend to turn mere memory into actually reliving
of the incident. With a little practice you should readily leam to re-
gress in this w^ay to a recent experience. You will find yourself bring-
ing out little details that could not be recalled if you were to rely on
memory alone. If you find yourself unable to regress in this way, have
someone else talk to you while you are in hypnosis. They can read over
the suggestions above and then can tell you to do all these things as
they have been written here.
During your next session you can leam to return to some childhood
experience, perhaps one which has been completely forgotten. Every-
one has suffered some very minor tumble, cut, or bruise, or hurt in child-
hood. Your suggestion here should be that you are now going back in
time to the age of four or five, or perhaps six, to some time when you ex-
perienced a very minor hurt, nothing major. When hurt, a child
naturally will cry and someone would probably comfort it, perhaps the
mother. She would probably say, '*Don*t cry, don t cry, it*s all right,**
or something similar. Repeat these phrases aloud several times, putting
the expression into the words which would be used in comforting a
child. If there is a feeling of other words being more appropriate, use
them instead. If so, your subconscious is prompting the correct words
that were actually said. The association of the sound of these words
and their meaning helps to bring the regression.
Now look around in your mind's eye and form an impression of
the scene. Are you indoors or outdoors? Try to bring it in clearer. Tell
yourself it is now, just before you were slightly hurt, and note what you
are doing. Then go to the moment of hurt and continue through what
follows, hearing whatever was said. You probably will actually feel
whatever hurt you, though not to the same degree.
When you have accomphshed this, tell yourself you are now re-

turning to the present time, in order to end the regression. (This should,
of course, also follow your first regression attempt.) If you failed to
remember this,no harm would be done, for you would soon reorient
yourself to the present on awakening.
Most people can learn to regress in this way with no difficulty. If
you cannot bring out an episode of a minor hurt, it may be that you
unconsciously do not wish to remember any kind of unpkasant matter.
The key to a hazier life 61

You might then suggest return to some exceptionally pleasant or in-

teresting experience at about the same age, one which may have been
completely forgotten. Say to yourself, "I am now about five years old.

Something very pleasant happened today. Perhaps it is Christmas or

my birthday and I was given a nice present. Now I am back to it."

You may then find yourself seeing a scene and reliving it. When it has
fully developed, end it by the suggestion of returning to the present.

you are not successful in producing these regressions, try again

If

at another time. If you can go a bit deeper, without overdoing it, it

would help. An important part of self-therapy consists of regressing to
important past events which may be having a present effect.
In regressing as described here, you are reliving the experience as
the participant. Sometimes if there is something unpleasant about the
event, it is easier to see it as an observer, rather than taking part in it.

When you find you are not entering the regression, try suggesting that
you are going to see the scene and whatever happened as an observer,
and that you will see yourself in the scene. This may overcome re-

sistance to going back to something unpleasant, since being an observer

is easier than taking part in the experience.
An induction talk to aid in learning self-hypnosis. If you have a
tape recorder or a record player, the following induction talk can be
recorded. This can be a great aid in learning self-hypnosis. Most larger
record shops have facilities for cutting records, which is a simple, in-
expensive matter. You could record your own voice or have someone
elsedo a phonograph record or on tape.
this for you, either as

In recording, a monotone voice is best and the words should be

read quite slowly. The wording here includes induction and sugges-
tions setting up a formula for you to follow for self-induction. When
you have listened to your recording, or as soon as you have awakened
at the end, you should put yourself back in hypnosis by following the
formula as given.
Take any comfortable position in listening, either sitting in a com-
fortable chair or lying down. Let your arms rest on the arms of the
chair, or lie beside you. Close your eyes and take two or three deep
breaths. The talk follows;

Now that you are comfortable you will listen closely to my voice and
will follow all the suggestions given. This will teach you how to enter
hypnosis and how to produce it Your eyes are now
yourself. closed.
Take another deep breath, hold it a few seconds and let it out.
 The key to a happier life

The more you can relax, the deeper you will be able to go into
hypnosis. Let all your muscles go as loose and limp as possible. To do
this start with your right leg. Tighten the muscles first, making the
leg rigid. Then let it relax from your toes up to your hip. Then
tighten the muscles of the left leg. Let that leg relax from the toes
up to the hip.

Let the stomach and abdominal area relax; then your chest and
breathing muscles. The muscles of your back can loosen — ^your
shoulders and neck muscles relaxing. Often we have tension in this
area. Let all these muscles loosen. Now your arms from the shoulders
right down to your finger tips. Even your facial muscles will relax.
Relaxation is and comfortable. Let go completely and enjoy
so pleasant
the relaxation. All tension seems to drain away and you soon find a
listlessness creeping over you, with a sense of comfort and well-being.
As you relax more and more, you will slip deeper and deeper
into hypnosis. Your arms and legs may develop a feeling of heaviness.
Or instead you may find your whole body feeling very light, as though
you are floating on a soft cloud.
Now imagine that you are standing at the top of an escalator
such as those in some stores. See the steps moving down in front of
you, and see the railings. I am going to count from ten to zero. As I
start to count, imagine you are stepping on the escalator, standing there

with your hands on the railing while the steps move down in front
of you taking you with them. If you prefer, you can imagine a stair-
case or an elevator instead. If you have any difficulty visualizing the
escalator or staircase or elevator, just the count itself will take you
deeper and deeper.
—
(^Slowly^ TEN ^now you step on and start going down, nine —
— —
EIGHT SEVEN SIX. Going deeper and deeper with each count, five —
— — —
FOUR ^THREE. Still deeper, two one ^and zero. Now you step
off at the bottom and will continue to go deeper still with each breath
you take. Deeper and deeper with each breath. You are so relaxed
and so comfortable. Let go still more. Notice your breathing. Probably
it is now slower and you are breathing more from the bottom of your

lungs, abdominal breathing.

In amoment you will notice that your hand and arm are beginning
to lose any feeling of heaviness and are becoming light. If you are
right-handed, it will be your right arm, if left-handed, it will be the
left.

The arm is getting lighter and lighter. It will begin to lift. Perhaps
just the fingers will move first, or the whole hand will start to float up.
It will float up towards your face, as though your face was a magnet
The key to a happier life 63

pulling it up until the fingers touch your face some place. Let's see

where that will be. The arm begins to bend at the elbow. It is float-

ing upward. If it has not started of its own accord, lift it voluntarily a
few inches to give it a start. It will continue to go up of its own
accord with no further eflFort. It floats on up toward your face,
higher and higher.
The higher your hand goes the deeper you will go; the deeper
you go, the higher the hand will go. Lifting, lifting, floating up
higher and higher. Going higher and higher. Now if it has touched
your face let your hand go down to any comfortable position. If it has
not touched yet, it can continue to float up until it does touch. You
can forget about the arm while I tell you how you can put yourself
into hypnosis whenever you may wish to do so.
You will use much the same method being used now. When you
have made yourself comfortable, you will merely close your eyes and
drift into hypnosis. But in your first three or four practice sessions it

would help you if you first lit a candle and when you have made
yourself comfortable would look at the flickering flame for two or three
minutes. Then close your eyes.
Then you will think to yourself the phrase, "Now I am going
into hypnosis." Then repeat to yourself the words, "Relax now" three
times, saying tliem very slowly. As you do this you will slip oEF into
hypnosis. You say nothing aloud, you merely think these words. When
you have done this, take another deep breath to help you relax more
and go through the relaxation just as you have done before. Tell your
muscles to relax as I have done.
When you have finally relaxed your arms, imagine the escalator,
elevator or staircase. Now you should count backward from ten to
zero, including the zero. Count slowly. In your first four practice
sessions repeat thecount three times, as though going down different
levels.With practice you need only count once.
Whenever you are ready to awaken all you need do is think to
yourself, "Now I am going to wake up." Then count slowly to three
and you will be wide awake. You will always awaken refreshed, re-
laxed and feeling fine.
While you are in hypnosis if something should happen so you
should awaken, you will do so instantly and spontaneously —some-
thing such as the phone ringing or a real emergency like a fire. You
will awaken instantly and be wide awake and fully alert. Actually
this would happen without such a suggestion being necessary, for your

subconscious mind always protects you.

Now I will count to three and you will be wide awake. If con-
64 The key to a hamper lije

venient you should then go through this formula for self-hypnosis and
put yourself back in. You
remember the formula and go through
will
it exactly as given. Now
awaken as I count, one. Coming awake
—
now. TWO—almost awake, teiree ^now you are wide awake. Wide
awake.

SUMMARY

You have now been introduced to several techniques in self-

hypnosis. Actually all hypnosis is really self-hypnosis. The

operator is only a guide and you do the work by following his
suggestions and accepting the ideas he gives you. You now
know how you can test your results after you have practiced a
bit, and you can learn from your own subconscious the depth

you have reached. You know how you can regress to expe-
riences which may be affecting you in some way; through an
understanding of these, you should cease to be affected. You
will be able to use hypnosis not only in your program of self-
betterment but in other w^ays as well.
In the next chapter you will learn how to use suggestion
most effectively in your program.
 GLfyl er 5

ONE the
of the best ways of influencing
subconscious mind by is

means of suggestion. As has been men-

tioned, we all are suggestible in varying
degrees, and extremely so while under
hypnosis or the influence of a strong
emotion. Sometimes suggestibility is mis-
takenly confused with gullibility, i.e., be-
ing easily fooled. If you w^ere not sug-
gestible you would find it difficult to

learn. Being suggestible is an asset.

It is important to know the laws gov-

How the Use

of Autosuggestion

Can Improve Your Life

eming suggestion. Heterosuggestion

(that given by someone else) is more
potent than autosuggestion, but the lat-

ter can be quite effective, particularly

with knowledge of how best to apply it.

Even a light state of hypnosis increases

suggestibility. Autohypnosis will shorten
the time required in self-therapy and
may uncover causes which can't other-
wise be learned.
How suggestion affects medical re*
search. The power of suggestion and
the degree of suggestibility found in
most people are continually seen when
medical research is carried on to find out
the effect of some new drug. In such

65
66 Autosuggestion can improve your life

research it is always necessary to use what is termed a "contror* group

of subjects. A number of people in one group are given the drug which
is being tested. Another group is given a placebo —something that
looks like the real drug but is inert. Perhaps a sugar pill is used as the
placebo.
The on both groups is studied. It will be found that a large
e£Fect

percentage of the control group responds to the placebo just as do

those who have taken the real drug. Suggestion causes this effect. In
fact, the effect of suggestion 's so great that it has been found neces-

sary to keep those administering the drug in the dark as to which per-
sons receive the drug and which ones get the placebo; otherwise, sub-
jects manage to pick up clues from the person doing the testing.
Rules to follow in making suggestions. Suggestions may be
permissive or commanding, direct or indirect, positive or negative.
Autosuggestions will be direct rather than indirect. A positive one has
much more force than a negative one. To make a suggestion positive,
avoid such negative words as "not," ''don t," "won't," and "can't." "I
will not have a headache tomorrow" is a negative suggestion. "My head
will be clear and I will feel well tomorrow" is positive.

A permissive suggestion is more likely to be carried out than a

dominating command. Most of us resent being commanded to do
something. The inner mind may resent it with autohypnosis and will
be more cooperative as a rule if asked to do something rather than
ordered to do But sometimes commands may be best. Individuals
it.

is an unconscious need to be dominated, then

react differendy. If there
commands would be better. Phrasing a suggestion with the words "you
can" is permissive; "you will" is a command.
Repetition is the main rule in making suggestions work. They
should be repeated three or four times, or even more. All advertising is

based on suggestion and advertisers know that the effect of repeated

ads is cumulative. Commercials on TV are repeated again and again,
as you have undoubtedly noted to your annoyance. (As a side observa-
tion, because of this annoyance, results from TV commercials would
be knew more of the principles and laws of
far greater if advertisers
suggestion and of psychology. When annoyed, many people make it a
point not to buy a product so advertised.)
Time must be allowed for a suggestion to be accepted by the sub-
conscious and then carried out. It should be put in the immediate
future, rather than the immediate present. To say "My headache is
Autosuggestion can improve your life 67

gone" is contrary to fact as it could not disappear instantly. "My head

will begin to clear; soon the ache will dwindle away and I will feel
fine" allows time for the idea to be carried out.
Autosuggestions may be made verbally, though it usually is not
necessary to say the words aloud. Thinking them is enough. However,
you should experiment as to this since some of us do respond better if
they are said aloud.
If a visual image can be formed and added to a verbal suggestion,
it will make the suggestion more potent. There is a tendency on the
part of the subconscious to carry out any prolonged and repeated
visual image. It will depend on the type of suggestion you use whether
or not a visual image can be added.
An example of a visual image: you are tired at the end of the day
and wish to overcome this by suggestion. After suggesting that you
will begin to feel refreshed, visualize yourself doing something where
you are full of *
Vim, vigor and vitality." In your mind's eye see your-
self playing golf or tennis or some other sport, or merely walking
briskly around the block swinging your arms, chest out and obviously
full of pep. Carry this thought for three or four minutes. The results

of such suggestions can be quite surprising in overcoming fatigue. The

visual image should always represent the result desired.

Another example: in treating an obese woman, I instructed her

to obtain a photograph of herself when she was slender. She did not
have one, so her to cut a picture from a magazine of a girl in a
I told

bathing and take the head JFrom some picture of herself and paste
suit,

it on this magazine picture. She was then to place this picture on her
mirror and to look at it every time she looked in the mirror, thinking
"That is I." When she went to bed at night, she was directed to visual-
ize herself as she would like to be, like the body in the picture.
Establishing a motive for acceptance of a suggestion is helpfuL
Arousing some emotion and "hooking" it to a suggestion will make it

more effective. This may be by means of words or a visual image or

both. Desire for success can be the emotion aroused.
In giving yourself a suggestion, acceptance by the inner mind is

needed or be carried out, no matter how much you may

it will not
consciously want this. When a permissive suggestion has been re-
peated and no result shown, it would be well to try a command instead
of being permissive.
68 Autosuggestion can im^prove your life

You can learn through ideomotor rephes to questions whether or

not your subconscious has accepted a suggestion. If not, perhaps
further questioning can locate the reason why it has been rejected. If

a pendulum or finger answer promises acceptance, it is almost certain

to be carried out.
Some further rules about suggestion. The subconscious should
not be burdened with too many suggestions at one time. It is better to
work on only one thing at a time, or at most two. The effect becomes
diffused otherwise. Work with repetition on one or two suggestions for
wo or three sessions. If other ends are sought, use suggestion on an-
other one or two for a few times, then go back
and repeat the first ones.
Word your suggestions with only the end result in mind. Be spe-
cific as to your goal. Your inner mind knows far better than your con-

scious mind how to reach the goal. Stimulate it into action and it will
find the best means.
Some writers have made quite a point as to the wording of sugges-
tions —^whether the personal pronoun should be I or you, first person
or second. Perhaps you should experiment as to this but I believe the
subconscious takes either as applying to you. I think this is proved by
the fact that, in therapy, suggestions which have been picked up as
fixed ideas, and are then carried out, are found to be worded either
way or both. This kind of suggestion will be considered in a later
chapter.
Suggestibility can work both ways. Negative suggestions can also
be eflFective. We are constandy bombarded with suggestions. An un-
pleasant trick can be played on an individual in an ofiBce. When he
arrives in the morning a fellow worker greets him with the remark,
"Good heavens, Jim, you must have had a bad night. You really look
terrible this morning." Jim has been feeling quite well and is surprised

at this statement. A few minutes later someone remarks casually, "Got

a hangover this morning, Jim? You sure look bad." Another inquires
sympathetically if he perhaps has a fever. By this time Jim is feeling
poorly and any further repetition is likely to send him home actually
ill.

One important part of self-therapy and dehypnotize

is to locate
yourself of negative and detrimental suggestions which may be affect-
ing you. We all carry these suggestions with us; for the most part we
are unaware of them.
Autosuggestion can improve your life 69

In his book, Self-Suggestion (Huna Research Publications, Vista,

California), Max Long advocates the use of deep breathing while
giving oneself suggestions. Long recommends breathing deeply and
hard, at the same time concentrating intently on the suggestion and
"pulsing" the thoughts. By this he means to concentrate for a moment,
then pause, and start concentrating again, continuing to repeat this,

all the while breathing deeply. Long adds that belief and firm convic-
tion bring the best results.
Dr. James Hixson, a Hollywood dentist who is one of the instruc-
tors with Hypnosis Symposiums, recommends a short cut in giving
autosuggestions. He advises writing out in detail exactly what you
wish to accomplish. Then condense the idea into a sentence or two,
omitting details but stating the result desired. From these sentences
select a key word or very brief phrase which includes the entire sug-
gestion you have first written out. This key word or phrase is to be
repeated several times to yourself, after which your thoughts should
be diverted to something entirely different.
Emil Coue and his ideas. During the nineteen twenties there
was quite a vogue in the use of autosuggestion for self-benefit, though
it was much greater in Europe than in this country. Coue, Baudouin,

Pierce, and others, all wrote books on the subject. I would recommend
Pierce's Mobilizing the Mid-Brain (Putnam & Sons, New York out —
of print but obtainable sometimes in used bookstores) as being the
best, though Baudouin's also is very good. Cou6 operated a clinic on
autosuggestion in Nancy, France, and became world famous from his
successes. He was really a pharmacist but made quite a study of the
psychology of suggestion. Europeans used his principles and found
them of great value. When Coue made a lecture tour in the United
States, skeptical newspapermen ridiculed him and scoffed at his ideas
so that his tour was a failure.

Cou^ upon him, for his ideas

did not deserve the ridicule heaped
are sound. One of his techniques was and again each
to repeat again
day the suggestion "Every day, in every way, I am getting better and
better.** In his earlier work with suggestion he made use of specific,

detailed verbalizations. Often these were successful. But later he

decided that the general, nonspecific suggestion, deliberately avoiding
telling the subconscious how to achieve an end, was better. Such a
suggestion would include all that one might be aiming at, not one
70 Autosuggestion can improve your life

particular goal. The formula has definite merit. Although Coue*s

methods were never accepted to any extent in this country, he had
quite a following in Europe, and many benefited from his work.
Coue was the first to make an exhaustive study of suggestion and
its effects. He formulated several important ideas and laws about sug-
gestion. One he termed the law of reversed effect. Coue said, "If one
thinks, 1 should like to do this but I can't* (a negative thought), the
harder he tries, the less he is able." Somewhat along the same line is

the effect of using the word try about something. Saying "I'll try" im-

plies doubt — the expectation of failure. An attempt at something

should be approached positively; you are going to do it, not try to do it!

An example of the law of reversed effect is seen in the following

situation. If a 12-foot board, a foot wide, is laid on the ground, one can
walk it hardly giving it a glance. Place it between two chairs three feet

above the ground and there would still be no difficulty in walking its

length. Amore care would be used. Place it between two build-

little

ings ten stories in the air and try to walk it! Fear and doubt would
enter and the law of reversed effect would take hold. The walker
would probably fall off or not be able to venture out on the board at

all.

Another common example of the working of this law is seen in

the person troubled with insomnia. He goes to bed with the thought
(a negative suggestion) "I suppose 111 not able to go to sleep." Then
he tries and the harder he tries to go to sleep, the wider awake he be-
comes. When he stops trying, sometime later, thoroughly fatigued,
and begins to think of something else, he drops off to sleep within a
few minutes.
Baudouin cites another illustration of this law. A person learning
to ride a bicycle, still unsure of his balance, sees a tree ahead of him.
His doubts arise and he is sure to run into the tree while trying des-
perately to avoid
Coue made
it.

a sage observation
—"When the imagination and the
will are in conflict, the imagination always wins." In effect this is say-
ing that the subconscious will always win over the conscious mind
when they conflict. It certainly is true.

Still another of Coue s contributions was what he called the law of

dominant effort —an idea always tends towards realization and a
stronger emotion always counteracts a weaker one.
Autosuggestion can improve your life 71

SUMMARY

In this chapter you have learned something of the power of

suggestion. You will find it of great value in your self-better-
ment program. Keep your suggestions permissive for the most
part, though sometimes you may need to prod your subcon-
scious in a more commanding way. Remember the need to
repeat, to stress motivations for acceptance, not to give too many
suggestions at one time, to use visual imagerywhere it is pos-
and to suggest results, not means.
sible,

You would find Coue s formula of "every day, in every way,

Fm getting better and better" helpful if you will repeat it to
yourself on rising in the morning and on going to bed at night,
which is what he recommended. It wdll only take a moment or
two of your time.
 y^nafyler

deal with whatever emo-

IN orderproblems
tional
to
or you may
illness

have, you should know how they origi-

nate —the factors causing them. Then

you will better be able to change or
eliminate them.
Some Freudian ideas. Aside from
we are the product of
hereditary factors,
our environment and of the things which
happen to us as we grow up and live our
lives. Undoubtedly the first few years of

childhood are of the utmost importance

Eliminate

Emotional Troubles

From Your Life

in this process of conditioning and ma-

turing. Freud placed most of the respon-
sibility for emotional difficulties on these
childhood experiences and the conflicts
which develop from them. Freudian psy-
choanalysis aims largely at bringing into
conscious awareness a realization of how
these things affect us. Other psycho-
therapists assign less importance to child-
hood; with them, the important problems
are those that relate to the present rather
than the past.
The usual psychiatric treatment of
mental problems and conditions to a
large extent follows Freud, though of
necessity it is often modified consider-

73
74 Eliminate emotional troubles from your life

ably. Such usual treatment is likely to be a long, drawn-out matter and

therefore very expensive. Most psychoanalysts follow Freudian meth-
ods rigidly. Psychoanalysis has become a cult with a definite ritual. For
example, Freud in his younger days was quite a shy person and felt un-
comfortable when a patient sat facing him and watching him. There-
fore he had his patients lie on a couch while he sat at its head where
he could not be seen. Analysts ritualistically follow this same procedure
today. It must be the best way because Freud used it!
As a rule psychoanalysis requires anywhere from 300 to 600 hours.
A patient is customarily seen for an hour a day, five days a week. The
method is essentially passive, the analyst making some interpretations
and comments, and at times giving some direction to the therapy but
usually letting the patient talk of whatever comes to mind free asso- —
ciation.
In some deep-seated neuroses and other conditions, long-term
therapy is a necessity. It would be difficult to overcome these condi-
tions othenvise and self-therapy would be of little help. Of course this
means much expense. A complete psychoanalysis is only for the
wealthy, with fees amounting to thousands of dollars. Most emotional
conditions, other than insanity, can be briefly, and perhaps even more
successfully, treated with other methods.
Pavlov and conditioned reflexes. Pavlovian theories are based on
the idea of conditioned reflexes. In the early years of this century the
Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov conducted his famous experiments
w^ith dogs, showing how conditioned reflexes develop. The dogs were
fed when hungry and at the same time a bell was rung. When this was
repeated a number of times, the dogwould salivate whenever the bell
w^as rung, although food was not given at the same time. It had learned
to associated the sound of the bell with food. The bell then stimulated
a flow of saliva. Salivation was the conditioned reflex which had been
established.
Humans are just as subject to the development of conditioned
reflexes as are dogs. We respond to some stimulus, a word, or situation
which seems to have no bearing or relationship to the responsive be-
havior, yet the stimulus is associated in some such way, as was the
bell with food. We may be unaware that we are responding to such a
stimulus; it will often trigger off behavior or thoughts which then may
seem quite senseless. We probably will try to rationalize why we have
acted in this peculiar way.
Eliminate emotional trouhles from your life 75

Most conditioning is of definite value to us. Conditioned responses

become automatic and we do not have to think how to carry them out.
Habits and skills often develop from such reflexes. However, condition-
ing may work in the wrong direction and be detrimental. Responses
may stir up feelings of guilt, hostility, anger and other emotions which
may be harmful because of the way we react to them. Neurotic pat-
terns are largely derived from conditioning.
Psychiatry in other than the English-speaking countries is aimed
largely at the removal of conditioned reflexes which are found to be
causing emotional difficulties. Often words are the trigger mechanism

or stimulus setting off the reflex, and general semantics is thus in-
volved. The Russian psychiatrist Platinov in a book entitledThe Word
(published in Russia and printed in English), says that many Russian
psychiatrists use hypnosis to uncover the conditioned reflexes and their
stimuli. The patient is then caused to go back in memory to the time
or event when a reflex was established. Understanding the association
tends to wipe out the response. This is really a dehypnotizing of the
patient. Conditioned reflexes are almost identical at times with post-
hypnotic suggestions. Platinov claims successful results with 78 per
cent of his cases. If true, this is a far better record than Freudian
methods can show.
Dr. Joseph Wolpe, a South African psychiatrist now in the United
States, has written of his development of a method of psychotherapy
(Psychotherapy Through Reciprocal Inhihition, Stanford University
Press, Stanford, California) very similar to the Russian approach. He
also uses hypnosis to recondition his patients and claims the same
degree of success. Some of his techniques lend themselves readily to
self-help and will be described.
How suggestion is used in therapy. Another type of psycho-
therapy involves the use of suggestions. They may be directed at the
subconscious mind by the person himself (autosuggestion) or may be
given by some one else (heterosuggestion). Probably the latter is some-
what more effective but self-suggestion also can be very valuable. It is

most successful when hypnosis is utilized.

Prior to the acceptance of Freudian ideas about a half century ago,

suggestion was the only known method of psychotherapy. During the
period roughly from 1880 to about 1900 or a little later this type of
hypnotic treatment through suggestion was used extensively and with
good results. One of the foremost physicians of his time in France was
76 Eliminate emotional trouUes from your life

Hyppolite Bernheim. He learned about hypnosis and suggestion from

a modest country doctor named Lieubeault who practiced in Nancy.
Bernheim joined Lieubeault in his practice and they conducted a chnic
together. In the course ofsome twenty years they treated over 30,000
patients with suggestion under hypnosis. Their success was such that
many physicians from all over Europe went to Nancy to study under
them. Freud was one of them.
Freud then attempted to use hypnosis in his early experimental
work. This was in association with another psychiatrist named Breuer.
Breuer was one of the leading medical hypnotists of his day, while
Freud was a young beginner. Freud was under the impression that a
deep state of hypnosis was necessary for treatment, but he found only
a small percentage of people could be deeply hynotized. He really
knew little about hypnosis and was a very poor hypnotist. He lacked
confidence in himself at that time and for good results in the induction
of hypnosis confidence is very important.
Freud could not tolerate his failures, when Breuer was so success-
ful. He therefore sought other methods and techniques, arriving at
free association and dream interpretation. He then gave up the use of
hypnosis. Because of this, his followers, including most psychiatrists,
have believed hypnosis to be worthless in psychotherapy. Most psychi-
atrists are completely uninformed about it and do not know its modern
applications. Many still think it is applied only as a matter of sugges-
tion as Bernheim used it.
A Freudian idea accepted by most psychiatrists is that treatment
by suggestion is dangerous in that if a symptom is removed by sugges-
tion, a worse one will form. The use of hypnosis has been attacked on

this basis by some psychiatrists writing in popular magazines and also

in medical journals. Many who have read such articles are therefore

fearful of hypnosis.
The idea involved is that behind any symptom is an energy seeking
an outlet. The symptom is the oudet. If the symptom is removed by
suggestion, the energy is then blocked and will seek a new outlet. For
example, if an alcoholic were to be given suggestions removing the
desire to drink, or preventing drinking, he might then turn to narcotics
instead.
This idea of some energy being present seems far-fetched. No such
energy can be measured or demonstrated in any way. Certainly there
may be an unconscious need for a symptom. It may serve a purpose.
Eliminate emotional troubles from your life 77

Quite overlooked by such critics is the fact that no amount of sugges-

tion would cause elimination of a symptom if the need for it is very

strong. Hypnotic suggestions are only effective if acceptable to the
subject, acceptable both consciously and subconsciously. Every ex-
perienced hypnotherapist knows this. A symptom may be removed by
hypnotic suggestion, but many times this fails and the symptom per-
sists. Also, experienced hypnotherapists know that suggestions to elimi-
nate a symptom should always be given on a permissive basis rather
than as hypnotic commands. This is a safeguard which completely
obviates any possible danger in symptom removal, even if the Freudian
concept of some mysterious energy were correct.
Dr. Roy Dorcus, a prominent psychologist, recently presented a
paper at a meeting on hypnosis at the University of Kansas. He
pointed out that most medical treatment, other than the use of anti-
biotics or the sulfa drugs in infectious diseases, is nothing but symptom
removal. Treatment with other drugs usually is only aimed at a symp-
tom, not its cause. Aspirin for a headache merely removes the symp-
tom. Critics of symptom removal by suggestion routinely treat their
own patients with the tranquilizer drugs to overcome depression. This
issymptom removal. Drugs are regarded as safe and proper for symptom
removal; if done by suggestion it is dangerous. Of course this is quite
ridiculous. The supposed energy would also seek another outlet follow-
ing removal of a symptom by drugs.
In the cases cited by psychiatrists where other symptoms have
supposedly formed, or where some other bad effect has followed use
of hypnosis, the conclusion was made that the result came from end-
ing the symptom. As a matter of fact it may have been from some
entirely different cause. Some other need, entirely unrelated to the
original symptom, may have stimulated the other symptom or the bad
result which later developed.

THE SEVEN MOST COMMON FACTORS

CAUSING EMOTIONAL TROUBLES AND ILLNESSES
The causes of harmful behavior patterns, of emotional illness, and
of wrong thinking and unfavorable character traits are found to vary
considerably. Methods of self-therapy, therefore, must also be variable.
However, these methods will apply in self-help no matter what the
obiective.
78 Eliminate emotional troubles from your life

Conflict One of the most common causes of emotional difficulty is

conflict. Freud believed conflict to be the common denominator in emo-

tional difiiculties of most types. Conflict arises when we have a need or
wish to do something, but the taboos of society or conscience prevent
Sex, of course, is probably the greatest source of conflict.
Frequently we repress our conflicts, thrusting them out of con-
sciousness because they are too unpleasant, or because we feel guilty

about them. Aggressiveness and hostility are emotions likely to be

repressed. Memories of unpleasant or frightening experiences may be
so treated. They remain in the subconscious, however, and may then
cause continual trouble. Then we may consciously be unaware of why
some difficulty has resulted.
In self-therapy it is possible to remove these repressions and bring
back memories to awareness. Sometimes the repression may be too
strong and help from a psychotherapist is needed. Of course many
conflicts are not suppressed and we know about them consciously. Or-
dinarily these are not difiicult to resolve with self-therapy. Case his-
tories will be given to show the results of conflict and of the various

other likely causative factors which are noted here.

Aside from conflicts, other causes which may enter are: CO moti-
vation, (2) the effect of suggestion, (3) organ language, (4) identifi-
cation, (5) masochism or self-punishment, and (6) past experiences,
especially traumatic ones. In some conditions perhaps only one of
these seven possible causative factors may enter, but it is more usual
for more than one to be present. Sometimes, though rarely, all might
be found.
Motivations. Locating the motives for a symptom or condition or
behavior pattern involves learning what purpose it may serve. An ill-

ness may bring sympathy and attention for which there may be a
strong neurotic need. A child whose parents neglect him may find that
illness brings attention, and it also may serve to keep him out
of school which he dislikes.
Barbara F., 21 years old, had been married for about a year to a
very brilliant and good-looking young man. He was a college graduate
and she had only finished high school. Shy, with strong feelings of
inferiority and insecurity, she suffered from a headache which had
been continuous for more than four months. It was not so severe
as to incapacitate her, but bothered her all day long. Sometimes drugs
could modify it, but it persisted. Her family physician was unable to
Eliminate emotional troubles from your life 79

find any organic reason for the headache, despite many tests, including
neurological ones. Therefore he believed the condition probably had
some emotional basis.
It was not difficult to bring out that Barbara was using the head-

aches to bring sympathy and attention from her parents and also
from her husband, to whom she felt inferior. It was pointed out to

her that she might better interest herself more in her husband's ac-
tivities and could read and study to bring her education nearer his
level. It was obvious that he was much in love with her. When she

reahzed that her behavior was very immature, the headache quickly
disappeared.
A common motive for a symptom is that of defense. Barbara
really was defending herself with her headache. It must be learned
just what the symptom protects against. It may well be an attempt to
escape from problems and reality. In migraine headache there usually
are strong feelings of hostility, aggression, and frustration present.
Such emotions are suppressed as objectionable. The headaches seem
to result from bottling up these emotions and may also function as
self-punishment from guilt over having such feelings. These same
factors are sometimes present in bursitis and arthritic conditions, and

in still others. Such symptoms may serve to protect against aggressive

actions which might be taken because of emotions of hostility and
anger.
Another case, with an entirely different type of motivation, was
that of a businessman, Mr. G., who had lost his voice. This condition
is called aphonia. He
could speak in only a low, hoarse whisper. His
physician could find no reason for this as his vocal cords were normal.
When placed in hypnosis Mr. G. was able to speak with no difiBculty,
which proved conclusively that the condition was emotional. He soon
was able to bring out the reasons for his trouble. His business was in
excellent condition; he was expanding it rapidlyand his sales had
almost doubled over the previous year s sales. However he was very
had borrowed heavily, was buying supplies to fill
short of capital,
and could not meet his bills. Within a few months money
his orders,
would be coming in to take care of this, but his creditors were plagu-
ing him with demands for payment and with threats. Most were local
firms and his phone was busy with calls asking for payment. By
losing his voice he was still able to give orders in his plant, but he
80 Eliminate emotional troubles from your life

could not talk over the phone. The condition was an effort to escape
from unpleasant explaining.
It Mr. G. write a letter to each creditor en-
was suggested that
closing a financial statement and information on his excellent sales,
with promise to pay within three or four months. This would un-
doubtedly satisfy his creditors. When he had done this, he quickly
recovered his voice.
One type of neurosis is technically labeled hysteria. This should
not be confused with the term hysterics, which is an emotional re-

action rather than an emotional illness. With hysteria a symptom

might develop such as paralysis of a limb, or functional blindness.
Such a symptom of course is not organic. The motive for the paralysis
might be a means of escaping from something, or perhaps it could be
to prevent the person from attacking someone.
Functional blindness could be a result of seeing something about
w^hich the person felt very guilty, or it could serve to prevent the
person from seeing something unpleasant which he wishes to avoid
seeing. And of course there could be many other motives. This type
of condition has been called a conversion symptom. Less disabling
ones are very common.
Effects of suggestion. Everyone is suggestible to some extent or
we would not be able to learn. Suggestibility should not be confused
with gullibility. One of the most effective ways of making suggestions
effective is repetition, impressing them on the subconscious. As chil-
dren we may repeatedly be told something until it is unconsciously
accepted and then carried out. If a child is not doing well in school
and is reproached again and again by a parent with such remarks as
**You are just stupid; you can't seem to learn," such statements may be
accepted and believed by the child. He may then become unable to

learn easily, although of good intelligence.

Many psychotherapists unfamiliar with hypnosis fail to realize the
power and the effects of suggestion. It is one of the most common
causes of emotional difficulties. Failure to locate and remove such sug-
gestions will prevent successful treatment. A definite part of therapy

is to "dehypnotize" the individual and remove such suggestions.

A symptom may be largely or entirely caused by some
trait or
statement which becomes a fixed idea in the subconscious mind. It is
a conditioned reflex and is carried out exactly as if it were a post-
Eliminate emotional troubles from your life 81

hypnotic suggestion. When we are under the influence of an emotion

we seem to become more suggestible, just as when in hypnosis, and a
fixed idea of this type is often set up at such a time, or it may result

from being repeated again and again. A posthypnotic suggestion is

one given when a person is in hypnosis but which is executed later

after he has been awakened.
Dr. George Estabrooks of Colgate University has written (Hypno-
tism, Button, New York) that under an emotion the subconscious
mind seems to register a statement just as if a phonograph record was
being made. When some association restimulates it, the idea in-
volved will then be carried out compulsively, as would a posthypnotic
suggestion.
To give an example of this, while I was giving a course in Mexico
City to a group of physicians, teaching them to use hypnosis, a demon-
stration in treating a patient was made. One member of the class, Dr.
R., was a woman about forty years old who said she had suffered from
chronic diarrhea all her life. Medical treatment had never helped.
Under hypnosis it was brought out that the main cause of her condi-
tion resulted from an experience at eighteen months of age. She had
then had a digestive illness so severe that her parents expected her to
die and had even bought a cemetery lot for her burial.
Instructed to recall this incident completely, Dr. R. told of being
held in her mother s arms, feeling very ill. Her parents were crying
and the doctor was saying to them, "She will never get over this."

The statement was made movements in

in Spanish. With finger
was asked if this remark by the physician
response to questions, she
was the reason she had retained the symptom of diarrhea. To the
child it had been the main part of her illness. The answer was
affirmative. The next question was, *'Now that you realize this and
know you did not die and did recover from the illness except for this
symptom, can you now be free of it?" The finger response was again
affirmative. When seen again about six months later. Dr. R. told
me she had had no more diarrhea following this single session.
A question here would be as to how a child of only 18 months of
age would understand language, in this case the remark of the phy-
sician. A possible explanation would be that the subconscious at an
early age may register speech merely as sounds. After language is

learned it can then understand the meaning and would carry out the
82 Eliminate emotional troiibles from your life

idea or suggestion involved. A person under hypnosis going back and

"replaying" a past experience will say he hears what people are saying.
This might be imagination or fantasy and it would be difficult to prove
that such words were actually said. In the case of the woman
physician, and in many other cases, it would seem highly probable
that there is a definite memory of what was said, since the removal
of the suggestion brought loss of the symptom.
This same phrase, "She'll never get over it," was involved in an-
other case where a middle-aged woman suffered from a chronic
cough. She told me this had persisted for as long as she could remember
and she had long ago stopped trying to treat it. Now she wondered if it
could be stopped through hypnosis. With questioning she learned that
the symptom began when she was four years old and had had a
serious illness with whooping cough and complications. Again the
doctor had told her parents that she would never get over it, meaning
that she would die. She recovered but had heard what the doctor said
and kept the coughing symptom.
A rather funny effect of suggestion was brought out by an at-
tractive young woman. While working with her, she was regressed

to a time when she was ten years old when her mother was punishing
her. While beating her with a switch the mother cried, "Don*t you
ever say no again! Don't ever say that word no again!"
As she told what was happening the young woman sat up and
remarked, *'You know, IVe been so ashamed sometimes. Fve never
been able to say no. And some of the things Fve done because I just
couldn't say no!'*

Most surgeons and anesthetists are quite unaware that the sub-
conscious part of the mind hears at all times, during sleep, while you
are unconscious from a blow, or when under drug anesthesia. Dr.
David Cheek has written in medical journals about this, as has Dr. L.
S. Wolfe, an anesthesiologist. It can easily be demonstrated with hyp-

nosis by regressing a subject to the time of an operation. What was

said or done during the operation can then be brought out, something
which is very surprising to physicians.
In this way, adverse suggestions can be picked up by the sub-
conscious. Wolfe believes that some deaths on the operating table have
resulted from some remark, for instance, the surgeon saying "It's
malignant. The patient hasn't a chance."
Eliminate emotional troubles from your life 83

On the other hand surgeons and anesthesiologists familiar with this

truth make it a point to reassure the patient undergoing surgery and
to give suggestions for quick healing, for freedom from postoperative
nausea, and to prevent shock.
Richard S. was a young man He
had had more than a
of thirty.
year of psychoanalysis but results were not satisfactory and he had
visited me in the hopes that hypnosis could help him with some of his
problems. During one of his visits he told of having a strong hatred
for his father.
**I can't understand why I feel this way about him/' said Richard.
**He's a physician and he has always treated me well. He never was
strict or punished me unless I needed it. I have a lot of admiration
for him, but I really hate him. It has given me quite a conflict"
After questioning, which located an experience which seemed to
be the cause of this hatred, Richard was hypnotized and told to regress
to the incident He was 18 years old and was undergoing an operation
to remove his tonsils. He had been given ether as an anesthetic and
was "out" on the operating table. He told of his father entering the
room.
^'That's funny," he said. "I never knew my father was there but
I hear him. And he is saying something about me. He calls me a
little bastard. That's why I hate him. IVe often wondered if he really

is my father and if I might be a bastard."

He was asked to repeat what his father said.

*'He says, Why you httle bastard. You're just a bastard.' But he's
not saying it to me. He says it to the surgeon, Dr. Jamison. Dr. Jamison
tells —
him he can't stay ^he tells him to get out and father is angry and
says this to him. They are friends, though."
**Now that you realize your father did not call you a bastard can
you realize that you don't need to hate him any more and can have
a good feeling for him?"
"Sure I can. That explains it. He didn't mean me. What a relief
to know what caused it!"
Richard's father was visiting him at the time and was asked if he
remembered being in the operating room when his son underwent his
tonsillectomy. He confirmed everything Richard had said, told of his
anger at being ejected by his colleague. He had realized his son's
attitude towards him and been hurt and puzzled by it Their relation-
ship became very close afterwards.
84 Eliminate emotional trouhles from your life

Organ language. In psj^chology this is a most interesting matter.

There are many phrases which we commonly use in speaking about
something unpleasant. The subconscious may translate the idea ex-
pressed in such a phrase into an actual physical condition. Examples
of these phrases are: It's a pain in the neck; it makes me sick; I cant
swallow that; that gives me a pain; it makes me sick at my stomach;
that*s a headache to me; it makes me tired. There are lots of others.
When we use such phrases the actual condition we mention may
develop.
Mr. H., a businessman, was sent to me because he had a bad
taste in his mouth for which his physician could find no reason. Be-

cause everything tasted so bad, he ate very little and had lost much
weight.
During one of his visits he told of having been called as a witness
in a trial. The man on trial was the head of a large company with
which Mr. H. did business. In fact the greatest part of his sales were
to this man. Mr. H. was afraid he would be asked a certain question
which, if he answered truthfully, would cause his customer to be
convicted. Mr. H. would then lose his business as a result, which
would be a calamity for him. Fortunately the question was not asked
at the trial.

In telling about it he remarked, 'That trial certainly left a bad

taste in my mouth!" He immediately realized what he had said and
inquired, *'Do you suppose that's why I've had this bad taste? It

started right after that trial." Of course this was correct. Involved also
were guilt feelings because he knew his customer had done something
criminal which had cost his company a loss of several hundred
thousand dollars. Mr. H. felt he should have informed the district

attorney of what he knew, as a civic duty. He had selfishly condoned

a criminal act for his own benefit.
It was pointed out to him how he was endangering his health
and thus was affecting his innocent family in so punishing himself.
He was asked if perhaps his duty to his own family was not of greater
importance than his civic duty. With this argument and an under-
standing of the mechanism behind his symptom, it quickly disap-
peared.
Identification, All children are imitative, as any parent knows.
Children frequendy try to be like their parents and sometimes will
Eliminate emotional troubles from your life 85

copy the behavior of others also who are close to them. This stems
normally from love for a parent. Even a hated parent may be imitated
because he seems all-powerful; hetells the child what he can or cannot

do, and he punishes the child. The young one wants to be big and
strong and powerful like the hated parent. Sometimes, also, imitation
results from being told again and again such statements as *Tou are

just like your father."

This form of behavior is called identification. Identification means
dramatization. The attempt to be like a parent will produce similar
traits, even some illness which the parent may have. If a mother is

gready overweight, her child may identify with her and become over-
weight. This is frequent factor in obesity. Often it is difficult knowto

whether something is inherited or if it is merely identification. Un-

doubtedly everyone identifies in this way at times and these childhood
identifications are carried into adult life as habits.

A dentist once visited an itching ear. He said

nie bothered with
he had been to dermatologists and ear specialists who were unable to
find any physical involvement. He wondered if it might be psycholog-
ical. During treatment he was asked if anyone close to him had had
such a condition.
*'0h, yes," he replied, *'My mother's ear itched in just the same
w^ay and she was always scratching it with her little finger, just as I do.

And as she got older she got a bit deaf in that ear. I don't think I hear
quite as well now, either."
He had been extremely fond of his mother and quite dependent
on her, as he related. Identification was explained to him and finger
responses to questions confirmed that this was the reason for his itch-
ing ear.
Masochism. None of us wear wings and it is only human nature
at times to do things that we regret and to have the wrong kind of
thoughts. The subconscious mind may then decide that such thoughts
or actions require punishment. It would even seem that the nicest
people are most likely to have strong guilt feelings and then to punish
themselves. They have an overgrown conscience and punishment may
be over very minor matters.
The worst criminals are often psychopaths who apparendy lack a
some criminals do feel very guilty. Undoubtedly
conscience, although
many who commit crimes are apprehended because of an unconscious
86 Eliminate emotional troubles from your life

need to be caught and punished. They do something leading to capture

or betrayal of themselves.
Most of us show masochism at times. The neurotic person may
exaggerate this to a great extent, sometimes to a point of self-destruc-
tion. Dr. Karl Menninger, a prominent psychiatrist, has discussed this
in his book Man Against Himself (Harcourt Brace, New York). Ex-
treme self-punishment may bring actual suicide or a fatal psycho-
somatic illness.

Masochism is a frequent part of emotionally caused disease and

to overcome it the sources of guilt should be explored. The goal then
is acceptance by the subconscious that punishment is no longer neces-
sary. A common factor in alcoholism is unconscious self-destruction.
The need to be hurt sometimes may lead a person to become
accident or operation prone. The wise physician will suspect maso-
chism in a patient when he finds in taking a case history that the person
has had many different operations. In psychosomatic illness it is a
possible factor whenever the condition is a painful one.
Dentists frequently have patients come to them needing a tooth
extraction, having previously lost a number of teeth. With many per-
fectly good teeth remaining, the patient may demand extraction of the
rest, claiming he no longer wants to be bothered with them. This, of
course, is What he really wants is to be hurt. His
a rationalization.
case history is show many past operations performed on him.
sure to
One of my patients was a very nice woman in her thirties whom
we will call Helen. Of course names given here are not real names
to protect patients from identification. Helen was the worst masochist
I have ever encountered. She was a beauty but had married a worth-
less husband, unconsciously believing she did not deserve a better
man. She always had cuts or bruises on her body and frequently was
ill with one ailment or another. She would fall down and hurt her-

self, run into doors, and damage herself in other ways.

Helen told of her childhood, saying that as far back as she could
remember her mother had beat her every day of her life. Of course
the mother was a sadist, for the daughter was so terrified of her that
she was always obedient and good. When Helen was 16 and too
big for such punishment, her mother adopted other ways to hurt her.
As a result of all this, the girl unconsciously had decided that she
must be a horrible, wicked creature to warrant such treatment from
her mother. Acceptance of this image of herself led her to punish
Eliminate emotional troubles from your life 87

herself when she grew older and no longer lived at home. The girl's

subconscious then took over the job of punishment.

Past experiences. Many of the situations mentioned here originate
in past experiences. Past events of one kind or another are usually im-
plicated in psychosomatic illness and other disturbances. Guilt feel-
ings arise from past happenings, as do suggestions. Unacceptable ideas
and thoughts originate in the past. Uncovering these episodes is an
important part of psychotherapy.
Another important type of occurrence is the traumatic one, where
a person has had a bad fright or shock. The death of a loved one is

a great trauma. Such incidents, being so unpleasant, frequently are

repressed. Recalling them, with accompanying understanding, helps to
rid oneself of their effects.
One of the possible causes of stuttering is sometimes a trauma,
though there probably would be other causes as well. John D. was
in his mid-twenties and had stuttered badly since he was three years
old. Under hypnosis, by means of finger responses, it was learned
that he had suffered a very frightening occurrence when three years
old. Until then he had spoken normally for his age.

John had been very fond of a little dog which belonged to next
door neighbors, and often played with the animal. One day the
neighbor's home caught fire. Fire equipment arrived with sirens blar-
ing. Other neighbors came out to watch and there was much excite-
ment. John's mother carried him out to see. The house next door was
now blazing furiously. As they looked, the little dog sprang onto a
window seat where they could see him. A blazing curtain fell on him
and his fur took fire. As they watched, he burned and died. John
shrieked in terror and went into convulsions from shock. From then
on he had stuttered. When the emotions from this trauma had been
worked off, his speech rapidly improved and in a few weeks he talked
in a normal way.
Strangely, most stutterers arc excellent hypnotic subjects and when
in hypnosis most find that they can talk perfectly well. When awak-
ened, they again stutter.
In self-treatment, all of these seven points as described here should
be explored. By ideomotor answers to questions, it will be learned
which ones are involved and which ones can be eliminated as having
no bearing. These are the seven keys with which you can open the
doors to health and happiness.
88 Eliminate emotional troubles from your life

SUMMARY

In this chapter you have read of the ideas which both Freud
and Pavlov developed as to the origin of emotional illnesses
and other psychological difficulties. Their theories are both
correct and properly should be considered in combination when
treating these conditions.
You have learned how suggestion is used in therapy and
that it is not dangerous to remove a symptom by suggestion.
The seven keys to be used in ridding yourself of such con-
ditions should be reviewed. They are the underlying causes
which can be located and brought by ideomotor ques-
to light
tioning. Digestion of the insight you get into these causes
should cause them to disappear. One or more, even all seven,
may be involved.
They are: conflicts, motivation, the effect of suggestion,
organ language, identification, self-punishment, and the effect
of past experiences. In your self-treatment program you will
look for these in yourself.
 Gitafyl er 7

WHEN we suffer from emotional

troubles their results take widely
different forms. Why some particular
form occurs is not always easy to under-
stand. Most, if not all of us, have de-
veloped some character traits and habits
of thinking which are harmful at times,
perhaps greatly so. They can be tre-

mendous handicaps. No one likes to

think of himself as neurotic, but we all

can develop neurotic symptoms of one

type or another. It is a part of being hu-

How
Bad Emotions

Injure Your Health

man. It would be impossible for anyone to

be so well-adjusted and so free from psy-
chological disturbances as never to have
had a psychosomatic illness. Even a cold
may have emotional causes. Many acci-
dents are unconsciously self-inflicted.

Even a slip of the tongue is subcon-

sciously motivated.
The most severe mental illnesses are
the psychoses. However, a neurosis may
also be a severe condition, completely in-
capacitating a person. In this book we
are not concerned with psychotic states
and severe neuroses, for these require
treatment by a psychotherapist and litde
could be accomplished with self-treat-
ment.

89
90 How had emotions injure your health

When self-therapy is not advisable. There are some contra-

indications to self-therapy, although most people can safely undertake
this and can expect good results. A psychotic certainly should be in
the hands of a psychiatrist and probably should be in an institution,
this depending somewhat on the form and severity of the condition.
He may be unaware of his condition and thus it is unlikely that he
will treat himself in any way. Quite a few people believe they are on
the verge of insanity when very disturbed, but may be far from it.
If one is extremely disturbed, this is one reason to avoid self-treatment.
A neurosis bad enough to make the person incapacitated would
hardly be helped by self-therapy. The degree would be important
here. A nervous breakdown is a form of neurosis and treatment by a
therapist is essential. If you suffer from strong anxiety, are often ex-
tremely depressed with possible thoughts of suicide, you should have
treatment but not by yourself. More extreme sexual aberrations, such
as homosexuality, would have small benefit without the guidance of
a psychotherapist.
The forms taken by an actual neurosis are usually classified as

anxiety states, probably the most common neurosis, phobias, obsessions,

compulsions, hysteria and extreme character disorders. Sometimes it is

hard to distinguish between a full-fledged neurosis and a neurotic trait.

Minor phobias are very common as are "conversion" symptoms which

are a part of the condition known as hysteria. To classify these as a
neurosis would depend on the degree of the condition. Alcoholism,
drug addiction, and some sexual difficulties are sometimes classified as

neuroses.
Self-therapy is likely to and most effective in changing
be easiest

our mental attitudes, character traits and our wrong patterns of

thinking. Emotional illnesses -may result from these and correcting
them may bring relief from the illness.
Actual danger from self-help is minimal provided it is not at-
tempted when the contraindications above are observed. Some pre-
cautions may be needed at times but there are simple safeguards
which can be followed which will avoid any possible danger.
These safeguards will be described.
Anxiety and fatigue. With any form of emotional disturbance
certain emotions, feelings and ways of thinking seem to be common-
place. Anxiety, in varying amounts, is almost certain to be present.
Anxiety might be defined as a feeling of apprehension or a fear with-
How had emotions injure your health 91

out any definitely known reason for it. Another common symptom is
fatigue. Most emotionally disturbed people complain of fatigue and
lack of energy. Even though sleep is normal, the person wakens in
the morning feeling tired. There are really two kinds of fatigue:
physical through exertion, and emotional or mental. Mental fatigue is
not well understood but is commonly thought to come from too much
mental activity and from the inability to solve our problems.
Negativism, A negative attitude seems to go hand in hand with
emotional and neurotic difficulties. Everything is I cant instead of I
can. I can't really means I don't want to. There is a feeling of hope-
lessness and helplessness. Expectation of the worst is quite likely to
bring trouble, for it is a form of negative suggestion and the subcon-
scious may then cause behavior which will bring trouble.
Inferiority feelings. Feelings of inferiority and insecurity are
very common. To some degree such emotions are almost universal.
Even the brash, cocky, self-assured individual may be showing these
characteristics in an unconscious effort to cover up his real feelings of
inferiority. This compensation is similar to the behavior of the bully,
who actually is hiding his cowardice.
Many men of great wealth have such strong feelings of insecurity
that they continue through life accumulating more money. The man
worth a million and financially secure must strive for another
dollars
million. When he has this he must continue to add to it. Undoubtedly
each of the very few billionaires in the world has very strong feelings
of insecurity which drive him to further accumulations of wealth.
Quite a few people with emotional troubles find themselves unable
to concentrate well. When they read or study, their thoughts jump
from one thing and they cannot keep them on what they
to another
are doing. With lack of concentration you do not register what you
read and then cannot recall it. This can make learning difficult and
may affect your working efficiency also.
Another common symptom which is a part of insecurity is the
inability or dislike of making decisions. If you make a decision per-
haps it be the wrong one, so you hesitate and avoid reaching a
will
decision. Fear of failure is a related matter. If you do not try, you
cannot fail. Disregarded is the fact that neither can you succeed with-
out trying. The very word try implies failure. When you say "I'll try/'

you imply that you probably will not succeed.

Immaturity. Immaturity is another common matter. Much neu
92 How had emotions injure your health

rotic behavior and thinkingon a very immature basis. The immature

is

person in some ways has not grown up and so does not face reahty
and cannot handle his problems in an adult way. On the other hand
it would be hard to find anyone completely free of minor immaturities.

Again, it is largely a matter of degree whether this is abnormal.

The person who is emotionally disturbed or who has frequent
psychosomatic illnesses is likely to become very self-centered. He wor-
ries about his condition, and develops a habit of being very concerned
and dwells on himself almost continually. He is too busy thinking about
himself to pay much attention to others. Everyone has a degree of self-
importance, of course, but such a person is a large capital I. This does
not mean that he is selfish or egotistical. He may be very generous, if

he happens to think about someone else at times. Usually he is too busy

with thoughts about himself.
On pages 123-127 there is a ''balance sheet'* giving character traits

which can be assessed as either liabilities or assets. Changing these

an important part of self-help. Balancing assets
liabilities to assets is

and liabilities and seeing how your assets outweigh your liabilities will
serve to give you a better view of yourself and help overcome the
well-known "inferiority complex."
Psychosomatic illness. When it comes to psychosomatic illness,
the value of self-treatment depends largely on the severity of the
illness and on the personality of the Drugs may be helpful
individual.
and medical treatment is usually indicated even though you also resort
to self-help. If treatment is being given by a psychologist or psychia-
trist, self-therapy would not be advisable unless your therapist agrees

to it.

Just what is a psychosomatic illness? Dr. J. A. Winter, in his book

The Origins of Illness and Anxiety (Julian Press, New York), gives
a very good definition. He says:
We define a psychosomatic disease as an illness with the follow-
ing characteristics:

1. The disorder is one of function, rather than of structure, although

structural changes (in the body) may occur later.
2. It is precipitated by an inadequate stimulus.
3. The response is not appropriate to the stimulus.
4. It is based on some past experience, usually painful.
5. It is based on fixed associations —a certain stimulus will almost
always elicit an unvarying response.
How had emotions injure your health 93

6. There seems tobe a lack of awareness of Here and Now; the pa-
tient's reactions seem to overlook or ignore the present-time situation
in favor of some previously experienced one.

Such illnesses seem to stem from problem situations and from

words rather than actual infections or injuries.

Most may have psychological causes but

of us realize that illness
we like to believe this is something which may be so with others but
not with us. Ours must be organic. If our doctor tells us we have a
psychosomatic illness we may even resent it and find the idea unac-
ceptable, at least until it is confirmed by some other physician. Un-
fortunately, a few doctors without training in psychosomatics will
feel unable to cope with such an illness and may dismiss the patient

with such a remark as "It's all in your head." It may be from your
emotions, but it is not imaginary and just in your head. A psycholog-
ically produced pain hurts just as much as an organic one.

When patients are referred to me with this type of ailment they

frequently will remark, *1 don't know why Dr. Jones asked me to
see you. You are a psychologist and my headache (or asthma, or what
not) is a physical condition.*'
With an explanation of how our emotions and the subconscious
mind can affect us, I find it valuable to explain the pendulum responses
to questions and then to ask with pendulum answers, "Is there some

emotional or psychological reason for your headaches?" When the

-.eferring physician's diagnosis of a psychosomatic condition is cor-

lect, the answer with the pendulum is invariably yes. This is then
accepted by the patient. I have not told him it is so—he had told me.
His subconscious has confirmed it. Acceptance of the idea on his part
ii the first step forward in treatment.
Since the reader may not be familiar wdth the conditions which
physicians usually consider as psychosomatic, a number of the more
common ones are listed here. To include all would be like printing a
large part of a medical dictionary. With some, such as allergy and
aithritis, so httle is known about them that the picture is confusing.

There may be only an organic basis but usually there are psychological
a uses, hence these are included in the list.
Some of the illnesses classified as psychosomatic are as follows.
Res^ratory system. Allergy, sinusitis, hay fever, common cold,
bronchitis, asthma, emphysema, pulmonary tuberculosis.
 —

94 How had emotions injure your health

Skin. Eczema, urticaria, hives and many other skin conditions,

some classed as allergies.
Digestive, Obesity, constipation, colitis, diarrhea, peptic ulcer,
vomiting, oesophagal spasm, lack of appetite in some conditions,
hemorrhoids, gall-bladder disease.
Vascular. High blood pressure, coronary heart disease, paroxysmal
tachycardia (sudden rapid heart beat]), Reynaud's disease, Buerger's
disease.
Urinary. Enuresis (bed wetting), nervous frequency, urgency and
incontinence, postoperative urinary retention.
Nervous system, endocrine. Tic douloureux, trigeminal neuralgia,
migraine, hiccups, drug addiction, alcoholism, some forms of epilepsy,
possibly Parkinsonism, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, hyper-
thyroidism, diabetes mellitus, goiter, hypoglycemia.
Genital. Male —impotence, premature ejaculation, infertility. Fe-
male —Many menstrual disturbances particularly dysmenorrhea
(cramps), infertility, habitual abortion, frigidity, possibly leucorrhea,
trichomonas vaginitis, dyspareunia.

and tension may serve to lower bodily resistance so that we

Stress
become more susceptible to even infectious diseases and in this sense
it could be said that all illness has an emotional background.

SUMMARY

We are not concerned here with the very serious, major

emotional diseases —the neuroses and insanity. Self-help would
probably be of small value with them and psychiatric or psycho-
logical help is required. One point is important here. A person
who is quite disturbed and realizes that some of his behavior is

compulsive and irrational may wonder if he is psychotic

insane in ordinary terms. This may be a source much worry
of
and more disturbance. It is very unlikely, though some who are
*'off their rocker'* may have some realization of it. If this is a
worry, a psychiatrist certainly should be consulted for a diag-
nosis.

Anxiety, fatigue, negativism, inferiority feelings, worry,

making decisions, immatu-
inability to concentrate, difficulty in
rity,and self-centeredness usually accompany minor disturb-
ances. These are neurotic symptoms but would not class as
neuroses. They may accompany an actual neurosis. Of course
How bad emotions injure your health 95

there are other neurotic traits. There will be further discussion

of many of these matters.
The more common psychosomatic illnesses have been
listed. It is well to be aware of these in case you ever develop
one of them. They may need medical treatment, but certainly
psychological treatment is also necessary.
 Gliafyi er

THERE are few people whose tliink-

ing patterns and ways of behaving

are such that improving them is unne-
cessary. Undoubtedly some of yours
could be changed to your advantage.
Emotions, conditioned reflexes and your
training in childhood lead to these pat-
terns. Some of the matters discussed in
this chapter may not apply to you, but
almost certainly you will find others that
do. They can be changed if you will fol-
low the methods given here. And the

The Value

of Positive Thinking

and Healthful Relaxation

changes certainly will make you happier

with yourself and more successful.
Are you a negative thinker? In
general, a well-adjusted person tends to
think in a positive way. He will have a
reasonably correct view of himself. He
will also realize his lack of some abilities

but he directs his efforts into channels

where his talents can be used. Those
he lacks do not bother him and he dis-
regards them. He is an optimist, estab-
lishes goals, and believes he can reach
them. Usually he does. With positive
thinking his subconscious mind leads
him to perform and behave so that he
does the things necessary to succeed rea-

97
98 Positive thinking and healthful relaxation

sonably well and to enjoy good health. He tends most of the time to
be happy and to enjoy hfe. When things do not go just as he wishes,
it does not upset him greatly. His neurotic symptoms will be few.
Negative thinking has the opposite effect. The end result is un-
happiness, worry, anxiety, frustration, and hostility. Conflicts produce
these emotions and the negative thinker is more subject to emotional
illness. He does not like to face reality. He fears to set goals because

he anticipates failure, and he is not likely to be very successful. His

feelings of inferiority are like a ball and chain on his foot. His subcon-
sciously controlled behavior will probably bring failure.
A number of books have been written about the value of positive
thinking. All aim at the same thing but approach it from different
directions. For the person who is strongly religious, Peale's Power of
Positive Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jer-
Thinking (Prentice-Hall,
sey) is Here the approach is through prayer and belief
excellent.
that divine help can be obtained. Other books have also stressed this.
The writings of Emmett Fox earlier in the century are of great value.
This is true as well for those of Harold Sherman, Your Key to Happi-
ness (Putnam, New York) and others.
A metaphysical approach along the lines of Oriental philosophies is

that of U.S. Andersen (The Secret of Secrets, Nelson, New York).

The methods of developing positive thinking which he advocates can
be most helpful.
A matter-of-fact, common sense view is that of the late Claude
Bristol in The Magic of Believing (Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey). Bristol offers ways of influencing the subconscious
to cause us to act so that we reach our goals. His methods are practical
and will bring results, as will those of other writers on the subject.

Since whole books have dealt with this subject and the ways
to develop positive thinking, we can only consider this briefly here.
Everyone would find it of real value to read one of these books and
then to apply the methods which are given.
The real secret in thinking positively is belief. It is not easy to
change the habit of negative thinking, but it can be accomplished. No
one can think positively at all times, but it can be developed into a
habit so that it is done most of the time. Such thinking no magic
is

wand to get us out of our difficulties instandy. Determination and

patience are needed, with much practice of whatever techniques are
Positive thinking and healthful relaxation 99

used to produce positive thinking habits. Some httle time may pass
before results come and discouragement slows the process.
Positive habits of thinking will be of great help in changing
character traits and attitudes, in helping you find success and happiness
and in relieving illness. In the matter of illness, every physician knows
the mental attitude of a patient is vitally important. If he is pessimistic
and has no expectation of getting well, no will to live, he well may die.

On the other hand, a very ill person with a strong urge to live, and
who thinks he will recover, probably will get well.
How our fears affect us. Negativism is a conditioned reflex.

Our fear-based emotions spring from past conditioning, negative think-

ing being a large factor in producing fears. These emotions are fear
itself, anxiet}', frustration, hostility and guilt, with nervous tension
accompanying them.
Fear itself is consciously recognized. We
know we are afraid of
some We may
definite object or situation. know why we are afraid
of it. The causes of a phobia may not be consciously known. They
seldom are. Fear of death is one rather common fear. Even religious
people who believe in a future life may have strong fears of death.
Possibly this comes from the fact that some religions teach the idea
of hell-fire and damnation too strongly in an effort to frighten people
into being good.
Fear of death may be aroused by the conditioning we have under-
gone when loved ones have passed away, perhaps painfully. Often the
fear is not so much of death itself as of suffering greatly at the time
of death.
Fear of illness also springs from conditioning, as do all fears.

As we mature, most some of the childhood diseases and

of us contract
witness the illnesses of others. No one likes to be ill. At least con-
sciously we do not want this. Our fears of illness may be about our-
selves or those we love. Health fads, indicating the extent of such
fears, are common. The cost of pills and medications taken to prevent
disease runs into many millions annually.
Another common and quite natural fear is that concerning
finances. The struggle to make a living is not easy; it is particularly
difficult to gain real financial security. Lack of this promotes con-
tinual fear or apprehension.
Insecurity is not only a result of lack of money but may involve
personal relationships, fear of not being loved or of rejection. One of
100 Positive thinking and healthful relaxation

our strongest unconscious drives is to be loved. If we are rejected fre-

quently as we mature, this need becomes stronger, as a neurotic symp-
tom. With negative thinking we expect to be rejected. One may be-
come so fearful of being repulsed that an inability to love develops
and love cannot be accepted because rejection is thought sure to
follow.
Anxiety is a form of fear, sometimes a general feeling of something
unpleasant about to happen. An anxious individual usually is unable
to tell why he feels anxious. The fears behind it are subconscious and
unrecognized. Anxiety is a most uncomfortable emotion. The most
common of all neuroses is what is termed an anxiety state, with anxiety
so great that panic attacks occur.
When there seems to be no definite reason for anxiety, it has
been called "free floating anxiety." This is based on a fear that some-
thing unpleasant or horrible is going to happen. It is as if the sword
of Damocles hangs over one and may fall at any moment. Any un-
pleasant happening or any failure is a confirmation of the fear and
the conviction of more to come is stronger. The expectation of disaster
is a conditioned The well-adjusted person lacks such expecta-
reflex.

tions and is not disturbed when things do not go 'right. He shrugs it

o£F and proceeds on his way, although he may not like it.
With this type of anxiety, the sufferer is unable to take any action
to escape from his apprehension. There is nothing he can do about
it,he feels. Hopelessness is then felt. Inability to take action causes
more anxiety. Tension becomes chronic. If the person could escape,
anxiety would be allayed but it persists because he cannot get away.
Hostility and anger. Anger and hostility are related emotions.
They are entirely normal emotions when they do not become too strong
or too prolonged. You would not be a human being if, at times, yoa
did not become angry and if you never developed feelings of hostility
towards others, or towards fate, or even toward yourself. Naturally
these emotions must be controlled. You cannot strike out when angry
or you would frequently be in trouble —the other fellow might be
bigger than you are!
Many people regard these emotions as *T)ad" and may have strong
guilt when they are experienced. Guilt may call subconsciously for
self-punishment. Such an emotion will then be stifled and suppressed
the moment it is stimulated because it is wrong to haveit. Another

reason for suppression is fear of loss of control in anger and the possible
Positive thinking and healthful relaxation 101

results if not controlled. The combination of guilt and suppression can

bring unpleasant consequences such as migraine headaches and other
painful symptoms.
When anger and hostility are viewed as normal emotional re-

sponses to stimuli they do not require suppression. Bottling them

up does not discharge the emotions. They persist and bubble away
under the surface in the subconscious. The proper handling of such
emotions is to discharge them in some acceptable way. There are
several acceptable ways. Too often suppressed hostility is 'projected"
onto someone else, on those nearest us who may not in any way be the
cause of the hostility. Husband or wife, or the children may bear the
brunt of the hostility, shown by irritability.
often
With anger controlled, it can sometimes be talked out. It is not
necessary to quarrel, to swear, to be sarcastic and hostile. Talking in a
calm way about the situation or about the person provoking the hos-
tility will nullify the emotion.
Another way of discharging such feelings is through exercise. How
much satisfaction there is for the golfer in hitting a long drive with
all his strength; for the tennis player in ''smacking" that baH hard.
The baseball player enjoys batting a home run. In many sports the
player is working off his latent hostilities without realizing it. He feels

very good thereafter. Any form of exercise, chopping wood, working

in the garden, calisthenics, all serve to discharge latent hostility or that
which is being experienced at the time. The baseball fan is working
off his hostihties when he shouts, "kill the umpire!" or badgers some
player.
A psychological law is that a stronger emotion will always nullify
a weaker one. Strong anger may overcome fear and the angered person
may attack the one frightening him. If fear is greater than anger, it
will prevail and there would be avoidance instead of attack. It is not
easy to summon up a stronger emotion when we are angry, but it is

possible. It is easier to overcome hostility, which is not as strong as

anger. If a man is angry at his wife, controls it and seizes her in a
laughing way and kisses her instead of berating her, the anger will
disappear. The emotions of love and desire will take over. If she is

angry too, hers will also vanish — ^provided her anger is not too great.
There is another technique of value in many situations, includ-
ing when anger is stimulated. Again, there must be control first. When
angry or upset in any way, think to yourself the phrases "So what?
102 Positive thinking and healthful relaxation

What of it? It doesn*t matter." With a little practice and with accept-
ance of the idea involved in these phrases the emotion dwindles away
and has no effect. If your feelings are hurt, if you are frustrated, in
any upsetting situation, saying these phrases to yourself will ease
things. The emotions aroused run off your back like water off a
duck instead of sinking in and bothering you. Practicing this when
disturbed will be found to be of real value. Of course if this were
overdone one might become too indifferent, but properly handled it is
most effective.
Frustration. Life is full of frustrations. Beginning in infancy we
encounter these with parental prohibitions. *'No," "You must not do
that/* and other negations are heard from our earliest years. The "I
want" runs headlong into the "You can't" of society. The prohibitions
of parents and of society are necessary but they are frustrating and
the basis of conflict.
In later life some of our and needs are not fulfilled either
desires
— more frustration. It is a natural emotion and only when it is chronic
is it serious. This phrase, "So what?" can be a good way of discharging

feelings of frustration, helping us tolerate the situations provoking

frustration. Those who have and accomplish them adjust well to
goals
frustrations when they fail to reach some other goal. Continual failure
may bring chronic frustration and its end results.
If our primary needs in life are filled fairly adequately, frustrations
We need to love and be loved; to have
are tolerated with no difficulty.
a good relationship with our family. We must have self-respect and see
ourselves with a proper viewpoint, maintaining a good image of our-
selves. There must be self-reliance and self-confidence so that we can
be reasonably successful. We must have goals toward which we work,
including the personal and the financial. With accomplishment along
these lines, good mental (and probably physical) health will follow.
Ctiilt, We all and weaknesses and fall short of our
have faults
ideals. No one is perfect. There is something of the caveman in all

of us, instincts or attitudes suppressed by the taboos of society. At

times we do things which we regret, have thoughts which we regard
as bad. This is a part of human nature. Conscience is a brake on many
of our desires, fortunately, or the world would be a much worse
place than it is. However we can be entirely too conscientious. We
should learn from our mistakes and our wrong doing and wrong think-
ing. We should try not to repeat something conscience says is vnrong.
 —

Positive thinking and healthful relaxation 103

Dwelling on the past and developing strong feelings of guilt is most

harmful. Guilt and shame can take quite a toll, with self-punishment
and emotional disturbance resulting. Of course one of the greatest
sources of guilt is in the sphere of sex, to be discussed later.

The end product of the basic fear emotions and accompanying

stress is nervous tension. This may be evidenced by nervous habits such
as biting the finger nails, restlessness, smoking, too much drinking, and
a host of other symptoms.
Worry, Worry is another most unpleasant conditioned reflex, when
overdone. Everyone worries at times and it is a normal emotion in
some situations, as when a loved one is seriously ill. Chronic worry is
abnormal. The "worry wart" worries no matter how well things are
going. If the cause for some worry is ended, he quickly finds some-
thing else to worry about. Instead of resting, he lies awake nights
with his mind concentrating on worries. He would deny it, but he
probably derives pleasure and satisfaction from worrying. In this case
it is masochistic and he is punishing himself.

What else promotes chronic worry? Identification may be a factor

and, if one of the parents was a chronic worrier, this habit may de-
velop from dramatizing oneself as that parent, unconsciously trying to
be like the father or mother. My impression is that women are much
more likely to be chronic worriers than men. The object of identifica-
tion is usually the mother, but it well could be the father, or any close
relative.

The main basis of worry is negativism and apprehension, always

expecting the worst to befall. The result of worry is tension, this
increasing the tendency to worry a vicious circle.

The chronic worrier must exert considerable eflFort to overcome

the habit, particularly if masochism is involved. He must break any
identification by realizing he is copying someone else's behavior pat-
tern. Every time he finds himself worrying, he should divert his mind
to pleasant things. Another method of breaking any habit is that ad-
vocated by the late Knight Dunbar, who was the greatest authority on
habits and their formation. Dunbar pointed out that trying hard to
break a habit, trying to desist from it, only reinforces it ^again that old —
demon, the law of reversed effect. He advocated visualizing the end
result desired (a form of suggestion). Greatly exaggerating the habit
whenever it is being evidenced helps to break it.
Carrying out this last idea in the case of worry could be ac-
104 Positive thinking and healthful relaxation

complished by thinking the very worst and making a dehberate effort

to worry. You could think to yourself, *1 really must worry hard now;
what I am worrying about is terrible. What is going to happen is going
to be awful!" Soon the situation will become completely ridiculous and
you may find yourself seeing it as humorous and laughable.
Often the chronic worrier says, *1 try but I just can't stop worry-
ing." A negative thought, but what he actually means is that he
doesn't want to stop worrying. I cant always means I dont want to.
This is a good thing to remember when the thought comes into your
mind. Perhaps the reason for not wanting to stop is a fear of some kind,
or enjoyment in what the worrier is doing.
Jealousy and envy. These are somewhat related emotions, both
stemming from feelings of inferiority and insecurity. A person who
feels secure in accepting love and who trusts the loved one will
never feel jealous unless there is proof of betrayal. Jealousy stems from
uncertainty about oneself and a feeling of unworthiness.
This emotion takes different forms, jealousy of an actual preferred
rival being one. In this case it centers on the rival and the feeling may
be warranted. Showing jealousy to the object of one's affection is apt
to be a fatal mistake. In such a situation about all one can do is to make
the best of it, refusing to be affected. Using the "so what" technique
can develop an armor so the pain of the emotion will run oft rather
than sink in.
Jealousy can be merely vague, without a definite object. Here, there
is and anticipation. The jealous person is afraid someone will ap-
fear
pear on the scene who will supersede him, or that there may a rival of
whom he is unaware. Distrust of the object of his affection is involved.
Love without trust will never have a successful outcome, and there is
trouble ahead. Extreme jealousy is probably paranoid, as in the case
described where the husband tried to uncover his wife's infidelity by
questioning her under hypnosis.
Envy is a more normal emotion than jealousy, but is again based on
feelings of insecurity and inferiority. It would be directed against a
rival in other fields than love, such as in business, or against the pos-
sessor of any coveted advantage or object.
Relaxation. Accompanying nervous tension is inability to relax.
Many people are quite unable to relax —they simply do not know how.
Chronic tension is most detrimental, both physically and mentally, and
often is a main cause in producing psychosomatic illness, stomach
Positive thinking and healthful rehxation 105

ulcers being one example. Relaxation tends to discharge nervous ten-

sion, at least temporarily. With practice in relaxation, chronic tension
can be overcome to a large extent.

Entire books have been written showing how to relax. Best known
of these is Jacobson's You Must Relax (Whittlesey House, New York).
Jacobson called his method "progressive relaxation," and it does teach
how to relax. Unfortunately, several weeks of continued practice are
required to learn it well. A much simpler and even more effective
method is available which can be learned in three or four trials, but it

is almost unknown.
This technique was described by Frederick Pierce in his book
Mohilizing the Mid-Brain (Putnam & Sons, New York), a self-help
book of considerable value published in 1924. It is now out of print but
can be obtained sometimes in used-book stores.

Pierce called his relaxation exercise decuVitis. It is based on a

sound principle which he discovered. One day, when bowling, his arm
had become tired. While resting the ball on the rack, his attention was
distracted to something else and when he started to pick up the ball his
fingers slipped from the holes. The fatigued muscles had relaxed com-
pletely. When he tried consciously to let his arm relax the muscles did
not loosen so much. Experimenting, he developed his exercise based
on this principle. If a group of muscles, such as an arm or a leg, is

tired, distraction of attention from them brings automatically complete

relaxation of these muscles.
How to relax* To accomplish complete body relaxation with this
method it is best to be lying down. It can be carried out in a sitting

position, though not as completely. Six exercises are involved. The

first is on a bed, then lying back
best performed in a sitting position
as soon as it has been carried out. Close your eyes and let your neck and
shoulder muscles be as loose as possible. Then rotate your head four
times, very slowly, in a clockwise circle, trying to let the muscles loosen
still more. Then reverse the movement, making it counterclockwise for
four revolutions.
As soon as this is completed, you should lie back and immediately
raise your right foot about twelve inches from the bed. Make the
muscles as stiff and taut as possible so they will tire quicker. As you
hold the leg elevated, begin thinking of the muscles, following them
from the toes right up to the hip. The eyes should be closed through
the entire series of exercises. You visualize the muscles in your *'mind s
106 Positive thinking and healthful relaxation

eye." By this means you have distracted your attention from the neck
and shoulder muscles, so they will automatically relax completely.
Keep the leg elevated until it is thoroughly tired and it becomes an
effort to hold it up. This may take from one minute to three or four.
—
When it feels very tired do not lower it slowly ^let it drop heavily,
completely limp. This may take some practice to make it quite limp as
it falls. The instant the right leg has fallen, raise the left one in the

same manner, stiffening it. Immediately divert your thoughts to this

leg, again following the muscles from the toes to the hip. Depending on

the time it takes to tire the leg muscles, you may have to go back over
the muscles in your thoughts two or three times, doing it very slowly.
Then the leg is allowed to fall.
The right arm should immediately be raised into a Nazi salute
position, fist. Stiffen and tighten the muscles to tire
but with clenched
them more quickly. Follow in your thoughts the muscles from the
fingertips up to the shoulder and neck, repeating as often as necessary
until the arm is quite tired. As arms are lighter than legs, it will take
longer to tire them. As with the legs, the tired arm should be allowed
to fall by your side as limp as the proverbial dishrag. The left arm is
then exercised in the same way, the thoughts instandy diverted when
the right one falls.

When the left arm has fallen, your thoughts can be diverted from
itby imagining, with your eyes still closed, a circle on the ceiling above
you. Imagine it to be about four feet in diameter. Follow this circle
around clockwise with your eyes. Then reverse it and go counter-
clockwise four times. This should be done slowly. Completing this,
visualize a square instead, with sides about four feet long. Go around
it in the same way, four times clockwise and four times counter-clock-
wise.
This completes the six exercises. You should then lie for a few mo-
ments enjoying the relaxation you have established. Divert your mind
from the eyes by thinking of anything pleasant. Proficiency with this
willcome in three or four experiences with it and you will be sur-
prised at the degree of relaxation achieved.
How to me this relaxation method. In order to learn the method,
it should be done at least once a day for two weeks. It can be performed
later whenever tension has developed. You are conditioning yourself to
remain more relaxed during your daily life and will soon notice this

effect. Of course situations which promote tension will arise but you

I
Positive thinking and healthful rehxation 107

willbe much more relaxed between such times. Tension will no longer
be chronic. You will retain nervous habits unless they are broken in
some way, but they may be modified somewhat. Learning relaxation
will also enable you to become a better subject for auto-hypnosis.

As I have given it, this exercise is modified slightly from Pierce's

description. He
recommends lowering the arms and legs very slowly,

instead of dropping them suddenly. In my experience dropping them

is best, but you might experiment and find which is best in your own
case.

Deep breathing to relieve tensions. Another technique helpful in

overcoming nervous tension is the practice of deep breathing. Health
faddists have long stressed its value but few of us take the trouble to try
it It can be combined very nicely with the Pierce method of relaxation,
performed just before, while sitting up.

Yoga practitioners have found breathing exercises of great value.

They believe them to be of utmost importance in maintaining health.
Such exercises have been evolved over a period of 2000 years or
more. Many are complicated and students are warned of danger in
them, urging that they be performed only with the guidance of a
teacher. One simple exercise is very effective and without danger if not
overdone.
This has been termed the 4-8-4 exercise. In performing it you
shouldsit in a relaxed position but with the body erect, shoulders back,

and head erect. The left arm should be relaxed at your side or with the
hand in your lap. If you are left-handed this should be the position of
the right arm. Lift the other hand to your face, fingers together but
thumb extended. Press the thumb against the right nostril, closing that
side of the nose and inhale through the left, taking in a full breath.
This should take about four seconds. You can time it by counting

slowly "a thousand one, a thousand two** and on to a thousand four.

Now hold your breath, counting in the same way to eight. While
doing so, remove your thumb from the right side of the nose, moving
the hand so the forefinger closes the left nostril. When the count of
eight is completed, exhale through the right nostril slowly to a count
of four, being sure to empty the lungs.
Keeping the left nostril still closed, breathe in again through the
right to the count of four, filling the lungs. Shift the hand, closing the
right nostril and freeing the left. Hold the breath again for eight counts
108 Positive thinking and healthful relaxation

and exhale through the left side of the nose to the count of four. This
completes a cycle.
The exercise should include four such cycles at first. It would be
well to use this on arising in the morning, and again in the evening.
If done only once a day it will be found very beneficial. With some
experience with the exercise, the number of cycles should be increased
to six. Still later you might try eight, but if you become somewhat
dizzy, cut down the number of cycles.
Yoga and your health. Such breathing fills you with oxygen and
clears your lungs. A feeling of well-being follows. You feel much more
relaxed and worthwhile and only a few
also energetic. Results are well

moments are required for the exercise. Some patients have told me they
seem to have less anxiety for some time following its performance.
In my opinion, it is of value in some psychosomatic illnesses such as
in asthma and bronchitis. Of course it could be done by an asthmatic
only when his breathing diflBculty is not too great, certainly not during
an attack.
Yogins use the term prana for life force or primal energy and be-
lieve with this exercise that a fresh supply of prana is accumulated in
the tissue and lungs. Oxygen is a part of 'prana. In theory this stimu-
lates the entire nervous system, the body and the senses.
way of healing based on intensive
Yoga teaches a concentration
(developed only with much practice), and then the use of auto-
suggestion, following this breathing exercise. However, the exercise is

continued to a point of heavy perspiration and exhaustion. It is sup-

posed to be done in the sunlight, and also in the water while bathing,
and with much repetition.

SUMMARY

A better understanding of your emotions and a different

viewpoint towards some of them should be helpful to you. You
can learn to modify and control them. Self-hypnosis and auto-
suggestion will aid greatly in this.
As you practice self-hypnosis you will almost certainly find
that you are more relaxed and free of tension during your daily
life. But if you have much difficulty relaxing you should prac-

tice the Pierce method. In turn this will help you to go deeper

into hypnosis. In fact, this method of relaxation has been used

Positive thinking and healthful relaxation 109

as a method of inducing hypnosis. When it is practiced some

people find themselves spontaneously in hypnosis when they
have concluded the exercise. Adding some suggestions to it
will increase the tendency.
If you will take the time to practice the yoga breathing
exercise once each day, or better twice, you will soon notice
that you are feeling much better and more energetic. It acts to
promote good health and is certainly worth the few moments
of time needed to go through it.
 '

GLpter 9

FEW people are without some

ings of inferiority. It is surprising to
feel-

find so many who feel themselves most

unworthy and inferior. Such feelings are
a tremendous handicap. In all probability
you have some such feelings, perhaps
mild, possibly strong. A part of your pro-
gram should be to rid yourself of them.
Frequently they prevent one from at-

tempting to do things which he is quite

capable of doing.
Feelings of inferiority are based on

How to Overcome

Feelings of Inferiority

and a Poverty ''Complex

conditioned reflexes and result in a

wrong view of self which may cause
many difficulties. A poverty complex is
closely related to inferiority feelings.
In his self-help book, Psycho'Cyher-
netics (Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey), Dr. Maltz lays great
stress on what he terms the self-image.
He places much of the responsibility for
emotional troubles on wrong conceptions
about yourself. Correcting these views
will overcome the emotional problems.
Dr. Rolf Alexander, in Creative Real-
ism (Pageant Press,New York) says al-
most the same thing in describing *'false
personality." Bringing out the real per^
sonality eliminates many problems.
Ill
112 Overcome feelings of inferiority and poverty

Much can be accomplislied by changing your self-evaluation. You

are what you think you are, and your subconscious carries out the ideas
you have about yourself. If you expect to fail or doubt your success,
the law of reversed effect will bring failure. It is vitally important to
see yourself correctly. As the old philosophers have said, '^Know
Thyself.*' "Knowledge is power" is another very true adage.
Do you have physical disabilities? Among other reasons for this
inferiority bugaboo is physical appearance. Dr. Maltz is a plastic sur-
geon and he stresses the importance that appearance has with us. Ugly
features can be a great trial, as can deformities of any kind. Dr. Maltz
cites many cases where correction of these conditions by surgery
brought great changes of personality. A feeling of humiliation may
accompany any deformity, such, perhaps, as a harelip. A congenital
deformity can be a great source of self-consciousness and feelings of
inferiority. Some individuals who have been maimed in accidents may
hold these feelings, too.

Many people have little or no sense of personal worth due to

physical defects. Examples of these are hearing loss, bad vision, speech

impediments, obesity, very short stature, etc. If defects are of psycho-

logical origin, as may be the case, they can be helped — obesity, for

instance. If the defects are such that little or nothing can be done,
however, personality difficulties may result. In this case, the person
needs to correct his view of himself as a person of worth. When he can
gain a healthy liking and respect for himself, the attitude of others
towards him will reflect his own opinion. We need to realize that
others think of us much as we think of ourselves. If one can lose his
concern about his defects, they will be of no importance to anyone. A
man of short stature, as an example, should realize that quality is

much more important than quantity. It is well to remember that your

true friends will pay no heed to any defect you may have.
Everyone instinctively wishes to be loved and appreciated. The
person who is physically beautiful or handsome is often so wrapped
up in himself as to be unable to give love or to have regard for others.
One who has warmth and appreciation for others is a magnetic, at-

tractive person, regardless of physical attributes or defects. A woman

who is less than beautiful in her own eyes should be aware of the case
of George Sand, noted French writer. This woman had so much
warmth and personal magnetism that young men fell in love with her
Overcome feelings of inferiority and 'poverty 113

when she was in her sixties and seventies. Yet she was "horse-faced'*
and very homely.
Few people thought of F.D.R., crippled by poho, as being unable
to walk, because the man's personality was "bigger than life." He was
loved by a majority of people. Helen Keller, blind all her life, rose
above her great handicap and is another example of a person living
most successfully despite her condition. These people evaluated them-
selves properly.
The need here is for genuine self-respect. Self-hypnosis and sug-
gestion can be of great benefit under these circumstances in attaining
better self-evaluation.
A disability needrCt keep you out of the swim. A friend of mine
was an exceptionally good swimmer and enjoyed it greatly. On a hunt-
ing trip one day, he stumbled over a shotgun and fell. The gun dis-

charged and blew his hand off at the wrist. For some years after recov-
ery, he would not enter the water any public place, feeling
at
conspicuous with his hand amputated. On a trip where we had an op-
portunity to swim at a fine Pacific beach, I took him to task and
pointed out how ridiculous it was to feel so humiliated and so con-
scious of his arm. What if the hand was missing? It was the result
of an unfortunate accident. He could swim just as well and no one
would pay any particular attention to him. Obviously he had a fine
athletic body. He was depriving himself of much pleasure and it was
time to view the situation more correctly. He listened to my scolding,
laughed and said, '1 guess I've been a fool. Let's go in." After this he
took up the sport again.
Proper suggestions bring perfect figures. Some years ago it was
stylish for women to have small breasts. Those with larger ones bound
them tighdy to be fashionable. Today the situation is reversed and
many girls wish to be a Sophia Loren. A flat-chested girl is extremely
sensitive about her lack of development. This is such a common situa-
tion that "falsies" are sold in huge numbers, gready deceiving the male
sex. Several plastic surgeons deal almost exclusively with this prob-
lem and have busy practices. They operate, placing a piece of plastic
material behind the breast, building it up to the desired size. Other
plastic surgeons claim possible danger from such an operation and
refuse to perform it. But girls flock to those who do.
Strangely, many could have this accomplished, or possibly accom-
plish it themselves, without the necessity of surgery. Breast development
114 Overcome feelings of inferiority and poverty

by hypnotic suggestion has been reported in many instances, and of

seven cases among my own patients, six found an increase in measure-
ment of from one and a half inches to more than two inches. To say
that these girls were pleased is putting it mildly.
This was carried out by the use of straight verbal suggestion, plus
the use of visual imagery. The girls were instructed to close their eyes
on going to bed at night and to form an image of themselves as they
wished their breasts to be.
Another suggestion was also used. Before reaching puberty a girl
has no breasts. At puberty they begin to develop, but sometimes the
process stops before the breasts reach a satisfactorysize. This was stated

as an obvious fact and it was suggested that the subconscious mind

would now stimulate the same process of growth again, just as it had
at the time puberty was beginning. Growth would continue until the
breasts had increased at least an inch and a half. It was mentioned that
various endocrinal, hormonal and other physiological processes were
involved when the breasts first began to develop and the same processes
would begin again. Whether or not this actually resulted, I cannot say.
Judging from the growth that did occur, it may have happened.

A GIRL vmo REJECTED FEMiNiNnY. The One where there was

casc
failure was a girl who completely rejected femininity. She did not
wish to be a girl, she wanted to be a man. As a matter of fact, all six of
the others had the same resentment at being female, though to a
much less degree. Some effort was made to change this attitude.

Whether this may have had something to do in stimulating the breast

development, I don't know, though it is worth following up. Perhaps
in rejecting femininity as a child, the inner mind carries out the idea

and the breasts do not fully develop. But this is conjecture.

Dr. Cheek, a gynecologist, has found rejection of femininity an

important cause of many female ailments, including infertility, habitual
abortion (miscarriage), menopausal troubles and others. This is of
course related to self-imagery. He has found a change of viewpoint
towards the self has helped many of his patients overcome these con-
ditions.

A woman's desire to be a male is sometimes caused by the woman

as a child hearing her parents say they wanted a boy. A brother may
be much more favored during childhood and this can cause a desire in
his sister to be a boy so she will receive the same attention and favors.
Overcome feehngs of mjertority and poverty 115

Another more adult reason is envy of the position of the male in our
society, with the advantages to men in life. Of course, homosexuality
may even be involved.
How much better for a woman to have hypnotic suggestion rather
than submit to a dangerous operation for breast development. My
patients used autosuggestion as a supplement to treatment. While I
have no evidence that development can be accomplished entirely
through autosuggestion, I would be greatly surprised if it could not. It

would best be done under self-hypnosis. No possible harm could come

from attempting this and I am quite sure many
would produce girls

—
measurable results ^literally! It should be well worth the time and
effort for the flat-chested girl. My six patients ranged in age from

twenty-two to thirty years old.

Whether or not any other part of the body could be affected
through suggestion is not known. Hypnosis is not a magic wand, nor
can it work miracles. Again, no harm would follow from trying, but
changing such parts as thick, heavy ankles or legs would seem most
unlikely.
How inferiority feelings are developed in childhood. It is in

our early years that inferiority feelings begin to develop. Parents often
expect entirely too much of their offspring, and failures maybe scolded
and reproached. Junior is expected to be a genius like his father and
mother. Then the child becomes afraid to try for fear he will fail and
this would bring more reproaches down on his head. We should
learn from our failures and then we may succeed the next time we try.
Being scolded or punished for failure blocks the incentive to try again.

Just as harmful for the child is the overprotective parent. With love
and a desire to help our httle darlings, we sometimes do not let them
do things for themselves so they may learn. With httle opportunity to
solve problems by their own efforts, how can they learn the way to do
things? As a parent myself, I know how often I am tempted to "help"
and how hard it often is to refrain. I have on occasion been brought up
by the remark, "Let me do it. Daddy!,'* a very appropriate one.
Some alcoholics seem to be the spoiled brats of childhood. Every-
thing was done for them by overprotective and overindulgent parents
They have never learned to do things for themselves. When grown and
this becomes necessary, they cannot face reality and alcohol serves as

an escape.
116 Overcome feelings of inferiority and poverty

Still is the younger child, particularly when the

another situation
elder is same sex. In trying to compete with an older brother
of the
there are few ways in which the younger child can succeed. With en-
couragement and explanations that he is not expected to do as much,
he can adjust and not lose confidence in himself and his abilities.
Few parents are authorities on child-raising and child psychology.
As parents we will make mistakes. Indeed, child psychologists some-
times have children who are badly spoiled. Sometimes it is easy to tell

someone else what to do, hard to do it yourself.

Careless remarks made by parents to their children can at times
be picked up by the subconscious and will become fixed ideas which
later are carried out like posthypnotic suggestions. They are more
likely to become fixed if the child is under an emotion, perhaps when
being punished. Suggestibility is then increased.
Telling an offending child, "You re a bad boy,'* may sound trivial.

Heard again and again, he may accept the idea and compulsively be
bad. Probably he has been a naughty boy, not a bad one. Bad means
evil. With adults I have frequently found similar statements which
have been pounded into the subconscious. "You're worthless." "You'll
never amount to anything." "You never do as you're told." "You're just

a little rebel." "When I tell you to do something, you always do just the
opposite." "You're stupid."

A STRANGE COMPULSION IS SUCCESSFULLY TREATED. SomC of thcSC

last phrases played a part in a rather strange situation where a young
man came to me feehng quite desperate. He told mt he needed psy-
chiatric help badly and had gone to five diflFerent psychiatrists, making
one visit to each.
He said, "I have a compulsion to do everything the opposite from
what I'm told to do, particularly if told in any sort of positive or com-
manding way. Fortunately I inherited money and don't have to work
as I doubt if I could hold a job. When I went to these psychiatrists and
they had taken a case history, each one ended by saying *Come back
next week' or some such remark. Then I can't go back. It's impossible!
What am I going to do? Can you break this with hypnosis?"
I told the young fellow I did not know but we could see what
could be done. How to hypnotize him was a problem.
Weighing every
word, I said, "How can I possibly hypnotize you? It's you impossible —
can't be hypnotized. I would want you to feel a heaviness coming into
Overcome feelings of inferiority and poverty 117

your eyelids and to have you soon close them, but I notice that they
are wide open and instead of getting heavy, they are undoubtedly get-
ting lighter and and wider and wider open. Instead of relaxing
lighter,

as you should to enter hypnosis, you are sitting there getting more and
more rigid, stiffening yourself. I can see how tense you are. You can't
possibly be hypnotized when you are so tense. Instead of feeling a bit
drowsy and listless, you are becoming wider and wider awake.*'
I continued further along this line, saying exacdy the opposite of
what I intended, and in a few moments he had responded by going
into a deep hypnotic state. I was then able to bring out some of the

reasons for his rebellion and negativism. They traced back to such
remarks as have been mentioned, spoken by an irritable, dominating
father and accompanied by much punishment. This was the key, al-
though other causes were also involved. Subsequendy he was able to
visit a psychiatrist for further work, as his case was not of a kind which

I take.

Similar reactions, though nothing as severe as this, are not infre-

quent. Dr. Clark Hull at Yale conducted many scientific experiments
with hypnosis. One test of hypnotizability is to have a subject stand
in front of the operator and then suggest that the subject will fall back-
wards. When this is done, Hull found that about one subject in
twenty would fall forward instead.
The poverty complex and what to do about it. Closely related to
the inferiority complex is its cousin, the poverty complex. Perhaps the
word complex should be defined, for it is used glibly by many without
knowing its meaning. A complex is an emotionally charged group of
related ideas, feelings, memories and impulses working together,
mainly in the subconscious.
Inferiority and poverty often act together, holding one back from
success. Much more is heard of the former, but the latter is conmion,
too.

To illustrate this, Philip D. is a lawyer and a good one. With a fine

professional reputation and a fairly good practice, he should have had
a good income, but until recendy it amounted to only a few thousand
a year, after deduction of overhead expenses. Because he thought in
small terms —dimes instead of dollars —a small
was often his charge
fee
where a much larger one would have been reasonable. In one of his
cases he had saved a corporation more than a hundred thousand dollars
118 Overcome feelings of inferioTiiy and poverty

but had collected only fifteen hundred for his work. It was his largest
fee until then.
A psychologist managed to show him how his poverty complex was
went back to childhood. He had to contribute to
affecting him. It roots
the family^s support from an early age, first delivering newspapers and
doing odd jobs. There always was a lack of money. His clothes were
often hand-me-downs from an older brother. Even food was sometimes
a problem in the home. Phil was ambitious. With the aid of a loan
from a relative and by working, he had made his way through college
and law school.
When all these contributing factors had been realized and he saw
how his behavior was motivated by them, Phil had little trouble chang-
ing and his income quickly increased to what it should previously have
been. He re-evaluated himself and his worth.
How to conquer the "*gambling fever^ A very detrimental neu-
rotic symptom which may develop from the inferiority complex is

compulsive gambling. The extent of this is evidenced by the enormous

sums staked at the various racetracks about the country, at the Nevada
gaming tables, and in illegal gambling of many types. The profits to
the gambling fraternity run into hundreds of millions. No figures are
available, of course, for most gambling is illegal and either unknown
to authorities or privately condoned.
The old saying, "horse players die broke," is a truism and has few
exceptions. It is "the house,'' the gambling syndicates, the professionals,
who win. Even aware that the odds are all against him, the gambler
compulsively continues to lose.

Compulsive gambling is a neurotic disease, one of the worst, in

that it may mean financial ruin for the victim. As a part of the picture,
most habitual gamblers have an unconscious need to lose, though this

is never consciously recognized and would be denied. Unconsciously,

mistakes \^dll be made to insure loss. Any run of luck is quickly fol-

lowed by further play and eventual loss.

One of my patients was an bookmaker with a beautiful wife

illegal

and t\A-o fine children. He worked and was "small fry"

for a syndicate
himself but made better than a thousand a week on an average. All
went back into his own bets on the races. Of course he continually lost.
His family even went hungry sometimes. He visited me because of
insomnia over his worries. But he did not want to quit gambling. His
wife pleaded with him to stop, without result. I was unable to per-
Overcome feelings of inferiority and poverty 119

suade him that he needed treatment for a neurotic compulsion. He

was sure he would win next saw him only once and shortly
time. I
afterward read of his suicide. His wife told me he had "borrowed'* a
large sum of money which he had collected for the syndicate and had
lost it betting. No doubt he feared reprisals. In this gambling compul-

sion there is usually a strong need for self-punishment. That is why

the victim unconsciously wishes to lose.
If you are a frequent gambler and lose most of the time you might
question your subconscious and discover whether or not you fall into
the compulsive gambler category. Then you should try to find out the
sources of any guilt feelings which are calling for self-punishment. If
self-hypnosis and autosuggestion fail to help you overcome this, you
would be wise to visit a psychologist or psychiatrist for help. As this

condition is a definite neurosis, self-help may not be successful.

How to set goals for yourself, I continually find among my pa-
tients a lack of any definite goals. Presumably this must be true of many
people, for only a small percentagemeet with great success in life. Of
course many others are moderately successful and reasonably happy.
To be happy and contented it is essential to have definite goals. Even
reaching toward them and partially fulfilling them is rewarding.
Among the causes for this situation can be found plain, everyday
laziness and a lack of ambition. The fear-producing emotions are often
also a part of the picture. Fear of failure is common. If one doesn t try,
he can t fail and so this fear is quieted. Expectation of something dis-
astrous makes a goal seem not worthwhile. Negative thinking makes it
seem impossible to reach a goal, so why waste the effort? Lack of con-
fidence and feelings of inferiority add to the motives for failure to set
goals.

If minor aims are set and realized, it becomes easier to reach more
important ones. Doing well with some form of hobby can be a first

step. However, there should be a real interest in the hobby, and it

should be along some line where a talent or ability can be utilized.

A more important goal could be the determination to work well so
that an increase in wages or salary and in position will follow. Positive
thinking, determination and effort will pay off within a reasonable
time. Then a further goal along the same line should be set. If there
is dissatisfaction with the type of work you do, set a goal of obtaining
another job, perhaps in some different field. If you do not hke your
work, success and happiness are not likely to be found.
120 Overcome feelings of inferiority and poverty

What goals should you have? Essentially the main one is happiness,
with health included. All others involve striving for this. Financial
security is a most important one. A satisfactory marriage and family

life would probably be near the head of the list. Certainly good health
is another vitally important aim. Success in your occupation, other than
in its financial aspect, should be included. Less important than these
are social recognition, being liked and approved, these satisfying the
herd instinct. In reaching these goals there should also be included
that of knowing yourself, for it is the key to success with the others.
Overcoming and poverty complexes. The first step
inferiority
in removing your inferiority feelings is to make a complete reassess-
ment of yourself. Write out just what you think of yourself, including
as well as possible why you have such opinions. Writing them out is

better than merely thinking them over as you tend to think more
clearly about the problem when you write. No one need see what you
have written and it can be thrown away or destroyed afterwards.
What are the things in childhood which led you to form the image
you now hold of yourself? Were you rejected by your parents? Did
they you and scold or punish you for your failures? Did they
belittle

overprotect you? What about your relationship to sisters and brothers,

particularly those older than you? Did you feel you could not compete
with them? All these are some of the sources of inferiority feelings.
Next you should make a personal inventory of yourself in the form
of a statement of assets and liabilities, such as an accountant would
make for a business firm. Such a listing is given here so you will not
overlook important points. On it you can check yourself against all

these factors. You may be able to think of others fitting your own indi-

viduality. If you are interested enough in helping yourself to be read-

ing this book, it is almost a certainty that your assets far outweigh your
liabilities.

It is impossible for you to assess yourself correctly in every detail.

Ask someone, or more than one, in your family who knows you well to
do the same summing up. You will find that they hold a very different
view about you on some things, and probably a much more correct one.
The purpose of this exercise is to help you take a better and more
realistic viewpoint of yourself —
changing your self-image to a more
You have undoubtedly been exaggerating your weaknesses
correct one.
and overlooking many of your assets. Your poor opinion of yourself in
some ways is undoubtedly overstretched and you have been seeing
 —

Overcome feelings of inferiority and ^poverty 121

yourself through the wrong end of the telescope. In reviewing the list,

see the errors in 3^our total assessment.

Autosuggestion can help in changing your views. Give your sub-
conscious some prodding so its ideas also will change. Tell it you are
a pretty good sort after all, with lots of good points and abilities, and
that in the future you will be correcting some of the liabilities.

More self-help can be carried out by reviewing things in your

childhood which have led to your mistaken viewpoints. Questioning
with the pendulum or finger responses can help locate these experi-
ences. Work also along this line to locate reasons for guilt feelings

seeking the things in your past where you feel you have done wrong.
Have not most of them been quite minor? Should you perhaps feel
now so guilty about them? Should you not perhaps feel that you have
made mistakes, but have learned from them and will not repeat them?
Then they can be water under the bridge.
Salter in his book Conditioned Reflex Therapy (Farrar, Straus &
Cudahy, New York), has recommended some good exercises aimed at
overcoming inferiority ideas. Practicing these will gradually act to

build up your ego. (1) Say what you feel, uttering aloud any spon-
taneously felt emotion. If you are angry say so in an acceptable way. If
your feelings are hurt do not withdraw but express the hurt. Apply
any emotion experienced. (2) Contradict and attack. When
this idea to

you disagree with someone about some matter, say so instead of remain-
ing silent or agreeing. It can be done politely. State your own ideas.

(3) Use the word T frequently and with emphasis, *'l think this"
Capitalize the I emphasizing by saying it louder. (4) When anyone
it

praises you for anything, agree with them instead of deprecating your-
self with some phrase like "oh, it's nothing." Admit you did well. (5)

Improvise and live more for the moment. Do not plan ahead to any
extent.
Salter calls this a developing of "excitory conditioned reflexes *
to
counteract inhibitory ones, He recommends much aggressiveness in
practicing these points. This is my opinion this can be
needed, but in
overdone and better results will come if you are positive but not too
aggressive. Being very positive is important, great aggressiveness will
bring results too but will be harder for the inhibited person to show.
Also, if overdone it would probably bring resentment and dislike from
others, which is not to be desired. All these points can be practiced and
122 Overcome feelings of inferiority and poverty

carried out in an acceptable way. They will be found very valuable in

helping to overcome inadequacy feelings.
One of the end products of this feeling of inferiority is insecurity,
which is a fear. Another is fear of failure. Still others are characteristics
such as shyness, lack of aggressiveness, sensitivity, indecisiveness, de-

pendency, a tendency to withdraw. All add up to immaturity and fear.

Correcting your wrong impressions about yourself and revising

your visual image overcomes negativism and changes your disabling
character traits so that your subconscious mind can guide you to success
and happiness. The brakes you have been applying are removed. The
two basic goals of the subconscious are the pursuit of pleasure and
happiness and the avoidance of pain. Self-appreciation and a proper
viewpoint of yourself is a long step towards both.
Your balance sheet or self-inventory. When you are checking
and scoring the following balance sheet of your assets and liabilities,
use a pencil so you can erase the scoring. Make a note of the results.
Then with the pendulum ask questions of your subconscious about
each item and again add up your score. You probably will be surprised
to find the subconscious disagreeing on some parts of the inventory.
You can ask such questions "Am I really lazy?" "And am I really
as,

decisive?" "Am I really stupid?" "Am I actually disliked?" You should

find it quite interesting to learn what your subconscious thinks about
some of these attributes. This may help you to change some of your
ideas about yourself.
If possible you should also ask others who are close to you and
know you well to score you. You probably will find their opinions
differing in some respects from your own. Again, this should help you
in your revision of ideas.
When you have completed your scoring, review your liabilities and
decide which ones can be most easily changed. Merely being more
aware of them will make it possible for you to start changing some of
them. Some can be altered readily with a little effort; others will take
more work and you will have to force yourself. Self-suggestion can
help to correct some of them.
About a year after you have completed your self-help program
you might score yourself again. This allows plenty of time for changes
which undoubtedly will continue at a subconscious level after you
complete your program. Your score will be quite difiFerent from the
original one.
Overcome feelings of inferiority and poverty 123

SUMMARY

In carr}^ing out your program it is of the utmost importance

for you to take a proper viewpoint of yourself. If you have phys-
ical disabilities or deformities of any kind do not exaggerate
their importance, for you can rise above them. Probably you
have many qualities and abilities which gready outweigh them.
If you have strong feelings of unworthiness, of inferiority
and insecurity, some introspection and review of your childhood
should lead you to their sources. Review the attitude and be-
havior of your parents toward you.
Consider your situation as to goals. They are very important.
You may have some but perhaps you need to set up further
goals. Good health and happiness depend on feelings of secu-
rity, a good family life, and social recognition. With good health

added, you should be relatively happy. With goals to work

toward your health will be good, both physical and mental
health.
To overcome inferiority feelings you should reassess your-
self. Your attitudes toward yourself can be changed by seeing
how they developed during childhood, by autosuggestion, by
using Salter's exercises, and by investigating any sources of guilt
in order to remove any need for self-punishment. Reassessment
is best made by appraising yourself with the balance sheet
which follows, preferably having others close to you also score
you with it.

BALANCE SHEET OF CHARACTER,

PHYSICAL AND OTHER ATTRIBUTES
Some of the traits listed here are of more importance than
Each one is followed by three
others. numbers giving its value,
some lower, some higher. In scoring yourself, estimate this
value. For instance, with the trait decisive, if you are inclined to
hesitate but reach decisions fairly well, you should score three
points. If you believe you are able to decide well, score 4
points; if very decisive, score 5. Under finances, if yours are
score 3 points, 4 if good, 5 if excellent. For educatiorif if
fair,

you have finished high school score 3j if a college graduate,

score 4; post-graduate degree, score 5.
la the liability column, take irritahle as an example. If some-
124 Overcome feelings of inferiority and poverty

what initable, score 2; often irritable score 3; very irritable score

4. For ap'pearance, you believe you are not very good looking,
if

score 3; if homely score 4; and if definitely ugly, score 5. If you

feel that you cannot judge yourself about any attribute, leave

the score blank.

Place your score in the square before each trait. When you
have checked all, add the and the scores for
scores for assets
liabilities. Then compare and you will have a good
the totals
'T)ird's-eye" view of your qualities. If you have someone else

who is close to you also score you, this will give you a much
better perspective of yourself.

ASSETS

Character Traits

Are you honest? 3, 4, 5.

Are you ambitious? 3, 4, 5.

Are you kind? 3, 4, 5,

Are you thoughtful of others? 3, 4, 5.

n Are you truthful? 3, 4, 5.

Are you positive? 3, 4, 5,

Are you efficient? 3, 4, 5.

Are you decisive? 3, 4, 5.

Are you energetic? 3, 4, 5.

|
Are you courageous, 3, 4, 5. |

Are you constructively aggressive, 3, 4, 5,

n Are you good-humored? 3, 4, 5.

Do you face reality and problems? 3, 4, 5,

n Are you sincere? 2, 3, 4,

n Are you patient? 2, 3, 4.

n Are you tolerant? 2,3,4.

Are you generous? 2, 3, 4.

Are you open to conviction? 2, 3, 4.

Can you concentrate well? 2, 3, 4,

Are you punctual? 1, 2, 3.

Overcome feelings of inferiority and poverty 125

ASSETS (fionU^

Physical Attributes

Do you have good health? 3, 4, 5.

Is your appearance fair, good, or handsome (or beautiful)?

3,4,5.

Is your general build good, very good, excellent? 3, 4, 5.

Are you vi^ell-coordinated, skillful? 3, 4, 5.

Do you have good stature? 1, 2, 3.

Do you have good vision? 2, 3, 4.

Miscellaneous Attributes

Do you have good intelligence? 3, 4, 5.

Do you have goals? 3, 4, 5.

Do you have talents? 3, 4, 5.

Do you have a good education? 3, 4, 5.

Do you have a good job? 3, 4, 5.

Are your finances good? 3, 4, 5.

Do you have a good marriage? 3, 4, 5.

Do you have children? Score 5 for each.

Do you have social recognition? 2, 3, 4.

Are you well liked? 3, 4, 5.

Do you have good ability at sports or athletics? 2, 3, 4.

LIABILITIES

Character Traits

n Are you dishonest? 3, 4, 5.

Are you untrustworthy? 3, 4, 5,

126 Overcome feelings of inferiority and poverty

LIABILITIES (COWO

Character Traits (cont.)

Are you inefficient? 3, 4, 5.

Are you unkind, cruel, sadistic? 3, 4, 5.

n Are you self-centered, egoistic? 3, 4, 5.

Are you depressed? 3, 4, 5.

Are you negative? 3, 4, 5.

Do you have anxiet}^? 3, 4, 5.

Do you have guilt feelings? 3, 4, 5.
Do you have inferiority feelings? 3, 4, 5.
Do you escape from responsibilities? 3, 4, 5.

Are you fearful, phobic? 3, 4, 5.

Are you indecisive? 3, 4, 5.

Are you lazy? 2, 3, 4.

Are you selfish? 2, 3, 4.

n Are you irritable? 2, 3, 4.

Are you indifferent? 1,2,3.

Are you critical? 1, 2, 3.

Are you impatient? 1, 2, 3.

Do you have difficulty concentrating? 1, 2, 3.

n Are you a perfectionist? 1, 2, 3.

Are you opinionated? 1, 2, 3.

Are you a worrier? 1, 2, 3.

Are you too aggressive? 1, 2, 3.

Are you too passive? 1, 2, 3.

Physical Attrihutes

Do you have poor health? 3, 4, 5.

Is your appearance poor, homely, ugly? 3, 4, 5.

Is your build poor, quite poor, very poor? 3, 4, 5.

n Is your stature short? 2, 3, 4.

Are you awkward? 1, 2, 3.

Do you have poor vision? 1, 2, 3.

Overcome feelings of inferiority and 'poverty 127

LIABILITIES CcOMf.)

Miscellaneous Attrihutes

C Do you have a poor education? 3, 4, 5.

Are your finances poor? 3, 4, 5.

Are you stupid? 3, 4, 5,
Do you have a poor marriage? 3, 4, 5.

Are you disliked? 2, 3, 4,

Do you have a poor memory? 2, 3, 4.

Are you dissatisfied with your job? 2, 3, 4.

Do you drink too much? 3, 4, 5.

Total score for Assets

Total score for Liabilities

 Gliafyl er 10

BEFORE we take up the main part

of your program of self-treatment,
this chapter will be of value to you if you
ever are in pain for any reason. And if

you are a smoker and wish to quit, some

of the ideas about ending that habit will
be helpful.
Do you want to stop smoking?
Some of the books dealing with hypnosis
have reported its use as a means of stop-
ping smoking. Unfortunately, the im-
pression has been given that all one

How to Conquer

Bad Habits

and Overcome Pain

needs to do is to be hypnotized and told

one will no longer desire to smoke and
he is then instantly freed of the habit.
There have been some who have found
this true —
^about one in a hundred. In
isolated instances it has worked almost
like magic.
For the cigarette addict to stop is no
easy matter, even with the help of hyp-
nosis, and hypnosis can indeed be a help.
Most who try to stop smoking have great
and go through a period of
diflBculty

much discomfort. I have heard a number

of ex-smokers tell of their success in stop-
ping by their own efforts, and how this

was accomplished. I have helped a num-

129
130 Conquer had habits and overcome pain

ber of others to stop with hypnosis. There have also been failures with
still others who were not able to break the habit.
When one makes a definite decision to quite smoking and deter-
mines that he will do so, I do not believe he needs any help in carry-
ing out his project. He will stop and does not find it too difficult. Those
who end the habit in this way often comment on having been sur-

prised at how easy it was to stop.

Most people who try to stop have decided they should do so be-
cause it is a dirty, expensive habit and a menace to health. Believing
that they should and wanting to stop are not the same thing. They do
not want to stop; they want to continue and to satisfy their oral need.
They wish to stop on an intellectual basis, but have not made up their
minds to do so. Wishful thinking is mixed with negative thoughts. It
is going to be so hard to do it. It will be a long, miserable time before
the craving is gone. Such a person strongly doubts his ability to stop.
Then, when he tries, our old acquaintance, the law of reversed effect,
steps in and he fails.
A successful approach to the prohlem. There seems to be only
one successful approach to this problem. That is to make up your
mind firmly that you not only are going to be an ex-smoker but also
that you can do it without the shadow of a doubt. You are stronger
than an infernal weed. You are no longer going to be its slave and the
time has now come when you will no longer smoke.
With this determination some will find it easy to stick to the resolu-
tion. Others will have more difficulty but will break the habit. Auto-

suggestion under hypnosis can ease the process. This should include
impressing the subconscious with the reasons for stopping. Positive
suggestions to minimize desire should be made. It is a mistake to sug-
gest no desire at all for there is bound to be some craving.
In planning when to cut off, it is better to set it two days in the
future and then to smoke about twice your usual number of cigarettes
for those two days. By their end, you will be fed up and cigarettes will
taste so bad that you are glad to stop.

A few people find they can cut down the number smoked, using
fewer each day and then none at all. With most this is unsuccessful.
You either smoke or you don't smoke. There are several things which
will help one over the first few days of withdrawal. An oral need is
involved in smoking and other means of satisfying it can be resorted
to. Life Savers or fruit drops can be sucked as a substitute or gum
Conquer had habits and overcome fain 131

can be chewed. Drugstores sell an imitationcigarette which can be

used as an alternative, or a piece of wooden doweling the size of a
cigarette will do. There are drugs requiring no prescription which
offer some help. These tend to counteract the actual nicotine craving

which persists for a time. It has been said that all nicotine will not be
out of your system until about six days after stopping.
How to control desire. Some who stop report feeling very initable
for a time. This would seem to arise from resentment at having to go
through the unpleasant experience of stopping. There is often a ten-
dency to add some weight, for the tastebuds begin to function better

when you no longer smoke and food is much more tasty. The oral need
may also cause you to eat more. Suggestion should be effective in
counteracting these tendencies.
When the desire for a cigarette is felt, it should be counteracted
immediately with the thought, "I no longer smoke and I don t need
to," followed by diverting the mind to something else.
When the addiction is broken, the thought of smoking seldom
enters the mind. However there seem to be two danger periods at
which time you may find yourself smoking again. About three months
after quitting there is a strong chance you will wonder what a cigarette
would now taste like. If you take one to find out, you probably will be
a smoker again. This same thought seems to intrude about a year after
you have quit. With forewarning of the likelihood of having such
thoughts and awareness of the danger, it can be avoided. The situation
is something like that of the alcoholic —there is one drink between him
and the gutter. There is one cigarette between you and being a smoker
again.
There are statistics as to the longevity of smokers and non-smokers.
The more you smoke, the shorter your life, perhaps by as much as ten
years, according to the figures. It has been shown that lung cancer
occurs far more frequendy, ten to one, with smokers than with non-
smokers. The British government has taken official notice of this fact
and has staged a publicity campaign, urging its citizens to abstain. The
sale of cigarettes in that country has since declined dramatically, which
shows that many can stop smoking. Approaching the problem as out-
lined above will enable you to whip the habit, that your days on earth
be longer.
How you can control pain. Not everyone car learn to control
132 Conquer had habits and overcome fain

pain, but it can be done if a medium state of autohypnosis can be

reached. Since many readers will learn self-hypnosis well enough to
produce anesthesia, they should know how to do it.
There are other ways of controlling pain, to some extent, besides
hypnotic anesthesia, or drugs. The pain threshold is automatically
raised when you are well relaxed. You may still feel pain, but to a
lesser degree. Every dentist knows this and tries to have his patient
relax asmuch as possible if the dental session is to be painful in any
way. The patient probably enters the dental office fearful and tense. His
tension has lowered the pain threshold. One of the main uses of hyp-
nosis in dentistry is to relax, the patient so he will feel less pain. He
probably will not even feel the insertion of a hypodermic needle.
Another way to control pain is by distraction of attention. Have
you ever had the experience of suddenly noticing that you are bleed-
ing, perhaps rather profusely? Hunting the source of the blood, you
find you have cut yourself but were not aware of how or when you
did it. Your attention was distracted and so pain wasn t felt. The mo-
ment you discovered the blood and then its source, you began to feel
the pain. In batde, soldiers sometimes are wounded but for a time are
unaware of it. In the excitement, with their attention distracted, they
do not feel the impact of a bullet or shell fragment and are not aware
of the wound. When awareness comes, pain begins.
A LESSON IN PSYCHOLOGY FROM A VETERINARY. My daughter OnCC
owned a kitten which I took to a veterinary for enteritis shots, two of
which are given a week apart. The assistant took the kitten at the first
visit. He placed it on a table and reached for the hypodermic syringe.
The animal sensed something unpleasant was about to happen and
began struggling and yowling. The assistant asked me to help hold it.

I grasped its legs while he held its head with one hand and inserted
the needle in its back with the other. As he gave the injection the kit-

ten wailed loudly from the pain.

Next week when I came the older veterinary took it. As he placed
it on the table I asked if he wanted me to help hold it. ''Oh no,'* he

answered, "that's not necessary.'* Putting his hand behind the kitten s
head, he began to bump its nose up and down on the table while he
reached for the syringe with the other hand. Defdy inserting the
needle, he gave the injection with the kitten not even whimpering. It
was too busy wondering what was happening its its nose to feel nain
Conquer had habits and overcome fain 133

Reliving an experience as a way of modifying pain. A way of

modifying pain can readily be practiced. If you have been hurt — let us
say that you have sprained an ankle — sit or lie down and with your
eyes closed review the accident. In your mind's eye go back to the
moment just before the ankle was injured. What were you doing at
the time? What were you looking at? What actions were you perform-
ing, and where were you? Notice all these things and try to see, to
hear, to be aware of your bodily movements and position as the acci-
dent happened. Notice if anything was said by someone. Recapture
your thoughts of the moment. On turning the ankle, what emotion
did you feel? As you do all this, you may feel the pain increase, for it
will have diminished since the actual injury. Continue through what-
ever occurred during the next two or three moments after the accident.
After going through this experience, go back to the start of it and
go through it again. Repeat this three or four times. You will find some
of the scene becoming more vivid but each time there will be much
less pain noticed at the moment you suffered the sprain. When you
have completed this mental exercise, you will find the ankle much less

painful, perhaps only a little sore when you move it. Incidentally, for
some reason this reliving of the accident will cause the injury to heal
much faster.
You might add to this "treatment" by asking your subconscious
a few questions with pendulum or finger responses. Was there some
subconscious reason why you turned your ankle? If the answer is

yes, try to uncover whatever motivation was involved. The injury may
have been entirely accidental, without motivation, or there may have
been some reason behind it.
How you can induce hypnotic anesthesia. While you are in
autohypnosis, anesthesia can be induced in several ways. Two of the
best methods will be given here. The deeper you are in hypnosis the
better the results will be.
When pain is stimulated, the pain nerves work through electric
impulses which travel along the nerve channels and are registered in
the brain. These are even measurable with an instrument called
a myograph. In theory, a local anesthetic drug such as novocaine
paralyzes or blocks the nerves so the electric current does not reach
the brain. Then no pain is felt.
The same thing presumably happens with hypnotic anesthesia.
While in hypnosis, with your eyes closed, imagine you have in your
134 Conquer had hahits and overcome pain

head a long row of electric liglit switches and visuahze a httle electric
hght above each switch. Each light is a different color or shade of
color and all are turned on. There is a switch with a red light above it,
one with a pink light, a dark blue one, a light blue, an orange, etc.,
w^ith all colors and many shades. Each switch goes to a diflFerent part
of your body.
You are now going to produce anesthesia in one hand, whichever
you select for the purpose. The switch with the light blue light goes
to the hand you have chosen. Now imagine you are turning off that
switch and see the light blue light go out.
For it to be anesthetized it is not necessary for you to feel a
numbness in the hand, but you may or may not have this sensation. If
you have ever experienced novocaine at your dentist's, you might aim
to develop numbness just as you felt it before. You can suggest, repeat-
ing it three or four times, "My hand is becoming slightly numb and
will get more and more numb. It may have a feeling of coldness in it.*'
Add to this suggestion, "I am going to pinch my hand in a moment
and it will be completely anesthetized. At first I will pinch lighdy and
each time I pinch the anesthesia will increase. When I have pinched
four times the anesthesia will be complete."
When you feel numbness wait for it to increase a little, then
start pinching various places on your hand, increasing the strength
of the pinch a little each time. Then pinch with your fingernails as
hard as you can. In doing this you will feel pressure, and be aware
of pinching, but there will be no pain. It will not hurt. It will be as
though you are pinching a thin leather glove.
The first you may find your hand is not
time you practice this,

completely anesthetized. The anesthesia may be only partial. But for

a comparison, pinch the other hand as hard as you pinched the
anesthetized one. You will almost certainly notice a great difference.
Success will depend somewhat on the depth of hypnosis and on
your mental attitude. Doubts in your mind will impede and the
anesthesia may be only partial. Skepticism acts to prevent your sug-
gestions from being completely accepted by the subconscious and all

the pain nerves are not shut off. The subconscious can close the
nerve currents just as an anesthetic drug paralyzes the nerves.
Skepticism can be counteracted by a realization of how thoroughly
anesthesia through hypnosis can be developed. Thousands of women
in this country have been able to go through childbirth with it. Dr.
Conquer had habits and overcome ^ain 135

Ralph August, of Muskegon, Michigan, has written a book on this

subject, telling of over a thousand cases of his own where delivery was
with hypnotic anesthesia.
In some of these cases some pain wasfelt by the woman, but it

was gready modified. About had no pain at all. A number of

half
anesthesiologists now use hypnosis at times and many cases of major
surgery have been performed with no drugs of any kind used. It has
been used for leg amputations, for cardiac operations, for lung resec-
tions, and in many other conditions of major surgery. Of course the

usual procedure is with drugs, but sometimes conditions prevent their

use. The knowledge that hypnotic anesthesia can be so complete will
better help you to develop it.

you become a very good subject in autohypnosis, a simpler tech-

If
nique will serve. With this you merely suggest anesthesia in the
hand. Phrase it something like this. "My right hand will become
completely anesthetized when I have stroked it three times with my
lefthand. I will feel pressure but it will not hurt when I pinch it.'*
Continue with the suggestion of increased anesthesia with each pinch.
Then test as with the former method.
When you have learned to shut off pain in a hand, you will be
able to do it in any other part of the body, using the same method.
Probably the greatest use you will have will be when you visit your
dentist. Ask him to give you a moment or two to put yourself into
hypnosis and to produce anesthesia. You can then set it up in either
or both jaw^s and have your dental work done in comfort. The dentist
may wish to use novocaine as well. If you have become proficient, this
is unnecessary.
Always remember to remove the anesthesia. You can retain it for
several days if you wish, restoring it if it is lost overnight. This might
be desirable if dental work is performed where there would be pain
for several days, as with a tooth extraction. But be sure to end the
anesthesia when it has served its purpose. Pain is intended to make us
aware of injury or of something wrong at the seat of pain. There is
no reason to continue to feel it when the purpose is served.
Sometimes pain has a psychological cause. Physicians some-
times are visited by a patient who complains of a pain someplace in
the body, perhaps in a limb, but more often in the chest or abdominal
area. No reason for it is found and after many tests the doctor is

unable to make a diagnosis. Both patient and doctor are puzzled and
136 Conquer had habits and overcome fccin

frustrated. The patient will be certain there is some physical reason

for the pain, which may be quite severe at times. In this situation an
may be decided on. Many
exploratory operation an abdomen has been
opened and nothing found which *ould be causing the pain. Before
operating the physician who is oriented toward psychological causes
would investigate th^s aspect. Such a pain can hurt as much as any
organic one. It is not all in the patient's head —the pain is real.

While attending one of our symposiums, a physician asked to be

a demonstration subject as he was suffering from a pain, severe at
times, located in his back below the right shoulder blade. He believed
the pain could be controlled by means of hypnotic anesthesia. About
a month before the meeting the doctor had experienced a coronary at-

tack. He was recovering but had not returned to work and was im-
patient to resume his practice. He described the shoulder pain as being
definitely organic.
The who was demonstrating questioned Dr. P. with
instructor
pendulum responses. The first question was as to whether there was
any psychological cause for the pain. The pendulum moved to say yes,
to the surprise of the physician who replied verbally before the
pendulum moved, saying, "The answer to that is no." His subconscious
mind did not seem to agree! Further questioning followed.
Q. Is it all right for you to know what psychological factors are precipi-
tating this pain?

A. Yes (pendulum).*

Q. Is it all right for me and the audience to know this?

A. Yes.

Q. Is self-punishment involved?

A. No,
Q. Has someone ever said anything to you that might be resulting in
the pain? Is there some suggestion working?

A. No.
Q. Is the pain associated in some way to a past experience of any kind?

A. Yes,

Q. Was it something that occuned before you were twenty years old?

A. Yes.

* Pendulum and finger responses are in italics.

Conquer had habits and overcome fain 137

Q. Did it happen before you were ten years old?

A. Yes.

Q. Was it before you were five?

A. Yes.

Q. Before two?

A. Yes.

Q. Before you were one year old?

A. No.
Q. Was it concerned with an illness?
A. No.
Q. With an accident?
A. Yes,

Q. Did it happen indoors rather than outdoors?

A. No.
Q. Was any other person involved?
A. I don't know. (Later it was seen that this question could not be
answered correctly. There was another person present but she witnessed it
rather than being actually involved.)

Q. Were you hurt at the time?

A. Yes.

Q. Was it your right shoulder that was hurt?

A. Yes.

As the questions were being asked and Dr. P. concentrated on

the lucite ball, he had slipped spontaneously into hypnosis. This was
now deepened and with finger responses he was asked if it was all
right for him to return to the childhood incident The answer was
yes. He was regressed and asked to relate what was happening.

The doctor said he was outdoors, lying in a baby buggy. Asked how
old he was, he said it was just after his first birthday. No one was
visible to him, but the buggy was rolling down a sidewalk. Then he

felt it tip over and he was thrown out on his right shoulder. Finger

responses were then made to further questions.

Q. Does this accident have something to do with the present pain?

A. Yes.
138 Conquer had habits and overcome pain

Q. There is some reason for this. A thought will now come to you as
to what the association is.
A. (Verbally) It's my mother.
Q. Does she have something to do with the restimulation of this pain?

A. Yes.

Q. Did she do something or say something that caused this?

A. Yes, (Then verbally) She said something about a bottle. I don't see
the connection though. She was at my home a couple of weeks ago and
we had an argument. The pain began that night.

Q. Is there any other cause for the pain?

A. Yes,

With more questioning it was established that the pain was serv-

ing to keep him from practicing, so he should not return to his office
so soon after his coronary attack. His subconscious agreed to modify
the pain but it would continue until his recovery w^as sufficient for him
to return safely to his office.
A letter from Dr. P. received two weeks later reported the pain as
still present but less intense. His mother remembered the baby buggy
incident and had felt very guilty because of her carelessness. The
buggy had away from her down a slight hill and had tipped
rolled
over, throwing him out just as he had described. She was surprised to
know he had recalled the experience. It had happened, as he said, a
short time after his first birthday. The mother was sure she had never
told him about the accident as she had felt so guilty about it.
This case is remarkable because of the recall of such an early
memory, and also because Dr. P. was so sure the pain was physically
caused. It shows that very early memories are accessible under hypnosis
and that the subconscious is aware of the sources of our difficulties.

SUMMARY

If you wish to stop smoking you can do so with no great

difficulty only if you want to quit and are determined to over-
come the habit. It is essential to make up your mind you
that
really wish to quit and be very determined tliat you can and
will do so.

Autosuggestion with self-hypnosis can be of great aid in

Conquer lad habits and overcome ipain 139

minimizing the desire and in bolstering your determination.

You will need a substitute a
to satisfy the oral craving that is
part of the smoking habit. Fruit or peppermint drops, chewing
gum, or an imitation cigarette can be used. Drugs which will
help counteract the nicotine in youi system are available at
every drugstore.
You must immediately overcome the desire for a cigarette as
soon as such a thought pops into your mind. Tell yourself at
once that you really don't have to smoke and then divert your
mind to something else. If you nurse the thought, you probably
will take a cigarette. At times review all the good reasons and
motives which have led you to stop smoking.
You have read here how pain can be modified or even elim-
inated by means of hypnosis. Thousands of women have es-
caped or gready modified the pain of childbirth, and many more
people have been able to have dental work performed without
discomfort
Practice turning off pain while in self-hypnosis with the
use of the imaginary "switches," but don't forget to remove
hj^notic anesthesia at the proper time.
Pain can develop from psychological as well as physical
causes. It hurts just as much when psychologically caused.
Ideomotor replies to questions can show you if pain has a psy-
chological cause. By further questioning you can learn the
reasons for it.
 Gkaf^ier 11

is possible to consider here only

IT
some more common ailments,
of the
or this bookwould run into several vol-
umes. Basically, self-therapy would be
much the same for all.
For many conditions there certainly
should be medical treatment. If the situa-
tion permits, a psychotherapist should be
seen. If none is available or if finances
do not allow, self-therapy can be very
helpful and successful, but common
sense must always be used with it. An-

Heal

Your Own
Emotional Scars

other situation where it can be adopted

would be where psychotherapy has been
a failure or incomplete for some reason.
Sometimes much can be accomplished in
speeding up the process by occasional
visits to a psychotherapist with whom
there can be consultation about youi
progress and results.

In general it is not known why one

person under stress or in emotional dif-

ficulties will develop stomach ulcers, an-

other will suffer from arthritis, while still

another has an allergy. Certain types of

people do tend to have ulcers and
migraine, for instance, but typing applies
only to a few psychosomatic ailments.

14]
142 Heal your own emotional scars

An illness may be a defense. If you are beginning self-treatment,

approach it with hope and the expectation of getting well. However,
this is only a conscious attitude. Perhaps your inner mind has a dif-

ferent view, which must be considered as possible. Most of our

emotional troubles, including psychosomatic illness, are defense
mechanisms. The subconscious is trying to solve a problem in the
the best way it can; the method it chooses may not be very good,
perhaps it may even be detrimental. The subconscious is not logical in its
thinking, nor does it look at end results. If something is serving as a
defense and is aimed at preserving you, the inner mind does not want
to lose its defense, to have its applecart upset.
This being true, self-therapy may seem to the subconscious to be
a threat to its defenses. Resistance is then stimulated and the going
may be rough. The goal must be clearly defined so your subconscious
understands it. You are not intending to rob yourself of defenses.
Through an understanding of causes, through insight into the reasons
for a condition you intend to make the symptom or condition un-
necessary. With insight, both your conscious and subconscious view-
points should change and what was needed as a defense becomes super-
fluous. The need is gone. Best results come when the inner mind is
cooperative and carries out your suggestions, instead of resisting them.
Resistance may very well provoke thoughts and rationalizations
which the subconscious will push into your conscious mind intended
to cause you to stop "monkeying" with its defenses. These will be
negative thoughts. "This self-treatment is going to take a lot time (not
necessarily true). I probably will get nowhere with it, and why try?
ril just pass it up.*' Sometimes you may be making excellent progress
and are approaching something traumatic and repressed. You may
find yourself making all sorts of excuses to postpone further self-

treatment. A fixed idea in the subconscious can have the same eflFect

as repression. When such an idea is operating, nothing can be accom-

plished until it is removed. Such phrases as "Nothing does any good.'*
"What's the use?" "You'll never get anywhere," "You must learn to
live with it," "You'll never get over it," and still others conveying
similar ideas are able to stop progress and block results until removed.
If suspected as present, anything of this nature can be located by
questioning of the subconscious. Such phrases have origins some-
where in your past life. The idea, which is exactly like a posthypnotic
Heal your own emotional scars 143

suggestion in operation, can then be eliminated so it will have no

further effect.
When these phrases are working they are hkely to be spoken and
repeated from time to time. This is also true of phrases found in organ
language, such as "It's a headache to me." When you notice yourself
uttering such phrases, check to see if they may be aEFecting your
behavior.
Safeguards in your self-therapy. Two precautions are important
and should be observed. Your subconscious has knowl-
in self-therapy
edge as to the causes of conditions. You wish to learn about them.
It also has all the data you have ever learned stored away in your
memory. This part of the mind always works to protect you. Some-
times the past experience which may be concerned in producing some
symptom may be so horrible that it is deeply buried and would be
intolerable if you suddenly remembered it. This is seldom so, but
it is a possibility. It could be dangerous to try to reach it In all

probability, your subconscious would protect you by keeping it un-

available to the conscious mind, but you can check as to any danger
by ideomotor responses to questions. When you are about to delve into
the reasons for any symptom or condition, ask the question, "Is it all

right for me to know the causes of this?" If the answer is yes, there is

perfect safety. If no, narrow the question down. "Is there some factor
I am not ready to know but others I could know?" With several things
pertaining, it might be quite all right to know everything but one and
you could proceed.
The other safety device is similar. Take the precaution of question-
ing your subconscious before ever trying to regress yourself to some
past experience. "Is it all right for me to go back and recall this ex-
perience?" If it is too overwhelming or threatening it would probably
be impossible to reach the event, but this safety factor will protect you
from any possible danger.
Having read this far, you have learned some of the techniques
you will use in your self-treatment. You should practice the prelimi-
naries before setting to work. You should learn to relax well. You will
certainly make better and faster progress if you learn autohypnosis,
though it is not essential if you prefer to forego it. You should now
understand the way you will deal with autosuggestion, and the means
of making it most effective. You have learned how emotional dif-

ficulties afifect us and the seven main factors for which to look as
144 Heal your own emotional scars

causative of psychosomatic illnesses and other conditions. These are

your seven keys to successful results. Before beginning your self-

treatment review the chapters on suggestion and on causes.

Reviewing the seven elements commonly causing emotional
ailments. For convenience it may be well to state again these seven
elements: (1) conflicts, (2) motivations, (3) effect of suggestion, (4)
organ language, (5) identification, (6) self-punishment, and (7) past
experiences. These are the sources you will be investigating. You will
try to learn which apply and which are not involved, eliminating those
not concerned. Any or all may enter the picture.
You will ask questions of your subconscious aimed at finding out
the ones involved. *ls there some motivation for this condition?"
(Specify the condition or symptom.) When you have an affirmative
answer about any of the seven factors, you then try to learn more.
In this case you would seek to find what the motivation may be. Some
possible questions could be, "Is this motive serving to protect me in
some way?" some other purpose?" "Is it getting me out
"Is it serving
of something*^" "Am I seeking sympathy and attention?" "Is it pre-
venting me from doing something?" From your own knowledge of
yourself you should be able to think of other questions which may
apply.
As to conflict, it may be so superficial that you are already aware
of it, or it may be deeply buried. If there is conflict and you cannot
pinpoint it consciously, questioning may locate it and let you learn its
nature. There can be many types of conflict, sex being a frequent
source of trouble.
If suggestions are found to be involved, locate their nature and
when they originated. You can find when they happened by ques-
tions bracketing the years. In the case histories cited later you will
learn more as to how to phrase questions and the ways to ask them,
as well as more about what to look for. Having found when an in-
cident occurred, learn where, and who may have been present;
then inquire as to what kind of incident. Was it frightening? Did it
have to do with an illness or operation? In querying as to location,
was it indoors or outdoors, was it at home, at school, at a friend's, at a
doctor's office. This same type of questioning would also be used to
locate any kind of past experience, such as a traumatic one.
In inquiring as to identification, the first question should be, "Am
I identifying with someone else as a cause of this condition — trying
Heal your own emotional scars 145

to be like someone else?" When affirmative, ask as to whom and try

to find why.
When deahng with organ language, ask first, *'Is this symptom
some idea which is being carried out by my subconscious with the

physical condition then resulting?" Depending on the symptom, you

can be specific. ''Do I have this headache because something un-
pleasant is a headache to me?" would be an example.
If self-punishment is a factor, inquiry can quickly determine the
answer. Then your questions should be directed at learning why this

is needed and what you feel guilty about. Here past experiences may
also be implicated and you should locate them and learn their nature.
Such is the general procedure you will follow in gaining insight
into causes. Understanding the reasons is necessary, but there must also
be a digestive process following the gaining of knowledge. Conscious
understanding is not all, for the views of the subconscious must be
changed or modified. It must be led to give up the symptom. Sug-
gestion can be most helpful in bringing this about. Further reviewing
of the total situation will also assist in stimulating the digestive process.
In some situations, you must remove the suggestions which are
being subconsciously carried out. You must dehypnotize yourself,
and there may be conditioned reflexes to be removed. Ways and means
willbe offered, as you read on, in the discussion of various illnesses

and conditions and in the case histories described.

Interpretation of dreams can uncover some of the conflicts and
other difficulties which disturb us. Unless the mechanism and symbol-
ism of dreams is known, their meanings may be difficult to understand.
To the conscious mind a dream may seem meaningless. The inner
mind knows its symbolism and meaning because it produced the
dream. In self-therapy it may be possible to interpret a dream without

much knowledge of dream mechanisms. While in a trance some people

are able to understand the meaning of a dream. The deeper the trance,
the more likely this is to be true. When you have had a dream which
may seem significant, ask yourself under autohypnosis what it means.
You may learn what it signifies.
How to handle periods of depression. As has been mentioned,
one of the contra-indications for self-therapy is when there is great
depression. If this is chronic and very strong, the situation is dangerous
and something more than self-help is required. Psychiatric help i%
146 Heal your own emotional scars

imperative, for suicide is quite possible. There are more than 25,000
suicides annually, mainly the result of depression.
A study of cycles has shown that everyone has alternating periods
of elation and depression with a plateau between. When the degree
of these feelings is not great this is normal. The extreme of such a
cycle is a condition called a manic-depressive psychosis, a very severe
mental illness. With the usual cycle, we feel exceptionally well and
mildly elated for about three days, followed by a return to the way we
usually feel. Later there comes a three-day period of feeling low and
slightly depressed. The length of the cycle is said to vary considerably
but to average around 32 to 35 days. Sometimes the peak will be
somewhat higher and the depth somewhat lower, which may be
a cycle within the cycle.
We are not concerned here with a normal pattern such as this
cycle, although one should be aware of it and be cautious of making
important decisions either during the elevated period or when at the
lower one.
In depression other than the cyclic kind, it is our emotions and
confused thinking which are responsible. You cannot be happy
when you when you are happy. They are
are depressed, nor depressed
in direct opposition. When problems are faced and worked out, when
fears are overcome, we feel good and depression has vanished.
Dr. Homell Hart, in another self-help book, Autoconditioning
CPrentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey), stresses our
moods and how to control them. He advises making a chart of your
moods on a daily basis, listing them from ecstatic at the top, through
satisfied and cheerful, and, below a median line, the moods of worried,

anxious, discouraged, and so forth down to depressed, with miserable

at the very bottom of the list.

Hart's five steps for autoconditioning are first to pick out your
problem, next to go off alone and relax using autohypnosis. Then
suggestion is applied to overcome the problem. You then awaken
yourselfand when necessary repeat this, working on the same or dif-
ferent problems.Overcoming your negative and depressed moods will
bring happiness and success according to Hart. Undoubtedly this
method can be successful with more superficial problems and con-
flicts.

Insomnia and how to induce restful sleep. The sale of sleeping

pills in this country runs into the hundreds of millions annually, in-
Heal your own emotional scars 147

dicating the great number of people who suffer from insomnia. It is

a most unpleasant condition, although no one has ever died from in-

somnia or even become ill.

Most insomnia stems merely from bad sleeping habits and here
self-help should be successful with little difficulty in achieving it.

Inability to sleep can be a deep-seated neurotic symptom not easily

eliminated. Two types of insomnia are seen. In the one the difficulty
is in going to sleep. Sometimes hours pass before the victim drops
off. With the other type, sleep comes quickly but the sufferer awakens
after three or four hours and cannot get back to sleep. This may be in
the middle of the night or along toward morning.
Where insomnia is a bad habit, the person takes his problems and

troubles to bed with him, is often a chronic worrier, and his mind
is so busy that he does not give himself a chance to fall asleep. The
trouble is compounded by negative thoughts and suggestions and by
another encounter with the law of reversed effect which we have
mentioned so often. He goes to bed, mulls over problems for a
while, decides he should try to sleep but from past experience (con-
ditioning) sure he will not be able to drop off. He tries, putting
is

his thoughts on wanting to sleep and with the law in action becomes
wider and wider awake. Finally he becomes so fatigued that he stops
trying and promptly falls asleep.
Fears cause sleeplessness. Those with a neurotic basis for not
sleeping wellmay fall into either of the insomnia patterns. One of the
most common causes is fear, as we have seen in so many other condi-
tions. The insomniac may be afraid to go to sleep. This may be due to

a fear of loss of consciousness because then something terrible might

happen which could not be controlled.
Another common fear among insomniacs is fear of death. Sleep
is associated with death. Such an idea probably originates in child-
hood. With the diflBculty of explaining death to a child when it occurs
in the family, it is often said that "Grandma just went to sleep and
won t wake up again." Forcing a young child to see a dead person at
a funeral, or in the home before the funeral, is a definite trauma.
Even worse is to compel the child to kiss the corpse. These things can
cause other reactions than insomnia. Those who may have read the
book Three Faces of Eve, about a case of multiple personality, will
remember that being forced as a child to kiss her dead grandmother
was a main reason for her personality split. It is incredible that parents
148 Heal your own emotional scan

would ever force a child into such a frightening and non-understand-

able situation, but it is sometimes done and is certain to have emotional
repercussions.
There are other associations between death and sleep. Death is

often spoken of as "the long sleep." Many children are taught the
common little prayer,
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

How does a young child interpret these words? It is a suggestion

that he may die during his sleep. The second line also suggests death
or that there is danger to the soul while asleep. In uncovering the
causes of neurotic insomnia a surprising number of my patients have
brought out this prayer as the original source of insomnia, though
other factors have also entered. In some of these cases there had been
sight of a dead person during childhood, reinforcing the association
between sleep and death.
Still other possible reasons for insomnia include identification
with a parent or someone else close in childhood who had insomnia
and often talked about it. There may be an element of masochism as
a reason, since failure to sleep well is most uncomfortable. Another
fear which may prevent sleep comes when one is subject to night-
mares. Then he fears to fall asleep because he may have another
nightmare.
Self-therapy uncovers the cause. With self-therapy all these
possibilities must be explored and those which apply must be un-
covered and understood. When a fear is consciously recognized and
seen as illogical, it may disappear. An adult realizing how the little

childhood prayer has affected him will see that death and sleep are
not related. It may be necessary to return in memory to the scene in

childhood where a dead person was viewed. If the emotions and ideas
connected with the experience are worked off, their effect is removed.
Of course, suggestion can also be invoked to aid in sleeping. Other
than by removing causes, the best method of ousting insomnia from
one's behavior pattern is by means of autohypnosis. I always try to
teach insomnia patients to be able to use it. On going to bed and being
ready to sleep, hypnosis is induced. The suggestion should then be
Heal your own emotional scars 149

made, 'Within a few moments I will be sound asleep and in a deep,

refreshing sleep. I will sleep soundly and deeply all night." When this
has been done, thoughts should be diverted at once to anything
pleasant, avoiding the thought of sleep completely. The phrase "within
a few moments'* or the alternative word "soon" is indefinite. It may

be two or three minutes or fifteen or twenty or more. This allows

time for the suggestion to be put into effect and the subconscious to
bring sleep. Continuing to think about it blocks one, for doubt is

apt to enter. The more certain one can be of accomphshing sleep by

this method, the more sure success will follow.
Since anticipation and fear that one will not go to sleep play a
part, another helpful change of view would be to tell yourself diat
lying awake is merely uncomfortable and annoying and there is no
danger involved. "What
do lie awake for a while? I can rest,
if I

nevertheless. What if it takes an hour or two before I drop off? So

what? I really do not care. Til fall asleep after a while." Such thoughts
remove the effect of doubt and anticipation. When you do not care if
you fall now or a bit later, and do not try, you will slip off
asleep
very quickly. The law of reversed effect is thrown out of gear.
Realizing that you do sleep, though not as much or as well as you
would and that it does not affect your health, will remove some
like,

of the fear and make it easier to entertain thoughts like the above.

SHE couldn't stay asleep! One of my patients, Marjorie we will

was a fine example of the person who has no trouble going to
call her,

sleep but soon awakens and can't get back to sleep for a long time.
She managed to sleep several hours each night but much of it was
after her husband rose at six each morning. She slept well until about
nine after this, except on weekends when he did not go to work.
Marjorie's five or six hours of sleep seemed to be enough in that
she felt well and was in excellent health. But she complained of
how unpleasant it was to lie awake for hours during the night. Her
husband went to bed early, but she liked to read or watch television
until late. She went to sleep then very promptly but in an hour or
two or a bit more she would awaken and toss the rest of the night
until nearly morning.
She admitted that she found her mind very active at these times
and worried a great deal about problems. In order to break this habil
she was told she must exaggerate it. Before going to bed each nighl
150 Heal your own emotional scars

she was to write out a list of the things she could worry most about
and when she woke up to take each one and really worry as much
as she could. One of the best ways to break any habit is to exaggerate
it and do it intentionally. After a night or two of intentional concen-

trated worrying she found it harder and harder to do and it began to

seem quite ridiculous.
In order to locate other causes she was questioned with the
pendulum answering:
Q. Is there some other cause or causes for your awakening during the
night? A. Yes (pendulum).

Q. Is there more than one other cause? A. Yes.

Q. Are there more than two other causes? A. No.

Q. Are you punishing yourself by staying awake — is it most unpleasant
for you? A. No.
Q. Is some fear causing you to wake up? A. Yes.

Q. Are you afraid of nightmares — ^bad dreams? A. No.

Q. Are you afraid you might die during your sleep? A. Yes.

Q. There is some reason for such a fear. Did you have some relative
die while you were a child and were you told shehad "gone to sleep?**
A. (Verbally) Yes, I remember my Grandmother's funeral. Iwas six
years old. I was scared when I had to look at her in her coffin, and they
said she was asleep.
Q. Has that childhood experience a bearing on your waking up? A.
Yes.

Q. Is there any other fear working to make you wake up? A. No.
Q, Is there some other motive causing you to awaken? A. Yes.

Q. Is it all right for you to know what it is? A. Yes.

Q. Does it serve some purpose? A. Yes.

Q. Is it connected to some past experience in your life? a. No.

Did one of your parents have insomnia? Are you
Q. identifying with
someone who had insomnia? A. No.

Several other questions were asked without locating the other

reason for her difficulty. Finally she was told thatwhen I counted to

three a sudden thought would pop into her mind as to what this

other cause could be. She then said, "Oh, I know. I guess it is to
Heal your own emotional scars 151

avoid sex. I never have had any pleasure from it. I guess Fm frigid.

I hate to have my husband approach me and he usually does it during

the night. I guess wake up so he won't take me by surprise or so I
I

can be awake and think of some reason to give him to avoid sex."
After a few visits Marjorie was able to lose her frigidity and follow-
ing this her insomnia quickly disappeared.

SUMMARY

Emotionally caused illnesses may be serving as a means of

defense. If this is true,you may have such a strong unconscious
need for the illness that your inner mind may resist any treat-
ment. But resistance can be overcome and the attitude of the
subconscious changed when you uncover the reasons or causes
for the illness. Your aim is not to take away a defense but to
make it unnecessary.
Questioning your subconscious with ideomotor replies to
the questions can uncover the causes. Almost any psychoso-
matic ailment will be found to have at least one, and probably
more, of the seven factors which you have found listed here.

These Seven Keys are:

1. Conflict
2. Motivations
3. Effect of suggestion
4. Organ language
5. Identification

6. Self-punishment
7. Past experiences

Learning those that apply as causes for your particular ailment

will be a main step toward eliminating it.
You have now read as to how depression sometimes occurs.
Mild depression can usually be overcome by learning the
reasons for it. If you are very greatly depressed, avoid any self-
treatment, for you definitely need psychiatric help.
This chapter will have shown you how you can probably
overcome insomnia, if it is one of your troubles, through self-
hypnosis. You should inquire with the questioning technique
as to the causes. Sometimes insomnia is a very deep-seated
neurotic symptom and self-treatment may not be enough to end
it. However, most people with this annoying difficulty can end
152 Heal your own emotional scars

it by learning self-hypnosis, then inducing it when ready to go

to sleep and, with a suggestion of dropping off to sleep "within
a few moments/* will find that the habit can quickly be
broken.
 (Skaf}iev 12

EVERYONE is subject at times to

fearswhich would not be classed as
neurotic and for which there are logical,
protective reasons. Anxiety or fear with-
out some definite ground for it is pro-
tective, as are phobias, but they are also
neurotic symptoms. If you should in-
quire among your circle of friends and
acquaintances you'll find most will admit
to some phobia, major or minor.
One of the most common phobias is

acrophobia, a dread of high places. Psy-

Fears

and Phobias

Can Be Conquered

chology has a long list of scientific terms

for various abnormal fears: claustropho-
bia (fear of confined places), agoraphobia
(fear of open spaces), zoophobia (fear
of animals), hydrophobia (dread of
water). There are many others, these
given here being the ones most commonly
experienced. A phobia could be defined as
a strong, abnormal fear of something.
A phobia is always an unreasonable
fear or it could not be classed as a
phobia. For instance, there an almost
is

instinctive dislike of snakes because some

snakes are poisonous and dangerous and
snakes should therefore be avoided. The
garden of Eden story may intensify the

153
154 Fears and 'phohias can he conquered

distaste for snakes. But if any snake, even one recognized as harmless,

causes a panic reaction or a great fear, it is phobic. The matter of de-

gree is important. Even a picture of a snake could then cause panic.
How phobias develop. Sometimes a neurotic fear of something is

a displacement. Something is feared but the thought is so repugnant

that the fear is transferred to something else, thus displacing it. It is

projected onto the substitute. There is an unreasonable fear of the

other object or situation, more often a situation. Such phobias are
rare.

More often a phobia is a conditioned reflex set up by some past

frightening experience, or a series of similar incidents. These mosdy
occur in childhood but can come from events in later life. Children
in play sometimes will shut a younger child in a dark closet or chest
or some other small enclosed place. If left alone in such a place the
child vi^ill quickly become frightened and perhaps will panic. Near
suffocation might happen. It is surprising how often thoughtless
parents or relatives will shut a child in a dark closet as a punishment,
perhaps leaving him there for some time. Not only claustrophobia
but fear of the dark can be generated by such an experience.
Any very frightening experience may lead to a phobia persisting
in later life. Near drowning may promote a fear of water. At four
years of age my daughter loved to be taken into a swimming pool,
though she had not yet learned to swim. One day at the beach, a
much older friend led her into shallow water. An unusually large
breaker swept her off her feet and rolled her over and over. She
swallowed water, choked and became very frightened. Thereafter she
cried and refused to go into a pool or to the beach.

Two years later she was old enough to be hypnotized and treated
for her phobia. I then regressed her to the beach experience, leading
her through it several times, although she cried and objected. But
this removed her fears. When she related the story the last time, she
even laughed in telling how her friend was also upset by the wave.
She quickly learned to swim and to enjoy going in the water again.
Without this measure she undoubtedly would have suffered from a
fear of water the rest of her life.

Ridding yourself of a phobia* In dealing with a phobia by self-

treatment, results are usually readily obtained. (This would not be
true in the case of a displaced phobia, but these are not at all com-
mon.') Uncovering any episode or episodes which fostered the phobia
Fears and ^hohias can he conquered 155

is the main goal. There must also be a discharge of all the emotion
tied up with the incident. Merely remembering it is not enough. A
psychotherapist would take a patient through the experience again and
again. Fear is very stronglyfelt the first time. Going through it again

there is still much emotion but it is less intense. A number of reviews

may be needed before all fear is discharged, but each time less is

shown. Finally none at all is displayed. Going through the experience

three or four times is usually enough, but sometimes more reviews
are necessary.
Only by discharging all the emotion is the phobia eliminated.
This process is desensitization. Technically, the discharge of the emo-
tion in psychological jargon is called a catharsis; reactions to the
emotion are called ahreaction. Events which cause a phobia are
excitory. Catharsisby recalling the event is inhibitory.
Uncovering the frightening event. In self-therapy it is possible
to take oneself back through the frightening event with the use of
hypnosis. First, the incident must be located, either from conscious
memory of it, or if it has been forgotten and repressed, by the use of
ideomotor responses to questions.
Before trying to recall or regress to the event, the question should
always be asked, "Is it all right for me to go back through this ex-
perience?" The answer rarely would be negative. If it is, you can prob-
ably get an affirmative answer at some later time. A negative reply
would indicate that the experience was too traumatic to be borne at
the moment.
The inhibitory principle can be applied in other situations where
fear is present. Dr. Joseph Wolpe has advocated an excellent method
of working through fears and phobias and eliminating them in his
book Psychotherapy hy Reciprocal Inhihition*
Dr. Wolpe asks a patient to write out a list of everything which
is frightening, disturbing, or embarrassing to him in any way, omitting
situations which would frighten anyone, such as being attacked. The
patient then is to rewrite the list placing the worst things at the head
of the list, and working on down to the least threatening, in order of
importance.
Desensitizing yourself to disturbing situations. Sessions with
* Adapted from Psychothera'py hy Reci'procal Inhibition, by Joseph Wolpe, M.D.,
with the permission of the publishers, Stanford University Press. © 1958 by the
Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University.
156 Fears and phohias can be conquered

the patient tnen aim to desensitize him to these disturbing situations.

Dr. Wolpe teaches him first to relax as much as possible, then the
patient is hypnotized, (though this is not essential) and under hyp-
nosis is asked to visualize a scene. The type of scene selected is to be
one of the least disturbing situations on the patient^s hst. It is im-

portant to begin at the bottom of the list rather than the top because
strong resistance would be encountered then. There will be none
over a minor matter.
Several minor disturbing scenes are visualized, taking only a
few seconds for each. One of his patients felt minor fear over
funerals. He was asked to see a funeral procession from a distance of
200 yards, then to see an empty hearse close up, then a scene at a
grave with the coffin taken from the hearse and lowered into the grave.
Each scene was repeated several times, and each time the reaction was
less. Finally the mild fear about funerals was erased.
In furtlier sessions more disturbing matters are visualized in the
same way. Later the seriously upsetting ones are handled and the
patient becomes desensitized to all. Reactions to them have become in-
hibited.
Wolpe states that relaxation during this process is essential and
no progress made without it. There are results without hypnosis
is

but they are much slower. When working through the patient's list,
sometimes more situations will be remembered and added to the list.

In self-therapy this technique can be used to overcome fears and

phobias. However phobias are best handled by locating their causes
and recalling the experience or experiences which generated them,
discharging the accompanying emotions. Usually, questioning the sub-
conscious to locate the experience and find its nature is easy. In some
of the case histories given later are examples of questioning which
will show the type more than one ex-
of questions to be asked. If
perience is involved, the earliest one in your life should be dealt with
first. If one is first located and you have regressed to it and worked

off the emotion tied up with it, always ask with the questioning if

there is another. Then find it and deal with it.

How to deal with resistance. When there is resistance met with

and you cannot seem to bring out the incident you are seeking,
Wolpe s method may be used, dealing with minor matters. When you
have been desensitized to minor fears, you probably will find that you
can then reach the experience which has produced the phobia.

'M
Fears and 'phobias can ie conquered 157

A way of temporarily overcoming a fear and eventually ending it

isby invoking a stronger emotion when fear is actually being felt. If a

person has stage fright or becomes afraid when speaking before a
group, he will speak only when he has some motive to do so which is
stronger than the fear. A would
student called on to recite in class
have the motivation of passing the course. This probably would be
strong enough to enable him to speak despite his fear. There would
also be the desire to avoid embarrassment. As he continued to speak,
his fear would lessen or disappear after a time. With repetition of such
a situation, the fear would be less each time at the start, and eventually
would be ended. But a better method of therapy would be to learn the
reasons behind the fear of speaking in public.
It should be noted that Wolpe's method is based on the use of
visual imagery. There is also the indirect suggestion that this method
will bring results and rid one of his fears.
Phobias mainly develop from past experiences, sometimes from
conflicts, and possibly from suggestions where a child is taught to be
afraid of something. If a parent is phobic about some situation, the
child may pick it up from the parent, partly from identification and
partly from suggestion, in that if the parent is afraid, then the situation
isdangerous and the child should be afraid. Always there is confused,
wrong thinking in interpreting the situation and it is regarded as dan-
gerous.

A PHOBIA AS TO FLYING. Phobias Can develop in adult life as well as in

childhood. At one of the Hypnosis Symposiums where professional
men are taught the uses of hypnosis, one of the attending physicians
was used as a demonstration subject to show how the causes of a
phobia could be uncovered.
Dr. Johnson stated that he had been a combat pilot during the last

war, had had had survived and had enjoyed flying.

several missions but
Once he had almost been down but had managed to land his
shot
plane safely. After his discharge from the service he had not had any oc-
casion to fly for some time but in taking a commercial flight had become
panic stricken in the plane. Since then he had not been able to enter a
plane and did not understand this fear after having been a pilot himself.
Significandy, as it after developed, he termed his condition claustro-
—
phobia the fear of being in an enclosed place.
By ideomotor an^v^ers to questions it was brought out that a past
158 Fears and ^hohias can he conquered

experience which had been frightening was the basis for the phobia.
This was quickly located. It was not a repressed memory. Under hyp-
nosis he was regressed to the experience and taken through it four
times.
After the war ended he was ordered to
fly from a Texas airfield to

Seattle where he was to be discharged from the Air Force. His

squadron was to make the flight under the command of a major, Dr.
Johnson being a captain. While flying over Idaho a bad thunderstorm
was met with. The other members of the squadron wanted to fly
around the storm but the major ordered them to fly through it as gas
was low and they would have had to go some distance to pass around it.
The storm w^as much worse than expected. The planes lost con-
tact with each other. Lightning was flashing continuously and Dr.
Johnson feared it might hit his plane. He was buffeted terrifically, was
finally caught in a great downdraft and as he came out of it one of the

wings of the plane developed a bad vibration. Finally he lost all con-
trol of and parachuted to the ground, being badly tossed
the plane
around on the way down. Later he found that two other pilots had had
to bail out. One pilot had been killed when his plane crashed into a
mountainside.
After being rescued and proceeding to Seattle by train. Dr. Johnson
had been discharged without ever flying again. He had never thought
of this experience as having anything to do with the phobia; however,
questioning showed that was the main cause, and his earlier experi-
it

ence in almost bemg down, a secondary cause. While being re-

shot
gressed to the experience he showed great fear and emotion but after
going through it several times remarked that he felt greatly relieved.
A few months later Dr. Johnson wrote that he had bought a plane,
obtained a private license and was enjoying flying again.
The doctor had not repressed this memory but had never connected
the experience with his fear of flying. To avoid thinking about it he
had decided that his problem was claustrophobia, but he actually had
no fear in other places where he was shut in. This is rather typical of
how the subconscious will avoid something very unpleasant and fright-
ening and will rationalize to direct attention away from it. Although it
was not brought out in the limited demonstration time, I would think
it probable that some other frightening experience may have also been

—
concerned as a cause such as having been dropped while a baby. If
so, apparently enough was accomplished to end the phobia by bringing
Fears and ^hohias can loe conquered 159

out the precipitating cause. My suspicion as to this is based on the fact

that phobias usually relate to some childhood experience.

SUMMARY

Fears may be quite normal, but sometimes are abnormal

and when extreme and irrational are phobic. Dr. Wolpe's
method of desensitizing can be accomplished readily with self-
treatment and is better applied to fears rather than phobias.
You are quite likely to be the uncomfortable possessor of some
phobia, for they are common. Most are not too disabling; the
situations where they develop can often be avoided. Some may
be extremely annoying and handicapping. If you have claus-
trophobia and cannot enter an elevator, you will do much
stair climbing. Their development is usually related to some

childhood fright, often with other related experiences.

Phobias are often easily overcome with the methods given
you here. Locate the causes by your questioning technique.
With self-hypnosis regress yourself and go through the ex-
perience several times until you have worked off the emotion
tied up with it. This desensitizes you and you should lose your
phobia. Always remember before regressing yourself to ask
your subconscious if it is all right for you go back to it.
to
It is seldom that an experience is it cannot
so horrible that
be home, but such is possible. Probably you would not be able
to reach it, in this case, but such a question is a safeguard
which should be utilized. Most fears and phobias can be
handled with self-treatment but a phobia might be too deep-
seated and professional help would be needed.
 Gliaf^ler 13

EMOTIONAL and psychological fac-

tors can produce a wide variety of
ailments. Here we can only consider
some of the more common ones. It is not
always clear why the same factors may
bring on an illness affecting the skin in
one person, the digestive tract in another,
a respiratory condition in someone else,

and so forth. Let^s take a look at one of

the most common situations — over-
weight. It is not to be classed as an ill-

ness, but usually is an emotionally caused

condition.

Keep Slim

and Youthful

Without Dieting

That extra poundage. The problem

of overweight is usually one of over-
eating. In all cases, combinations of rea-
sons and motives will be found to be
present. Ovenveight may be a matter of
only a few pounds or, with the grossly
obese person, as much as a hundred or
more. Usually a few pounds are easily
shed, once the decision is made to re-
duce; excessive overweight is something
else again and may be a deep-seated neu-
rotic problem requiring therapy.
On the physical side, there may be a
glandular condition which should have
medical treatment. Physicians have said

161
162 Keep slim and youthful without dieting

that glandular malfunction is a cause in only about two percent of over-

weight cases. More recently, indications are such that this is thought to
be much too small a percentage, A glandular condition may exist, too,

as the cart, not the horse, in that it follows from the overweight.
To be rid of a few pounds may safely be undertaken with no need
for medical treatment, using any sensible diet, plus autosuggestion, and
applying plenty of determination to the process. Here in this chapter
we are concerned with the individual who has much weight to lose.
Diet will sometimes bring loss of weight to the desired extent even
if neurotic factors have brought on the overweight condition. If treated
by a physician, the patient is given anti-appetite pills, possibly a
diuretic drug to remove excess liquids, is put on a strict protein diet and
is told to use self-discipline in eating. The diet is supposed to be low

in calories. In most cases the patient loses for a while, then stops diet-
ing and returns quickly to the former weight. If dieting is continued
and there is a real loss of weight, a year later the patient is probably
back to the same overweight condition. Very seldom is the loss of
weight maintained, and frustration usually results. The reason is that
the symptom is treated, not its causes. Removal of the reasons for over-
eating is an essential part of any successful treatment.
With the goal of considerable weight loss by self-therapy, you
should be under the care of a physician for advice as to the rate of
reduction which is safe for you as an individual. He can give you some
anti-appetite pills which may help at first. One part of your job is to
learn the reasons why you overeat. With elimination of this need, the

excess weight will come off, though changing your eating habits is

another indispensable part of your program.

Why do people overeat? The causes or reasons for overeating
vary in individuals but some are invariably present in all cases. Eating
tends to be compulsive and is not to be controlled by will power and
self-discipline. Overweight people often say they seem to have no will
power. It is not lacking. It simply is not strong enough.
In the development of obesity, the earliest cause for overeating
goes back to infancy. When
an infant is uncomfortable it usually is
hungry. Feeding brings comfort and the baby feels good again. Eating
is then subconsciously associated with feeling good. The conditioning
of the child is like Pavlov's dog. With the dog the bell was associated
with food. The infant associates food with feeling better.
When an obese person is upset, he heads for the refrigerator. "If I
Keep slim and youthful without dieting 163

eat m feel better." Such a thought is not conscious but the inner mind
compels such action.
We find the same or a similar association in the case of smokers. To
a child, sucking the thumb gives oral satisfaction. The smoker substi-

tutes a cigarette for the thumb. The motive or need in smoking is

exactly the same as with the thumbsucking child. The smoker believes
smoking vdll relieve nervous tension, will quiet his nerves. Temporar-
ily it may, but nicotine increases nervous tension thereafter. Soon an-
other cigarette is needed.
Considering our seven most frequen*- causative elements in con-
nection with excess weight, we take motivation first. What purpose
does it serve? If a woman dislikes sex, she may unconsciously make
herself sexually unattractive to her husband or to men in general
(frigidity). Then she can escape from the sexual situation. On the
other hand, if deprived of normal sexual satisfaction, a woman with
normal sexual feehngs may substitute stomach appetite for sexual ap-
petite.

A compulsive desire for sweets often enters when this is true. Lack
of love as distinguished from sexual love may bring the same result
Parental rejections as a child may turn the child to overeating to make
up for the feeling of being unwanted.
If a parent is overweight, the element of identification may enter.
There may be a hereditary tendency here, but more likely, an uncon-
scious desire to be like a parent.
One of the common causes for overeating is a suggestion picked up
in childhood by the subconscious. "You must eat everything on your
plate.** '*You mustn't waste food." "You can t have your dessert until

you Ve eaten everything." "You must eat to be big and strong." There
may be other similar statements which have been repeated over and
over again. Most children go through stages where there are eating
problems which worry parents. This brings forth such remarks in
concern over the child.
Feelings of inferiority and unworthiness can be a factor in obesity.
The body image of oneself may preclude an attractive appearance. Self-
rejection resultsand perhaps self-punishment
In self-treatment these things must all be explored, with investiga-
tion of any past experiences which may have led to the ideas and emo-
tions which promote overeating. Suggestion is an important part of
treatment
 164 Keep slim and youthful without dieting

You do not have to diet! In reducing it is best to avoid dieting as

such. To the overweight person, diet is a nasty word. He knows all
about diet, has often tried it, and after losing a few pounds has given
it up. The thought of dieting provokes resentment and resentment in
turn brings rebellion. No one likes to diet; it is a nuisance. In self-

treatment, forget diet. You are not going to diet but are instead going
to change your eating patterns.
You have taste buds in your mouth so you will enjoy food, as
nature intends. Some foods are enjoyed more than others, but most
taste good. You can enjoy everything you eat, but concentrate on pro-
tein foodsand avoid the types which are most fattening, such as carbo-
hydrates, animal fats and sweets. According to Dr. Herman Toller
(Calories Dont Count, Simon & Schuster, New York), unsaturated
fats should be used, avoiding the saturated ones (animal fats). He
recommends eating the least possible amount of carbohydrates in con-
trolling weight.

Resentments about diet can be eliminated if you realize that no

one is forcing you to diet or lose weight. If you wish, you could gain
instead, but that is not sensible nor is it what you want. You are go-
ing to reduce because it is the wise thing to do and it is what you desire.
Do not feel that you must never eat a piece of candy nor have a
sweet dessert, but you will indulge only rarely. You are not to deprive
yourself, you merely will change the kinds of foods you eat.

Write out your reasons for wanting to reduce* Motives for

reaching a proper weight are important. It helps to impress this on the
subconscious by writing out your motives. First and foremost should
be the matter of health. All statistics show that the greater the over-
weight, the shorter your life will be. People sometimes eat themselves
into the grave, digging it with a fork. Overweight puts a continual
strain on the body. If you had to carry thirty or forty pounds of weight
in each hand all day, how tired you would become. The body wears
out faster under continued strain.

Another motivation should be personal appearance. Everyone

should try to look one's best with whatever assets in appearance he has.
In some Oriental countries, plumpness in a woman might be consid-
ered an element of beauty, but it is not an ingredient of beauty in
Western countries — ^it is quite the opposite.
Plain, everyday comfort is desirable. The overweight person is far
Kee'p slim and youthful without dieting 165

from comfortable, physically or mentally, and is handicapped in many

ways.
How to change your eating habits. In regard to taste, the obese
individual almost invariably, though unconsciously, bolts his food,
chews but little and hurries through the meal. Take your time when
eating, retain each mouthful longer and chew it so as to get the full
flavor of the food. When you do this, you will find that you seem to
require less.

Most of us tend to eat everything placed on the plate before us.

When eating at home, see that you are served small portions of all
food. If still hungry, you can have seconds, but you will seldom want
them. Restaurants always serve large portions. In dining out alway?
leave a little on the plate. Do not feel that you will offend the hostess
by not eating everything served you when you are a guest.
Eating between meals is a habit of the overweight individual, with
a fourth meal before going to bed. Of course one of the best ways to
cut caloric input is to stop this custom. If really hungry between meals,
which may mean your blood sugar is low, eat something of low calory
count.
The red flag method. An excellent way of reminding yourself not
to snack is to place a piece of red cloth or paper on the door of the
refrigerator, fastening it on with Scotch tape. At any time but meal-
time this is a red danger flag. Let the door stay closed!
While reducing, there is a tendency to note progress by stepping
on the scales each day. This is not recommended. Weigh only every
week, or better, every other week, and always weigh at the same time
of day.
The amount of food absorbed by the body will differ in individuals
if one person eats exactly the same food to the calory as is eaten by
another. One will lose and the other gain. Differences in activity and
exercise would not account for all the disparity. In giving yourself
suggestions about reducing, the subconscious can be told to regulate
absorption so you take in less energy from the food you eat. You are
to absorb only as much as is needed to maintain a weight of twenty-
five pounds less than your actual weight. It is not scientifically certain
if the subconscious can control the rate of food absorption in this way,
but it is a possibility, since control of other body processes by the sub-
conscious can be demonstrated.
When using suggestion in controlling the overeating tendency,
 166 Keep slim and youthful without dieting

—
emphasize your motives. Establish a goal the ultimate weight you
—
wish to attain ^and determine that nothing is to stop you from reach-
ing it. Use visual imagery with your suggestions. If you are aware that
any emotional upset can drive you towards the refrigerator, the ten-
dency can be counteracted. Sometimes in your progress there will be
setbacks, some overeating, and a resultant gain of two or three pounds.
Do not allow a temporary setback to discourage you. You may never
have one, but if you do, regard it as only temporary and continue
towards your goal. When it is reached eventually, you can maintain
proper weight by occasional suggestions and awareness of keeping
appetite controlled.
Other digestive disturbances* Our emotional troubles are often
reflected by disorders in the digestive tract, including peptic ulcers,
nausea, constipation, diarrhea, colitis, gastritis, hemorrhoids, and even
tooth decay. Still other conditions may be psychosomatic. This makes
quite a lengthy list. Fear upsets the functioning of any part of the
tract. When we are frightened, the stomach "knots," the digestive
process halts and, with extreme fear, there may be defecation. Chronic
fears interfere with normal digestion in many ways.
Peptic ulcer is most prevalent in a definite type of person. He tends
to be a worrier, a go-getter, aggressive and competent, having great
responsibilities and facing them adequately. He is often an executive
in high position. Physicians also tend to develop ulcers (cardiac condi-
tions, too, are common with physicians). While the ulcer patient out-
wardly shows these traits and in his business life is adult in behavior,
at home he is probably quite different, very dependent and even in-
fantile in the way he acts.
The A. Winter, M.D., comments (Jhe Origins of Illness
late J.

and Anxiety, Julian Press, New York) on these opposed characteristics.

He makes a comparison, pointing out that the infant takes small fre-
quent feedings as does the ulcer patient. Both are fed milk and soft,
strained foods. Both are petulant and complaining when thwarted in
any way, or when hungry. Sympathy and attention are demanded.
With the ulcer patient there is a conflict between his need to accom-
plish and be adult and also to remain a child.
Nausea and what to do about it One of the ways the subcon-
scious tries to handle anything unpleasant, frightening, or threatening
is to eliminate it from the system. This can be accomplished in the
matter of physical things by vomiting or by bowel movements, diar-
Keef slim and youthful without dieting 187

rhea aiding the latter process. If tainted food is eaten, the stomach re-
jects it in both directions. The subconscious mind may endeavor to do
the same thing with ideas or situations which are objectionable. This
fails, but the effort is The result is chronic nausea or
continued.
chronic diarrhea which may become colitis. Unfortunately, the sub-
conscious can be illogical in its reasoning and pays no attention to end
results. It seems to think if these measures fail at first that continued
effort may succeed.
Marion's case. A young woman some months from
had suffered for
chronic nausea. She was unable to retain food; she had even been
hospitalized three times and fed intravenously, and had lost much
weight from malnutrition. After such a spell in the hospital, her physi-
cian referred her for hypnotherapy as the situation was desperate and
other treatment had failed. At a conscious level she was quite willing to
be hypnotized but resisted unconsciously and could not even enter a
light trance.
She was seen daily for several sessions. Suggestions helped her
retain some food and she began to gain a little weight and feel stronger,
but still had bouts of nausea at times. She had no conscious insight
into the reasons for the condition. With pendulum questioning,
Marion, as we will call her, brought out that there was a past experi-
ence which was the original basis for the illness. Another recent inci-

dent had precipitated it. At

no more could be learned about these
first

events, because of great resistance. Suggestion was impressed on the

subconscious as to the danger in her situation. After a few visits she
was able to bring the causes to consciousness.
Often there seems to be an original cause for a symptom in some
past experience but it lies dormant until a similar, related incident
occurs.This precipitates or activates the symptom. This was so in
Marion s case.
When Marion was fourteen, her father suffered heavy financial
losses and was in great difficulty, with the possibility of having to close
his business. Their home was heavily insured and he remarked one
day that he wished it would bum so he could collect the insurance,
which would save his business.
Marion heard the remark. With the desire to help her father, she
thought about the matter for a time and decided to act. While her
parents were absent she heaped kerosene-soaked papers in the living
168 Kee'p slim and youthful without dieting

room under the window curtains and set them on fire. She ran out,

closing the doors, as the room blazed up. Then her conscience made
her think better of the plan so she ran next door and called the fire
department. Fire trucks quickly arrived and put out the fire with no
great damage.
Marion had forgotten her little pet dog when she set the fire, not
noticing it asleep in the living room. Smoke and lack of oxygen suffo-
cated the dog. Marion*s heart was broken and on seeing the dead pet,
she vomited. Her guilt was extreme —she had killed her pet. She was
afraid to confess to her parents.
—
The precipitating cause the bell for her conditioned reflex was —
when her husband bought a dog and brought it home. It was the same
breed as the pet she felt she had destroyed. Marion became hysterical
and vomited again. The nausea became chronic, triggered by seeing
the dog daily. She also was trying to eliminate from her system the
unpleasant memory and the guilt feelings over her childish act of set-
ting fire to her home.
When the girl understood the reasons for her condition, discussion
assuaged her guilt feelings somewhat. It was suggested that she tell
her parents about her original experience, on the basis of confession
being good for the soul. She was told she had punished herself enough
for a childhood wrong. Her plan had failed in that only enough in-

surance had been collected to repair the house. Marion's husband was
financially well off and when told of the situation volunteered to re-

imburse the insurance company the amount paid, some $1000. This
helped relieve Marion's guilt still more and her nausea was ended.

Constipation, Like that of sleeping pills, the sale of laxatives and

mineral oil is enormous. Constipation plagues millions of people. It

becomes a habit and sluggish bowels must continually be stimulated.

The reasons for development of the habit frequently go back to child-
hood and the period of toilet training. One of the ways a child can
resist a demanding mother without being punished is through with-
holding when placed on the pot. Mother urges and is upset when the
child does not comply. It is a safe way of thumbing the nose at mama.
A later bowel movement in the diaper is also a way of thwarting or
getting even with mother, giving her unpleasant work to do. The habit
of withholding is set up and continues perhaps throughout life.

A different kind of need to withhold may also be present which is

Keep slim and youthful without dieting 169

related to miserliness. Psychoanalysts believe the feces are uncon-

sciously associated with money. Insecurity and financial fears can then
cause withholding of the feces, just as the miser or person who is

"tight" with money holds on to it. There is even a relationship here in

the word tight.
Withholding as to the bowels and the accompanying tightening of
the rectal muscles can also result in the formation of hemorrhoids.
Tension over other emotional matters also is evidenced by tightening
of the rectum. This condition often becomes aggravated following a
period of great stress or emotional upset. Surgery may become neces-
sary.

SUMMARY

If overweight is a problem with you, and if you wish to

reduce, your first step should be to learn the subconscious
factors causing the condition. This can be done with ideomotor
questioning and then you can begin a program of reduction by
following out the means described here. The problem is over-
eating, the overweight resulting. You do not need to diet or
count although you must change some of your eating
calories,

habits and patterns.

Stomach ulcers, nausea, constipation and other digestive
tract ailments have been discussed and if any of these conditions
are present with you, you should be able to overcome them
with self-treatment. Of course you may require medical treat-
ment also.
 Gkaf,ler 14

MEDICAL reports state that mo^«5

than three million people in this
country suffer from migraine, mostly
women. Chronic headache of other types
is probably even more frequent. Of course

almost anyone can have an occasional

mild headache. Since headache in one
form or another is such a common matter^
we should deal with it here. The symp
toms are described here so there can be a
better understanding of their causes.
Migraine is one condition where it

Never SuflFer

From Headaches Again!

seems that a certain type of person may

develop the There are exceptions,
illness.

but the woman sufferer from migraine

tends to be small, petite and with a good
build. The male type is almost the oppo-
site, big, strong and husky —
the football
player type. On the psychological side,
both sexes are perfectionists and both are
outwardly non-aggressive to an extreme
degree.
Migraine is marked by violent head-
aches experienced on one side only as a
rule, with the eyeball on that side becom-
ing painful and sometimes protruding.
Vision is affected by this. Accompanying
the headache will be nausea and vomit-

171
172 Never suffer from headaches againl

ing, sometimes diarrhea. At times migraine has been called "sick head-
ache." Prior to the onset, a kind of visual aura is noticed.
The headaches sometimes seem to follow a pattern and come on
certain days of the week or after a definite interval of time. This is not
always true and they may come only rarely or every few days. With
women, they often accompany menstruation. The extreme pain of the
headache, together with the stomach upset, is often incapacitating and
the sufferer goes to bed in a darkened room, quite unable to function.
The why of these headaches. There are several common denomi-
The victim is outwardly placid,
nators in almost every case of migraine.
even-tempered, and non-aggressive as well as being a perfectionist. In-
wardly things are different! Since women are much more likely to have
migraine than men, we will use the feminine form here. The woman
with migraine is full of unrecognized, bottled-up hostility, rage, frus-
tration and resentment which cannot be expressed or even admitted to.
These are looked on as unacceptable emotions which should not be
felt and must be suppressed. A comparison might be made to a steam

engine. When too much pressure develops, it blows off through a safety
valve. With migraine, the headache seems to be the safety valve.
When these emotions build up, the headache comes.
Because these emotions are unacceptable and intolerable, guilt
feelings over them bring a need for self-punishment. The headaches
serve this unconscious purpose admirably. They are most painful and
distressing. Other sources of guilt may also be present calling for self-
punishment. When the headaches accompany menstruation and pos-
sibly in other situations, guilt due to sexual inhibitions may be in-

volved. However there is also a physical part here, with endocrinal

changes during the period.
The perfectionist must do everything just so. Clothes must be hung
up in their place; shoes arranged neatly. A few dirty dishes in the
sink is unthinkable. Ash trays must be emptied as soon as soiled.
Furniture must always be in its designated place. Cleanliness is essen-
tial. Otherwise she feels uneasy and uncomfortable and she is com-
pelled to make the end the disorder. A pic-
necessary adjustments to
ture hanging unevenly must be straightened at once. The emotions of
frustration and resentment toward anyone (usually the husband) who
upsets the perfect arrangement of things are additional factors promot-
ing the headaches.
A migraine patient usually denies the existence of these emotions.
Never suffer from headaches againl 173

It does little good for a therapist to point out these factors to the pa-
tient, but she can be led more subtly to a realization of these facts. She
will say she does get angry at times, and she well may, with extreme
cause for anger, but it is a rare occurrence. She cannot admit to feelings
of rage and hostility, for these emotions are wicked.
There are drugs which at times control migraine, but they may
only modify the headache and rarely are completely effective. They
should be taken when the first advance symptoms show up, for the per-
son always knows they are beginning, unless they start during the
night. Often drugs are taken without result. Drugs treat only the
symptom and not its causes.
The migraine patient must be led to see how bottled-up emotions
produce the condition. In my treatment of such a case with hypnosis, I
find it of advantage to the patient to bring about an attack during the
oflBce visit. This can be done by regressing her to a time when she had
a less severe attack. I do not want to subject her to a bad one. When
it appears, I let her feel it for afew moments, then bring her back to
the present, causing it to disappear. This will convince the most skep-
tical patient of the causes being emotional rather than organic. It shows
that the headache can not only be evoked but can also be controlled.
Migraine can be a family characteristic. Migraine seems to run
in families, but it is not certain if heredity plays any role. There may
be some constitutional tendency, however. But a child will pick up
character traits from a parent, perfectionism for instance, and will
identify with the parent. If mother has migraine, dramatization with
the effort to be like her may call for migraine attacks. Perfectionism is

usually taught by parents. Punishment and scolding for showing

temper leads the child to believe that anger and hostility are wicked
emotions which must be stifled.

The migraine patient is invariably overcontrolled. When she can-

not control environment, she feels threatened and panics, but cannot
do anything other han suppress her emotions, due to the compulsion
to control. It is a vicious circle. Hostility is feared for this reason. If
control is lost and aggression shown, there may be dire consequences
with rejection brought on oneself.
Perfectionism is a symptom of insecure feelings about oneself as a
person, bringing on feelings of inferiority which in turn produce
frustrationand rage. Environment must be controlled to feel secure.
But other people are involved in environment and it cannot always be
174 Never suffer from headaches again]

controlled. The migraine sufferer is also neurotically very sensitive. A

disparaging remark will be taken to be aimed at her when there is no
such intention. She will blame herself needlessly for many things,
invoking still more guilt. 'It's all my fault" is her attitude.
How to treat the condition. In treating migraine, whether with
self-help or otherwise, uncovering the causes and changing some of
these atttitudes is imperative. To overcome the perfectionist trend I

sometimes ask, 'If as a child your mother knew that one reason for
your headaches is because of your need to be perfect and to do every-
thing just right, do you think she would demand such behavior from
you?" I urge a break in the pattern. "Go home and mess things up a
bit. Make it a point to leave some dirty dishes in the sink sometimes.
Be up immediately after your husband, if he leaves
sure not to pick
his clothes around. You can keep things clean without having to whisk
away every spot of dust. Modify your perfectionist drive. Do not try to
eliminate it. You can be comfortable if you satisfy only 90 per cent of
this urge, which you can accomplish, rather than to try for 100 per
cent, which can't be done and which then brings frustration and
guilt."

Ways of venting anger and hostility have been described. The

migraine patient should make it a point to recognize that these emo-
tions are normal, not evil ones. When they are stirred up, instead
of suppressing them they should be recognized and discharged. This
must be in some acceptable way. It is more difficult for a woman to
do this than for a man. She should be able, however, to find some
sport or exercise which will serve. Or she can go into her bedroom and
beat on a pillow with her fists. She can express her emotion by talking
about it, and can do it nicely without quarreling.
Self-treatment should include these adjustments. Also, check our
seven basic keys with pendulum answers to questions. If drugs are be
ing taken to control the condition, at first cut down on the dosage as
progress is made, and then gradually end all medication. If migraine
is an accompaniment of menstruation or of premenstrual tension,
diuretics, which will relieve
a physician can prescribe drugs, this and
will serve to remove one cause of the headaches.
some pattern as to the appearance of the headaches,
If there is

there is probably some association to a past experience which is caus-

ing them to appear at that particular time. This can also be explored
by our questioning technique-

m
Never suffer from headaches againl 175

The migraine victim is not likely to want to regress herself to a past

headache since they are dreaded. If they can be ended without this,

the regression should be avoided. Nevertheless, learning that you can

produce and then eliminate one is most helpful.
Other types of headache. Many different conditions can pro-
duce headaches, with either organic or psychological causes involved.
We might class as the "garden varieties" those such as fatigue, eye
strain,and psychological headaches which merely serve as an alibi to
get you out of something you do not wish to do. Headaches may ac-
company colds, influenza, fevers and still other illnesses. As a symptom
they may be a warning, just as other forms of pain call attention to

something wrong. Frequent or chronic headaches call for medical

diagnosis.
When a diagnosis has been made, medical treatment of the condi-
tion may be needed. Even when the cause is organic most headaches
may readily be relieved with hypnotic suggestion. This might not be
true when there is some strong neurotic need for the headache. With
few exceptions, a headache results physiologically from an engorge-
ment of blood in the area. Since the subconscious can control circula-
tion, suggestion can bring subsidence of the congestion and the head-
ache will dwindle away. This is symptom removal, as is taking aspirin,
but it is safe and can end the discomfort.
Self-treatment of the chronic headache. Self-treatment of
chronic headache should be through finding the underlying causes, as
with all psychosomatic ailments. It should not be undertaken until
medical diagnosis has shown that the headaches do not have some
organic cause. For example, would be folly
it to try to end headaches
caused by a brain tumor or some other serious condition.
The seven basic factors should be investigated when self-treatment
is applied. One of the most frequent of these causes found in organ
is

language —the phrase "That's a headache to me" operating to produce

a real one. Any unpleasant situation, experience, or idea may serve to
stimulate this idea and the headache itself. More than one of the
seven keys probably will be implicated. Since headaches are painful,
there may be a self-punishment motive.
When dealing with a headache by suggestion, after hypnotizing
yourself your suggestions might be about as follows: "Within a few
moments my head can begin to clear. The excess blood will begin to
drain back into my body, allowing the congestion in my head to be
176 Never suffer from headaches againl

relieved. The discomfort will soon lessen and soon the headache will
be gone/'
The suggestions should be repeated two or three times. When
they have been given, divert your thoughts, try to become busy at
something so you do not think of the headache.

WHY JOHN D. HAD CHRONIC HEADACHES. John was a forty-three-

year-old house painter who had been afflicted with chronic headaches
for several months. They had increased in frequency and intensity
until they were being experienced three or four times a week, always
beginning during the night. Sometimes they would be so bad that
he would awaken and scream with the pain.
No organic reason could be found for the condition and drugs had
litde or no eflFect. A neurologist recommended a lobotomy operation
(cutting into the brain) as the only means of controlling the pain.
Such an operation often leaves the patient like a zombie or vegetable.
In desperation John was ready to submit to this but the family phy-
sician told him first to see if hypnosis could help.
While which appear at night, these
there are types of headache
had been ruled out. Appearancewas an indication of some
at night
psychological cause, as the neurologist should have known. John was
sure the basis for the headaches was physical but hoped suggestion
could stop them.
During treatment questioning with the pendulum went as follows:

Q. Sometimes our emotions influence our bodies so we have physical

reactions and it is just possible your headaches have some emotional cause.
Your inner mind knows if this is true. Of course it may not be so, but
let's find out. Is there some emotional reason for the headaches? (The

pendulum gave the signal for yes* John seemed surprised and exclaimed
at this, but remarked that it must be so, in view of die answer. This was
acceptance of the idea.)

Q. We can feel guilty about things we do, even about thoughts we

may have. We all do things we regret. Is this a punishment for something?
A. Yes (pendulum).

Q. Do you feel guilty about something?

A. Yes.

Q. Is it about something definite rather than for ideas or general guilt

feelings?
 Nev&r suffer from headaches againl 177

A. Yes,

Q. The headaches began about a year ago. Possibly you feel guilty
about something that happened long ago, or it might have been just
before you first had the headaches. Was it something recent, within the
past three years?

A. Yes.

Q. Was it within two years?

A. Yes,

Q. Was it within a short time before the headaches began?

A. Yes,

Q. Does this have anything to do with sex? (The pendulum moved

diagonally, not in one of the four usual movements. This could mean
perhaps or that the question was not worded so it could be answered
affirmatively or negatively.)

Q. Evidently the question was not clear. Did you do something you
considered sexually immoral?

A. Yes.

Q. Was a woman involved?

A. Yes.

Q. Was it your wife?

A. No.

At this point the patient said his wife had died a few months
before the headaches appeared and he had since remarried. They had
begun shortly after his marriage. This statement was taken as a clue.

Q. Does it have something to do with your present wife?

A. Yes.

Q. Tell me verbally about your wife's death.

John said she had been ill for a long time with cancer of the
cervix and finally died. He had met his present wife about a year
before the first wife's death. They had had an aflFair. He did not feel
good about this but he had been unable to have intercourse with his
wife for some time. He related that he was in love with the other
woman and had married her just six weeks after his wife died. The
parents of the first wife had reproached him for this and he had felt

very guilty about it.

j
178 'Never suffer from headaches againl

Q. Are the headaches a punishment for that?

A. Yes.

Q. You believe in an afterlife. If your former wife knows you are

happy with this girl and are married again, what do you think she would
say about it if she could tell you?

A. She told me I should marry again. She might have thought I

should have waited a little longer, but I think she would have rold me
to go ahead.

Q. Do you think she would want you punished in this way?

A. No (verbal).
Q. Is there any other reason why you have headaches?

A. Yes»

Q. Is it something else calling for self-punishment?

A. No.
Q. Is it related or connected with some experience of your past?

A. No.
Q. Does it have something to do with your environment?

A. Yes.

Q. What is bothering you in your present situation aside from the

headaches?

A. (Verbally) Well, I'm broke. My firsr wife's illness took all the
money I had saved. I make pretty good money painting, but with these
headaches I haven't felt like going to work lots of days. Fm all worn out
from them in the morning. So I've missed a lot of work. The money situa-

tion sure is a headache to me!

Q. Is that why you have real headaches? Is the situation a headache to

you and then you produce a real one?

A. Yes (pendulum).

Organ language was explained to John. He was then hypnotized

and given strong reassurance. He was told his financial situation could
quickly improve with the ending of the headaches. An aflBrmative
answer was then given by his fingers to the question as to whether he
could now be free of the headaches, now that he understood the
reasons for them.
There had been only two sessions with John. A third brought out
NeveT suffer from headaches again! 179

that his first wife had suffered from migraine. His headaches, though
not migraine, were therefore an appropriate punishment for his guilt.
John had not had a headache since his last visit and six months later
was still free from them. The combination of organ language and a
need for self-punishment was the key to the headaches.

SUMMARY

Before attempting self-treatment of headaches a medical

diagnosis certainly should be made, though most types could be
stopped temporarily by hypnotic suggestion. Common sense
calls for knowledge of the possible physical causes.
With migraine, if you are unfortunate enough to be so
afflicted, you may not feel that some of the character traits

described he *. are present with you. Perhaps not all of them

are. Some you probably will realize you are
do apply to you. If
doubtful as to others, question yourself with the pendulum.
You are most likely to doubt whether the remarks about re-
pressed hostility are present in your case. You will almost cer-
do apply to you. Above all, you must learn
tainly find that they
to accept such emotions as normal and not bad, and to find
some acceptable way of venting them.
Withother types of headache self-treatment is not usually
Seek the causes. The garden variety are often easily
difficult.

stopped with hypnotic suggestion. You do not even have to

investigate causes. Chronic ones can also be stopped in this
way but will be permanendy ended when you find the reasons
for them and make some emotional and mental adjustments.
With a litrie study of the cases cited in the various chapters,
you can learn how to ask the necessary questions to locate
causes.
 Gkafyler 15

has been estimated that there are

ITmore than three milhon cases of mi-
graine, about the same number of recog-
nized alcohohcs and as many more un-
recognized. When it comes to sex prob-
lems, it is impossible even to guess at the
number of cases of frigidity, impotence,
homosexuahty, perversion, and sexual in-
hibition.
In the field of gynecology, it probably
would be true to say that most women
are affected at least occasionally with

The Key

to a Happier

Sex Life

female psychological disorders such as

painful or difficult menstruation, infer-
tility, abortion and various other con-
ditions. Space prevents consideration of
more than the most common, but treat-
ment of all would be much along the
same lines.
Dr. Cheek believes that menstrua-
tion difficulties are always psychological
in origin regardless of when they occur
and of whether or not an organic condi-
tion is also present. Menstrual cramps
may stem from several of our seven
factors —self-punishment, identification,
conflict over sex, avoidance of intercourse
as a motive, and especially as a result of
suggestion.

181
182 The key to a hamper sex life

When a girl reaches puberty she often has heard discussion of

the "curse," of how painful it can be, and thus is led to expect
menstruation to be painful. Then that is almost sure to follow. The
same effect of suggestion is found in morning sickness of pregnancy.
When a woman's friends learn she is pregnant, they will inquire,
''Have you had your morning sickness yet?" Most women expect to
have it. While the endocrine system is upset by pregnancy, nausea is

not a normal part of that condition. It is almost unknown in women

of native primitive races. Simpler cases of dysmenorrhea and nausea
can usually be controlled merely by suggestion, coupled with an ex-
planation of the part played by suggestion in bringing on the con-
dition.

THE REASONS FOR RUTH*S PAINFUL MENSTRUATION PERIODS. The

most severe case of menstrual cramps in my experience and that of
the referring physician was Ruth R., 28 years old, married to a man
with an identical twin brother. The physician had resorted to
morphine to stop the pain and she always spent two days in bed at her
periods, suffering gready in spite of the drug.
At a conscious level Ruth remembered hearing of the cramps
before she first menstruated and had had mild pains during each
period. It had become much worse after she grew older. Finger
responses to questions brought out the reasons. Questioning went hke
this:

Q. Is there some other reasons for this condition besides the effect of
expectation and suggestion about it?
A. Yes (finger).

Q. Is there some conflict over sexual relations?

A. No.
Q. Are you identifying vwth someone else who had dysmenorrhea?
A. No.
Q. Is there some past experience, or more than one, associated with
the cramps?

A. Yes.

Q. Is there more than one incident?

A. No.
Q. When did this happen — ^was it before you were fifteen years old?
The hey to a hamper sex life 183

A. No.
Q. Was it before you were m-enty?
A. Ye
Q. Was it between eighteen and twenty?
A. Yes.

Q. Was it when you were eighteen?

A. No.
Q. At nineteen?
A. Yes.

Q. Was it a sexual experience?

A. (Verbally) Yes, I know now what it was. I remember. I had my fii^^t

affair at nineteen. I felt awfully guilty but kept on, as I liked the boy a lot.

About three months after w^e had been going together I missed my period.

I was a week late and was really frantic. I was sure I was caught. One
night I got down on my knees and prayed God to make me menstruate.
I told him I didn^t care how much pain I w^ould have, just let me not
be pregnant.

Next morning she had begun to menstruate. The extremely pain-

ful periods followed from then on. Asked if she really thought a
miracle had happened, she smiled and shook her head. It was pointed
out that she had not actually been pregnant at all and her pact with
God had not been necessary. Then she was asked with finger responses
if she could now be free of the pain when she had her periods — if

she had had enough self-punishment. The finger reply was that she
could.

RUTH —
YEAR LATER. About a year later Ruth made another appoint-
^A

ment. She had had no further difficulty until her last period, which
again had been extremely painful. She was asked if she had done
anything about which she felt guilty, but declared she had not. "I
thought of that," she said, "but couldn't think of anything at all." With
more finger questioning the story w^as different.

Q. Are you punishing yourself again?

A. Yes.

Q. Have you done something you shouldn't?

A. Yes.
184 The key to a happier sex life

Q. Have you been untrue to your husband?

A. No.
Q. Is there something else you feel guilty about?

A. Yes.

Q. Is it about sex?

A. Yes.

Q. Something must have happened. When was it, shortly before your
last period?

A. Yes.

was then suggested that a thought would pop into her mind
It

as to what this was about (she was in hypnosis).

"Oh," she said, *lt must have been my brother-in-law. That^s it!
He has often made passes at me, but I would never have an affair
with him and told him so. One night, though, when my husband and
I were having intercourse I thought it might be interesting to pretend
it was his brother instead, just imagining it. I did and it was quite ex-

citing. I didn't feel guilty about it, because it wasn't real." (This was

rationalizing to soothe her conscience.)

Although consciously not aware of guilt, her subconscious re-

garded this as w^orthy of punishment, hence her cramps had returned.

With insight and a decision to do no more such fantasizing, she had
no more difficulty.

Many other menstrual conditions are on an emotional basis also.

Frequent periods may be a means of escaping from sexual relations.

Cheek had found rejection of femininity involved in sterility, in

habitual miscarriage, vaginal atrophy, vaginitis, and in frigidity.
The frigid woman and the man who can't. In all sex problems
there basically is inhibition, confused and faulty thinking, and fear.

Fear is the great destroyer. It is an emotion intended by nature to pro-

tect and preserve us, but is perverted through false ideas into the exact
opposite. It causes unhappiness, ill health, and even death, instead of
functioning as nature intends. Ridding ourselves of irrational fears is

the main aim of all psychotherapy.

Even today most children are brought up with little or no instruc-

tion about sex. The state of Oregon, I believe, is the only one where
such information is given in the public schools. Parents are usually too
The key to a happer sex life 185

embarrassed and inhibited over sex themselves to explain it to their

children. Never having been told of menstruation, the first period with
its bleeding can be frightening for a girl and many have this ex-

perience. With childhood conditioning that sex is wrong, dirty and

that a girl must not let a boy touch her, it is not surprising to find so
many women frigid. Statistics show about one in three to be partially
or totally frigid.
Sex is so often considered immoral that the meaning of the word
moral, if it is mentioned, means sexual morals. Actually, the word
refers to many other character traits and behaviors and is general rather
than specifically about sex.

With normal curiosity about the body, children wish to know why
the other sex differs physically. Examination and investigation with
another child is likely to meet with severe punishment and threats
from a horrified parent. Sex becomes tabooed and is regarded as evil
and dangerous. Growing up and maturing may bring a conscious
change in thought about sex but to the subconscious mind sex is still
wrong. Marriage makes no difference. Fear has been instilled.
Today in polite society it is permissible at times to speak of sexual
intercourse. A few years ago this would have been a vulgar social error.
However theword masturbation must never be mentioned, even if we
have lost some of our Victorian attitudes. We retain the ostrich atti-
tude toward this subject. It must be ignored as something bad and per-
verted. Guilt over masturbation and mistaken ideas about its effects

are main sources of sex troubles.

SHE BELIEVED SHE WAS CRAZY. A twcnty-onc-ycar-old girl, whom we

will call Helen, visited a psychiatrist. She was greatly disturbed and
nervous. Helen had given up her position as a secretary due to her
emotional condition. She told the psychiatrist that she should be com-
mitted to an institution and asked that he do so. When asked why, she
insisted that she was insane. He tried unsuccessfully to reassure her
and, as he had a full schedule, sent her to me.
Her story soon came out. At the age of ten her mother caught her
masturbating and punished her severely, told her of the evils of
"self-abuse" and took her to their family doctor. Physicians are not
always founts of wisdom and may have false ideas about sex them-
selves. This physician, to whom she gave prestige and regarded as an
authority, told her if she did not stop the practice, *'By the time you are
186 The key to a happier sex life

grown yonll go crazy." This idea is common but has no basis at all in
fact.

Helen had continued to masturbate, having a strong sex drive, but

with great guilt and fear. Now she was twenty-one and grow^n up. The
doctor had said she would go crazy and she had become more and
more disturbed thinking about this. Her disturbance and agitation con-
firmed his statement. She must be crazy.
Explanations correcting the ideas installed in her quickly relieved
her mind. She had had boy friends but had been afraid to have sex
relations or to fall in love and marry. About six months later she
phoned that she had just been married and was quite happy.

Treating sex problems. In treating sex problems it is always ad-

visable to have the patient, whether male or female, obtain one of the
good books about sex and marriage and read it. Any bookstore can
recommend one. With a married couple it is best to take turns reading
such a book aloud to each other and to discuss the information in it.

This helps remove false ideas and inhibitions.

Masturbation is a natural urge when there is no opportunity for
obtaining more normal sexual satisfaction. When unmated in captivity,
any animal, even birds, will masturbate at certain seasons. Of course
they feel no guilt about it. Such guilt is confined to humans and is a
conditioned reflex.

In the animal world also the female is only mterested in sex during
her ovulation period and permits no approach except at that time. With
humans this is not true. Nature obviously intends sex to be enjoyable
for a woman at any time. Fear and inhibitions block the intention of
nature.
Some frigid women dislike the sexual act and submit because they
feel it a marital duty. Others find it mildly enjoyable but never have a
climax. Still others do, but rarely. Some may dream of sex and have an
orgasm but only in dreams.
Men have sexual troubles too. Frequendy the diflBculty is not in
the woman but lies in the ignorance or inhibitions of the husband. The
wife is not actually frigid but is not properly stimulated. In this country
a man likes to imagine himself to be the great lover — ^sexually adept. It

is surprising how few men are good lovers, contrary to their own
opinion.
Often with little or no sex play in advance, the sex act is over in a

m
The hey to a happer sex life 187

moment or two. A woman needs time to become sexually aroused and

with such a situation has no chance to reach a climax. Many men who
are always premature believe this entirely normal and would be
astounded to be told it is a form of impotence. If this is overcome, the
apparently frigid wife can respond normally. Too often the measure of
sexual competency in —
men is frequency quantity rather than quality.
The Casanovas, the Don Juans, the "wolves among men continu- '

ally look for new fields of feminine conquest. They brag of these and
boast of their sexual prowess. Under the surface, with this type, is

doubt and uncertainty of their ability. It is continually necessary to

prove how good they are, without ever satisfying the doubt.
The Kinsey report on sex habits showed that the average length of
time in intercourse in this country is between five and ten minutes. A
similar investigation in France gave the average time as over half an
hour. Apparently it is no myth that Latins are good lovers.
While men in general are less inhibited than women as to sex, they
have had much the same experience in childhood of learning that sex
is wrong and wicked. They may have been told that if masturbation is
practiced they will not be properly capable of intercourse. This idea is
prevalent and has no foundation in fact. Expectancy acts as a sugges-
tion and impotence may follow.
The Freudian theory of a 'castration complex" is sometimes a fac-
tor in impotence. Freudians believe all males and some females go
through a period in childhood where this complex is functioning.
Normally it is lost in growing up but frequendy it persists. The term
castration is hardly correct, for it damage to the sexual
really is a fear of
parts. A boy caught masturbating may be punished and threatened, "If

you ever do that again Til cut it off." Such a remark can well produce
the complex. Other fears of damage through sex relations may be held.
Both men and women tend at times to make a parental figure of
the marriage partner. In marrying men often unconsciously seek a
mother; women seek a father. Unconsciously identifying the spouse
with a parent then makes sex relations incestuous. This is never con-
sciously realized but may be an important matter in either frigidity or
impotence.
Sextuil blocks and their causes. One of my cases was quite un-
usual. It was a young man, husky and athletic, married to a beautiful
girl with plenty of sex appeal. In three years of marriage they had had
intercourse six times. The strange factor in this situation was that the
188 The key to a hamper sex life

husband had strong desires and was physically quite able but rarely
could bring himself to do more than make love a bit He was not im-
potent but completely blocked at having intercourse. Questioning with
the pendulum went like this:

Q. Is there any fear which prevents you from having sex?

A. No.
Q. Is it because you feel sex is dirty and wrong?
A. Yes,

Q. Is there any other reason for the trouble?

A. Yes.

Q. Is it related to some past experience?

A. No.
Q. Do you tend to place your wife in the position of being a mother
to you? Is she a mother figure?
A. Yes.

Here the young man explained that he was raised by an aunt after
his mother died during his infancy. His wife resembled the aunt in
many ways.
Q. In regarding your wife as a substitute mother, does sex then seem
wrong?
A. Yes.

Further questioning with verbal replies as to sex being wrong and

dirty brought out thathe admired the wife gready and respected her.
To him seemed degrading for such a fine person to be subjected to
it

intercourse. He wanted her, but it would soil and debase her. Nice
girls should not be interested in sex. A most unusual situation was pre-
sented here.
With women, rejection of femininity, not necessarily homosexual
in any way, may cause difficulty as to sex. Envy of men's advantages in
this world can block the normal sex drive. If there is strong uncon-
scious resentment of men, or fear of them, frigidity may be a means of
frustrating and thwarting the man, even though he may also be loved.
Fear and resentment may have been aroused through real or fancied
rejections, perhaps first and because of previous love
by the father,
interests which were not returned. Another common source of resent-

ment is seen with an attractive girl who has had to fight oflE the ad-
 The key to a hazier sex life 189

vances ofmen and continual attempts at seduction. Such a woman will

remark, "All men are beasts. Sex is all they want!"
Sometimes in both impotence and frigidity the condition is not
present with a sexual partner other than the mate. Inability is gone
with someone else. Here interpersonal relationships between husband
and wife would be acting as causes. This might include resentments
and perhaps the fact that as we grow older we become sexually less
attractive. There may be less desire with proximity and becoming used

to the mate. With someone else the case is different. In that of a man
with a younger and more beautiful girl than the wife, sexual stimula-
tion would be much greater and impotence would disappear.
The element of expectation and doubt, with the law of reversed
effect again in operation, is a consideration in sexual blocks. When
there has been trouble in the past to achieve an erection or an orgasm,
if the person "tries hard" there will be no result.

How The emotional balance in

to maintain emotional balance.
sexual matters is men and women. Sometimes
very delicate for both
fatigue, worry, or some minor emotional upset may cause diflBculty
which should be only temporary. Few men have failed to have such an
occurrence. Alarm and fright with failure to appreciate the reason
could then subsequently block the sexual impulse. Impotence might
become chronic.
Soon after the last World War a young naval officer was dis-
charged from the service. Although married, during two years in the
South Pacific he had had an affair with a naval nurse and had had
many pangs of conscience over it. He eagerly looked forward to living
with his wife again but on arrival home found himself quite impotent,
to his mortification. He had arrived home after a long trip, tired and
worn out but had felt he should please his wife with intercourse after
his long absence.
Alarmed and worried he consulted a psychologist when he failed
again and again. As the cause was quite superficial, matters were soon
remedied. was explained that his fatigue was a part of his diflBculty
It

on the first night home. Guilt and self-punishment were involved.

While it might have been inadvisable if the wife had not been a well-
adjusted person much in love with him, the young oflBcer was urged
to confess his transgressions to her. After doing so he was forgiven and

thereafter had no further diflBculty.

Old age and sexual vigor. A common belief among men is that

i
190 The key to a hamper sex life

old age brings great loss of sexual vigor. While this is true to some ex-
tent, diminished sexual ability with increasing age is much less than is

believed. If such an effect is expected, it surely will happen, but many

men in their eighties are able to perform well. "It's all in the mind'* is

at least partially true. In one sun^ey as to sex, an eighty-two-year-old

man was queried as to frequency. He replied, "Why every night.
Doesn't everyone?" Undoubtedly he should have a gold medal!
Technique for the impotent male. Unless impotence and frigid-

ity are very deep-seated neurotic manifestations, these conditions are

not difficult to correct with insight into causes. Wolpe offers an excel-
lent technique to be followed by the impotent man. The principle is
such that it should also be effective in frigidity.

With the wife informed of the purpose and her cooperation se-
cured, even though it may be diflBcult for her, the husband is told to
engage in prolonged love-making in bed but with the understanding
that there will be no intercourse. He is to enjoy the sensations aroused
and to become as stimulated as possible but to refrain from consumma-
tion even if able. This amounts to a pact with the subconscious — I can
enjoy sex up to a point but no further. With the idea that the act
itself will not be indulged in, inhibitions are removed to that extent.
When this "exercise" has been carried out a few times and he finds
himself more and more able to proceed, he is told he may. With ac-
complishment, his doubts fade and the ice is broken. With a woman
unable same method should be employed.
to reach a climax, the

Women seldom muscles of the vagina can be

realize that the
consciously controlled and contracted. Dr. Arnold Kegel has found
the teaching of muscular control and its practice during intercourse
will often end frigidity where the causes are superficial.

Homosexuality, sexual perversionsand some other conditions are

unlikely to be helped with self-treatment and hence are not discussed
here. Their treatment should be with a skilled psychotherapist. These
mental ailments can be treated successfully provided the patient wishes
to change. Too often there is no such desire.

SUMMARY

The woman reader of this chapter should now have a better

understanding of the sources of some menstrual disorders. If
you have been bothered with menstrual cramps and no organic
The key to a halter sex life 191

reason for them has been found, you should be rid of them
readily by applying the self-help methods you now have at your
command. Check with questioning if you are responding to
suggestion, and with hypnosis root them out by countersugges-
tions. Tell yourself that you no longer need expect them and

can be free of them in future. Check for guilt feelings about

sex and possible self-punishment.
Any woman with frigidity as a problem would do well to
read one of the various books on successful marriage and sex
life. Overcoming wrong thinking about sex is a most important
part of self-treatment for this condition. You should explore for
possible early childhood experiences abou sex, possible sexual

experiences with other children or even with adults which may

have been repressed from memory. Have you any hidden fears
about sex? Locate what they are —the kind of fear. Realize that

nature intends sexual ebHons to be enjoyable. Search for any

reasons for guilt about t. Has masturbation a part? Does fear of
pregnancy enter the picture?
For the impotent male much the same course should be fol-

lowed. Either sex may be identifying the partner with the

parent of the opposite sex. I think this is apt to be more likely
with men. They often tend unconsciously to make a mother
figure of the wife. One of the strong factors in impotence
is the expectation of difficulty when some impotence has been
displayed. Almost anyone could have difficulty at some time, as
when greatly fatigued, and in some other situations. Guilt over
an affair could call for self-punishment to produce inability.
Most men would be annoyed by such an occurrence but would
realize that it can happen and is unimportant. If greatly alarmed

by it, fear may develop that it will happen again and the expec-
tation is a suggestion that it will. There's that old devil, the law
of reversed effect going into action again! Get rid of the ex-
pectation
—
"so what" can help.
To combat this situation Wolpe* offers a technique which
is excellent. With the cooperation of the wife, who is to be told
the purpose, make love to her but without consummating the
act. Even if you find yourself able and eager, you should hold
ofF. Follow this procedure three or four times or until you
realize that you are quite able to carry out the act satisfactorily.

* Adapted from Psychoihera'py hy Reciprocal InhihHion by Joseph Wolpe, M.D.>

with the permission of the publishers, Stanford University Press. 1958 by the ©
Board o£ Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University.
 K^na^lev 16

OF ments
the many psychosomatic
which the human race is
to
ail-

prone, the common cold is the one most

frequently encountered. The term com'
mon is most appropriate. More man-
hours of labor are lost because of colds
than from any other illness. There are
few, if any, of us who do not have an
occasional cold.
A great deal of research has been
conducted as to colds, with a very small
amount of knowledge resulting. The

Master

Your Emotions

and Overcome Allergies

cold is still a mystery to physicians. Its

symptoms are almost identical with those

of influenza and some other diseases.
This leads to the virus theory as their
cause, and certainly colds may be "catch-
ing." Apparently there are different types
of colds and some may be created by a
virus.

Some of the popular beliefs about

colds have been proved wrong by re-
search. Getting the feet wet, becoming
chilled, being in a draft will not cause a

cold. Though they may if you think they

will! Any highly emotional experience
can produce a cold. When a child be-
comes angry or disturbed, sniffies maj

193
194 Master your emotions and overcome allergies

follow. Perhaps the symptoms are an imitation of crying. Coughing,

draining sinuses, a runny nose, the accumulation of phlegm may all be
an attempt to eject something from the body in the same way as does
nausea. Some colds may serve the purpose of getting us out of some-
thing we dislike to do. A cold can keep a child from school, an adult
from going to a job he dislikes; or it can be an alibi to escape from
some other unpleasant situation.
The cold may be a way of expressing some emotion such as grief or
self-pity. Sinusitis, chronic inflammation of the nose and hay fever all

have similarities in symptomatology and may be the expression of an

emotion.
Psychotherapists sometimes will deal in one session with a patient
entering the office with a bad cold. If unconscious motives and rea-
sons for the cold are uncovered, recovery may take only a very short
time and the patient may leave without a symptom. There could be
no virus at work in this case.

Allergy and its The whole matter of allergy is as mysteri-

causes.
ous as the causes of colds. We may be sensitive to pollen, dust, or almost
anything, even including another person in rare cases. In England a
woman was granted a divorce because she was allergic to her husband
and any contact with him resulted in the appearance of a rash! But
why are we sensitive to some things? Domestic animals can suffer from
allergies as do the humans with whom they are associated, but I have

heard it said that wild animals are never known to have an allergy.

This would indicate that allergic reactions are a product of the stress

of modem living, although the resulting condition is a physical one.

The oft repeated story told to show the psychological factors pres-
ent in allergy is that of the man allergic to roses. Whenever he saw a
rose he would sneeze, his nose would run, his eyes water and an
allergic attack was precipitated. One day he entered a room where

there was a bunch of beautiful roses in a vase, and an attack prompdy

started. It ended quickly when he learned the roses were artificial!

ALLERGIC TO IMAGINARY ROSES. In One of the courscs offered by Hyp-

nosis Symposmms, which are given to teach physicians, dentists and
psychologists how to use hypnosis, one of the instructors undertook to
induce hypnosis in the entire group of those taking the course. He
began by asking the "students to close their eyes and to visualize a
*

vase on a table before them. Then they were told to put an imaginary
yellow rose in the vase, to see it and smell it. One of the physicians
Master your emotions and overcome allergies 195

who was following these instructions promptly began to sneeze, to

gag, and, wiping tears from his eyes, rose hastily and left the room.
A little later he returned and was asked to come to the platform
and be a subject for a demonstration of the treatment of an allergy
such as he had displayed. He commented on his surprise when he
reacted to a purely imaginary yellow rose. The use of the pendulum
in questioning the subconscious was explained and his movements of
the pendulum were established.
Q. There is some reason for your allergic reaction to roses. Is it all right
for you to know what it is?
A. Yes Cpendulum movement).

Q. Are you allergic to all roses?

A. No.
Q. Only to yellow ones?

A. Yes.

Q. In such a condition there probably is an association to some past

experience. Is this true in your case?

A. Yes,

Q. Is there more than one incident involved?

A. No.
Q. How old were you when it happened? Was it before the age of
fifteen?

A. Yes.

Q. Before five years old?

A. No.

Q. Before ten?

A. No.

The age was then found to be at ten through further queries.

Q. Was this a frightening experience?

A. Yes.

Q. Was any other person present?

A. No.

Q. Where did it happen, outdoors rather than indoors?

A. Yes.
196 Master your emotions and overcome allergies

Q. Was it at home?
A. No.
Q. Was it at school?
A. No.

Further questioning located the scene as the farm of his grand-

parents. Dr.N. was then hypnotized and told to return to the experi-
ence. He
had been riding a horse bareback when the animal became
frightened and threw him off into a patch of yellow roses. Thorns had
scratched him badly, mosdy on the face, and he had been frightened
at the bloodand pain. He caught the horse and, as he mounted again,
the horse began to eat some of the roses. Dr. N. picked one himself
and ate the petals, wondering if a rose would taste good since the
animal seemed to like them.
When he reached the farmhouse, a reaction set in and he became
nauseated. He cried and snifHes started. After relating this story, finger
answers to more questions indicated that there was no other reason for
the allergy. Sight of a yellow rose was by association the trigger
mechanism which set off the allergic attack. Roses of other colors had
no such effect. He was then asked if, with understanding of how this
old childhood event had affected him, he could now be free of the
reactions to yellow roses. The answer was that he could.
At this point one of the other physicians in the audience left the
room and came back shortly with a yellow rose he had found in a
flower shop in the building. The allergy victim was asked to smell this,
which he did very gingerly. There was no reaction at all, to his great
relief.

Next morning Dr. N. came to the classand said he had had an

interesting time the night before. For years he had been bothered with
claustrophobia and became panic-stricken when in any confined space
such as a closet or elevator. Intrigued by the demonstration of the day
when he had lost his allergy, he decided that night to see if he could
uncover in the same way the cause of his phobia. With pendulum
answers he questioned his subconscious. In this way he learned of
having been locked in a dark closet at the age of five by an aunt, in
punishment for some act. He had been locked in until he became very
frightened and had screamed until released.
N. had forgotten the incident but recalled it when he learned
Dr.
from the pendulum what was involved. As his allergy had ended with
Master your emotions and overcome allergies 197

insight into its cause, he thought perhaps he would no longer have

his fear of enclosed places. Leaving his hotel room, he rang for the
elevator, of automatic type, and rode it up and down several times

without feeling fear.

The conscious mind may be totally unaware of what is behind an

allergy, a phobia, or other condition. The subconscious part of the
mind knows exactly why it has developed. Sometimes resistances pre-
vent bringing out the causes as quickly as is seen in the cases given
here. Without resistance they are usually located by questioning in a
very short time. They can be found with other methods, such as free
association, but the time needed is far, far longer. A bit of study of the
way questions are asked, as in the cases cited, will show you how to
ask suitable ones in self-treatment.

SHE HAD TO CLEAR HER THROAT CONTINUALLY. Marjorie had always

wanted to be a singer and when younger had studied voice and been
told she would have a career. She was thirty-five when I saw her, bit-
ter and sullen, hating her job. Her career had been ruined when at
twenty-two she developed a need to clear her throat every few minutes.
No organic reason could be found causing this, and no treatment
helped. She continued hacking and clearing her throat. She had never
married.
Marjorie hoped hypnosis could help her. Someone had told her it

might. She expected results in a session or two and angrily said she
could not afford more treatment than that. Not knowing how long it
might take to help her, she was taught how she could explore the
reasons for her condition herself by using the pendulum. Its move-
ments surprised and interested her.
Two weeks later she returned smiling and in an entirely different
mood. Her symptom was gone. She wanted to tell me about it. It was
an interesting story.

Living in the Midwest at the age of twenty-two she was engaged

to a young man whom she loved gready. On a holiday they had gone
canoeing together on a lake. When she tried to change her position in
the canoe it had upset, throwing both of them into the water. She
could not swim and her fiance was not a good swimmer. He managed
with much struggling to pull her to the upturned canoe to which she
held. Then, exhausted, he sank and drowned. She was rescued a few
198 Master your emotions and overcome allergies

moments later by others in a rowboat. She had swallowed much water,

choking and sputtering and coughing.
With her self-questioning she had locatea this experience as the
cause of her throat clearing. Her guilt feelings were strong, believing
her carelessness had caused the death of her fianc^. Because of this
she had never married. Self-punishment also made it necessary for her
to be unable to follow her career as a singer.
She had decided that all this was no longer necessary, talcing an
adult view. She stated that she now intended to marry a man she was
going with, and her symptom had disappeared completely.

Asthma and self-treatment This condition can be chronic and

merely uncomfortable or so severe that the suflFerer can die from in-
ability to breathe during an attack. To the patient, asthma can be most
frightening when he struggles helplessly for breath. Medical treatment
can help the condition —drugs which relax the bronchial spasms, thin
the mucus. Hormones such as cortisone and ACTH also may be effec-
tive. However, drugs treat only the symptom, not the causes.
Difficult breathing in the asthmatic may be on inhaling or when
exhaling. When questioned as to which is his pattern, a patient is

probably unaware of how he acts during an attack. He has to think

about it and note which is involved. If he is watched closely, other
actions and behavior are seen during an attack. Respiration will be at a
fixed rate, certain movements and attitudes are seen. Fear symptoms
appear — ^perspiration, rapid pulse, trembling.

If you are troubled with asthma, you are probably in the care of a
doctor, but self-treatment can certainly be helpful. If you plan this

these side effects should be considered. One way of breaking up the

asthma pattern is that recommended by Dunlap for breaking habits.
While free from an you should go through the movements and
attack,
other actions you have noted as present in an attack. These should be
carefully studied so you know what they are. Try to reproduce them,
all them as much as possible. If this should bring
of them, exaggerating
on an attack, it will be mild and it teaches how one can be produced
intentionally and also how one can be controlled and ended.
Is asthma an allergy? Few asthmatics are able to cry. Questioned
about it, they are surprised to learn this about themselves. Asthma has
been said by psychiatrists to be a suppressed cry. They have also said

that in all asthma cases there is some conflict centering on the victim's
Master your emotions and overcome allergies 199

mother. This goes back to childhood and the suppressing of crying at

that time is involved. Another psychiatric theory is that there has been
something the child wanted to tell his mother but has failed to confess
it, usually some transgression.
In treating asthma, I have aslced the sudden, unexpected question
sometimes, "How old are you?" while the patient is wheezing. Often
the answer has been eight," or some other childhood age,
*
much to the

surprise of the patient. When this happens, it indicates a spontaneous

regression or association to some experience at the stated age. This can
then be investigated further.
The relationship with the mother is shown by child asthmatics
when they are taken from the home environment. At a California sani-
tarium for asthmatic children, most of them recover quickly when they
have become used to the sanitarium situation and are away from the
mother. Returned home, attacks frequently recur. With such child
cases, an entirely different attitude and behavior on the part of the
mother, and also the father, may bring relief.
In defense of the theory that asthma is an allergy, it has been
pointed out that very young babies may have the disease. This is true,

but babies have emotions just as do adults. The asthmatic is expressing

emotions by his condition. He can learn this truth and intentionally
develop other ways of expressing them, venting anger and hostility, as

the migraine patient must learn to do, learning to cry and to avoid the
side reactions and behavior patterns which accompany the attacks.

CASE OF THE ASTHMATIC PSYCHIATRIST. An asthmatic psychiatrfst, Dr.

S., became a patient after he had taken a course in the use of hypnosis

and realized its value in psychotherapy. Although he had had many

hours of psychoanalysis, his asthma still persisted. He was a very good
subject.
Questioning brought out some of the reasons for the condition-
Most, but not all of them, were already known from his analysis. They
followed some of the patterns mentioned here. During his eighth ses-
sion, while in hypnosis, questions were asked and finger replies made
as follows:

Q. You have learned some of the reasons why you have had asthma
ever since childhood. Let's find the original cause, the first experience in
your life which has anything to do with causing the breathing difficulty.
200 Master your emotions and overcome allergies

The very Erst thing. How old were you at the time? Was it before five
vears of age?

A. Yes (with finger movement).

Q. Was it before three?

A. Yes.

Q. Before two?

A. Yes.

Q. Before your nrst birthday?

A. Yes.

Q. Was it before you were six months old?

A. Yes.

Q. Was it before three months of age?

A. Yes.

Q. Before one month?

A. Yes.

Q. Could it have been just after you were bom?

A movement of a fifth finger followed, indicating that the ques-

tion was not clear or too vague.

Q. Did something happen at your birth that has to do with this?

A. Yes (The movement of the finger was repeated several times as

though for emphasis.)

At this point the psychiatrist made the comment, while still in

hypnosis, "That^s certainly strange. No one remembers being born. It*s

ridiculous. My subconscious must be kidding us!**

Q. Was the experience involved frightening?
A. Yes.

Q. Is it all right for you to recall it?

A. Yes.

Q. Is diere in your memory remembrance of being bom?

A. Yes.

The partial type of age regression was now invoked and Dr. S.
was told to go back in time to just before he was born. He told of feel-
Master your emotions and overcome allergies 201

ing wet and cramped and exclaimed at how vivid were his impressions.
Told to go on through the experience of being born, he began show
to

signs of great discomfort. His face became fiery red, he choked and
coughed, gasped that he could not breathe. A moment later he took a
deep breath and said, "The doctor is holding me up by the heels and
he just smacked me on the rear. Now I can breathe!" He seemed much
and the flush began to subside from his face.
relieved
Asked to go through this experience again, his reactions were
much milder. He went through it twice more and then was asked,
Q. Is this difficulty in getting your first breath the origin of your
asthma?

A. Yes.

Q. Now you have learned

that this and know the other things which
are a part of the picture, can you be free of the asthma?

A. Yes.

After being awakened. Dr. S. discussed his experience, saying he

was convinced it had been a real memory and not just a fantasy. He
was much impressed and felt a tremendous relief. He believed his
emotional reaction was such that no fantasy could have produced it to
such a degree. He remarked that psychoanalysis could never bring out
such an early memory. Following this session, Dr. S. had had no
further attacks.
In this situation there was no suggestion made that birth might be
the origin of the asthma. The questioning did not suggest it in any
way, but the patient's subconscious mind brought it out spontaneously
as being the original cause.

The birth experience as original cause. Following this same pro-

cedure the same thing has happened in several other asthma cases seen
in my work. Seven patients with chronic headache have also given the
birth experience as being the original cause. With these, delivery by
means of forceps seemed to be very painful and responsible for a head-
ache at the time of birth.
In my opinion these are actual memories, though scientific proof
would be difficult. If forceps delivery were confirmed by the mother
or the obstetrician, the patient might have been told of this instead of
actually remembering it. Several psychotherapists who use hypnosis
have also found birth to be one of the causes in asthma, headaches and
202 Master your emotions and overcome allergies

also in the rejection of femininity, where the mother has expressed

regret at her baby not being a boy.
A look at allergy. The body may react to allergic stimuli with a
respiratory condition such as asthma, or hay fever, sinusitis, or still

other ailments. An allergy to some food may bring a digestive upset.

The skin may be affected by pollen, dust, or some other stimulus. Like
so many illnesses, allergies seem to result from conditioned reflexes
which have been set up.

Treatment, aside from medical, should include locating the source

of the conditioned reflex and the reasons for the allergic reaction. Al-
most invariably some past experience will be found behind an allergic

digestive disturbance. This may have been when a certain food caused
an upset stomach in childhood. The upset may merely have accom-
panied the eating of the food and not have been the food itself. Being
told some food is not good to eat will act as a suggestion. A few genera-
tions ago no one would eat tomatoes because they were believed to be
poisonous. Eating a tomato with this behef in mind undoubtedly
caused nausea or diarrhea in many people.
The skin. In a former book of mine, Techniques of Hypnotherapy
(Julian Press, New York), a part of the volume consists of articles on
the use of hypnosis in various medical specialties. One is a splendid
article by Dr. Michael J. Scott of Seattle on "Hypnosis in Dermatol-
ogy." This is condensed from a complete book written by him on this

subject.
According to Dr. Scott, many skin conditions arise from emotional
or psychological causes. He cites a long technical list of conditions
where this is a possibility. Causes are similar in all of them, regardless
of the form taken by the skin condition. Sometimes the actual cause is

organic but the ailment is exaggerated because of emotions.

Suggestion may be used to bring rehef, although it does not deal
with causes. Itching can be modified or prevented by suggestion and
healing speeded. For centuries suggestion has been used for the
removal of warts. It may be indirect, as when some ointment or medi-
cine is applied to the warts. With the expectation that it will remove
them, they fade away. With children a wart will usually disappear if

it is "bought'* from the child. He can be told, "You have a wart there.
Perhaps you don't want it You know, I make a collection of warts.
Would you be willing to sell it to me? I'll give you a dime for it." With
the purchase completed, the child is told it is no longer his and he
 —
Master your emotions and overcome allergies 203

cannot have it any longer. Within about two weeks time it will prob-
ably be gone.
Where there is "weeping" in a skin condition, it may be a substi-
tute for crying, just as is true in asthma. The suppressed emotion
causes the skin to break out and "weep.'*
In dermatitis and other forms of skin ailments with itching and
weeping, two factors are frequently present. These are in the nature
of organ language. Both were involved in the following case.

HOW Betty's rash was cleared. A dermatologist asked me to visit

his office and see a patient of his, a seventeen-year-old girl named

Betty. She sufiFered from an extreme case of neurodermatitis, her entire
body covered with a red, weeping, itching rash.
Betty's mother had agreed with reluctance to the use of hypnosis
for her daughter when She wanted to be
the physician mentioned it.

present but was told she must remain in the waiting room. The mother
was obviously domineering, overprotective, and treated the girl like a
small child. Betty was good-looking but dressed in unbecoming clothes,
not such as teen-agers wear, and had on cotton stockings.
She was a good subject and readily went into hypnosis. Told she
could talk without aw^akening, this was said to her in a positive tone
"Something is irritating you. What is it?" Betty sat up and opened her
eyes, though staying in hypnosis, "mother!" she exclaimed, bitterly.

"It's my mother. She treats me like a little girl. I can't do anything

other girls do. I can t dress like them. Look at my clothes, my hair. I've
never had a date. I can only go to parties if my mother is along. It's

mother!"
Betty was encouraged to talk further of her troubles. She told of
being forbidden the use of cosmetics and of other taboos. Organ lan-
guage was explained to her and it was pointed out
was that her skin
the external part of her, exposed to outside influences. Her mother was
irritating her by her actions and so she had brought on an actual skin

irritation. Also she was itching to do things forbidden her. She was

told to substitute in her thinking the word annoyed for irritated, wish-
ing instead of itching. Since she could now understand the sources of
the dermatitis it was suggested that her skin could return to normal,
with a change in her environmental situation which we were sure
could be brought about.
The dermatologist then discussed the situation with the mother.
204 Master your emotions and overcome allergies

She was upset when and her undue re-

told her overprotectiveness
strictions were the reason for the daughter's skin condition. She readily

agreed to change her ways, to accept the girl as almost an adult, to let
her do what other girls her age are allowed to do. Within a month
Betty*s skin was clear and normal.
The organ language noted in this case isuncommon in others.
not
Irritation and way in our language may be main
itching as used in this
factors in skin ailments. There can he many other causes, such as
masochism and identification. Freudians believe itching and the re-

sultant scratching may be a substitute for masturbation, which seems

farfetched, but may be true at times. If allergy is concerned, the rea-

sons behind the allergy should be sought.

SUMMARY

If you are one of those who from any of the condi-

suffer
tions mentioned in should be
this chapter, the case histories
helpful to you in clearing it up. Procedure should be as you
have now leamed. Continue any medical treatment you may be
having, but unfortunately many physicians who deal with these
types of illness are not psychologically oriented and ignore emo-
tional possibilities as causes. A joking remark is often made by
other physicians about dermatology as a medical specialty —the
patient never dies, never gets well, and the doctor never has
night calls to make. Physicians who are aware of the emotional
problems in these ailments, like Dr. Scott, do treat them success-
fully.
One great advantage in using hypnosis with a skin condition
where there is much itching is that it can frequently be used to

control scratching and hypnotic anesthesia can control the itch

ing, itching being a mild form of pain.
 Qiaf^t er 17

PSYCHOSOMATIC problems in-

volving the muscles or bones are as
frequent as those of the respiratory or
digestive tracts but orthopedic specialists
seldom refer such patients for psycho-
therapy, usually being oriented organ-
ically. A slipped disc is much more likely
to be treated surgically than psychologi-
cally.

Dr. Wayne Zimmerman, of Tacoma,

Washington, is one orthopedic surgeon
who is well aware of the part played by

Common Ailments

and How Self-Therapy

Helps You Remedy Them

emotions in this area of body physiology.

As he says, "The mind and the body can-
not be dissected and do not function sep-
arately, one from the other." One of his
interesting cases is described here as be-
ing quite unusual. It shows a way of af-

fecting the subconscious mind which can

sometimes be helpful when resistance is
met with. It is summarized from an
by Dr. Zimmerman, "Hypnosis in
article

Orthopedic Surgery," in my book Techr

niques of Hypnotherapy,
Conscious insight into causes isnH
always necessary. A woman patient
had suffered a shoulder dislocation seven
times within a period of a year. An oper-
205
206 Self-therapy helps you remedy common ailments

ation was finally necessary to correct the condition. A year later bursitis
developed in the shoulder (inflammation of the bursa, with a calcium
deposit), and the bursa was taken out surgically. Later the same
shoulder again troubled her, but no reason for it could be found.
Suspicious of some emotional reason for these recurring shoulder
conditions, Dr Zimmerman resorted to finger movements in answer
to questions. He asked if there was an emotional factor causing the
troubleand the yes finger responded. The next question was, "Is this
something you can discuss?** The no finger moved. Apparently the
matter could not be brought into consciousness. This is a situation most
frustrating to both patient and therapist, blocking progress.
The surgeon then told her to relax completely and to focus on the
problem so she could get it into view. She began to cry and showed
much emotion but did not know why. She could think of no reason.
She was reassured and again asked if the cause could now be described.
The answe- w- again negative.
Dr. Zimmerman then instructed her subconscious mind to concen-
trate and work on the problem. was to be worked out at a subconscious
It

level. In the meantime, the inner part of her mind was to keep the

shoulder comfortable so she could carry on her work. The subconscious

agreed to this, as indicated by a finger reply. No cause of her shoulder
trouble ever came to light but there was no further pain and she could
use her arm normally.
This illustrates an important point. Emotional difficulties are
centered in the subsconscious and it has full knowledge about them.
With proper prodding by suggestion, it can understand and integrate
matters. Its viev^int can be altered without conscious insight ever
being gained. This is in contradiction of the Freudian theory that only
through conscious insight can a condition be remedied. While it cer-

tainly is always best to bring such knowledge to awareness, it is not

essential. This is shown by Dr. Zimmerman's case, also by my own
experience and by that of others. When resistance prevents insight,
this method may succeed in bringing a change. It may fail if the re-
sistance is too strong or if the motivation for a symptom is too great for
the subconscious to give it up.
Arthritis—and what can be done about it Here we have an-
other very common ailment and again one which a medical mystery. is

Organically, the causes are many

possible — or food ^vitamin deficiency,
viruses or bacteria, "focal infection," as from the teeth, glandular dis-

turbance, and still others. Various drugs have been used in treatment,
Self-therapy hel^s you remedy common ailments 207

also bee venom, ultrasonic vibration, and hormones such as cortisone

and ACTH, with hormones sometimes giving good results.

Arthritis in severe cases is exceedingly painful, alway? so to some

degree, with the swelling and rigidity of joints or of the spme. Affect-
ing the knees, the patient may be unable to walk. Sometimes arthritics

are completely incapacitated.

There seems to be something of a character pattern with this

disease. Like migraine victims, arthritics tend to be hostile, resentful

and aggressive, but bottle up these emotions. The personality is often

rigid and inflexible and perhaps this is psychologically reflected in the
rigidity of the joints. The suff^erer has been vigorous and has com-
pulsively driven himself to accomplish.
A possible motive for the illness might be its use as a means of
putting on the brakes to such a drive, through fear of failure or for
other reasons. The condition serves this purpose. There can be a fear
that uncontrolled temper may get one into trouble. Conflict develops
over the desire to hit out at fate, or at particular individuals, mixed
with fear of the result of doing so, and guilt because of such a desire.

Self-punishment is often found to be a factor.

WHY KAREN DEVELOPED ARTHRITIS. Karen was a woman in her late

forties, a European, very intelligent, a university graduate, and single.
She spoke five languages fluendy and came from a former wealthy
family which had lost its money during the last war. During the war
she had worked in the intelligence service of one of our allies, with
nearly a hundred people under her supervision.
Karen came to this country soon after the war and her savings
soon vanished. She was not trained for any work. Finally, in despera-
tion she took a position as wealthy woman. Her employer
maid to a
was an and a most disagreeable person, who could not keep
alcoholic
servants because of her rages and tantrums. Karen was unable to save
money, although fairly well paid, because her father in Europe was ill
and she had to send money home each month.
Some months before I saw her, Karen had developed a bad case of
arthritis in her hands. The finger joints were swollen greatly and
were so painful that she could hardly move her fingers. Her hands
were clawlike; the fingers bent so they could not be straightened. This
interfered with her work.
She had visited several doctors and had had diflFerent kinds of
treatment to no avail. The condition grew worse. She had no thought
208 Self-therapy helps you remedy common ailments

of psychotlierapy, believing the illness purely a physical one, but

hoped hypnosis could control the pain.
Karen was much surprised when pendulum questioning was used
and an affirmative answer was given when she was asked if there was
some emotional cause for the arthritis.
On being encouraged to talk and tell of her history, she described
her work and told of her employer's treatment of the servants, includ-
ing herself. She wanted to leave but could not save enough to quit.
She felt demeaned and resentful at being a servant after having been
raised in wealth.
During one visit, in talking about her employer she exclaimed, *1
hate that woman. I hate her! She's a bitch. Td like to kill her to —
strangle her!'' As she spoke, she lifted her clawlike hand and reached
out as though grasping someone. Then she looked at her hands and
their position. ''Oh!" she gasped. "That's why my hands are so
crippled!"
Desire to kill her hated employer was a horrible thought. For
holding such a wish, self-punishment was called for. Repressing and
burying the emotion, being unable to express her anger, was one cause
of the condition of her hands. It was symbolic —the fingers clutching
at the throat of her employer. Another motive, which she brought out
later, was an unconscious attempt to escape from the situation by mak-
ing her hands crippled so she could not do her work.
Understanding gave her some relief and she felt much less pain

However, her environment was the same and Karen could

after this.
do nothing about it. Not long after this she was taken to Europe by her
employer. While there, the woman flew into a rage at Karen and dis-
charged her, but gave her two months' wages and first-class plane fare
'
ome. By traveling economy class Karen returned with enough money
.0 live on for a time. She finally found a suitable position where her
knowledge of Europe and languages could be useful. By this time her
hands were free from all pain and the swelling of the joints had gone
down considerably. As a boost to her self-respect, the employer tried
to hire her again and apologized.
Other cases of arthritis and bursitis. In other cases of arthritis
and bursitis, repressed rage and the desire to hit out or to kick have
been uncovered. The condition prevents such overt acts of hostility
and also serves as punishment for having them.
As there is a physical involvement in these diseases, psychotherapy
Self-therapy helps you remedy common ailments 209

may not bring relief. A bursa swollen and inflamed from a calcium
deposit may need to have the calcium removed. A rigid spine may not
lose its rigidity or the deposits of calcium be absorbed.
Slipped disc and backache. In a magazine article, the quip was
once made, *The most commonly used labor-saving device is the
backache." It certainly can serve as an excellent alibi and also as a
punishment. Tension may cause the tightening of back muscles and
even be responsible for the slipped disc. This latter condition pre-

sumably comes from lifting too heavy a weight or from an awkward

movement which causes the Remembering how often
disc to protrude.
accidents are subconsciously provoked, one must wonder if the move-
ment which caused the strain or slippage of a disc may have been
intentional at a subconscious level.
With either a man or a woman, such a condition may have as a
motivation the avoidance of sex. Low back pain often has some sexual
problem behind it. Conversely, a motive might be to prevent the en-
joyment of sex when there is a strong inhibition about it.

Torticollis or "wry neck." This is a peculiar condition which phy-

sicians seldom think of as related to emotions. Yet any possible
physical cause is obscure and the few^ cases I have seen were all on a
psychological basis. In torticollis, or wry neck a? it is popularly termed,
the head is turned to one side by a tightening '^f the neck muscles. It
becomes impossible to bring the head to the normal position without
great effort, or it may not be possible to turn it at all. Sometimes it is

bent fonvard and down, rather than turned sideways.

With the neck twisted, the individual must move his eyes or turn
his whole body in order to see in front of him. It is difficult or even
dangerous to drive a car. The muscles become so taut that they are
very painful. If the strain is prolonged, there will be atrophy of the
muscles. Cure therefore is then much more difficult. It is a most un-
comfortable condition. Medical treatment is with drugs to relax the
muscles and with massage. As both treat only the symptom, it usually
persists.

SHE TURNED HIS HEAD. I havc found similar causes in three of the
four cases of torticollis which have come to me. With the first I was
at a loss and used only suggestion under hypnosis in trying to relax
the muscles. It was a complete failure. Some years later a man visited

me, his head twisted to the left almost at right angles. A businessman
210 Self-therapy helps you remedy common ailments

named he had been to several physicians and had had drugs

Kelly,
and massages but his neck was still pulled so his head was to the side.
Without going into details as to the ideomotor responses to ques-
tions, the causes were brought out, Kelly relating much of the story

verball)7. He was married, with a fine wife and several children. He

had employed a most attractive secretary whose desk was at his left in
his office. His business called for much social drinking and he may
have been an alcoholic, although he would not admit it and claimed
he could stop drinking at any time. He had never tried, nor did he
wish to stop.

Due to close association with the secretary, Kelly fell in love with
her,and she returned it. Being of the same religion and both very
conscientious,an affair was unthinkable to them. Their religion for-
bade divorce. After several uncomfortable months with this relation-
ship, they mutually decided that she should obtain another position
and they w^ould see each other no more. Kelly was shaken and emo-
tionally upset, but the decision was carried out as being wise.
When the girl had left, he began to have trouble with his neck,
finding his head turning always toward the left side. The strain be-
came greater and greater, regardless of treatment. Eventually he could
not move his head at all.
Organ language was working in this situation, with phrases I had
never met with before. The girl had "turned his head" (to the left
toward where she sat). He was "looking back" at their innocent affair
with regret. As he also put it, with their decision made, "things took a
'turn.* " Another cause was self-punishment because of guilt over his

mental infidelity.

When Kelly recognized these factors and organ language was ex-
plained, the neck muscles loosened and he could keep his head in the
normal position, to his great relief.At his next visit it was again twisted
to the side. He had been drunk the night before and awakened that
morning with a hangover and his neck turned again.
Questioning showed that this was more punishment for getting —
drunk. With some hypnotic suggestion he could bring the head back
to position and left with it straight.
Kelly rarely became "tight" during the week but every Saturday
he indulged and went to bed drunk. Each Sunday the torticollis was
back and would persist for two or three days. Then for the rest of the
week it would disappear. He seemed then to have had enough punish-

*
Self-therapy helps you remedy common ailments 211

ment for the time being. He realized the situation after the question-
ing, but declared he would not stop drinking. The last I knew his wry
neck was still present intermittently, but he was free from it several
days each week.

SHE HUNG HER HEAD IN SHAME. Wry neck is not a very common con-
dition but the former and the one following are so interesting and
unusual that they are discussed here. The next was a woman in her
mid-thirties. Her head, instead of being turned to the side, was bent
down so far that she was forced to tilt her body back in order to see. It
was very painful to her. Self-punishment and another form of organ
language again proved to be the causes.
She was married and had two children. Neither she nor her hus-
band wanted more but she became pregnant again. He insisted on an
abortion. Soon afterwards the torticollis developed. When I saw her it
had continued for some months; all treatment failed to help.
I had learned something from the previous case and soon brought
out the causes. She felt very guilty over the abortion, to which she had
consented but with many misgivings and much guilt. Now she was
"hanging her head in shame!" Strange what our subconscious minds
can do to us.

SUMMARY

In this chapter you have read of Dr. Zimmerman's case

where he was unable to bring out any emotional cause for his
patient*s shoulder condition but was able to cause her subcon-
scious mind to review matters and evidently change its views
so relief was gained. No conscious insight was developed. In
your self-therapy you may find yourself blocked in some way at
times and can perhaps resort to this technique with success. You
should suggest to your subconscious, in such a situation, that it

go to work on the problem, think it over and realize that for

your betterment the condition should be ended.
While there are many possible physical factors in arthritis, it

may have emotional causes. As it is a painful matter, self-

also
punishment may be involved. Your seven keys should locate
any possible psychological reasons for the condition.
The torticollis cases will give you a better idea of how organ
language can affect you,
 Lykafjier 18

FROM the case histories which have

been described, one might think that
hypnotherapy is quickly and easily ac-

complished. When the causes of a con-

dition are easily reached and the need
or motive for it is not too strong, this may
be true. At times there are failures.
These may be due to strong resistances.
It also may be that our knowledge of the

mind and of illness is just insufficient.

The old admonition, "Know Thy-
self," is of utmost importance, but in

You Have

the Power!

some ways and at times it is diflGcult to

gain the required knowledge. The meth-
ods given here for reaching an under-
standing of our mental processes and of
the effects of emotions will help you to a
better knowledge of yourself. Changes in
thinking patterns, removal of conditioned
reflexes, learning the sources of illnesses

and of behavior all will help you to know

yourself better. Such knowledge is the
real key to happiness and good health.
Excellent progress in self-betterment
may be had even if previous treatment
forany situation or condition has not
been successful or if there is doubt as to
results. At times negative thinking may
213
 —
214 You have the powerl

bring a temporary relapse which could be normal in the course of your

progress. This can be instructive if the reason for the relapse is recog-
nized. Further work will bring more progress. Avoid discouragement if

there is a slip back; realize that it is only temporary.

WHY A SINGER WAS HOARSE. Things do not always go as a therapist

might wish when trying to help a patient. For example, a prominent
male singer was referred to me because he feared he was losing his
voice. For some time he had commanded high fees for his perform-
ances. Now he was badly frightened. When he talked, his voice was
very hoarse. However, his agent said he still sang well and was able to
perform. The singer believed his singing was "lousy" as he put it and
he was much concerned over the situation. A clue was that it had per-
sisted for almost three years. Why had he not sought help before, even

if he now felt it was growing worse?

Richard, as we shall call him, was an excellent hypnotic subject

With finger movements information was brought out. He had been
forced to have a tonsil operation three years before and at that time
had been worried as to how the removal of his tonsils might affect
his voice. I have since been told by physicians that it could not affect
it at all. Something had happened while Richard was unconscious

from the anesthetic during the operation. Some remark had been
made which acted as a suggestion and brought on the hoarseness.
Under hypnosis he regressed to the operation. He told of a mask
being placed over his face and what happened while he was "out."
When the surgeon completed his work he had remarked to a nurse

"Well, that takes care of this damned warbler!" Presumably what

was meant by this was that the operation was over. Richard's sub-
conscious interpreted it another way. Worried beforehand about how
his voice might be affected, this statement confirmed his fear. The
operation would affect his voice badly. On his recovery from the
surgery, the hoarseness appeared and had continued until the present
time
Following was gone. After being awak-
this session the hoarseness

ened he left, feeling happy and relieved, but another appointment was
made in order to investigate further. When he came back a week
later, the hoarseness was present again. He was dispirited and glum.
The While driving to a
reason for the relapse was quickly found.
pertormance, his wife had remarked on how strange it was for the

1
You have the 'jpowerl 215

hoarseness to have ended so suddenly. She had commented, " I can t

beheve you are over it. Ill bet it will come back." It did.

Evidendy Richard was highly suggestible. Again he left with

no hoarseness shown. I heard nothing from him for over a month.
His agent then informed me of the situation. After a few days, Richard
was hoarse again. He felt there was no use continumg treatment.
In studying the situation, it would be logical to suspect other causes
for his relapses. He had found the symptom could be removed, at
least temporarily. He now knew it had a psychological basis. Evidently

some motivation or need for it persisted. Subconsciously he did not

want to lose it and therefore rationalized that further treatment would
do no good. It is a good illustration of how patients sometimes end
treatment or perhaps go from one therapist to another. Consciously he
wanes relief but unconsciously needs to keep his symptom.
Reviewing the ways for selfbetterment Self-knowledge is not
won without effort. The habits and attitudes you have acquired over
many years cannot be changed overnight. Some things can be ac-
complished very quickly and ordinarily the time in self-therapy will
not be long. The aims and purposes you have may be much different
from those of some other reader. For this reason it is impossible to
give specific directions to fit the needs of everyone.
Changing the way you think and handle your emotions may be
all you will desire. Someone else may wish to accomplish this and

also to overcome conflicts and other diflSculties. The reader with a

psychosomatic complaint will want to rid himself of the illness and be
well. Behind all these aims is the desire for happiness and success.
Procedure would be similar for any of these situations though de-
tails will vary. Having read this volume, you have an understanding of

how the subconscious mind functions. You have learned methods of

affecting it to fulfill your goals.
The first step in self-therapy is preparation. Learn to relax, follow-
ing the methods outlined. This will be valuable in many ways. As Dr.
Wolpe pointed out, his patients made far better and faster progress
when they had learned relaxation.
Relaxation will also aid in mastering autohypnosis. After reading
about it, any previously held fears of hypnosis should have been lost.
To repeat what has been said before, autohypnosis will hasten your
progress and make it easier, but it is not essential in using the tech-
niques which have been described
216 You have the ^oxven

Some of the self-help measures given are aimed at helping you

develop confidence in yourself —ego strength—and rid yourself of in-

feriority feelings. If you suffer from stage fright you will wish to over-

come it. In becoming successful, speaking to groups may be necessary.

One of my most interesting patients was the late actress Marilyn
Monroe, who came to me at the suggestion of a mutual doctor friend.
This was some years ago before she became successful. Marilyn had
had several opportunities in motion pictures but when given a part had
'
muflFed" it. The moment she had to speak a line or as soon as the
cameras started to film a scene Marilyn was paralyzed with fear. She
could not speak or move. Although very attractive and showing good
possibilities, no producer could afford to use a person with such stage
fright.

This invariably comes from a lack of confidence, and feelings of

inferiority. Sometimes there is some childhood ex-
also an association to

perience such as a school play or performance of some kind where the

person forgot lines or was frightened.
These things were all true with Marilyn. She was seen eight times,
soon aftenvards was offered a good part in a screen play and found
her difficulty no longer held her back. She soon went on to stardom
and great success.
Carrying out your program. The natural tendency on the part of
the reader will be to attack your worst problem or condition first, as
that is what you are most concerned about. This is a mistake which
can make your total undertaking much harder to accomplish. It is very
important to begin with minor matters. Start by tackling some minor
liability in your list of liabilities. After learning autohypnosis, the next
step should be to assess yourself. You begin to change your self-image
when you start with character changes and revisions in your ways of
thinking.
If you have no particular emotional troubles but suffer from some
psychosomatic illness, you can then attack its sources and causes. If
such an illness is only one of other serious problems, it should be left

until later.
Make it a point to develop positive thinking as quickly as possible.
It will speed results. Begin disciplining your thinking in other ways
and changing some of your adverse character traits, such as developing
Quite a number of minor matters should be dealt with
decisiveness.
before approaching anything of major importance. The reason for be-
You have the ^owerl 217

ginning with minor conditions is tliat they are easier to correct. Success
with some of them encourages you and doubts are eased. There will be
much less chance of meeting resistances with less important matters.
You may wish to begin breathing exercises at the start of your pro-
gram. When some minor difficulties have been taken care of, take up

more important ones, but continue to avoid the greatest. Then you will
be ready for the main ones.
Arrange a definite schedule. It is best to arrange a definite
schedule for yourself as to the time or hours you will devote to self-

betterment. Otherwise you will find yourself putting it off, thinking of

other things to do which may seem more important at the moment.
This may be a way of unconsciously avoiding coming to grips with un-
pleasant problems. Even if you decide to devote only one or two hours
a week to this work, schedule the time and stick to it. You will be
developing a habit pattern.
In your program you should be using the technique of ideomotor
replies to questions in order to learn the sources and causes of your
individual problems. Keep the seven usual factors in mind. Some
apply to other conditions as well as to illnesses. List the seven and refer
to them continually so you do not overlook some additional cause
involved in a particular matter.
If several reasons are present, you may find no change in the symp-
tom until all have been uncovered. Then go over them in your mind
and tell your subconscious also to review the situation. Suggest that it

change its viev^oint, if that is necessary, and that it relieve the symp-
tom or condition. In this way you are prodding it to digest the knowl-
edge.
You will find the questioning technique to be a fascinating and
very interesting phenomenon. Before trying to set up your four move-
ments in replying, explain it to someone else and let him hold the
pendulum while you ask movements for yes, no, etc. Seeing
for the
how it moves for someone else will make it easier to establish your own
movements. Set up pendulum replies before trying to have your
fingers move to reply to questions, as this will come easier then.
In addition to the questioning technique, take a half-hour at least
to attempt automatic writing. Many will succeed in this and it is an
advantage since the subconscious is not limited to affirmative and neg-
ative replies. It can even advance information when writing auto-
matically
 —
218 You have the power!

Never overlook safeguards. Do not overlook the safeguards of

asking if it is all right for some particular matter, or
you to learn about
all right to recall some event. When you return to some past ex-
perience in your memory, you may tend to partially age regress,
whether or not you are in hypnosis. After going over the event again
and again, be sure to bring yourself back to the present time.
You would come back spontaneously, but might find some of the
emotions tied to the experience persisting and upsetting you. Return-
ing to the present time is accomplished merely by suggesting it. "Now
I am coming back to the present, back to
*^
(naming the day and
date). During such recall, if any emotion becomes too strong and you
are very fearful, you can end the regression in this way. It is most
unlikely for such a situation to happen. If something is too frightening
or unpleasant to tolerate, your subconscious would never let you reach
it
Becoming interested in nypnosis you may be tempted to try to
hypnotize someone While autohypnosis is perfectly safe, you
else.

never know what may be going on in the mind of another and without
sufficient knowledge might have something unpleasant happen. This
is not very likely, but confine hypnosis to yourself.
As has been pointed out, in illness discretion and commonsense
must be used. In addition to any self-therapy, attention from a physi-
cian may be highly important.

You now have the seven keys with which to unlock the
doors to health, happiness and success. Use the keys, **Bon
Voyage'* in your travels towards your goals. With these
methods they can be reached.
Books

for Further Reading

Andersen, U. S., Three Magic Words. New York: Thomas Nelson and
Sons, 1955.
Ambrose, Hypiotherapy with Children. London: Staples Press, 1961.
August, R., Hypnosis in Obstetrics. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Com-
pany, Inc., 1961.

Baudouin, C, Suggestion and Autosuggestion. New York: Dodd, Mead &

Co., 1922.
Bristol, C, The Magic of Believing. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall,
Inc., 1957.

Caprio, F. S. and Berger, J. R., Helpng Yourself with Self-Hypnosis.

Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1963.
Cooke, C. E. and VanVogt, A. E., Hypnotism Handhooh Los Angeles:
Borden Publishing Co., 1957.
Dunlap, K., Habits, Their Making and Unmaking. New York: Liveright
Publishing Co., 1951.
Estabrooks, G., Hypnotism. New York: E. P. Button & Co., Inc., 1957
Gutheil, E. A., Handbook of Dream Analysis. New York: Liveright Pub-
lishing Co., 195 L
219
220 Books for further reading

Fodor, N., New Af^roaches to Dream Inter'pretation, New York: Citadel

Press, 1951.
Hart, H., Autoconditioning (Life). Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Prentice-Hall,
Inc., 1956.

Heise, J., The Amazing Hy^no-Diet, New York: Belmont Productions,

1962
King, A., The Cigarette Habit, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co.,
Inc., 1959.

Kroger, W., Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, New York: J. B. Lippin-

cott Co., 1963.
LeCron, L. M. and Bordeaux, J., Hypnotism Today, New York: Grune &
Stratton, Inc., 1947.
LeCron, L. M., ed., Experimental Hypnosis, New York: The Macmillan
Company, 1952.
LeCron, L. M., Techniques of Hypnotherapy, New York: Julian Press,
1962.
Long, M. R, Self-Suggestion, Vista, California, 1958.
Maltz, M., Psycho-Cyhernetics, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall,
Inc., 1960.

Peale, N. V., The Power of Positive Thinking, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:

Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1952.

Powers, M. A., A Practical Guide to Self-Hypnosis, Hollywood: Wilshire
Book Co., 1961.
Prince, M., The Unconscious, New York: The Macmillan Co., 1929.
Weitzenhoffer, O. C, General Techniques of Hypnotism, New York:
Grune & Stratton, Inc., 1957.
Winters, L., Origins of Illness and Anxiety, New York: Julian Press, 1962.
Wolberg, L., Medical Hypnosis, New York: Grune & Stratton, Inc., 1948,
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Self
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LesfieM^Lecron
The best-selling guide to using the power
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"The real key to health and happiness and success is self-

knowledge," says author Leslie Lecron. Here he reveals
a unique and effective method of self-analysis that helps
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simple, safe and scientifically proven techniques of self-
hypnosis. For more than 20 years this book has guided
thousands to a more fulfilling and rewarding life by showing
them how to reach their inner minds, identifying and solving
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lack of energy
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smoking, drinking or bad eating habits.

Using time-tested methods of self-hypnosis, you will learn

how to change the very core of your personality, eliminating
emotional troubles and achieving a new sense of well-being.

Leslie Lecron was a psychologist and the author of the

clinical
definitive professional work Techniques of Hypnotherapy. He
conducted symposiums in clinical hypnosis throughout the world,
teaching his method to physicians, dentists and psychologists
alike.

PSYCHOLOGY ISBN D-13-flD333T-D