Issue date: 5/5/08 Section: Money/Health

Media Credit: Abby Harvey Certified hypnotherapist Richard Marano meets with patients from all walks of life to help with various ailments, from weight management to test anxiety.

Being hypnotized to lose weight or stop smoking may seem impossible, but it is being used today as a form of treatment. Though some health professionals remain skeptical.

Richard Marano, certified hypnotist at The Hypnosis Center of Eau Claire, 306 S. Barstow St., said hypnotherapy is using hypnosis to reach a positive result.

"Hypnosis is a very naturally occurring state in human beings," he said, adding some examples of this are daydreaming, being in a good book or movie, or the idea of "highway hypnosis" where one can loose track of time while driving or simply not remember the ride.

Marie Crothers, a psychology professor at UW-Eau Claire defined hypnosis as a "profound state of relaxation and mental focus."

Marano said someone who is hypnotized is in an altered state of consciousness but is never asleep nor unconscious during the process.

He said a participant is always in control during hypnosis, even if it doesn't look like that in group settings. He said there is no such thing as a hypnotist being in control and that nothing happens without a person's permission.

Junior Bri Covington said she was hypnotized at her high school graduation party and described the hypnosis as being similar to daydreaming and loosing track of time.

"I felt extremely relaxed but I don't remember what happened during it but I remember what happened once I was done," she said.

Marano said the applications of hypnosis are extremely broad and the American Medical Association has recognized and approved hypnosis since 1958.

The most common applications that hypnosis can be used for, Marano said, are smoking cessation, weight management and stress reduction. Beyond that, he said it can be applied to pain management, insomnia, focus and study skills, sports skills, sex enhancement, self confidence, fears, phobias and anxiety.

Crothers said hypnosis needs to be used carefully and appropriately and should always be tailored to the specific needs of the individual patient.

Continued...

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