Is your mind a powerful tool for well-being?
In this episode of Where Science Meets Self-Care, I sit down with Peggy Smith, a Philadelphia-based nurse and hypnosis practitioner. We explore the intersection of traditional care and holistic wellness practices, discussing how hypnotherapy can support stress reduction, mindset, and personal growth. From managing everyday discomforts to the surprising connection between animal rescue and human wellness, Peggy shares her multi-dimensional approach to supporting the mind, body, and heart.
What You’ll Discover:
Holistic & Conventional Approaches: Understanding integrative models of wellness care.
The Hypnosis Toolkit: How hypnotherapy is used as a complementary practice for goals like smoking cessation, healthy weight management support, and stress management. Breaking the Myths:
What really happens during a session (and why you’re always in control). The Brain-Mind Connection:
Exploring the science behind relaxation, focus, and mindset shifts.
Animal Connections: How rescuing animals influenced Peggy’s path in human wellness.
Connect with Peggy Smith
Peggy is the host of The Holistic Nurse, airing Saturdays at 12 PM EST.
Email: notjusthynosisgmail.com
Phone: 1 (267) 593-5557
Important Consumer Notice Disclaimer:
The information provided in this educational episode is for general informational and entertainment purposes only. Hypnotherapy is a complementary practice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition or physical disease. It should not replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider regarding any health condition or medical concerns.
Connect with Ida Fanelli
Link in Bio
#HolisticWellness #HypnosisScience #MindBodyConnection #IntegrativeWellness #StressManagement #WellnessJourney #IdaFanelli #TheHolisticNurse
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Welcome to Where Science Meets Self -Care with
00:00:03 --> 00:00:06 Ida Fanelli. With over 30 years in beauty and
00:00:06 --> 00:00:09 wellness and a background in medical science,
00:00:09 --> 00:00:12 Ida blends clinical knowledge with holistic care.
00:00:13 --> 00:00:16 Each week, she and her guests share insights
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 to help you achieve healthier skin, balanced
00:00:19 --> 00:00:23 energy, and empowered self -care. Now, here's
00:00:23 --> 00:00:33 your host, Ida Finelli. Today, I'm excited to
00:00:33 --> 00:00:36 introduce Peggy Smith, the creator of The Holistic
00:00:36 --> 00:00:41 Nurse. Her show airs on Thursdays at 12 p .m.
00:00:44 --> 00:00:48 Peggy wears many hats. She's an independent nurse,
00:00:48 --> 00:00:53 animal rescuer, and skilled hypnotist practitioner,
00:00:54 --> 00:00:57 helping clients with everything from pain management
00:00:57 --> 00:01:01 to emotional wellness. She's joining us from
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 Philadelphia. Let's dive into her inspiring work
00:01:04 --> 00:01:08 and unique healing approach. Thank you for joining
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 me today. Can you tell us a bit about your personal
00:01:11 --> 00:01:14 and professional journey and what inspired you
00:01:14 --> 00:01:18 to become a holistic nurse? Sure. I'm glad to
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 be here. Thank you for having me. I'm a registered
00:01:21 --> 00:01:23 nurse in the United States, almost 45 years,
00:01:24 --> 00:01:27 and never realized until my mother passed away
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 at like 95 how holistic she was. So I grew up
00:01:30 --> 00:01:33 with a lot of, you know, things like she cleaned
00:01:33 --> 00:01:35 with vinegar. And when I was in high school,
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 I wanted to color my hair. She didn't let me.
00:01:37 --> 00:01:38 She let me use lemon juice. And I thought, gosh,
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 my mother's weird. Until when she passed away,
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 I saw she had 10 little cue cards of different.
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 things, hacks for life. My nursing specialty
00:01:47 --> 00:01:51 has been hospice and oncology. I'm a cancer survivor
00:01:51 --> 00:01:55 myself since 2003. And I'm one of those people
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 that cannot take medication. I have no tolerance
00:01:58 --> 00:02:01 for even a Tylenol put me to sleep. And I wanted
00:02:01 --> 00:02:04 to be able to offer my patients alternative ways
00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 of managing pain and the side effects that come
00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 in the cancer journey. And then we had the opioid
00:02:10 --> 00:02:12 crisis and the difficulty of getting medication.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:16 So it really became a timely subject. Over the
00:02:16 --> 00:02:19 years, I've expanded from, I started off with
00:02:19 --> 00:02:23 hypnosis for medical pain management. And I was
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 a Reiki master at the time, also because of hospice.
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 I've expanded to several other modalities of
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 energy medicine. I've expanded into patient advocacy
00:02:31 --> 00:02:35 because, at least in my country, it's a lot.
00:02:36 --> 00:02:39 more challenging to access health care. And many
00:02:39 --> 00:02:41 people are left without insurance sometimes.
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 They're left without access to nearby doctors.
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 So this is not a replacement for medical services,
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 but it's a way to enhance the care and teach
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 you how to communicate with the doctors you do
00:02:50 --> 00:02:54 have. And what kind of conversations or themes
00:02:54 --> 00:02:59 do you focus on in your show? And how has your
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 show influenced you to practice and outreach?
00:03:03 --> 00:03:06 It's actually helped me be more aware. Sometimes
00:03:06 --> 00:03:10 nursing is so chaotic and such a hustle bustle
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 that we don't always stop to listen to the patients
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 as well as we should. And certainly the nurses
00:03:15 --> 00:03:18 listen better than your doctors do. But it's
00:03:18 --> 00:03:22 actually opened my eyes to cues that I hear from
00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 patients about their experiences when they're
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 in the hospital, things like that. I don't believe
00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 in practicing what I don't preach, but sometimes
00:03:29 --> 00:03:32 life gets in the way and you have all the good
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 intentions and you don't drink as much water
00:03:34 --> 00:03:36 as you should. You don't get to sleep. There
00:03:36 --> 00:03:40 were still little things like that. I don't look
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 at it as a negative. It just motivates me to
00:03:42 --> 00:03:44 make sure that whatever I'm offering to other
00:03:44 --> 00:03:47 people, it's something that I am very familiar
00:03:47 --> 00:03:49 with and practice in my own life. And I know
00:03:49 --> 00:03:55 it works or can be helpful. Have you had a standout
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 moment or feedback from viewers that really touched
00:03:57 --> 00:04:01 you? That's almost like a quick question. I would
00:04:01 --> 00:04:06 say that I've learned a lot from my international
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 guests. We've had a shaman from South Africa.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 We've had people in other countries. Other countries
00:04:11 --> 00:04:15 and cultures are more accepting, it seems, of
00:04:15 --> 00:04:19 alternative and complementary medicine. And I've
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 learned also how to pick up cues on the people
00:04:21 --> 00:04:25 I'm interviewing. Because as a medically licensed
00:04:25 --> 00:04:28 person, I have to make sure that I still protect
00:04:28 --> 00:04:31 my license first, both online activities and
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 what I'm teaching people. There was one particular
00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 guest I realized, oh my gosh, this is not the
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 direction I wanted to go. And I had to really
00:04:39 --> 00:04:42 focus on my questions to get the results I wanted.
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 And it's taught me a lot about myself and my
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 own skills, unrelated to complementary medicine.
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 I think it's made me a better traditional nurse
00:04:50 --> 00:04:54 in the process. You integrate conventional nursing
00:04:54 --> 00:04:58 hypnosis and teach people about regenerative
00:04:58 --> 00:05:01 techniques. Can you walk us through how you blend
00:05:01 --> 00:05:05 those worlds in your work? Well, for instance,
00:05:05 --> 00:05:08 I just recently left the home of somebody who
00:05:08 --> 00:05:10 had had bariatric surgery with some complications.
00:05:11 --> 00:05:15 And I learned, I guess, a few years back that
00:05:15 --> 00:05:18 many doctors, at least a few years ago, were
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 not stressing the importance of taking the vitamin.
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 And that's why they were having current. you
00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 know, mistakes. And I've even had practitioners
00:05:25 --> 00:05:29 professed to be practicing a particular modality,
00:05:30 --> 00:05:33 say a realistic medicine or whatever. And when
00:05:33 --> 00:05:37 I ask the question a nurse has to ask, you monitor
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 lab work and things like that. And even a functional
00:05:39 --> 00:05:42 medicine doctor does that. I've had the answer
00:05:42 --> 00:05:46 was online. Well, gee, they're just herbs. They're
00:05:46 --> 00:05:50 not really medicine. And so it made me acutely
00:05:50 --> 00:05:53 aware of how much education is necessary. And
00:05:53 --> 00:05:56 even if it's the most benign alternative method,
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 there may be somewhere somewhere that's going
00:05:59 --> 00:06:02 to have an adverse reaction, either due to interactions
00:06:02 --> 00:06:05 of what they already do or other physiological
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 factors going on in their body. Everything is
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 not for everybody. And I really stress communicating
00:06:11 --> 00:06:16 with your medical provider. So that's probably
00:06:16 --> 00:06:20 a big influence. I actually had hypnosis over
00:06:20 --> 00:06:23 35 years ago for stress relief. It was a one
00:06:23 --> 00:06:27 -time session with calming music, an ionizer,
00:06:27 --> 00:06:29 and even a cassette tape to help me remember
00:06:29 --> 00:06:33 the experience. At the time, I wasn't sure how
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 much it worked, but once I began energy healing
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 in 1998, I really started believing in the power
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 of the mind. So let's talk about hypnosis because
00:06:41 --> 00:06:45 it's widely misunderstood. What's the most common
00:06:45 --> 00:06:48 misconception you encounter? about hypnosis?
00:06:48 --> 00:06:51 I think the most common misconception is that
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 people think that I'm going to control their
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 mind. I'm going to make them fluff like a chicken
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 or do something they just totally out of character
00:06:57 --> 00:07:01 for their personality. And even people that have
00:07:01 --> 00:07:04 maybe years ago used smoking to stop smoking
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 or hypnosis to stop smoking and it was successful,
00:07:07 --> 00:07:10 they still almost feel like, well, gee, I stopped
00:07:10 --> 00:07:14 because they controlled my mind. And so that's
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 really... probably the biggest barrier I have.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 And the other is many people feel that they are
00:07:19 --> 00:07:23 just unhypnotizable. And I have found over the
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 years that the people that think they're most
00:07:25 --> 00:07:28 unable to be hypnotized are actually the easiest.
00:07:28 --> 00:07:31 We all hypnotize ourselves, self -hypnosis every
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 day. We're at a red light. Your mind is wandering
00:07:33 --> 00:07:36 three other places other than the cars around
00:07:36 --> 00:07:40 you. The commercials, that's a form of self -hypnosis.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:44 And there's so many ways that we've been hypnotizing
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 ourselves. Maybe an athlete might say he's getting
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 psyched for the game or whatever, but it's just
00:07:49 --> 00:07:53 different labels. It's the same process. What
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 exactly happens during a session and what kind
00:07:56 --> 00:07:59 of mental state or depth does a person enter
00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 during hypnosis to allow it to work on a neurological
00:08:02 --> 00:08:08 or energetic level? The process begins usually
00:08:08 --> 00:08:13 with a... traditional assessment interview. Mine
00:08:13 --> 00:08:18 may be a little more deeper than a non -medical
00:08:18 --> 00:08:22 hypnotherapist because I'm also looking for body
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 clues. If they tell me what medications they're
00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 on, then that tells me some of the problems that
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 I'm dealing with. They don't even realize how
00:08:28 --> 00:08:33 many clues are in that. I start off explaining
00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 that I'm not actually doing anything to them,
00:08:35 --> 00:08:39 that the journey we're going to go on is a joint
00:08:39 --> 00:08:44 journey of just very intense relaxation. And
00:08:44 --> 00:08:46 that when you're relaxed in a state of mind,
00:08:46 --> 00:08:49 your mind is more open to suggestions that maybe
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 you try to push off. There's things we're always
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 telling us should have and shouldn't have. We're
00:08:53 --> 00:08:55 always telling ourselves, gee, I really should
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 be doing this, but gosh, I don't want to get
00:08:57 --> 00:08:59 off the couch. This is too comfortable. And I
00:08:59 --> 00:09:02 know the dog wants to walk and go for a walk,
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 but I can just open my back door, the yard's
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 fenced in. We talk to ourself all the time. And
00:09:07 --> 00:09:11 so I have found that probably 90 % of the time,
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 whatever reason people are seeking hypnosis is
00:09:14 --> 00:09:17 not the real reason that they want it. Like in
00:09:17 --> 00:09:20 the course of conversation, I discovered that.
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 Yes, smoking is a problem, but the real problem
00:09:23 --> 00:09:27 is I'm OCD or I just can't sleep at night. I'm
00:09:27 --> 00:09:29 stressed out all the time. My job is terrible.
00:09:30 --> 00:09:34 And a lot of the psychology type should'ves and
00:09:34 --> 00:09:36 shouldn'ts, we judge ourselves. And we're really
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 kind of cruel to ourselves, not intentionally,
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 it's just human nature. So I try to keep everything
00:09:41 --> 00:09:44 positive. I'm not going to say, you know, when
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 you're smoking a cigarette, it's going to smell
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 like... dog doo -doo or you know anything else
00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 I don't say anything aversive I actually create
00:09:52 --> 00:09:55 a situation in their mind where they they understand
00:09:55 --> 00:09:57 and and they want to do what make the changes
00:09:57 --> 00:10:00 and and that has better results than if I'm trying
00:10:00 --> 00:10:03 to do it a negative way start kids negatively
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 you don't do this I'm going to break your arm
00:10:05 --> 00:10:07 well kid finally figured out he was a teenager
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 we're not really going to break their arm or
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 leg try to keep everything very positive and
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 you know their body and the mind I've learned
00:10:13 --> 00:10:16 was I That introduced it more energy medicine.
00:10:16 --> 00:10:20 The mind wants to please. So if your body, even
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 if what you're doing doesn't make any sense,
00:10:23 --> 00:10:25 it's not even maybe a traditional structured
00:10:25 --> 00:10:29 form of energy practice. It tells your mind that
00:10:29 --> 00:10:31 you're trying to reach a goal that's good for
00:10:31 --> 00:10:34 the body and it wants to help you. And that brings
00:10:34 --> 00:10:37 me a lot of success and also just a lot of good
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 feelings that I'm doing. I'm in the right track.
00:10:41 --> 00:10:43 What's the difference between hypnosis and self
00:10:43 --> 00:10:47 -hypnosis? Basically, hypnosis is something that
00:10:47 --> 00:10:51 I guide as a professional, but I teach them,
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 and like you had a, I remember those cassette
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 tapes, still occasionally find one in an old
00:10:57 --> 00:11:00 drawer. I leave my clients with an MP3 that they
00:11:00 --> 00:11:02 can practice because just like any new skill
00:11:02 --> 00:11:07 or habit, it improves with practice. I remember,
00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 gosh. Years ago in Philadelphia, one of the summer
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 holidays, maybe Independence Day, there was a
00:11:14 --> 00:11:17 big, oh, it's a big center city type of festival
00:11:17 --> 00:11:20 they had with little booths and everything. My
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 children were grade school and younger, preschool,
00:11:23 --> 00:11:28 and there was a psychic there. And I had so many
00:11:28 --> 00:11:31 preconceived notions about people reading my
00:11:31 --> 00:11:34 mind, controlling me. And she has the cards in
00:11:34 --> 00:11:37 front of me. I'm going, Mickey Mouse, Mickey
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 Mouse, Mickey Mouse, just making sure my brain
00:11:39 --> 00:11:40 was empty. There was nothing she would ever know
00:11:40 --> 00:11:43 about me. I was there really to prove that she
00:11:43 --> 00:11:46 wasn't valid. A big dust of wind came and the
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 cards blew on the ground. And I thought, oh,
00:11:49 --> 00:11:51 now let's see what happens. And I felt guilty
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 that I didn't take advantage of her skill in
00:11:53 --> 00:11:56 the beginning. She had my five -year -old pick
00:11:56 --> 00:11:59 up the cards and just drop them in any way they
00:11:59 --> 00:12:02 landed. And she continued her reading. And she
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 knew, for instance, some very personal things
00:12:04 --> 00:12:08 about me. I've had several stillborns in my life,
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 full -term pregnancies that weren't successful
00:12:10 --> 00:12:14 at the outcome. And other things going on. She
00:12:14 --> 00:12:17 knew my kids by name. It kind of blew my mind,
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 but it made me really start reading about what
00:12:19 --> 00:12:23 is the mind and what is it capable of? And that's
00:12:23 --> 00:12:25 what I learned. I used to be anaphylactically
00:12:25 --> 00:12:29 allergic to shellfish. And there's a modality
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 that I now practice neuromodulation technique.
00:12:31 --> 00:12:35 It's called NMT. And I had a practitioner cure
00:12:35 --> 00:12:39 my allergy. And I mean, I carry I still carry
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 an EpiPen because I have a lot of allergies.
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 You know, I never know. But for that situation,
00:12:43 --> 00:12:46 I decided I would get trained as a practitioner
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 so I could understand it. And I went to a seminar
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 where there were doctors and chiropractors, other
00:12:51 --> 00:12:54 people. The founder of this technique was running
00:12:54 --> 00:12:57 the seminar. I had my medical history typed out
00:12:57 --> 00:12:59 in my EpiPen and I went to one of the medical
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 doctors and I said, listen, I'm going to volunteer
00:13:01 --> 00:13:04 to be a guinea pig. I'm anaphylactic allergic
00:13:04 --> 00:13:07 to shellfish. Let's see what he can do. And I
00:13:07 --> 00:13:10 can eat shellfish now. I don't have a great taste
00:13:10 --> 00:13:13 for it, but it used to be if I even smelled it,
00:13:13 --> 00:13:17 I couldn't breathe. I've had some really good
00:13:17 --> 00:13:20 mentors and teachers along the way. who also
00:13:20 --> 00:13:23 practice the philosophy of I'm not sharing anything
00:13:23 --> 00:13:26 that I haven't tried myself. And it's been a
00:13:26 --> 00:13:29 blessing of an education for me that I never
00:13:29 --> 00:13:32 set out to achieve. I never set out to be a nurse
00:13:32 --> 00:13:35 either, actually. But the universe has its pattern.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:38 There's no coincidences, I think. There's a reason
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40 we do what we do, even if we don't know at the
00:13:40 --> 00:13:44 time. Yeah. Are there people who aren't good
00:13:44 --> 00:13:48 candidates for hypnosis? I would say that there
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 are people. who think they're not good candidates.
00:13:50 --> 00:13:54 And it's usually because of a variety of factors,
00:13:54 --> 00:13:59 including just so stressed out. And stress is
00:13:59 --> 00:14:02 the leading cause of so many psychological and
00:14:02 --> 00:14:04 medical issues. One of the big causes of cancer,
00:14:04 --> 00:14:08 blood pressure. Stress probably kills more people
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 than any of those individual things. Cancer,
00:14:10 --> 00:14:14 blood pressure, strokes. And like the functional
00:14:14 --> 00:14:17 medicine doctor doesn't just say, what are your
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 symptoms? And here's some medicine to fix the
00:14:19 --> 00:14:22 symptoms. He goes to the root cause. And the
00:14:22 --> 00:14:26 people that haven't had the opportunity to discover
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 that there are root causes, it's not just something
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 they're born with and it's their genes, nothing
00:14:30 --> 00:14:33 they can do about it. Those people might not
00:14:33 --> 00:14:36 be good candidates. Somebody has a very serious
00:14:36 --> 00:14:41 organic mental health issue. One that's not just...
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 behavioral issues, but for genetics or whatever
00:14:44 --> 00:14:47 that truly does need medication. Sometimes hypnosis
00:14:47 --> 00:14:51 can exacerbate some of the symptoms if the practitioner
00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 is not skilled in realizing what's happening.
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 And if I have somebody with that kind of background,
00:14:56 --> 00:14:59 I usually refer them to a medical doctor that
00:14:59 --> 00:15:04 practices also that can handle the other. situations
00:15:04 --> 00:15:08 that can happen. I'm never going to be able to
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 tell anybody to do something they wouldn't do
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 in their natural state of mind. You know, hypnotherapists
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 cannot say, you know, go kill your mother and
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 things like that. It doesn't work that way. If
00:15:17 --> 00:15:19 you wouldn't do that in your normal state of
00:15:19 --> 00:15:21 mind, you're not going to do it because somebody
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 told you to do it. I don't do anything that's
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 against your basic personality characteristics.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:28 And I have no control over that. You come to
00:15:28 --> 00:15:31 me as you are, you know, for symptom management
00:15:31 --> 00:15:34 or relief of different things. create new habits.
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 And depending on how much baggage and layers
00:15:37 --> 00:15:41 is there, that kind of has an effect of the ability
00:15:41 --> 00:15:44 to reach the goal that they thought they came
00:15:44 --> 00:15:47 for. Many times just learning the stress management,
00:15:47 --> 00:15:50 which is a part of every session, I think cures
00:15:50 --> 00:15:55 a lot of the problems. Are there any contraindications
00:15:55 --> 00:16:00 for hypnosis? So basically, again, it goes back
00:16:00 --> 00:16:03 to the medical history, which I'm fortunate enough
00:16:03 --> 00:16:05 being a medical practitioner to understand how
00:16:05 --> 00:16:08 medical histories work and how to use that as
00:16:08 --> 00:16:13 a tool. If somebody had to get over their fear
00:16:13 --> 00:16:16 of flying, but they have a pacemaker and defibrillator
00:16:16 --> 00:16:18 and they've been told, you know, it's not a good
00:16:18 --> 00:16:21 idea. Well, maybe it's a valid reason your body's
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 giving you this fear. You shouldn't be doing
00:16:22 --> 00:16:25 it. But, you know, I make sure in my initial
00:16:25 --> 00:16:29 assessment that. I can judge whether or not a
00:16:29 --> 00:16:32 person is ready at this time. Somebody's in a
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 very rocky marriage, and they want me to give
00:16:35 --> 00:16:39 them a skill that helps them tell their spouse
00:16:39 --> 00:16:42 off and get the courage. We don't do it with
00:16:42 --> 00:16:45 hypnosis. We use other tools. I've had a lot
00:16:45 --> 00:16:47 of people come to me saying, my doctor's saying
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 this, this, and this. I don't believe him. I
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 don't like it. I went to another doctor. He says
00:16:51 --> 00:16:54 the same thing. Can you teach me how to tell
00:16:54 --> 00:16:58 my doctor? So go pound sand. Not so nice word.
00:16:58 --> 00:17:00 I kind of smile and I say, no, I'll never tell
00:17:00 --> 00:17:03 you that. But I can explain why he's telling
00:17:03 --> 00:17:06 you what he is telling you. And you guys, you
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 can share your feelings. I can show you how to
00:17:08 --> 00:17:11 have a collaborative conversation. And mutually,
00:17:12 --> 00:17:14 and I think you'll find the doctor does respect
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 your opinion, be able to reach a conclusion,
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 whether it's find a different doctor, find something
00:17:18 --> 00:17:22 else. And that usually changes their attitude
00:17:22 --> 00:17:26 about the traditional providers. You use hypnosis
00:17:26 --> 00:17:29 to support cancer patients with pain. How does
00:17:29 --> 00:17:33 that work in practice? When you're in a very,
00:17:33 --> 00:17:36 very state of intense relaxation, and of course
00:17:36 --> 00:17:39 pain, it's hard to get to that state. Typically,
00:17:39 --> 00:17:42 the medical provider gives you pain pills or
00:17:42 --> 00:17:45 other patches, whatever, but people don't use
00:17:45 --> 00:17:48 them until the pain is totally unbearable. It's
00:17:48 --> 00:17:51 already an 8 to a 10 level. If you know certain
00:17:51 --> 00:17:53 situations or maybe you're going to go to physical
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55 therapy and you know that's going to create lots
00:17:55 --> 00:17:58 of pain, I recommend, and I teach my normal nursing
00:17:58 --> 00:18:02 patients, take the medicine ahead of the event
00:18:02 --> 00:18:05 because then you're in a better physical shape
00:18:05 --> 00:18:10 to actually get the treatment you need. And you
00:18:10 --> 00:18:12 can enhance it by learning how to relax and knowing
00:18:12 --> 00:18:14 that you're in control. You know, this pain is
00:18:14 --> 00:18:17 not going to just make you a total invalid. You
00:18:17 --> 00:18:20 can't do anything. And so that's the goal of
00:18:20 --> 00:18:24 every session is just to really bolster someone's
00:18:24 --> 00:18:26 self -confidence and control in their own abilities.
00:18:26 --> 00:18:28 And I work with a lot of children because I was
00:18:28 --> 00:18:31 a pediatric nurse at one point. I always have
00:18:31 --> 00:18:33 the parents with them for the very young children.
00:18:33 --> 00:18:36 I let the teenagers decide they want their parents
00:18:36 --> 00:18:39 there. But many times I have parents, wow, I
00:18:39 --> 00:18:41 feel so relaxed after this. I hope Johnny stops
00:18:41 --> 00:18:43 wetting the bed now, but it's okay. I'm relaxed.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:45 I won't flip out about it. Just controlling the
00:18:45 --> 00:18:48 stress is probably the... The real reason all
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50 of us do most of this, with the chaos in the
00:18:50 --> 00:18:53 medical fields and with business companies and
00:18:53 --> 00:18:55 insurance companies taking over medical care,
00:18:55 --> 00:18:58 telling the doctors what they can do and can't
00:18:58 --> 00:19:00 do. This is good for doctors, too. It helps them
00:19:00 --> 00:19:02 relieve their stress. Unfortunately, a lot of
00:19:02 --> 00:19:04 them have decided they're leaving the field because
00:19:04 --> 00:19:07 they don't need the stress. But that's the key,
00:19:07 --> 00:19:12 I think, for a lot of what we do. You also help
00:19:12 --> 00:19:15 with smoking cessation weight loss and emotional
00:19:15 --> 00:19:18 wellness. Which of these areas do you see the
00:19:18 --> 00:19:22 most transformation in? I would say emotional
00:19:22 --> 00:19:25 wellness happens across the board, I think, with
00:19:25 --> 00:19:27 almost any reason people come to me, just because
00:19:27 --> 00:19:30 they've learned how to relax better and that
00:19:30 --> 00:19:34 improves our emotional reactions to things. Smoking
00:19:34 --> 00:19:36 right now is a big issue, not just because of
00:19:36 --> 00:19:41 the cost. I know it's like, I think, $10 or $12
00:19:41 --> 00:19:43 a pack, I was told recently. I haven't actually
00:19:43 --> 00:19:48 bought one in years. So and at one point when
00:19:48 --> 00:19:51 I was trying to encourage a young adult child
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 to stop smoking, I actually purchased one of
00:19:53 --> 00:19:55 those vaping kits and a monthly prescription.
00:19:55 --> 00:19:58 And then I read the package, which explained
00:19:58 --> 00:20:01 to me how it works, the chemicals that hold that
00:20:01 --> 00:20:04 together. And so people really. faced with the
00:20:04 --> 00:20:06 possibility of maybe you're not going to have
00:20:06 --> 00:20:08 enough health insurance, they want to keep their
00:20:08 --> 00:20:11 bodies as healthy and clean as they can. And
00:20:11 --> 00:20:13 so they're motivated to be successful. You're
00:20:13 --> 00:20:15 at an age where you're a new grandmother and
00:20:15 --> 00:20:17 your kids are saying, I don't want my baby to
00:20:17 --> 00:20:19 smell you. That's a real big factor because a
00:20:19 --> 00:20:22 lot of people have financial issues and motivation
00:20:22 --> 00:20:24 to be healthier. The other thing, weight loss
00:20:24 --> 00:20:27 is still a challenge because it's so multifaceted,
00:20:27 --> 00:20:31 but people are beginning to understand all the
00:20:31 --> 00:20:35 complexities of of medical issues that happen
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 when you're even just a little bit overweight
00:20:37 --> 00:20:41 or don't exercise enough. And so it takes a little
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43 bit longer. Smoking can usually be done in one
00:20:43 --> 00:20:46 at most two sessions. Weight loss takes a little
00:20:46 --> 00:20:50 bit longer. It's a lot more to cover. It's hard
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 to convince yourself that you're really going
00:20:51 --> 00:20:53 to lose the weight when you've been heavy all
00:20:53 --> 00:20:56 your life, for instance, and you have to counter
00:20:56 --> 00:21:00 those blocks. How many sessions does it take
00:21:00 --> 00:21:05 for clients to see results? That also would vary
00:21:05 --> 00:21:08 on their prior experiences to coming, their expectations.
00:21:09 --> 00:21:13 For the most part, smoking is at most maybe two
00:21:13 --> 00:21:15 sessions. Many therapists have like a package
00:21:15 --> 00:21:18 of three sessions to achieve the goal. And they
00:21:18 --> 00:21:20 use that across the board for different reasons,
00:21:21 --> 00:21:24 motivations for hypnosis. The first one is primarily
00:21:24 --> 00:21:27 that history, getting one and introducing, getting
00:21:27 --> 00:21:29 them in the right mindset. And maybe just a real
00:21:29 --> 00:21:31 brief session to give them a feel of what it's
00:21:31 --> 00:21:34 like. The second one is like the real nitty gritty,
00:21:34 --> 00:21:36 we do it. And the third one is how do you feel
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 and have we been successful? They're usually
00:21:38 --> 00:21:40 not all the same way. You see a week or two weeks
00:21:40 --> 00:21:43 apart from each other because changing habits
00:21:43 --> 00:21:45 takes 21 days, they say. I think that's a pretty
00:21:45 --> 00:21:52 good, reliable barometer. Has hypnosis been backed
00:21:52 --> 00:21:55 by scientific research? What does the data say?
00:21:57 --> 00:21:59 Hypnosis has a lot of evidence -based research.
00:22:00 --> 00:22:02 Medical students now are getting what they call
00:22:02 --> 00:22:05 integrative medicine classes, which basically
00:22:05 --> 00:22:09 shows an understanding and a respect for our
00:22:09 --> 00:22:12 field too. And they know it's not their baseline
00:22:12 --> 00:22:15 education, but they understand that it can actually
00:22:15 --> 00:22:18 help get their job done. And I think it really
00:22:18 --> 00:22:22 does. The data absolutely is positive in our
00:22:22 --> 00:22:25 direction. There's even... extra research to
00:22:25 --> 00:22:28 show if it wasn't successful, what other things
00:22:28 --> 00:22:31 were going on. I mean, obviously, it's hard to
00:22:31 --> 00:22:34 take something like that isolated and not look
00:22:34 --> 00:22:39 at all the other factors going into it. But basically,
00:22:39 --> 00:22:43 if you're able to train somebody, it's not what
00:22:43 --> 00:22:46 the bad event that causes your problems, it's
00:22:46 --> 00:22:48 how you react to that event. Life is full of
00:22:48 --> 00:22:52 negative events. From road rage and terrible
00:22:52 --> 00:22:55 diagnosis, we all live with life and birth. And
00:22:55 --> 00:22:57 getting married and getting divorced, they're
00:22:57 --> 00:22:59 like the biggest life events to cause stress.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:03 Moving to a new house, even if it's not your
00:23:03 --> 00:23:06 dream home, it's a life stress -causing event
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 that can actually come with medical problems.
00:23:08 --> 00:23:11 The mind -body connection is so intertwined.
00:23:14 --> 00:23:17 People with a lot of the GI upset, Crohn's disease
00:23:17 --> 00:23:19 things, things that you know, medical advice,
00:23:19 --> 00:23:23 evidence practice says what you eat is what you're
00:23:23 --> 00:23:26 going to produce. And I've gone to a Crohn's
00:23:26 --> 00:23:29 patient who's on all kinds of infusions and has
00:23:29 --> 00:23:31 all the anxiety of all the problems that have
00:23:31 --> 00:23:33 social problems he's encountered over their lifetime
00:23:33 --> 00:23:37 with this decades of this problem. And I'll say,
00:23:37 --> 00:23:39 well, what kind of diet are you on? Oh, my doctor
00:23:39 --> 00:23:42 said it doesn't matter what I eat. I'm just like
00:23:42 --> 00:23:44 going to have this the rest of my life. until
00:23:44 --> 00:23:47 it kills me. And it's cringe when I hear that,
00:23:47 --> 00:23:49 especially if I'm not there as a hypnotist, I'm
00:23:49 --> 00:23:51 there as a nurse. But the good thing about nursing
00:23:51 --> 00:23:55 is that most nurses take in a holistic view towards
00:23:55 --> 00:23:58 life. And we see the things that doctors miss
00:23:58 --> 00:24:00 sometimes because the doctor's learning how to
00:24:00 --> 00:24:02 use a computer for the first time in his life
00:24:02 --> 00:24:05 sometimes. And if you go to a surgeon, he only
00:24:05 --> 00:24:07 knows to tell you what he can do for surgery.
00:24:07 --> 00:24:09 He's not going to be able to tell you other options
00:24:09 --> 00:24:12 that you have. Nursing, though, is taught to
00:24:12 --> 00:24:15 look at the whole person, and that's what I believe
00:24:15 --> 00:24:19 holistic is. So no matter where you come, Reiki,
00:24:19 --> 00:24:22 pain management, anything you come for, I'm usually
00:24:22 --> 00:24:24 picking up other problems or other challenges.
00:24:24 --> 00:24:28 I don't like to use the word problems. And people
00:24:28 --> 00:24:30 are amazed that, gosh, they never realized that
00:24:30 --> 00:24:33 that's what was causing this. There are some
00:24:33 --> 00:24:36 mild temporary side effects. I don't want to
00:24:36 --> 00:24:39 use that word. Say a person has high blood pressure,
00:24:39 --> 00:24:41 is on a lot of meds and everything, take his
00:24:41 --> 00:24:43 meds as you absolutely should. I'll never tell
00:24:43 --> 00:24:47 someone not to. I do tell people to record that
00:24:47 --> 00:24:49 when they take their medications like that, the
00:24:49 --> 00:24:51 time of day they're doing it and what the blood
00:24:51 --> 00:24:54 pressure is and maybe check it again two hours
00:24:54 --> 00:24:56 after your medication to give that doctor that
00:24:56 --> 00:24:59 information. But because you learn how to relax
00:24:59 --> 00:25:02 and if it's very, very successful, even on the
00:25:02 --> 00:25:04 first visit, it can be enough to make you dizzy.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:07 And just because for the first time in years,
00:25:07 --> 00:25:09 maybe your blood pressure has gone down to normal
00:25:09 --> 00:25:11 and your body doesn't know how to handle it.
00:25:12 --> 00:25:14 I let people know if I know a person who has
00:25:14 --> 00:25:18 that kind of history. Anxiety and panic attacks
00:25:18 --> 00:25:22 have so many physiological symptoms that. We're
00:25:22 --> 00:25:25 cautious about nobody's going to leave here in
00:25:25 --> 00:25:27 a state where they're not safe enough to drive
00:25:27 --> 00:25:29 their car home or anything like that. A session
00:25:29 --> 00:25:33 always wakes you. I don't like to just wake up.
00:25:33 --> 00:25:35 They bring you back to the present moment and
00:25:35 --> 00:25:38 reminds you that you are in full control and
00:25:38 --> 00:25:42 it's going to take practice to reinforce what
00:25:42 --> 00:25:44 your mind heard. And if you fall asleep during
00:25:44 --> 00:25:46 the session, people think, oh, I fell asleep.
00:25:46 --> 00:25:49 I wasted my money. It's okay. Your subconscious
00:25:49 --> 00:25:52 mind heard everything. And it will come back
00:25:52 --> 00:25:54 and remind you when you need to be reminded.
00:25:56 --> 00:26:00 You have a video on your site labeled on your
00:26:00 --> 00:26:03 site, Hypnosis for Pain Management, Philadelphia,
00:26:03 --> 00:26:08 PA. Can you share what's covered in it? I teach
00:26:08 --> 00:26:10 people the medical perspective. If you're on
00:26:10 --> 00:26:12 medication, taking more pills is not going to
00:26:12 --> 00:26:15 fix the pain. If you need to function, especially
00:26:15 --> 00:26:18 productively and safely. whether it's driving
00:26:18 --> 00:26:21 a car or going to work while you're in treatments
00:26:21 --> 00:26:25 or whatever. I teach mindfulness as part of pain
00:26:25 --> 00:26:27 management because it helps you be aware and
00:26:27 --> 00:26:30 listen to your body. I teach getting ahead of
00:26:30 --> 00:26:32 the bad pain. It's okay to take the medication,
00:26:33 --> 00:26:36 but you need to take it before it's really bad
00:26:36 --> 00:26:38 because PT, you're going to just be wiped out
00:26:38 --> 00:26:40 totally when you get to that physical therapist
00:26:40 --> 00:26:42 and you're not going to be able to get the full
00:26:42 --> 00:26:45 benefit of your therapy session if you're in
00:26:45 --> 00:26:48 intense pain. It's a major distraction too. all
00:26:48 --> 00:26:50 aspects of your life, as most people in chronic
00:26:50 --> 00:26:53 pain know. And I let them know that part of their
00:26:53 --> 00:26:56 anxiety comes from not having access to the traditional
00:26:56 --> 00:26:59 modalities maybe that they've used for years
00:26:59 --> 00:27:01 because the insurance companies just aren't doing
00:27:01 --> 00:27:04 it. The doctors aren't even allowed. Only the
00:27:04 --> 00:27:06 specialist pain management provides those medicines
00:27:06 --> 00:27:09 now. It's a complicated situation, but I encourage
00:27:09 --> 00:27:12 people to believe in themselves and empower them
00:27:12 --> 00:27:16 to do what you can. If it's not enough, let your
00:27:16 --> 00:27:19 doctors know where you need to enhance what you're
00:27:19 --> 00:27:23 trying to do. So many doctors assume years ago,
00:27:23 --> 00:27:25 if you went to pain management, usually if you
00:27:25 --> 00:27:28 were really addicted to the prescription drugs
00:27:28 --> 00:27:31 and things like that, the average person who
00:27:31 --> 00:27:33 maybe has a temporary situation but needs pain
00:27:33 --> 00:27:36 management, sometimes the doctors still unfortunately
00:27:36 --> 00:27:39 look like everybody's here just to get my script
00:27:39 --> 00:27:41 and they don't see the whole person. And that's
00:27:41 --> 00:27:43 when skills of learning how to talk and really
00:27:43 --> 00:27:48 express what's going on. come in handy breathing's
00:27:48 --> 00:27:52 a big part of getting into relaxation and you
00:27:52 --> 00:27:54 have a technique called box breathing would you
00:27:54 --> 00:27:57 like to share it with us sure i'd be happy to
00:27:57 --> 00:28:00 uh there's several quick box breathing is one
00:28:00 --> 00:28:03 of the shorter ones and in seconds you can actually
00:28:03 --> 00:28:07 lower your blood pressure and get to a state
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 of calmness. They do it while you're driving,
00:28:08 --> 00:28:10 of course, but if you're at a long red light,
00:28:10 --> 00:28:12 you're stuck at a train track and you're in a
00:28:12 --> 00:28:14 hurry and that Amtrak train's got a hundred cars
00:28:14 --> 00:28:16 and you lost track counting and they got more
00:28:16 --> 00:28:20 pissed off. Fox breathing is very simple. It's
00:28:20 --> 00:28:23 you just inhale slowly through your nose for
00:28:23 --> 00:28:25 the count of four. So you go take a deep breath.
00:28:27 --> 00:28:34 One, two, three, four, and then you exhale. for
00:28:34 --> 00:28:42 a count of eight and then you repeat that cycle
00:28:42 --> 00:28:45 uh several times as long as you can do it safely
00:28:45 --> 00:28:47 as long as it needs and you usually find usually
00:28:47 --> 00:28:50 two or three times in the cycle you've slowed
00:28:50 --> 00:28:52 your heart rate down just by controlling your
00:28:52 --> 00:28:55 breathing i practice as an infusion nurse and
00:28:55 --> 00:28:58 i learned over the years for some reason i I
00:28:58 --> 00:29:01 was never one of those patients. But when I'm
00:29:01 --> 00:29:03 going to stick somebody with a needle, they hold
00:29:03 --> 00:29:06 their breath for some reason. And the blood doesn't
00:29:06 --> 00:29:11 flow when you're not breathing. So I guess, you
00:29:11 --> 00:29:13 know, as a laboratory technician, you might realize
00:29:13 --> 00:29:17 that, too. But one man. I'd never met him before.
00:29:17 --> 00:29:19 I knew I was in the vein. The blood wasn't there.
00:29:20 --> 00:29:22 He didn't have many vein choices to go to if
00:29:22 --> 00:29:24 I had to restick him. And I said to his wife,
00:29:24 --> 00:29:27 does your husband have anxiety issues? Oh, he
00:29:27 --> 00:29:29 does. Does that affect anything? Honey, didn't
00:29:29 --> 00:29:32 you take your pills? And, you know, but once
00:29:32 --> 00:29:35 I explained that the blood will flow if you just
00:29:35 --> 00:29:37 take some deep breaths. And sometimes I don't
00:29:37 --> 00:29:40 even say that to them. They just pick up on my
00:29:40 --> 00:29:43 breathing and the calmness. And when I see that
00:29:43 --> 00:29:45 they're breathing like I am, all of a sudden
00:29:45 --> 00:29:48 the blood flows. I teach nurses fusion techniques.
00:29:49 --> 00:29:51 You're usually in the vein 90 % or more of the
00:29:51 --> 00:29:54 time. You just relax. A new nurse especially
00:29:54 --> 00:29:56 will panic. Oh, my God, I got to stick him again.
00:29:56 --> 00:29:58 He's going to be mad. And they get anxious and
00:29:58 --> 00:30:00 everybody's anxious and nothing happens. So there's
00:30:00 --> 00:30:03 been times I've kept that IV catheter in for
00:30:03 --> 00:30:06 an extra minute or two. And it's OK, let's take
00:30:06 --> 00:30:08 some deep breaths. And there's my blood. I'm
00:30:08 --> 00:30:10 relieved and released my anxiety and it helps
00:30:10 --> 00:30:13 them. And we don't realize how important breathing
00:30:13 --> 00:30:18 is. I used it in childbirth. There are actually
00:30:18 --> 00:30:20 hypnotherapists that specialize in hypnobirthing.
00:30:21 --> 00:30:23 doing hypnosis for childbirth. I didn't have
00:30:23 --> 00:30:26 that experience with my multiple pregnancies,
00:30:26 --> 00:30:29 but I did take the Lamaze classes, which basically
00:30:29 --> 00:30:32 teaches breathing techniques. And you realize
00:30:32 --> 00:30:35 that you might learn something somewhere in your
00:30:35 --> 00:30:38 life for a particular vision purpose. But if
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 you think about what you're actually doing and
00:30:39 --> 00:30:42 not robotically repeating it, you realize it's
00:30:42 --> 00:30:45 something that you can use in all kinds of situations
00:30:45 --> 00:30:52 in life. Do you do hypnosis on yourself? Not
00:30:52 --> 00:30:54 as often as I should. Nurses are good people
00:30:54 --> 00:30:58 for do as I say, not as I do. Even in holistic
00:30:58 --> 00:31:01 health care, a lot of times if I'm hypnotized,
00:31:01 --> 00:31:04 doing a session on a problem, a situation that
00:31:04 --> 00:31:06 applies in my life, I've actually... caught myself
00:31:06 --> 00:31:09 thinking as we're doing the session, okay, brain,
00:31:10 --> 00:31:12 this is for her. Don't pay attention. You don't
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 want to hear that you're not doing it. And I
00:31:13 --> 00:31:16 laugh. I think having a sense of humor is important,
00:31:16 --> 00:31:18 if not the most important, along with learning
00:31:18 --> 00:31:21 how to breathe and just relax better and stress
00:31:21 --> 00:31:25 management. And it is difficult. You used to
00:31:25 --> 00:31:27 see, you don't see it as much anymore, thank
00:31:27 --> 00:31:30 God. But right outside the hospital doors, there'll
00:31:30 --> 00:31:32 be nurses and doctors having a cigarette. I don't
00:31:32 --> 00:31:34 see that as much. I had an experience with a
00:31:34 --> 00:31:37 nurse that I was supervising, a home care nurse,
00:31:37 --> 00:31:39 and her patient complained she smells terrible
00:31:39 --> 00:31:42 when she gets here. So I had to talk to her.
00:31:42 --> 00:31:45 And she said, well, that's not possible. Before
00:31:45 --> 00:31:47 I get out of the car, I spray myself with Febreze.
00:31:47 --> 00:31:50 You know you got to spray yourself with an air
00:31:50 --> 00:31:52 freshener. Then probably has a valid complaint.
00:31:53 --> 00:31:55 The kids are aware even if they don't say. And
00:31:55 --> 00:31:57 now they hear it on the commercials and they
00:31:57 --> 00:31:59 feel bad if you're a child of a parent who's
00:31:59 --> 00:32:03 still smoking. because they're also hearing in
00:32:03 --> 00:32:05 the commercials the side effects. Mommy, don't
00:32:05 --> 00:32:07 you love me? Why do you want to die? Commercial
00:32:07 --> 00:32:09 says that the lady didn't know her mother. Her
00:32:09 --> 00:32:11 mother died when she was 16, couldn't see her
00:32:11 --> 00:32:13 graduate. And the younger kids are picking up
00:32:13 --> 00:32:15 on that too. And they don't want to be left without
00:32:15 --> 00:32:19 a parent if it's not at all available. And hospice
00:32:19 --> 00:32:22 have to face certain realities. But if you can
00:32:22 --> 00:32:25 go there without thinking about the bucket list
00:32:25 --> 00:32:27 you never filled, I try to encourage people to
00:32:27 --> 00:32:31 just learn to love ourselves. When you do that,
00:32:31 --> 00:32:34 I think you're more motivated to really be good
00:32:34 --> 00:32:37 to yourself and you learn to set boundaries better.
00:32:37 --> 00:32:42 It's all part of what we do. In addition to your
00:32:42 --> 00:32:45 work with people, you also rescue animals, particularly
00:32:45 --> 00:32:50 dogs. I have to ask, can you do hypnosis on a
00:32:50 --> 00:32:54 dog? I can do Reiki on the dogs, and I can use
00:32:54 --> 00:32:57 breathing techniques next to my dog, and he's
00:32:57 --> 00:32:59 really, really anxious. And I have a couple that
00:32:59 --> 00:33:01 are on Prozac, so yes, they're working on that.
00:33:01 --> 00:33:04 We practice a lot. Just by me cuddling them and
00:33:04 --> 00:33:07 me watching my breathing while I'm holding them
00:33:07 --> 00:33:12 or stroking them, it encourages them to really
00:33:12 --> 00:33:16 work. And they calm down. And Reiki is another
00:33:16 --> 00:33:19 energetic medicine form that I practice. Reiki
00:33:19 --> 00:33:21 has just seen the quantum physics principles
00:33:21 --> 00:33:24 and everything. It works with animals. It works
00:33:24 --> 00:33:27 with plants. It works with so many things. And
00:33:27 --> 00:33:30 it's basically free once you learn the skills.
00:33:30 --> 00:33:33 It's a toolbox. It's a first aid kit in your
00:33:33 --> 00:33:37 pocket all the time. Yeah, I know. I do energy
00:33:37 --> 00:33:41 work, and I know it's helped me a lot. Tapping
00:33:41 --> 00:33:45 is another thing. And some of the tapping techniques,
00:33:45 --> 00:33:48 we also encourage learning to love yourself and
00:33:48 --> 00:33:52 accept yourself. Do you do tapping as well? I
00:33:52 --> 00:33:56 do do tapping. I struggle with it sometimes because
00:33:56 --> 00:33:58 I have issues that has really helped or could
00:33:58 --> 00:34:01 help even more. And it's like I feel guilty if
00:34:01 --> 00:34:03 I'm doing it to other people and not doing it
00:34:03 --> 00:34:06 to myself. There's a form called TAPIS for migraine
00:34:06 --> 00:34:09 headaches. where basically it's like using the
00:34:09 --> 00:34:11 acupressure points and you put your fingers right,
00:34:11 --> 00:34:13 and the headache goes away with no medication.
00:34:14 --> 00:34:18 And whether it's a stress or even if it's a physiological
00:34:18 --> 00:34:21 headache, it still decreases the pressure of
00:34:21 --> 00:34:23 it enough that you can deal with what you need
00:34:23 --> 00:34:27 to do medically. So there's just so many techniques
00:34:27 --> 00:34:30 that the NMT that cured my shellfish allergy,
00:34:30 --> 00:34:34 that's quantum physics based. And you talk to
00:34:34 --> 00:34:36 the autonomic nervous system and you can, for
00:34:36 --> 00:34:39 pain management with NMT, you're actually telling
00:34:39 --> 00:34:41 your autonomic nervous system, the practitioner,
00:34:41 --> 00:34:45 is to raise your pain threshold so that a number
00:34:45 --> 00:34:48 six pain really feels like a two. Do that and,
00:34:48 --> 00:34:51 you know, the pain is still the same, but the
00:34:51 --> 00:34:53 way you're perceiving it is different. So you
00:34:53 --> 00:34:56 get the same result. For those of you that don't
00:34:56 --> 00:34:58 know what we're talking about, we were talking
00:34:58 --> 00:35:01 about emotional freedom techniques, which involves
00:35:01 --> 00:35:04 tapping on meridian line points on the face,
00:35:04 --> 00:35:09 neck, and under arms. It's like a neuro -linguistic
00:35:09 --> 00:35:13 programming. You're talking at the same time
00:35:13 --> 00:35:17 as working on the meridian lines to help different
00:35:17 --> 00:35:20 issues, because every meridian line not only
00:35:20 --> 00:35:25 represents And emotion, it also represents physical
00:35:25 --> 00:35:29 pain. So you can use it for both things. And
00:35:29 --> 00:35:31 the same way, you know, Reiki and other techniques
00:35:31 --> 00:35:34 go along the chakras. And each chakra, the seven
00:35:34 --> 00:35:38 chakras, represents a different part of your
00:35:38 --> 00:35:42 body. I've had a good teacher and mentor over
00:35:42 --> 00:35:46 the years who, if she even sees me in a... I
00:35:46 --> 00:35:49 also was her dog sitter. So I'd see her frequently,
00:35:49 --> 00:35:52 officially, you know, working together and sees
00:35:52 --> 00:35:54 me even like react to something that I don't
00:35:54 --> 00:35:56 have to be reacting to. She might just casually
00:35:56 --> 00:35:59 say something, a few words that she uses in her
00:35:59 --> 00:36:01 practice. And it's like, it makes me laugh because
00:36:01 --> 00:36:03 I wasn't aware of it. You know, sometimes mindfulness
00:36:03 --> 00:36:05 is not perfect, no matter how much you practice.
00:36:06 --> 00:36:09 Yeah. Sometimes people need their illness or
00:36:09 --> 00:36:13 their problems. And if there's enough of that.
00:36:13 --> 00:36:16 forces in their body until they're able to really
00:36:16 --> 00:36:19 be ready to accept that they don't need those
00:36:19 --> 00:36:22 problems they can substitute those issues that
00:36:22 --> 00:36:25 trigger those problems with a different attitude
00:36:25 --> 00:36:27 and that that's when you have the most success
00:36:27 --> 00:36:30 i think but not everybody's ready like you can
00:36:30 --> 00:36:32 lead a horse to water but you can't make them
00:36:32 --> 00:36:35 drink it's okay if somebody comes for a problem
00:36:35 --> 00:36:37 holistically and they're not ready. If you have
00:36:37 --> 00:36:39 a serious medical problem that needs attention
00:36:39 --> 00:36:42 and you're not ready, that's a different story.
00:36:42 --> 00:36:44 Then you really want to consider alternative
00:36:44 --> 00:36:47 help maybe to get your mindset ready to deal
00:36:47 --> 00:36:50 with what you need to deal with because their
00:36:50 --> 00:36:53 time is of the essence. We're getting near the
00:36:53 --> 00:36:56 end of the show now. Where can people find out
00:36:56 --> 00:36:59 more about your services, your show, or connect
00:36:59 --> 00:37:03 with you directly? Well, I am weekly Thursdays,
00:37:03 --> 00:37:07 12 noon to 1 p .m., where we interview a variety
00:37:07 --> 00:37:10 of international practitioners around the world
00:37:10 --> 00:37:13 and talk about the cultural differences and things.
00:37:14 --> 00:37:16 I also will touch on topics that seem timely
00:37:16 --> 00:37:19 as far as patient advocacy, if you're having
00:37:19 --> 00:37:21 problems in traditional health care, how you
00:37:21 --> 00:37:24 can deal with those problems. And I'm also, my
00:37:24 --> 00:37:29 email is not just hypnosis, which is the three
00:37:29 --> 00:37:33 words run together, N -O -T. J -U -S -T -H -Y
00:37:33 --> 00:37:38 -P -N -O -S -I -S at gmail .com. And I practice
00:37:38 --> 00:37:42 both remotely and in person. There is benefits
00:37:42 --> 00:37:44 to both types, but during COVID, it became a
00:37:44 --> 00:37:47 necessity. A lot of us learned to be good at
00:37:47 --> 00:37:50 the virtual and it is just as effective, but
00:37:50 --> 00:37:53 some people prefer the in -person. Reiki does
00:37:53 --> 00:37:56 distance and it works, but some people need,
00:37:56 --> 00:37:57 you know, cancer patients, but they like to know
00:37:57 --> 00:37:59 you're right there with them and sharing the
00:37:59 --> 00:38:02 journey with them. And my phone number, I can
00:38:02 --> 00:38:09 be reached. It's 1 -267 -593 -5557. If people
00:38:09 --> 00:38:11 have issues and you're in whatever part of the
00:38:11 --> 00:38:14 country and now world, I have a very good resource
00:38:14 --> 00:38:17 list that I can direct you to supporting organizations
00:38:17 --> 00:38:21 and places where you can get. The Unite for Her
00:38:21 --> 00:38:23 is a worldwide organization now that supports
00:38:23 --> 00:38:26 patients with breast cancer, which is male and
00:38:26 --> 00:38:30 female and women. typically women cancers. And
00:38:30 --> 00:38:32 there's a lot of support organizations for any
00:38:32 --> 00:38:35 of those major health problems. And I have resource
00:38:35 --> 00:38:38 lists. So I'm happy to share that with anybody.
00:38:38 --> 00:38:41 Just send me an email. I'd be glad to share what
00:38:41 --> 00:38:45 you need. Thank you, Peggy. Thank you for having
00:38:45 --> 00:38:48 me. It's always a pleasure. And I've had a chance
00:38:48 --> 00:38:50 in the last couple of weeks to really look at
00:38:50 --> 00:38:54 your archives and stuff. You help a lot of people,
00:38:54 --> 00:38:57 too. We're out there to help, and we're not as
00:38:57 --> 00:39:00 costly as your insurance. A lot of times, a lot
00:39:00 --> 00:39:01 of medical things cost more than they should.
00:39:02 --> 00:39:04 There's some things, though, that you cannot
00:39:04 --> 00:39:07 go without. We can help you get through the journey
00:39:07 --> 00:39:10 in what we do. Yeah, that's true. Information
00:39:10 --> 00:39:13 is power. Information is definitely power. Yes,
00:39:13 --> 00:39:15 you said it well. Thank you. Thanks for having
00:39:15 --> 00:39:19 me. Okay, so I'll just remind everybody, she's
00:39:19 --> 00:39:22 on The Holistic Nurse every Thursday at 12 p
00:39:22 --> 00:39:24 .m., and all this information will be in the
00:39:24 --> 00:39:27 description section. Thank you so much. Thank
00:39:27 --> 00:39:29 you for tuning in to Where Science Meets Self
00:39:29 --> 00:39:33 -Care with Ida Fennelly. Ida bridges clinical
00:39:33 --> 00:39:36 science with holistic wisdom, guiding you toward
00:39:36 --> 00:39:40 radiant skin, balanced energy, and lasting well
00:39:40 --> 00:39:43 -being. Don't forget to subscribe, share the
00:39:43 --> 00:39:46 show, and join us next time for more inspiration
00:39:46 --> 00:39:49 and practical tools to help you live beautifully
00:39:49 --> 00:39:53 inside and out. To connect with Ida, visit linktree/idafanelli
00:39:53 --> 00:39:59 .com. Until then, take good care of yourself.
00:39:59 --> 00:40:02 And remember, self -care is where science and
00:40:02 --> 00:40:03 soul meet.