I’ve received some lovely feedack following my last post. One of the messages was from a good friend of mine, Greg, recently had a bit of bad luck – his kidneys packed up. You know, as they do. No reason why, they just did. Then it got worse. As he waited for a suitable donor an infection took hold. Greg spent several weeks in a coma while the infection was being fought.
When he came round he had missed the 2012 Olympics and, due to the drugs he was given, had lost the tips of his toes and was at risk of losing the ends of his fingers. He had no hair. Fortunately it was only the toes he ended up missing – the fingers survived and his hair grew back. After giving him the one bit of information about the Olympics that would make him happy – a picture of Jessica Ennis – we did a little hypnotherapy together for a little emotional control, to put him in a better place while he waited for a donor.
Fortunately a suitable donor was found and a few weeks ago Greg had a successful transplant. We had three hypnotherapy sessions before the operation. Here is what he has written about his experience:
“I recently had a major life changing operation. In the weeks leading up to the operation I started getting nervous wondering: “what if this happened” and “what if that happened”. So I approached Gary to see if he could help with my nerves. After speaking to him he quickly made me aware that there were a number of areas he could help.
Our first session focused on relaxing while I was in hospital and changing my perception of time so it APPEARED that time was going quickly because no one wants to be in hospital any longer than necessary. We worked on the nerves and worry. He also started taught me self-hypnosis so I could practice between sessions.
Our second session was about the actual operation itself, we focused on my body losing as little blood as possible during the operation there for making the surgeons job as easy as possible. We then worked on my body healing the scar as quickly and efficiently as it would allow.
On our third and final session before the big day we worked on all the topics we covered in the first two sessions.
I couldn’t believe how relaxed I was on the day of the operation, I was asked several times if I was nervous to which I responded “no, should I be, I was even cracking inappropriate jokes in the anaesthetic room before I went into surgery. When I came round I went down to the ward and saw my family and I was surprisingly lucid and understandable.
The day after I was able to get up and walk around and the doctors and nurses commented that I was behaving, eating and walking around like I was on day three of recovery and not day one. I then questioned the doctors about the amount of blood that I needed during the operation to which they responded a very low (much lower than normal) blood loss. Three days after the operation the doctors commented that my scar was making a remarkable recovery and looked a lot cleaner and neater than normal.
I was amazed about how effective Gary’s therapy was; it all seemed so easy and effortless. That’s the amazing thing about Gary’s approach, you only realise how different you have behaved when you look back on the event itself.
Hypnotherapy isn’t about making you act like a chicken – it’s about empowering you to be the person you want to be. Gary’s approach gives you the tools to carry on his good work after your session and he doesn’t look for follow up business. He wants to make sure your problem is solved as quickly as possible.
I can’t sing his approach highly enough and he has helped me with a number of issues which were holding me back and now he has helped me become the bloke I want to be.”
Greg Park
This is a lovely testimonial from Greg – although the best thanks is Greg coming through the operation so well. Now he has the road to recovery, and hopefully he is continuing to use the techniques he learnt to make things as easy as possible for him. Remember too that I’m a hypnotist – I may have planted the suggestion for his last two paragraphs – you’ll never know. 😉
The mind and the body are so intrinsically linked that every surgical procedure has a psychological element. In coming blogs I will break down just some of the approaches used in order for you to fully understand just what the mind may be capable of – and how using the mind appropriately can make things so much easier for you and aid in a speedy recovery.
For now please think on just how connected the mind and the body are and just what you can achieve if you work with the mind just as much as the body.
Gary Turner
Gary ‘Smiler’ Turner brings unique skills to talkhealth. He has been World Champion thirteen times in his sports career – he fully understands physical and mental performance, from both the practical and academic standpoints. In his Hypnotherapy practice Gary works with a diverse range of clients who present issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety issues, eating disorders and weight issues, addictions, and a host of illnesses, diseases and physical conditions. Gary takes an evidence-based approach to his work. He is a sought after speaker and delivers workshops, seminars and presentations including having presented at the National Hypnotism Conference. As a Personal Trainer Gary is sought after by professional athletes and those who want to be ‘fit for life’. Gary is skilled with working with medical conditions and disabled. As examples he has taught a Paralympion to be a kickboxer despite being in a wheelchair, a client with neurological damage to his arm to be medal winning grappler, and successfully works with clients with prosthetic limbs. In his role as a Performance Expert Gary works with individuals, teams and businesses to help them achieve optimum performance. He often works with the British Army and has been a Subject Matter Expert on the re-writing of ‘Combat PT’ – the product delivered by Army PTI’s. He has also worked with many British Army sports teams such as the Judo, Boxing, and Kayak teams. Gary has a thirst for knowledge and studies 2-6hrs every day, on such diverse topics as psychology, neuroscience, physiology, nutrition and more. This will help to bring a rounded opinions and advice to talkhealth. Gary’s first book ‘No Worries’, a book to help people remove their anxiety, is now available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle. In his personal life Gary enjoys working with his huskies as a team, competing in ultra-marathons, and still trains at his chosen sports.
Join with Google
Join with Facebook