THE WORST IS OVER:
What to Say When Every Moment Counts
Together with Judith Acosta, LCSW, an East Coast psychologist, I have written a book called The Worst Is Over: What To Say When Every Moment Counts. The subtitle is, Verbal First Aid to Calm, Relieve Pain, Promote Healing, and Save Lives. It is about an important way to help others in times of emergency. Click here to access testimonials about the book and about the Verbal First Aid trainings that I conduct, based upon the book.
Everyone sooner or later will encounter someone in a medical emergency, and knowing the simple words to use that will start their inner healing and provide pain relief can change the outcome and help them to arrive in the emergency room, stronger and more whole.
The theory behind it is that, in a medical emergency, people are in an altered state in which words can reach their autonomic nervous system and begin their healing. The book provides mind-body techniques that have proven to be helpful in medical emergencies. When you know the words that can provide pain relief and reminders to the body to begin to heal itself, you are empowered to be of help, and that is a blessing in a time of trial.
The book also provides chapters on words that make a difference in emotional illness, physical and chronic illness, suicide attempts, and even at the point of dying.
You
can buy The Worst Is Over by
emailing me at Judithsimonprager@yahoo.com.
This theory of Hypnosis for Medical Emergency is described in
Chapter Twenty-Three of Journey to Alternity:
HYPNOSIS FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES
When a person is in an accident, he or she is in an altered state. Fear, rampant emotions or shock put them into a highly susceptible position where their own judgment is suspended. At such a time, what you say can influence their healing.
For example, if you see someone (even in a coma - they hear you!) who seems to be in bad shape, it can only harm that person to overhear you saying so. But, on the other side of it, positive suggestions can help them as readily. The reason (as you may already have read in Interchapter 1) is that every emotion that we have generates a physical response. When we are embarrassed, we blush, when we are excited we can get aroused, when we are frightened, even by a nightmare, our hearts pound, our hands sweat, we feel faint. Our thoughts give rise to physical manifestations.
It has been shown that autonomic nervous system functions (heart beat, respiratory rate and the like) can be influenced by words alone. Doctors in operating rooms are becoming aware that even people under anesthesia hear their words at some level and can remember them when put in trance years later. Wise doctors are now realizing how important it is to take care before they speak, as they are operating not simply on an inert body but on a whole human being who is a mind/body. I recently developed a series of tapes/CDs for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center which are being used before, after and during cardio-thoracic surgery, so that patients not only don't hear harmful words during the operation, but that their inner healing is initiated by positive visualization.
So, should you encounter someone in an accident, even non-medical personnel can help, not by moving or even touching them (never do that!), but simply by making positive suggestions.
A person in an accident or emergency knows that the situation is dire. It does no good to say, "You'll be all right." That simply lessens your credibility. The best words you can say, the words that help move the person from fear and the chemicals it produces to calm and the chemicals that feelings produces are: "I'm here to help." or "Help is on the way." And, "THE WORST IS OVER." That's true and yet calming. The person has already been in a crash, been burned in the fire, been hurt in an accident. The next step is to start repairing and the words, "The worst is over," means just that. That the person can look forward to help and healing.
The best positive suggestions of course come from trained personnel themselves, because they can establish what Don Jacobs, Ph.D. calls a "contract." For example, a firefighter says, not that it's going to be all right - even a person in shock might not believe that -- but the following: "I am John Doe with the fire department. The worst is over. I'm here to help. Will you do as I say?" That's the contract. If the person says "yes," you can talk directly to their autonomic nervous system.
Even if you're not a medical or rescue person, should you find someone in an emergency situation, you could still simply say, "I'm here to help. The worst is over. Will you do as I say?" If they say, "Yes," you can suggest that they concentrate on slowing down their breathing to a comfortable, natural rate. You might suggest that, as soon as the wound is cleaned, they should stop bleeding and not waste their blood. Believe it or not, they can and will stop bleeding. You might distract their attention from their pain by asking them about non-injured parts (for example, if their leg is apparently broken, you might ask them to scan their body and see how the rest is). Pain is a matter of awareness. If their awareness is transferred away from the pain, you are giving them some relief until medical help comes.
There is also a portion of the program about burn victims. If you get to a burn victim before an hour has passed, you can suggest that they imagine the burned area in a cool stream, in a bucket of ice, packed in snow. If they can do it, there will be less inflammation and less scaring when they are treated.
This is everyday magic. There are seven medical doctors on the video made by Dr. Jacobs, many of them from the Berkeley Hospital Emergency Room, who state that they wish workers in the field would apply these techniques before the patients are brought in.
I have given this lecture to a room full of skeptical-looking, cowboy-style firefighters, EMT workers and nurses in Prescott, AZ. Their expressions were inscrutable. I did show them snippets of the video, of the Doctors testifying to the truth of this work, of a fire captain reporting its effects. I gave them the captain's name and phone number and said, "If you don't believe me, call him. He'll be glad to talk to you about it. And try it for yourselves." And I left.
Later on, prepared for the worst, I called LaRayne to find out how she thought it went. She said she had been watching the audience, not me, the whole time I spoke, and that they were transfixed; that they hadn't talked to each other during my address, as they usually did, but were silent, listening. What's more, she told me she had overheard the Rescue Workers remind each other, "be careful what you say." She said that they had heard me. This information can save lives.
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