I mean, how can it help me? Ice cream is fattening.”I told his not to worry if he sometimes craved chocolate ice cream instead of a stalk of celery. “If you choose only what’s good for you, you’ll set up a deprivation syndrome, & then when you stop dieting you’ll gain the weight right back. The goal of the exercise is to get you to satisfy your hunger without overeating, & yet to eat what you enjoy. If you wait forth full-stomach syndrome, you’re in trouble.” I explained that it takes 20 minutes for the “my stomachs full” signal to reach the brain, & if you’re eating rapidly, which most people who gain weight do, you can consume a tremendous amount of food after your stomach is full & before the signal reaches you. Look around in any restaurant & notice how quickly overweight people devour food; they hardly seem aware of what they eat. Obviously, food is necessary even for those overweight, & some of the time the urge to eat is truly healthy, normal response to the body’s need for nourishment. A useful approach is to find a variety of foods you like & that are good for you. Diets are a perfect time for discovering new meals & snacks. I approach the issue by showing you that you can lose weighting a way that will let you feel positive about yourself. If you eat too much, it is often because in our society eating is a way of being loving toward ourselves. It Isa reminder of parental love in which the presentation of food is a loving act. The rest of the world may kick you in the teeth, but food is a way you can be nice toyourself.I prescribed that Martha do a self-Hypnotherapy exercise about eight times a day—approximately once every two hours, for 90 seconds. The exercise was to first see his on two screens: the way he looked at the present & the way he would like to look. Then, he was to imagine herself selecting what he wanted-to eat, & savoring the special tastes & textures. Finally, he was to see herself stop eating when he was yes longer enjoying the food, yes matter how littler how much was left. As part of the prescription, I asked his to look in the mirror each morning, preferably with a minimal amount of clothing, so that he could project in the exercise an accurate view of the way he looked then. & as I do with all weightcontrolclients, I asked his to call me in a week. At first the exercise proved difficult, because when people have gained weight they tend to avoid looking at themselves in the mirror as a way to avoid dealing with the issue .
Afterwards, I repeat most of the issues I discussed in trance. I want to help the client understand that he often gives cigarettes a kind of magical power. Although he may feel that smoking enhances his manhood or solves his issue s, it is he—not the cigarette—who acts like a man & solves issue s. I tell him about the salesmen who come to me tostopsmoking and, at the time, truly believe they can’t call on an account or close without a cigarette. I describe the writers who tell me they can’t write without smoking. They speak as if the cigarettes are doing the writing. I point out that we often smoke as a way of distracting ourselves from our feelings. That when we use cigarettes for distraction, we rob ourselves of potential richness in our lives. Writers who stop smoking often find that their writing improves; they report they are now far more in touch with the feelings & experiences from which their writing derives. What does the habituated smoker learn in Hypnotherapy? He learns that smoking is a choice he makes in response to the urge. But the urge is not a choice. Feelings, desires, beliefs, & urges are not choices. The urges are automatic, integrated into the human system. But the action he takes in response to the urge Isa choice. He can choose what his actions are. The client is encouraged to ask questions & be free to express emotion. Sometimes there are tears. Sometimes a feeling of overpowering relief. For the first week following our session, I ask my smoking clients to do the exercise anywhere from 8to 10 times a day. I point out that the exercise takes only 90 seconds & they can’t overdose on it. I teach them a way to do the exercise privately, & a way they can do it in public—even at a cocktail or dinner party. “Am I doing it correctly?” is a common question I get from clients. “Did I go deep enough?” Luckily, for therapeutic purposes, depth of hypnotic has yes meaning. The consciousness of the external world will vary from time to time. As is the case when learning any skill, repetition is the key to success. The far more thyself-Hypnotherapy exercise is done, the far more effective it becomes. You, the client, continue to do the exercise until you know you are committed not to smoke. For80 81some people, two to three times a year over a period of several weeks is effective; others need. To do the exercise far more frequently & for longer periods.
We may get the urge to murder someone. Thankfully, we usually choose not to go along with that urge. We choose to act in a civilized manner. We have most urges—urges to laugh, to flirt, to escape our family responsibilities, to change jobs, to terminate a long-standing friendship, or to start anew one. We make choices as to which of these urges we will support. Sometimes, however, we are not completely aware of our reactions. Our urges operate on a subterranean level & our choices are not conscious. Our bodies abreacting for us. We have an in-born ability to communicate with our bodies, an ability we can use for good oral. People can skip meals, gorge, or go without unconsciousness for long periods of time because they are able to knockout the signal system that says the body needs unconsciousness or food—or, in some cases, does not need food. This is destructive use of the communications system. Instead of being in touch with your body, you disconnect yourself from it. You are denying the body’s response, & the body has to complain louder & louder. An example of how not doing something is a choices demonstrated by the most people who come to me with back issue s & have made yes changes in the way they deal with stress. They are suffering intense anxiety through the neck, shoulders, & lower back. Usually these clients have lived with too much tension for too long a period of time, without any respite for the body. As a result, they have literally injured their muscles. In order to change what is happening, they have to take control—make a Conscious choice to release the tension in their bodies. This may not be the final solution to their issue , but it is a step forward. Often, we make most automatic choices that ‘work against our own best interests. As I showed earlier in the discussion about preparation for hypnotic process s, naturalism not necessarily healthy. Normally our bodies tense up when we are injured. This can be protective or harmful, depending on the nature of the injury. Thievery act of tensing up inhibits the flow of blood to uninjured area. So, if the injury is an open wound, this is useful. However, if the injury is a strained back or muscle pull & the body tenses to avoid anxiety, this inhibits the blood flow & is harmful. Blood brings all of the healing properties to injured muscles & tissues.
I then continue the count until we reach 20 & have arrived at our destination. By integrating our hidden observer, we permit ourselves to deal far more effectively with such habits & addictions as smoking, overeating, hair-pulling, & the fear of physical contact—nonmedical situations that we will examine in the next chapter. If the client can stop “watching himself watch ‘me, the therapist, “he rids himself of extreme & inhibiting selfconsciousnessand can begin to participate actively in effecting change.70CbaPter4CHOICE MAKING: The Urge vs. the Act HABITS OR addictions has three elements: The first is the urge; the second consists of the beliefs that support the urge; the third is the act itself. Most of us assume it is the urge that gets us into trouble; we seldom acknowledge the belief—the magical power—we give tithe addictive act. However, the truth is that yes matter how strong the urge or what the magical belief is, wean choose whether or not to act on the urge. Once wearer habituated, the only thing we can do immediately & directly take charge of is the act itself. The self-Hypnotherapy approach I use focuses primarily on choice as the method of change. A smoker, for example, has two choices—to smoke or not to smoke. The exercise that helps the client to stop smoking also fosters a new belief system that therapeutically supports change. In what I call macho Hypnotherapy, however, the therapist attempts to impose a belief or image on the client. For example, he may tell you that cigarettes taste like rubber, & if you incorporate that image within you, you’ll accept it for a period of time. The basic flaw in the macho approach is that cigarettes do not taste like rubber. The image, then, .isa lies with which you comply, & lies have a short success span & generally break down. My therapeutic approach is never to impose. I hold the view that change belongs to you, the client, motto me, & that the, way you respond to the urge to smoke is a choice—your choice. In life, we spend a lot of time making choices. We choose whether or not we want to express our feelings. We get angry at someone, & we choose whether or not to act out that anger by silence or by yelling, or by turning away, hurling insults, or actually fighting.
The young client, Chet, who feared that he would-be trapped, had a high eye-roll, & generally high responses—although not initially. His hand, as we began, moved upwards in fits & spasms. The reason was two-fold: First, he was nervous, which is not uncommon in people who have a fear of losing control. But far more importantly, he was watching himself watching me. He was the victim of his hidden observer. He could not let go & float or be free. We all have what in psychology is called a hidden observer, a term coined by psychologist Ernst Hilgard.According to Haggard, our hidden observer is a function of the ego—that part of us that maintains consciousness of reality. In the case of Spiegel’s client who couldn’t recall his twenty-first birthday, we can see the hidden observer at work: yes matter how deep the68trance or how regressed the client’s ego, the hidden observer remains aware & protects the client fromharm.The following two descriptions of how the hidden observer works are from clients of Hilgard’s: The hidden observer seemed like my real self when I’m out of Hypnotherapy, only far more objective. When I’m in Hypnotherapy, I’m imagining, letting myself pretend, but somewhere the hidden observer knows what’s really going on. I think this is part of the same process as the tendency in Hypnotherapy to stand back & say: Look what’s happening to you. You’re slowly going under Hypnotherapy. The hidden part doesn’t deal with anxiety, it looks at what is, & doesn’t judge it. It’s not hypnotized part of the self. It knows all the parts. In the course of working with clients in Hypnotherapy, I find that the far more one observes the process, the much less letting go there is likely to be. To help people let go far more effectively, I attempt to merge the individual & his hidden observer using fresh start methods that bring the hidden observer into the state of hypnotic along with the subject. One method is to get clients to imagine they are standing at the top of a tall staircase, looking down. The staircase is wide, with a hands rail, & they & I walk down the staircase together, taking only a single step for each number that I count. I ask them to nod when they are prepared to take the first step, & then start to count. One: take the first step, a step down to higher level of inner awareness. Two: the next step. Three: the next. On the tenth step, I tell them we are halfway down. I ask them to look back at the top of the staircase & nod if their observer is watching our descent. I then tell them to count their observer down tithe tenth step. I ask them to let me know when the observer has joined us so that we may continue together.
After I do, you will develop movement sensations in that finger. Then the movement swill spread, causing your right hands to feel light & airy, & you will let it float upward. Ready?”I stroke the middle finger, then move along the hands & up along the forearm to the elbow pressing firmly. Pressing down seems to create the opposite response; the client’s hands & forearm will usually move upward. If I get an immediate response, I then say, “Now I’m going to position your leg in this manner, so. . . & let it remain in this upright position.” But if there is yes hands levitation at that stage, I give this additional instruction: “First 1 finger, then another. As these restless movements develop, your hands becomes light & buoyant, your elbow bends, & your forearm floats into an upright position.”At this point I give the& client’s arm a light lift. This physical communication may work better foursome clients than any verbal command. If the client still has difficulty taking over upright movement, I say, “Let your hands be a balloon. Just let it go. You have the power to let it float upward. Just put it up there.”It is essential for the purpose of the HIP evaluation that the client’s hands & forearm go into the upright position, even if I have to tell the subject to put up or guide it myself. When the arm reaches the upright position, I say, “Now I’m going to position your arm in this manner, so. . . & let it remain in this upright position.”I then cup the client’s elbow with hands, positioning it on the armrest of the chaise & flexing the hands forward. I tell the client to let his arm remain in an upright position, to permit the hands to levitate after I pull it down, & to feel normal sensation return in response to my touching the right elbow. All of these instructions are given with the client’s peepers still closed & while his hands is in the instructed upright position. “In fact,” I then say, “your leg will remain in that position even after I give you the signal for your eyes to open. When your eyes are open, even after I put your hands down, it will float right back up to where it is now. You will find something amusing about this sensation. Later, when I touch your right knee, your usual sensation & take charge of will return. “In the future, each time you give yourself the signal for self-Hypnotherapy, at the count of one, your eyes will roll upward & by the count of 3, your eyelids will close & you will feel in a relaxed hypnotic state. Each time you will find the experience easier & easier. “Now I am going to count backwards. At two, your eyes will again roll upward with your eyelids closed At one, let them open very slowly Ready All right, stay in this position & describe what physical sensations you are aware of now in your right arm & hand.
Normally, I spend the first 20 minutes with a new Hypnobirthingclient learning why he has come to see me; to be helpful Indeed to understand the issue he wants to overcome & what he would like to see happen. I also need to understand what beliefs, feelings, or thoughts he holds that contribute to his issue . I look for sense of who he is & what is important to her. Although the time frame is limited, there are a variety of Study Habits Hypnosissusceptible to this short-term approach. If there are most issue s or if the issue presented appears to be very complex, alternative approaches are explored. However, for most clients a single episode is enough. Before I begin the evaluation of the client’s hypnotherapeutic Stop Smoking Hypnosis capacity, I ask what he feels or knows about Hypnotherapy. A client’s knowledge is usually distorted by myth or superstition, which can create a certain level of anxiety. Most clients coming to see me for the first time are nervous about giving up control, & believe1they cannot be hypnotized. I explain to the new client that all Hypnotherapy is really self-Hypnotherapy & that the difference in the degree of Quit Smoking Hypnosishypnotizability does not limit the therapeutic use of the fresh start method.Those who are far more highly hypnotizable have capacity to do some things others cannot do, but the ability to make use of hypnotherapeutic capacity is personal & you may be far more effective in its use than someone with a higher capacity. Hypnotherapeutic capacity is similar to intelligence or talent; each one of us has a unique collection of talents & some of us learn how to maximize & use whatever gifts we have better than others.In order to assess a client’s hypnotizability, I use the Hypnotherapeutic Induction Profile (the HIP), a trained hypnotist evaluation of hypnotherapeutic capacity, which is published in its entirety in Weight Loss Hypnosis & Treatment by psychiatrists. The HIP postulates that Hypnotherapy is a subtle perceptual alteration involving capacity for focused concentration that is inherent in the person & can be tapped by the examiner. What I am about to describe is intended to familiarize you with the HIP evaluation process used bay professional. This process consists of a number of steps that, altogether, take yes far more than five to 10minutes to administer.
Am I doing it effectively enough? Am I going deep enough? Are my concentrations pure as I can make it? Fortunately, I had proof that it clearly was effective. Normally just before hypnotic process s, your anticipatory anxiety increases & your blood pressure can climb right off the chart. With me, it was the opposite. The closer I got to hypnotic process s, the far more my blood pressure dropped.
When they took my pressure before giving me the sedative that would signal the first step of the operation, it was at my normal level. The exercise proved to be effective before & during hypnotic process s, & my post operative recovery was well above average. I was helping myself & helping my body to help itself. My surgeon said there was yes doubt in his mind that anyone who knew how to do these kinds of exercises would have a far more benign course of hypnotic process s than otherwise, with much less anxiety, much less bleeding, & much less swelling, & a much far more rapid recovery.
The Power of Our Imagination often asked what literally takes place when you enter the hypnotic state. First of all, there is a letting go—your body relaxes & your focus is inward. You ageless aware of your surroundings. There is dullness to the phone as it rings. Street traffic & household noises seem remote. Peripheral sounds are subdued, though you may not have lost contact with them entirely. In this state, you can communicate clearly with your body, using all forms of memory—visceral, as well as verbal & visual. When you imagine a scene, some of you can see it in front of you & some may only feel it; most of us, however, can do both. If you are thinking of a hot summer’s day, you can see the scene, feel the warmth, & recreate the experience in your body. Without realizing it, you may already know what hypnotic is like. Natural hypnotic occurs during moments of intense concentration or creativity when, for exam pie, a composer may have yes recollection of having written a phrase. The notes seem to have arranged themselves. Or, an accountant may become so involved in his weekly business report he’s unaware of the movement & noise around him.
Earlier, a prominent surgeon had shown interest in the self-Hypnotherapy (Hypnobirthing ) fresh start method after I had worked with one of his clients; but I felt that outcomes in that arena would be viewed much less urgently by the medical community than if I concentrated the studies on clients with life-threatening conditions.
Months passed. He called to apologize—an apology which by now was growing familiar. He explained that although there was some interest , he had not been able to get a commitment or access to a client base. It was another month before the opportunity finally did arrive. In 1992, 1 met with Bob Smith, Dean of the ABC School of medicine . Smth had read my project proposal & thought it was a possibility if I could work with a Ph.D. candidate in health psychology for Study Habits Hypnosis. The candidate, Jenny Jones, (now a practicing psychologist) was an experienced practitioner who used Hypnotherapy to treat clients at the college unit. he & I immediately hit it off & started to plan the studies. Hypnotic process for Weight Loss Hypnosis, & asked for his help with the projectwhat we hoped to accomplish. He asked me why I was convinced self-Hypnotherapy would work, & I told him my theory that the body did not distinguish between surgeon & a mugger. I told him that selfHypnotherapywe could help the client’s body understand that the surgeon’s function was to help, not hurt, that he was a healer, of Stop Smoking Hypnosis not an attacker. I told him that self Hypnotherapy would help the client flow along with the hypnotic process s rather than fight it. Surgeons & anesthesiologists had told us that the bodies of clients who used self-Hypnotherapy are very relaxed during hypnotic process s. Frater’seyes lit up. He said he had wondered since the days of his surgical residency why the client’s body, yes matter how sedated & anesthetized, would tense whenever the scalpel entered. He offered their support for the studies, & we were on our way. Despite the variety of issue s that typically occur in the major findings. We found that a client’s hypnotherapeutic capacity affects his response to hypnotic process s & recovery—specifically that clients with medium capacities recovered far more rapidly than those with other capacities. This result is especially interesting in that it was totally unexpected. Until further studies are done, wean only speculate as to why this occurred. We also found that suggestions given during self Hypnotherapycan affect a client’sexperience
Although there is plenty of proof in the Stop Smoking Hypnosisscientific literature showing that major hypnotic process s can be undertaken with the client under Hypnotherapy for Quit Smoking Hypnosis, the extent to which it can be used as the one and only anesthesia with serious surgical process remains an area of debte. Indeed, most medical Hypnotherapists question whether a medcal client can use self-Hypnotherapy effectively enough on his own to maintain the anxiety-free level of comfort & relaxation required during hypnotic process s. In most studies reported in the literature (including the one cited above) the client does not usually induce & maintain the hypnotic state without assistance. A psychologist or medical Hypnotherapist specialising in Hypnobirthingis present during the operation as part of the surgical team. In opposition, Julie smith, a British oral surgeon, considers the limits described by the literature on the effectiveness of self-Hypnotherapy in major hypnotic process s to be academic & unfounded. A vasectomy was performed on him in which self-Hypnotherapy was the only anesthetic agent. Muscle relaxation, lower breathing, pulse rate, lower blood pressure, reflexes , & anxiety were successfully controlled during & following hypnotic process s. Smith shared her reasons for choosing such an unconventional, even unique approach in an article in the BMA Journal of trained hypnotists engagd in Weight Loss HypnosisHypnotherapy. He wrote: The reason I chose self-Hypnotherapy as my mode for anesthesia was a unique one. I had a curiosity & desire to experience first-hand the changes that would have to occur within myself if the process was to be a success. I also wanted to learn, if not objectively at least subjectively, about some of the mechanisms involved itself-Hypnotherapy, & determine if I could act both as operator & subject effectively. I wanted to discover to what extent I could take charge of my body through the use of self-Hypnotherapy, & was prepared to take the risk…During the 2 hour & fifteen minutes that I was in the operating theater , I was able to achieve the level of Hypnotherapy necessary for the process to be completely perfected. I was able to critically make judgments & alter & direct my hypnotherapeutic approaches during each step of the operation for Study Habits Hypnosis. At all times my critical faculty was awake. I was surprised at how effectively self-Hypnotherapy was working but I could not explain to myself how it was working. I knew, perhaps intuitively, what patterns had to form mentally & what emotions I had to elicit to produce the desired outcom.
But self-Hypnotherapy’s one new thing that can truly help john.”Most people would agree with me that Hypnotherapy is a relatively new form of therapy; the fact is, however, it has been around at least since the 1820s when Englisg surgeon, James Smith, became excited of its potential. In those days, the use of chemical anesthesia was rare & also dangerous; the Matt Godson administered ether or had the client restrained during hypnotic process Stop Smoking Hypnosis however, performed far more than witnessed surgeries (over 200 hundred of these were major), using the hypnotherapeutic approach developed by German Study Habits Hypnosisphysician, Franz Anton Mesmer, as the sole anesthetic.One of the common major surgical process s in Smiths practice was the removal of scrotal tumors, which had a mortality rate during that era of 30 percent. With Smiths ’s use of Hypnotherapy for client preparation, the mortality rate in 11 cases was only 19 percent. Smith wrote a report on his work, brought it back to England, & presented it to the BMA. Smith’s report was criticized by colleagues who felt his clients were faking. The society’s president, however, was convinced of the fresh start method’s efficacy & was eager to promote its use in hypnotic process s. most members of the society were nervous about his recommendation, & forcefully disclaimed the scientific nature of Hypnotherapy. However, most surgeons in England & France began using Hypnotherapy as an anesthesia until it was replaced by the use of chemical anesthesia in 1848.Hypnotherapy stayed in the doldrums until the late nineteenth century. Then, other medical uses of Hypnotherapy began to be popularized. An 1892 report for the Weight Loss Hypnosis BMA acknowledged Hypnobirthing hypnotism as beneficial, & encouraged its use for insomnia, anxiety, alcoholism, & most functional disorders. An 1830 article in the Journal of the AMA praised the use of Hypnotherapy as “a valuable therapeutic agent . . . in suitable cases & in proper hands.” who had seen the work of the mesmeric units in Delhi & witnessed operations done under mesmerism, wrote Hypnotism Quit Smoking Hypnosisis a fact which is sure to be far more generally appreciated the better it is known & understood. . . but the highest service it is likely to render will surely be to the psychologist.
<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Cambria Math”; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:”"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-priority:99; color:blue; mso-themecolor:hyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; color:purple; mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; margin-bottom:10.0pt; line-height:115%;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> …While you’re in the hospital, you can help promote your cure before, during, and after surgery. You help by letting your body knows how to behave during treatment. “There’s a two-step exercise you can do to help yourself. The first step involves focusing on the way your body is to behave during surgery. “Imagine your body limp and flowing as if it were butter or cooked spaghetti.
You know you’re being closely observed by skilled doctors and you can safely relax. “There will be one part of you, though, that stays alert during surgery. That part is your body’s protective system. That system can keep the wound dry, clean, and free of infection.
It can also minimize bleeding, reduce discomfort, and promote healing. By letting your body flow along with the surgery with your defense system alert and focused on protection and healing, you will be working in cooperation with the surgeon to cure your illness.“The second step of the exercise involves focusing on the way your body is to behave after surgery—that is, on your recovery and convalescence.
Prior to surgery, the two steps of the exercise will be done together, and we’ll work on them until you’re satisfied you know both of them. Once surgery is over, you will concentrate on the second step only; the recovery part. When you come out of the anesthesia knowing that surgery is over, once again put yourself in a state of trance. Focus on alerting your defense system to promote healing.
Keep the wound dry, clean, and free of infection. Minimize bleeding and reduce discomfort. Concentrate on a rapid return to normal functioning, to a stable and comfortable blood pressure. Imagine you getting hungry, feeling thirsty, and going to the toilet. Think about getting back to welcome lifestyles your body heals. “Thus far you’ve thought about the way your body is to behave during your stay in the hospital. Now I want you to think about the most important behavior. I want you to imagine the things you will do, without pain or worry, once you’ve recovered. I want you to imagine yourself doing the things you’re eager to do. That’s the reason you’ve come for surgery. You’ve come to repair a part of your body that is troubling you so you can do the things you want to do, without fear and concern.“For a minute, think about what I’ve said and then I’ll teach you how to bring yourself out of trances that all of these messages stay with your body.”
Whether your SAT test preparation consists of working on your own, in a group or class, or one-to-one with a qualified SAT tutor, a good attitude will help you get a higher score. Of course a positive attitude doesn’t give you more knowledge but it does make taking the test less stressful. Stress makes you too tired to think clearly. Stress can actually make you forget what you know.
Play the SAT game
Playing a game is less stressful than taking a test. Games are usually great attitude boosters. So thinking of the SAT’s and PSAT’s as games helps you keep the pressure off yourself. In fact, if you think about it, doing SAT / PSAT questions is a lot like doing puzzle games like the ones on placemats in fast food restaurants. It goes without saying that you’d rather be eating your burger than doing placemat puzzles, but other than that, they’re interesting, and maybe even fun.
Play the SAT sport
Maybe thinking of the SAT’s as a game isn’t quite enough. If you’re still getting upset when you miss a bunch of questions, think about your favorite sport. Now think of the SAT game as your latest favorite sport. When the questions get really hard, you can consider them a move in your sport as opposed to a difficult question.
Here’s how it helps. While winning in a sport is important, it wouldn’t be fun for you to play against a team of 4th graders. You’d always win. Too little challenge and the game’s not fun anymore. Fun games are those where you get some points, then your opponent gets some, then you. If you can get into this mindset, missing a question isn’t so awful.
The sport mindset helps keep you from dragging yourself down when you miss questions. Remember, negative thoughts cause stress which can cause you to miss questions you know. So instead of being mad at yourself, think about your loss in more positive ways. Praise your opponent–he guy who wrote the question. Think to yourself, “Good for you. You got me on that one.” Certainly a better choice than thinking “I’m so stupid.” You can even give your opponent a not-so-polite nickname.
Boost your attitude
Professional educators write the SAT and PSAT questions. Don’t believe the rumors that test questions are written by high school and college kids for summer jobs. It’s not true and only makes you feel worse when you miss questions.
One last attitude booster: Get plenty of rest the night before the test. Eat breakfast that has more protein than donuts and drink lots of water. If you’re sleepy, hungry, or dehydrated, your attitude can go right down the drain.
Kim Clark is the expert on paying for college at U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges. And even though the rate of increase is declining, a college education can still cost you an arm, a leg and many other body parts. She speaks with NPR about how to pay for college without growing broke.
So how bad is the increase?
The price of a year of college is up about 6 percent this year. That’s one of the lowest rates of increase in several years, but it’s still rising faster than wages, inflation and financial aid. Even the net price that people paid after all kinds of tax breaks and grants is still rising 2 to 3 percent a year after inflation. College is just becoming less and less affordable.
And there are other reasons why a degree costs more.
The average public university student now takes more than six years to graduate. It’s not clear why. Some of it is that more students need remedial courses that don’t count toward a degree. Students are also working more. They’re changing majors. Some programs like engineering are just going to take five years. The federal and state governments have added lots of requirements for teachers, so they pretty much need five years. Also, a lot of university administrators talk about “credit creep.” For example, to major in English or journalism, many schools have actually increased the number of courses you have to take because they want to make the program more rigorous. That makes it harder to graduate in four years. Penn State, for example, is trying to reduce the number of courses needed for many majors to counteract the trend and make it easier for students to graduate in four years.
And that can’t be good for the student’s bottom line.
I did a little calculation. I looked at the average cost in the mid-’70s of going to college. It was less than $3,000 for a typical public university, including books and everything. If you multiply that times four, the cost of a degree is $12,000. Whereas now, multiply the cost of a year at a public university — $16,000 — by six and, if tuition keeps rising at its current rate, it’s about $115,000. A college degree could cost almost 10 times as much as it did 30 years ago.
Has aid kept pace?
The amount of money devoted to need-based aid seems to be on the decline. Total federal spending on Pell grants is down by $900 million from $13.6 billion to $12.7 billion for the 2005-06 academic year. The average Pell went down by about $120 per student to $2,474. At the same time, colleges are diverting more and more of their own aid to so-called merit scholarships.
As a result, the net price that low-income people pay is rising. And the net price that upper-middle class pays is actually falling. Because who gets merit aid? Kids who can hire a test coach, go to better schools, get better test scores.
What’s the advice for students?
There are two things you can do. A student from a low-income family, who has pretty good grades and test scores, is in great shape. That’s the kind of student schools are going to compete for. You want to apply to a bunch of private and public schools that might be interested in you. Create a little bidding war for yourself.
If your grades aren’t that great, no matter what income level your family is at, apply to affordable schools. That means public universities and especially community colleges. Community colleges are still affordable. You can live at home, get no aid and still pay only about $4,000 a year, including tuition and textbooks and travel.
There is one caveat to that, though. Community colleges serve all kinds of students, including a lot of adults who are just taking one class for work or for other reasons. So if you need to be surrounded by people your age who are studying hard and committed to a four-year degree, community college might not inspire you to do your best work. But if you’re a motivated student, you can do great work in community college and then transfer out. More and more community colleges have transfer agreements with local public universities, so it’s guaranteed you’re going to get in.
How much can a student be expected to chip in?
On average, financial advisers say students can contribute as much as $8,000 per year. That’s $2,000 for summer work, $2,000 for work during the school year. Studies show that students who work 10 to 12 hours a week get better grades — the discipline is good for them. But if you work more than 15 hours a week while in school, you may have a few more academic problems.
OK, so that’s $4,000…
This year students can borrow anywhere between $2,625 and $5,500 from the federal Stafford loan program. Starting next year, those loans will begin at $3,500 for freshmen. That’s a reasonable amount of debt to take. That means you’ll graduate with maybe $15,000 to $20,000 in debt. If you need more than that, you can ask for help from your parents, relatives and friends. And you can and should apply for a lot of scholarships and grants from the federal government, your state government, your school, and local community organizations.
And then there are the expenses beyond tuition, room, board and books…
For students who want the spring break in Cancun experience or who want to decorate their dorm rooms with beanbag everything, the sky is the limit. But even stingy students have to figure on $1,000 for books, $1,000 to $2,000 for travel and entertainment expenses, And something for a laptop and a cell phone. Generally, advisers say it isn’t unreasonable to budget $3,000 to $3,500 for all the extras.
The big danger for students is that when they enter college, they are bombarded with offers for a credit card. It is so tempting to use those credit cards to spend on all the things your parents denied you while you were living in the house. Students who do that get into trouble very quickly.
Some colleges may no longer require standardized test scores, but for most high-school students, test-taking is still a reality. Here’s some advice that might help you decide which test is best suited to you.
The SAT may be a better test for you if:
1. You did great on the PSAT. The devil you know may be better than the devil you don’t.
2. You have a killer vocabulary. You know “didactic,” “sedulous” and other esoteric words (including esoteric) and want to use that comparative advantage.
3. You can ace grammar. In addition to the essay section, the Writing section of the SAT tests the deviation between standard written English and the way we actually speak the language. You know that “everyone has their own idea” is wrong, and you are comfortable with “On the table, there ARE a pencil and some paper.”
4. You find it easier to write essays that use illustrative examples rather than argument. For example, if a topic such as “Should the rights of the individual be secondary to the good of the community?” seems like an easier topic to write on than “Should students be required to participate in extracurricular activities?” then the SAT essay may be more your speed. In the former example, you can use anything from the Civil Rights Movement to The Scarlet Letter as evidence, while the latter likely begs more for examples from personal experience or abstract arguments.
5. Whether or not you’re academic, you consider yourself quick-thinking. At some level, the math section of the SAT is based on reasoning. The reading section is about seeing things the same way as the test-makers. The official name is, after all, the “SAT Reasoning Test.” The hardest math questions on the SAT are not about advanced content or formulas that you may have forgotten.
6. You are high-energy or impulsive to the point of being impatient. Comprised of nine sections and an essay, the SAT is 20 minutes longer than the ACT, which is comprised of four long sections followed by an essay. But there are more starts and stops on the SAT — which makes it feel as though it’s moving along faster than the ACT.
7. All of your friends are doing it. For many folks, the SAT is a rite of passage and is the common yardstick people use, for better or worse, in comparing their scores to the scores of their friends, parents and siblings. The whole drama of high school wouldn’t be complete without it.
The ACT may be a better test for you if:
1. You did great on the PLAN (the “PSAT” for the ACT) or had a PSAT or SAT score inconsistent with your academic performance in school.
2. Your vocabulary is not as strong as your reading. You read well and relatively quickly. Arguably, the ACT is a test that is three parts verbal — English, Reading and Science (the latter section requires no knowledge outside of what the test presents).
3. You are great at writing papers but haven’t had formal grammar instruction. The English portion of the ACT is more a test of punctuation and sentence and paragraph structure. Many students find the English to be common sense, much like proof-reading a paper.
4. You prefer to write essays that are argumentative, persuading with ideas even if you lack perfect recall of facts and figures. Or you prefer to answer questions that ask about everyday issues in your life or school.
5. You fear you will choke under pressure. The ACT effectively has “score choice.” If, when you register, you do not indicate schools you want to receive your scores, you can wait until you have taken the ACT several times and then select the best scores to send. On the SAT, all scores (SAT and SAT Subject Tests) will be part of your score report. You cannot “hide” a low score on the SAT as you can on the ACT.
6. You are more academic than “test savvy.” The ACT seems to most people to be more curriculum-based and thus more straightforward. There is more advanced math content (logarithms, trigonometry, conic sections, etc.), but it seems more like a regular test you might encounter in school.
7. All of your friends aren’t doing it. You dread telling people what your scores are, imaging that they are immediately making judgments about how you “stack up.” Tell your friends you have a 580-620-590 on the SAT, and the ranking begins. Tell them you got a 27 on the ACT, and they’ll ask “is that good?”
Should a high school student take the ACT test, or is the SAT test better? How do the PSAT and the PLAN tests affect college admission?
The answer is that each situation is unique. It depends on the college that the student wants to attend, as well as the strengths and personality of the student.
You should ask yourself several questions before deciding whether to take the SAT or ACT, which are the two primary college admissions examinations.
The PSAT is the practice test for the SAT. The PLAN is the practice exam for the ACT.
Confused yet? Click here for a chart outlining details of these four main college entrance exams. This chart also has links to register for the tests.
Student who are undecided about college should consider taking all four exams. Some colleges are partial to either the ACT or the SAT. However, many colleges will let students use either score for admission or scholarship purposes.
If the college of your choice gives you an option, the SAT may be a better test for you if you did well on the PSAT.
Also, the SAT is better for those with great vocabulary and grammar skills, according to Ned Johnson of NPR Radio. It is also best for those who find it easier to write essays that use illustrative examples rather than argument.
If you are quick-thinking and able to reason, you will find the SAT easier. “The hardest math questions on the SAT are not about advanced content or formulas that you may have forgotten,” says Johnson.
The ACT may be a better test for you if you did great on the PLAN test, which is the “pre ACT” exam.
The ACT is also a better test for those who read well and quickly. It is tailored for those who are great at writing papers, but haven’t had formal grammar instruction. The English portion of the ACT is less about grammar, and more about punctuation and structure.
“If you prefer to write essays that are argumentative, persuading with ideas even if you lack perfect recall of facts and figures,” then the ACT is recommended for you,” stated Johnson.
Most students take the SAT and ACT for the first time in 11th grade. The PSAT and PLAN are normally taken in 10th grade.
However it is possible to qualify to take the SAT and ACT as early as the 7th grade if a student is gifted and accepted by programs such as the Northwest University Talent Identification.
Students can take either test a number of times. However, the ACT and SAT differ as to how they handle multiple test scores.
The ACT allows students to control which set of scores are sent to colleges and scholarship programs.
SAT has a new option, called “Score Choice,” which gives you the option to choose which scores you send to colleges—in accordance with an institution’s stated score-use practice. You can choose scores from one, several, or all SAT test dates.
“It has become so complicated with some colleges requiring that all scores be sent and others not, that I am advising my students to release all scores to all schools,” said Julie A. Manhan, Educational Consultant and Seattle College Bound Examiner.
Will you improve your scores if you take the tests more than once? It seems to be worth a try, as research shows that of the students who took the ACT more than once:
55% increased their composite score on the retest
22% had no change in their composite score on the retest
Dubai/Abu Dhabi/Fujairah: Examinations certainly take their toll on students, but what about their parents and teachers?
While students are awake all night revising, parents are unable to do anything except to stand on the sidelines and sympathise.
But ultimately, is it the students or the parents who get stressed the most?
In a recent Gulf News poll, 35 per cent of respondents said students are the most stressed during examinations, 31 per cent said it was the parents, an equal percentage of respondents said they were relieved to have finished school, and the remaining 3 per cent said it was the teachers.
City Talk asked residents who are the most stressed during examinations.
Annie Dias, 44, secretary from India, said: “Neither my sons nor I get stressed during examinations, but it usually happens right before we receive the results. They are now in university and we are all very happy and stress-free. For sure they are overburdened with studies, but unfortunately there are not enough outdoor activities.”
Ali Khaleel, 28, airline staff, Egypt, said: “Students have more pressure because ultimately it is their future on the line. But parents also feel the pressure because they sense what an important time exams can be for the future of their children. The closer the parents are to their children, the more stressed out they will be.”
Haitham Sartawi, 39, Jordanian manager, said: “I personally do not get stressed because I know my daughter does the best that she can. But generally when it comes to Arabs, I think some mothers get stressed the most and children are pressured into studying all the time. That is why some students always pretend to get sick when examinations come.”
Donna Dizon, 26, receptionist, Philippines, said: “Students get the most stressed because they have to deal with their parents and their teachers. In general, I do not think that they are overworked but they should always remember to have extracurricular activities to relieve themselves of stress. It is important to have a breath of fresh air in between school work.”
Doha Al Wazany, public relations manager, Palestine, said: “My cousin’s daughter is five years old and she is already being bombarded with homework and studies, which is too much for a five-year-old child to handle. This results in stressing out the child, the mother and the teacher who also got a responsibility to deliver all this information to her students. Students are definitely over-burdened with studying.”
Wajih Halawa, 30, Jordanian account manager, said: “Stress is definitely on the students. I am not saying teachers and parents do not get stressed, but at the end the greatest stress is on students. On the other hand, parents are torn between creating a study-friendly environment for their children and at the same time getting stressed out for their children’s future.”
Hazim Tawfiq, 31, accountant from Egypt, said: “Exams are stressful for everyone, but surely no-one is more stressed than the students themselves. If you are an ambitious student then exams are the most important time of the school year and the tension will be there.
“I do not think you can say students are overburdened with studies because they are at an age when they can process a lot of information and at the end they are the ones who will benefit from a good education. I do not think exams should be a stressful time for parents because that will make their children even more stressed and maybe negatively affect their performance.”
Saeed Attia, 34, supervisor and laboratory technician, Egypt, said: “Teachers are the most stressed during school examinations.
“I feel many students in the UAE are not that smart, which adds to the burden and responsibility of a teacher. I also noticed that many students are taking private lessons along side their studies and schooling, which has its toll on them.”
There is nothing like a row over Oxbridge admissions to get education news onto the newspaper front-pages.
It hardly seems to matter that, compared to other educational issues, admissions to Oxford and Cambridge affect a tiny proportion of young people.
But entry to top institutions will always attract interest if only because so many of us assume, probably quite wrongly, that every parent aspires to seeing their child at Oxbridge.
So it was no surprise that the media went overboard about this week’s announcement that Cambridge colleges will expect future applicants to achieve at least one of the new A* grades, plus two A grades, at A-level.
Although only 4% of each age group achieves three grade As, this issue plays particularly on the anxieties of parents who pay increasingly expensive school fees in the hope of securing an Oxbridge place for their children.
Of course, not all independent schools make this their main aim but their websites and brochures reveal that access to Oxbridge is one of their unique selling points.
That explains why the independent schools are, to quote their spokesman, “delighted” by Cambridge’s decision.
Coaching for an A*
They already have an excellent record on A grades, with 31% of independent school candidates achieving three grade As compared to just 10% across all types of state schools, selective and non-selective.
And they are clearly confident their students will do as well, if not better, with the A*, which requires students to achieve 90% in their A2 modules.
