I will help you with hypnotherapy for autoimmune diseases. As a clinical hypnotherapist (AHA), psychotherapist (PACFA), naturopath and medical nutritionist I look at all aspects of your experience.
Autoimmune diseases cover a range of conditions from Systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) to Hashimoto’s disease, Grave’s disease, Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) flare-ups, Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), psoriasis, Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Multiple sclerosis (MS), Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), Type 1 diabetes, Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) and other neurological degenerative diseases.
They are divided into organ-specific and general systemic diseases. Often, they are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed by clinicians not being familiar with interpreting the patient’s symptoms.
Also, one of the other problems patients can face is not being believed when they state their symptoms, and instead, simply being seen as neurotic.
What causes autoimmune diseases?
It’s clear from research that for many people a predisposition to an auto-immune disease can be inherited genetically.
Polymorphisms (variations) on singular or multiple genes can be passed down through the father or the mother. That autoimmune disease may even skip a generation and reappear in subsequent future children.
Just because you may have a genetic disposition for the disease doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll develop it during your lifetime. It may require a variety of circumstances, illnesses, infections, traumas or diet to switch the gene on to suddenly activate the disease.
What can also happen is that certain autoimmune diseases can be more prevalent in certain races and populations. (1)
Infections initiating auto immune reactions
Infection puts stress on the body’s systems. It disturbs the homeostasis (balance) between the different organs, which triggers unwanted genetic reactions in the body.
For instance, in Hashimoto’s disease where you develop antibodies to your own thyroid gland, it’s often preceded by contraction of the Epstein Barr virus and developing glandular fever. In a process called molecular mimicry, your body mistakes your own healthy cells for the cells of the invading infection.
SARS-CoV-2, tuberculosis and fungal infections have also been found to initiate the body to attack itself through molecular mimicry and overactivation of the immune system. (2)
A vicious circle can then ensure when the pathogen initiates the autoimmune disease, and the autoimmune disease then makes you more susceptible to further pathogens, which worsens the disease.
Hypnosis with discoid eczema.
Physical trauma initiating autoimmune diseases
When you’ve been in an accident or suffer a physical assault on your body it initiates profound inflammation. This is like when you bang your thumb with a hammer and it swells up.
Your body rushes as many antibodies as it can to the injury site to control possible infection. It’s trying to protect you, but it doesn’t know how much protection you need, so it throws everything it can at the potential infection.
At times this can damage adjoining tissue that hasn’t been injured, and the sudden attack of antibodies can start an autoimmune response that then damages those tissues. (3)
This is particularly easy to see in skin disorders where trauma has led to erythema, scleroderma, hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation that remains after the initial injury has healed.
Does stress initiate auto-immune diseases?
Yes – on every count – stress initiates autoimmune diseases, particularly chronic sustained stress. (4)
You have a biological clock (your biorhythms) that generally follows spring, summer, autumn, winter (seasons), 13 moons per year (lunar rhythm), the quarter moon week (quarter lunar rhythm), day and nighttime (circadian rhythms), a 90-minute cycle (ultradian rhythms) where you predominately use each side of your brain for 45 minutes alternatively.
Your whole biorhythms are punctuated with rest and recovery periods for you to stay healthy and well balanced. When you ignore your biorhythms or don’t sufficiently rest, chill out and have fun, your body and brain become inflamed.
Constant inflammation leads to autoimmune reactions. Your body’s immune system is so confused it can’t tell you from a pathogen, so it attacks indiscriminately.
Does diet affect auto-immune disease?
Some foods are inflammatory to certain people, and again it depends on your genetics and what you are susceptible to. Foods that can cause inflammation in one person may be okay for another. It’s highly individual.
If you already have an autoimmune disease certain food can make it worse. There are also foods that for you may cause an autoimmune response.
These can include:
Wheat
Gluten
Dairy
Animal flesh
Strawberries
Kiwifruit
Nuts
Tomatoes
The list is endless because it depends on your race, genetics, the environment where you live, past exposure, medications and even the time of year.
This is particularly related to what is known as the Western diet that is nutrient-deficient and contains pesticides, chemicals and contaminants. (5)
Environmental exposure and autoimmune diseases
Autoimmune diseases are dramatically on the increase, and they are clearly linked to chemicals in the environment and high-stress lifestyles. (6)
We consume and absorb plastics and heavy metals and contaminated water. We absorb toxins from the air when we breathe, such as dust, carbon monoxide, heavy metals, inorganic compounds, and chemical fumes and dust.
We can see under the microscope that such exposure leads to the presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the blood. This means that the body has less ability to transport oxygen to the organs, particularly the liver and kidneys, to excrete these dangerous chemical compounds.
So, the vicious cycle emerges of being exposed to toxins that damage us, leading to us having less ability to detox them. The immune system tries to attack these toxins but can end up also attacking us.
The need for rest with autoimmune diseases
An autoimmune disease is a self-fulfilling, over-excited systemic feedback loop. It’s when the body is reading its own signs and symptoms incorrectly. The body is trying to furiously heal or fight something foreign but the more it tries, the sicker you get.
I am very clear with my patients that there is a need for rest and convalescence. The body’s system must have time to understand that it’s not under attack and begin to recalibrate what it’s doing to lower its perceptions of inflammation.
Research has clearly shown that people who have lower levels of sleep are more prone to autoimmune diseases and their effects. This particularly includes deep rapid eye movement (REM) sleep when you dream. (7) When you aren’t getting enough REM you can develop different stages of psychosis.
The emergence of autoimmune disease is often due to exhaustion. Time and time again when patients begin to rest their body’s systems, we begin to see reduction or disappearance of symptoms.
A holistic approach for recovery
As I said at the beginning of this page, I look at the whole of you: physical, mental, emotional, environmental and dietary. You’re a whole person and everything you experience determines how you will go forward.
Just tinkering with one element for treatment doesn’t produce good results. The treatment plan I give you needs to be followed precisely with repetition to correct your biorhythms.
Each part of the treatment plan supports the other elements. I know you may have a job, run a business or have to pay the mortgage We all have to work to support our life and families; however, when you are sick you have to make changes to get better.
I also ask you to get help with your daily life from a relative, friend or neighbour. We all at times have busy lives but it’s important to work together with others to help you move forward.
I will ask you to undergo certain tests so we can have a better picture of what’s happening within your body. The more information we have, the more targeted the treatment plan can be.
I will work with other professionals involved, but I may also advise you to do something different from what you have been doing to fit in the treatment plan.
How can hypnotherapy help with autoimmune diseases?
There is no separation between mind and body as it’s all part of your living experience. Hypnotherapy can help you calm down your overactive immune responses.
Stress, depression and anxiety all contribute to the overactive immune response. They are all contributory factors. Hypnosis helps you to reprogram your mind and emotions to rebalance your physical and mental systems and move towards wellness.
What clinical hypnosis can also help with is getting into the routine of following the treatment plan so we’re both working together methodically. Effective treatment must be constant, not sporadic.
And finally, hypnosis is a really pleasant and comfortable experience that helps you relax and heal every day.
To book your appointment for hypnotherapy help with an autoimmune disease, call my clinic on 0403 398 808. In-clinic visits or by Zoom for anywhere in the world.
Dr Tracie O’Keefe DCH, BHSc, ND, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Medical Hypnotist, Psychotherapist. Counsellor, PACFA registered Mental Health Professional and Naturopath in Sydney.
References
(1) Sisó-Almirall, A., Kostov, B., Martínez-Carbonell, E., Brito-Zerón, P., Ramirez, P. B., Acar-Denizli, N., Delicado, P., González-Martínez, S., Muñoz, C. V., Àreu, J. B., & Ramos-Casals, M. (2020). The prevalence of 78 autoimmune diseases in Catalonia (MASCAT-PADRIS Big Data Project). Autoimmunity Reviews, 19, 102448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autrev.2020.102448
(2) Autoimmune diseases initiated by pathogen infection: Mathematical modeling. (2020). Journal of Theoretical Biology, 493, 110223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2020.110223
(3) Muhsen, A., Hertz, A., & Amital, H. (2024). The association between physical trauma and autoimmune articular and dermatological disorders. Autoimmunity Reviews. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39586388/
(4) Sharif, K., Watad, A., Coplan, L., Lichtbroun, B., Krosser, A., Lichtbroun, M., Bragazzi, N. L., Amital, H., Afek, A., & Shoenfeld, Y. (2019). The role of stress in the mosaic of autoimmunity: An overlooked association. Autoimmunity Reviews, 18(7), 647–653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autrev.2018.12.008
(5) Manzel, A., Muller, D. N., Hafler, D. A., Erdman, S. E., Linker, R. A., & Kleinewietfeld, M. (2014). Role of the “Western diet” in inflammatory autoimmune diseases. Current Allergy and Asthma Reports, 14, 404. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4034518/
(6) Miller, F. W. (2022). The increasing prevalence of autoimmunity and autoimmune diseases: An urgent call to action for improved understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Autoimmunity Reviews, 21(12), 103203. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36446151/
(7) Zielinski, M. R., Systrom, D. M., & Rose, N. R. (2019). Fatigue, sleep, and autoimmune and related disorders. Frontiers in Immunology, 10, 1822. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6691096/
