Mindfulness

[Nearly Sane]

That feels like a joke. I am sure a word could be made up. After all as a a sufferer from coulrophobia, these things can be named - even if called IT

[floo]

Increasingly I think we will be looking at doing what works rather than needing to show why it works, at least for now.

That's been the case for quite a while. Unless something's changed fairly recently, for instance, we still don't know exactly why many anaesthetics actually work, we just know that they do - but we need them, and so we use them.

O.

In which case we are opening up to acupuncture and reiki on the NHS. Both 'work' for some people (I can attest to the latter being very good for pain relief)

There is some limited evidence to suggest that acupuncture can be effective for certain circumstances - ironically, if I recall correctly, pain relief is one of them.

Individual anecdotes, aside, however, I'm not aware of any reliable evidence that reiki is in any way effective.

O.

There's a bit here.

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancers-in-general/treatment/complementary-alternative/therapies/reiki

Personally I tried acupuncture, which hurts. Reiki does the job for me. I've now trained in it but I don't practice it for others.

The important thing is to bear in mind that while effective for some it's complementary to medicine, not alternative to.

My husband and I had a Reiki session each a good few years ago now. A former colleague of my husband had trained as a Reiki specialist, and she was eager to try her skills on us. Against our better judgement we allowed her to practice her 'skill' on us, and our Down's Syndrome son. My husband and I found it a very unpleasant experience. Our son didn't seem to mind, but the woman said she was aware of two hearts beating our son's chest, YEH RIGHT! Needless to say, we didn't invite her to our home again!

[Outrider]

There's a bit here.

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancers-in-general/treatment/complementary-alternative/therapies/reiki

Which explicitly says: "The researchers stated that all the trials were small and there is no strong evidence that Reiki is an effective treatment for any condition."

Noticably, the best supported position in their seems to be an extract from a paper on 'touch therapies' - there's plenty of evidence supporting the idea that hormone balance and general wellbeing are improved by physical contact (both with people and animals), which has been used to support the idea of things like massage-therapy and animal-therapy - I wonder if there's anything out there differentiating reiki from other touch therapies?

That said, I'm a little confused, I thought reiki was all about almost but not quite touching...? Maybe I'm thinking of something else.

Personally I tried acupuncture, which hurts.

And much like a TENS machine, that pain in one place actually dulls pain being sensed from other sources in some instances.

O.

[Rhiannon]

Increasingly I think we will be looking at doing what works rather than needing to show why it works, at least for now.

That's been the case for quite a while. Unless something's changed fairly recently, for instance, we still don't know exactly why many anaesthetics actually work, we just know that they do - but we need them, and so we use them.

O.

In which case we are opening up to acupuncture and reiki on the NHS. Both 'work' for some people (I can attest to the latter being very good for pain relief)

There is some limited evidence to suggest that acupuncture can be effective for certain circumstances - ironically, if I recall correctly, pain relief is one of them.

Individual anecdotes, aside, however, I'm not aware of any reliable evidence that reiki is in any way effective.

O.

There's a bit here.

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancers-in-general/treatment/complementary-alternative/therapies/reiki

Personally I tried acupuncture, which hurts. Reiki does the job for me. I've now trained in it but I don't practice it for others.

The important thing is to bear in mind that while effective for some it's complementary to medicine, not alternative to.

My husband and I had a Reiki session each a good few years ago now. A former colleague of my husband had trained as a Reiki specialist, and she was eager to try her skills on us. Against our better judgement we allowed her to practice her 'skill' on us, and our Down's Syndrome son. My husband and I found it a very unpleasant experience. Our son didn't seem to mind, but the woman said she was aware of two hearts beating our son's chest, YEH RIGHT! Needless to say, we didn't invite her to our home again!

Unfortunately reiki attracts some nutters who try to claim things it isn't for it - or more importantly themselves. It's not a spiritual path for a start.

[floo]

Increasingly I think we will be looking at doing what works rather than needing to show why it works, at least for now.

That's been the case for quite a while. Unless something's changed fairly recently, for instance, we still don't know exactly why many anaesthetics actually work, we just know that they do - but we need them, and so we use them.

O.

In which case we are opening up to acupuncture and reiki on the NHS. Both 'work' for some people (I can attest to the latter being very good for pain relief)

There is some limited evidence to suggest that acupuncture can be effective for certain circumstances - ironically, if I recall correctly, pain relief is one of them.

Individual anecdotes, aside, however, I'm not aware of any reliable evidence that reiki is in any way effective.

O.

There's a bit here.

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancers-in-general/treatment/complementary-alternative/therapies/reiki

Personally I tried acupuncture, which hurts. Reiki does the job for me. I've now trained in it but I don't practice it for others.

The important thing is to bear in mind that while effective for some it's complementary to medicine, not alternative to.

My husband and I had a Reiki session each a good few years ago now. A former colleague of my husband had trained as a Reiki specialist, and she was eager to try her skills on us. Against our better judgement we allowed her to practice her 'skill' on us, and our Down's Syndrome son. My husband and I found it a very unpleasant experience. Our son didn't seem to mind, but the woman said she was aware of two hearts beating our son's chest, YEH RIGHT! Needless to say, we didn't invite her to our home again!

Unfortunately reiki attracts some nutters who try to claim things it isn't for it - or more importantly themselves. It's not a spiritual path for a start.

Funnily enough we wouldn't have describe the woman as a nutter, she seemed quite sane when she was one of my husband's teaching staff, when he was head teacher.

[Rhiannon]

There's a bit here.

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancers-in-general/treatment/complementary-alternative/therapies/reiki

Which explicitly says: "The researchers stated that all the trials were small and there is no strong evidence that Reiki is an effective treatment for any condition."

Noticably, the best supported position in their seems to be an extract from a paper on 'touch therapies' - there's plenty of evidence supporting the idea that hormone balance and general wellbeing are improved by physical contact (both with people and animals), which has been used to support the idea of things like massage-therapy and animal-therapy - I wonder if there's anything out there differentiating reiki from other touch therapies?

That said, I'm a little confused, I thought reiki was all about almost but not quite touching...? Maybe I'm thinking of something else.

Personally I tried acupuncture, which hurts.

And much like a TENS machine, that pain in one place actually dulls pain being sensed from other sources in some instances.

O.

It's a bit of both - hands on and hands off. Depends on the individual - what they feel comfortable with - and where on the body is being treated. I experience reiki as extreme heat, a weird trippy feeling (a bit like having too much scotch) and light shows (think lava lamp). It's very nice.  And no doubt you'll say it is autosuggestion or something. And that's fine, I have no rational explanation anyway.

I hate TENS machines with a passion, in fact I think I broke one during labour trying to rip it off.

[Rhiannon]

Increasingly I think we will be looking at doing what works rather than needing to show why it works, at least for now.

That's been the case for quite a while. Unless something's changed fairly recently, for instance, we still don't know exactly why many anaesthetics actually work, we just know that they do - but we need them, and so we use them.

O.

In which case we are opening up to acupuncture and reiki on the NHS. Both 'work' for some people (I can attest to the latter being very good for pain relief)

There is some limited evidence to suggest that acupuncture can be effective for certain circumstances - ironically, if I recall correctly, pain relief is one of them.

Individual anecdotes, aside, however, I'm not aware of any reliable evidence that reiki is in any way effective.

O.

There's a bit here.

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancers-in-general/treatment/complementary-alternative/therapies/reiki

Personally I tried acupuncture, which hurts. Reiki does the job for me. I've now trained in it but I don't practice it for others.

The important thing is to bear in mind that while effective for some it's complementary to medicine, not alternative to.

My husband and I had a Reiki session each a good few years ago now. A former colleague of my husband had trained as a Reiki specialist, and she was eager to try her skills on us. Against our better judgement we allowed her to practice her 'skill' on us, and our Down's Syndrome son. My husband and I found it a very unpleasant experience. Our son didn't seem to mind, but the woman said she was aware of two hearts beating our son's chest, YEH RIGHT! Needless to say, we didn't invite her to our home again!

Unfortunately reiki attracts some nutters who try to claim things it isn't for it - or more importantly themselves. It's not a spiritual path for a start.

Funnily enough we wouldn't have describe the woman as a nutter, she seemed quite sane when she was one of my husband's teaching staff, when he was head teacher.

It's not difficult to acquire 'specialist' status in reiki, which isn't the same thing as having years of training or experience. It sounds to me like there was a bit of an ego thing going on but I may be wrong. However, she should not have pressured you and your family into having treatment when you weren't comfortable with it, however well-meaning she may have been.

[Outrider]

It's a bit of both - hands on and hands off. Depends on the individual - what they feel comfortable with - and where on the body is being treated. I experience reiki as extreme heat, a weird trippy feeling (a bit like having too much scotch) and light shows (think lava lamp). It's very nice.  And no doubt you'll say it is autosuggestion or something. And that's fine, I have no rational explanation anyway.

If it works for you, great - I would suggest that it's psycho-somatic, but given that it's for pain-relief that's absolutely fine; some pain, whilst absolutely genuinely painful, is 'only in your head'. That fact doesn't stop it hurting, and if reiki works for you, then the fact that reiki doesn't actually work for itself doesn't stop it working for you

I hate TENS machines with a passion, in fact I think I broke one during labour trying to rip it off.

And yet my wife swore by hers... ?

O.

[Rhiannon]

It's a bit of both - hands on and hands off. Depends on the individual - what they feel comfortable with - and where on the body is being treated. I experience reiki as extreme heat, a weird trippy feeling (a bit like having too much scotch) and light shows (think lava lamp). It's very nice.  And no doubt you'll say it is autosuggestion or something. And that's fine, I have no rational explanation anyway.

If it works for you, great - I would suggest that it's psycho-somatic, but given that it's for pain-relief that's absolutely fine; some pain, whilst absolutely genuinely painful, is 'only in your head'. That fact doesn't stop it hurting, and if reiki works for you, then the fact that reiki doesn't actually work for itself doesn't stop it working for you

I hate TENS machines with a passion, in fact I think I broke one during labour trying to rip it off.

And yet my wife swore by hers... ?

O.

I felt like I had a fly buzzing on my back. Stupid machine.

I have trapped nerves and muscle tightness in my back due to it having a very marked curve, which in turn is due to my being hyperflexible - nobody noticed until this year why I was getting the problems I do - I was diagnosed because my daughter was. The back problem refers pain into my legs and pelvis so I'm in discomfort pretty much most of the time - not agonising, more like toothache. The back problem was made worse by three pregnancies and the c-sections in four years.

So no, not psychosomatic.

[floo]

These days I have a horror of any medication, and have to be really bad before I even take paracetamol. I can't imagine taking any sort of illegal drug, or overdosing on alcohol. I wouldn't want to do anything which would put me in an otherworldly state of mind. I like to be in full possession of what faculties I have left.

[Dicky Underpants]

Increasingly I think we will be looking at doing what works rather than needing to show why it works, at least for now.

That's been the case for quite a while. Unless something's changed fairly recently, for instance, we still don't know exactly why many anaesthetics actually work, we just know that they do - but we need them, and so we use them.

O.

In which case we are opening up to acupuncture and reiki on the NHS. Both 'work' for some people (I can attest to the latter being very good for pain relief)

And as a personal anecdote of little consequence to anyone except myself, I can attest that the former is utterly useless in that regard; indeed, its main effects are to empty one's bank account (in the long term), and to make one feel considerably worse than before (in the short term).
Strange, when one is clutching at straws, how one can be strung along by such ideas as "It's got to feel worse before it gets better".

[Dicky Underpants]

I hate TENS machines with a passion, in fact I think I broke one during labour trying to rip it off.

And yet my wife swore by hers... ?

O.

I wore one on my left groin for months. Seemed to help - better than the groin pain anyway. I remained celibate at the time - I can't think why

[Sriram]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150819120750.htm

Patients with hypertension treated with acupuncture experienced drops in their blood pressure that lasted up to a month and a half, researchers have found. This work is the first to scientifically confirm that this ancient Chinese practice is beneficial in treating mild to moderate hypertension, and it indicates that regular use could help people control their blood pressure and lessen their risk of stroke and heart disease.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150721134820.htm

In animal models, acupuncture appears to impact the same biologic pathways ramped up by pain and stress, analogous to what drugs do in humans. The researchers say their animal study provides the strongest evidence to date on the mechanism of this ancient Chinese therapy in chronic stress.

[Dicky Underpants]

[

I felt like I had a fly buzzing on my back. Stupid machine.

I have trapped nerves and muscle tightness in my back due to it having a very marked curve, which in turn is due to my being hyperflexible - nobody noticed until this year why I was getting the problems I do - I was diagnosed because my daughter was. The back problem refers pain into my legs and pelvis so I'm in discomfort pretty much most of the time - not agonising, more like toothache. The back problem was made worse by three pregnancies and the c-sections in four years.

So no, not psychosomatic.

"More like toothache" - ye gods, as if that weren't bad enough! Well, I had abominably sensitive teeth that ached all the time for years (until I 'dispensed' with them), so I've some idea what you're going through.

[Dicky Underpants]

That feels like a joke. I am sure a word could be made up. After all as a a sufferer from coulrophobia, these things can be named - even if called IT

I had to look that up. Fear of clowns. It doesn't seem so absurd - I'm sure they've always had a sinister aspect associated with them. That's been exploited in a number of horror films, I think. And "The League of Gentlemen", if I'm not mistaken.

[Rhiannon]

[

I felt like I had a fly buzzing on my back. Stupid machine.

I have trapped nerves and muscle tightness in my back due to it having a very marked curve, which in turn is due to my being hyperflexible - nobody noticed until this year why I was getting the problems I do - I was diagnosed because my daughter was. The back problem refers pain into my legs and pelvis so I'm in discomfort pretty much most of the time - not agonising, more like toothache. The back problem was made worse by three pregnancies and the c-sections in four years.

So no, not psychosomatic.

"More like toothache" - ye gods, as if that weren't bad enough! Well, I had abominably sensitive teeth that ached all the time for years (until I 'dispensed' with them), so I've some idea what you're going through.

I used to get sensitive teeth - praise be for Colgate Pro Relief. Not nice at all.

The worst pain though by far that I've had in recent times (labour etc aside) has been tonsillitis, of which I now seem to get 1-2 bouts each winter. I find myself seriously considering whether cutting off my own head would work as pain relief.

[Rhiannon]

That feels like a joke. I am sure a word could be made up. After all as a a sufferer from coulrophobia, these things can be named - even if called IT

I had to look that up. Fear of clowns. It doesn't seem so absurd - I'm sure they've always had a sinister aspect associated with them. That's been exploited in a number of horror films, I think. And "The League of Gentlemen", if I'm not mistaken.

I was terrified of them as a child, but I outgrew it. I never liked watching my mum putting on make-up either (she didn't look like a clown btw)

[Rhiannon]

Increasingly I think we will be looking at doing what works rather than needing to show why it works, at least for now.

That's been the case for quite a while. Unless something's changed fairly recently, for instance, we still don't know exactly why many anaesthetics actually work, we just know that they do - but we need them, and so we use them.

O.

In which case we are opening up to acupuncture and reiki on the NHS. Both 'work' for some people (I can attest to the latter being very good for pain relief)

And as a personal anecdote of little consequence to anyone except myself, I can attest that the former is utterly useless in that regard; indeed, its main effects are to empty one's bank account (in the long term), and to make one feel considerably worse than before (in the short term).
Strange, when one is clutching at straws, how one can be strung along by such ideas as "It's got to feel worse before it gets better".

I have physio which includes trigger point therapy. If what I normally gave is toothache then this feels like a raging abscess. But then it sort of melts the pain away for a bit. I think it's helping, but along the way I'm becoming more aware of the damage that's been done.

[Rhiannon]

I hate TENS machines with a passion, in fact I think I broke one during labour trying to rip it off.

And yet my wife swore by hers... ?

O.

I wore one on my left groin for months. Seemed to help - better than the groin pain anyway. I remained celibate at the time - I can't think why

I want to say I hope you've recovered now but given your last statement that sounds wrong coming from me. Anyways, Mr Park's book might have been worth a read at the time.

[Nearly Sane]

I also have a form of pediophobia which I suspect is related. My problem with hidden expression extends to Helen George being in the Uncanny Valley


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley

[Rhiannon]

I'm not frightened of them but I do find puppets freaky. Obviously the thing with my mum and her make-up was something to do with masks.

Now it's just heights that really get me. I can't go higher than the first rung on a stepladder.

Eta I do sometimes - not often - have horrible dreams of people without mouths.