The Mental Health Benefits of Breathwork and Self-Hypnosis with David Spiegel, MD

Traditional stress-management exercises have emphasized a top-down approach—deal better with the stressors and the body will feel better. Breathwork and Self-Hypnosis approach the problem from the body up—change the negative interoception that amplifies stress by focusing on calming the body first. Research has shown that straightforward brief daily breathwork exercises such as cyclic sighing improves mood and reduces physiological arousal. Also, self-hypnosis exercises involving visualizing being in a comforting place reduces stress levels. The neuropsychophysiology and results of such practices will be reviewed.

David Spiegel, MD, is the Willson Professor and Associate Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Director of the Center on Stress and Health and the Center for Integrative Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. He has published thirteen books, 425 scientific journal articles, and 175 book chapters on hypnosis, psychosocial oncology, stress physiology, trauma, and psychotherapy for stress, anxiety, and depression. His research has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Aging, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, and a number of foundations. He is Past President of the American College of Psychiatrists and the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis and is a Member of the National Academy of Medicine. He spoke on hypnosis at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2018.