Hypnosis to regain taste/smell?

I believe this is possible, and I have a client coming in for such. But I've not done this before. Any previous similar experiences? Any suggestions?

The only thing I can think of so far is to regress to a time when they still had these senses then return all of them to the present time except the sense of taste and smell. But this could be a temporary gain.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Ellner on January 5, 2011 at 11:46am

Some of my AIDS and cancer clients had treatment related"hypogeusia" (loss of taste)

Many found that practicing self-hypnosis and using imagerythat had them smelling the aroma of their favorite foods -- Foods that had them drooling by just thinking about them would automatically make their mouths water when they thought about them before eating and that would wake up their taste buds--

FYI -- "One Bite at A Time" by Rebecca Katz is filled with outstanding recipes for preparing delicious meals for people suffering from loss of taste--

Warmest regards,

Michael E

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Permalink Reply by Debbie on January 5, 2011 at 11:59am

Thanks!

Michael Ellner said:

Some of my AIDS and cancer clients had treatment related"hypogeusia" (loss of taste)

Many found that practicing self-hypnosis and using imagerythat had them smelling the aroma of their favorite foods -- Foods that had them drooling by just thinking about them would automatically make their mouths water when they thought about them before eating and that would wake up their taste buds--

FYI -- "One Bite at A Time" by Rebecca Katz is filled with outstanding recipes for preparing delicious meals for people suffering from loss of taste--

Warmest regards,

Michael E

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Permalink Reply by Fable Goodman on January 5, 2011 at 12:16pm

I guess it would depend a lot on how and why the sense of taste/smell missing.

The fact that you said "Regain" seems to imply that the client at some point had those senses, and for some reason lost them.

I have never had a sense of smell (congenitally anosmic), and consequently my sense of taste is greatly diminished, compared to most people.

I still enjoy my food (as my waistline is beggining to tell), but if you put herbs or garlic in a meal, I wouldn't know.

I would know that I was enjoying it, and that it tasted good (or not) but couldn't tell you that there was garlic in there, or oregano, or whatever.

Lettuce is green and crunchy.

cheescake is lovely, and smooth.

Marmite is nice, when spread very thick on bread.

Pizza is scrummy!

what more do I need to know?

Love and hugs,

Fable

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Permalink Reply by Debbie on January 5, 2011 at 12:49pm

Yes he had them and lost them after chemo and radiation treatments.

Fable Goodman said:

I guess it would depend a lot on how and why the sense of taste/smell missing.

The fact that you said "Regain" seems to imply that the client at some point had those senses, and for some reason lost them.

I have never had a sense of smell (congenitally anosmic), and consequently my sense of taste is greatly diminished, compared to most people.

I still enjoy my food (as my waistline is beggining to tell), but if you put herbs or garlic in a meal, I wouldn't know.

I would know that I was enjoying it, and that it tasted good (or not) but couldn't tell you that there was garlic in there, or oregano, or whatever.

Lettuce is green and crunchy.

cheescake is lovely, and smooth.

Marmite is nice, when spread very thick on bread.

Pizza is scrummy!

what more do I need to know?

Love and hugs,

Fable

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Dennis Atkinson on January 12, 2011 at 2:57pm

For whatever it's worth, Debbie, I worked with a cancer patient a while back who had lost his sense of taste and smell, as well as the ability to salivate, due to chemo and radiation. It didn't help that he continued to smoke cigarettes quite heavily, and the loss of smell/taste was also influenced by the medications he was taking to help with his cancer recovery.

He proved to be one of those difficult clients, one of those who looked at hypnosis as someone magically snapping their fingers in order to make things go away. One of the difficulties with him was he would not focus on a healing scene in his future despite how many scenes I guided him to when future pacing him (I think there was a great deal of resistance and secondary gain) ... so I used regression to take him back to a happier time where he could smell, taste, and enjoy his food. In hypnosis he was salivating to a point where I had to give him kleenex to wipe his mouth and chin, but he had difficulty doing the same when out of hypnosis. He became discouraged after two sessions and did not return ... but we did have success dealing with pain issues before he decided hypnosis was not the answer for him. He also had a doctor who did not believe very strongly in alternative treatments, and I think this discouraged him as well.

So I guess my point is I do believe it is possible to regain use of those senses. Your success will be determined by the motivation of the client, what treatments the client encountered, and what medicines are involved.