There are three major areas of medicine where the SPC program has proven to be highly effective: The Stress Diseases including Heart Disease, Stroke and Type 2 Diabetes; the Immunodeficiency Diseases such as Cancer and AIDS; and the diseases caused by Maladaptive Habits & Addictions or Substance Abuse . This section will present some of the many positive testimonials and results achieved with SPC in the first two areas (primarily taken from Towards Greater Freedom and Happiness ). The next section will present testimonials and positive results in the area of Substance Abuse.
The Stress Diseases
Angina
Sue McCormack came to me originally because she could not shake a fear of impending death. Being a nurse she knew the realities of her situation and the fear was not an irrational one. She suffered from angina pectoris caused by spasms of the heart with resulting cutting off of 30-70% of the left anterior descending coronary artery, a diagnosis verified by cardiac catherization and X-rays. So debilitated was she by her illness that she hadn't been able to work in over a year. But she just couldn't see herself passing the rest of her life as a semi-invalid with that ever-present fear hanging over her head that any second might be her last. So she came to me.
The change that took place in her was almost miraculous. Within a week after seeing me she was back at work carrying a full load and as the hospital's nursing care coordinator (all around troubleshooter) the pressures were tremendous. This was over 20 years ago and she is still going strong.
How did she do it? Thanks to SPC she was able to develop a feeling of confidence, a feeling of being able to control the spasms and the pain. This then eliminated the fear and broke the vicious circle she was in. She now knows that should the pain start again she can cut it off immediately by means of the deep breath shortcut. In the first few weeks after seeing me she would have an occasional beginning of an attack but the deep breath shortcut would automatically relax her and cut it off. She also used the longer SPC techniques twice daily to unwind, using as many techniques as necessary. Usually the Spiral was sufficient but if not, she followed it with the Garden.
Postsurgical Anxiety
So impressed was Sue with her own results that she immediately began to use the same techniques with some of her patients and produced some miraculous results of her own. To give you an example, take the case of M.S. This patient was brought to her in a moribund (dying) condition. On 12/2/77 he had undergone a serious operation for removal of portions of gangrenous small bowel which had been produced by a diaphramatic hernia, but he continued on a downhill path in spite of the operation.
I saw Mr. M.S. on 12/10, he was pale, eyes sunken, dull, very apprehensive - temperature 101 o . His wife who was 5 months pregnant was also very anxious about her husband's condition.
The nurse in the Intensive Care Unit who had cared for Mr. M.S. had told me that she was fearful that Mr. M.S. would not recover as his anxiety level was so high that it was interfering with care and treatment. I thanked her for the information and decided to use the SPC technique upon Mr. M.S.
I spent about 45 minutes at the bedside teaching him to do the 20-10 countdown and then to spend 15 minutes 4 times a day, everyday, seeing himself perfectly healthy and happy doing the things that he loved to do most. I told him to see this just as if he were running a movie and that he must do this in order to work with us to get well. It was emphasized to M.S. that we could help him, but that he had to help himself to recover to perfect health. Along with the "picture technique" Mr. M.S. was also given certain exercises to do in bed and told to drink 3 pitchers of water a day and he was to get up and walk around the bed with help at least twice every 8 hours. We rehearsed this. He seemed to eagerly latch on to the technique; he stated some of his anxieties and we immediately started the countdown technique and the "picturing". He eagerly explained it to his wife, who beamed and was eager to work it with him.
The next day Mr. M.S. met me walking the hall with his wife. He was beaming, his face pink and cheerful and relaxed, his eyes clear and shining. His wife also was happy. He stated that he felt fine, that he had eaten solid food for the first time.
Mr. M.S. was discharged from the hospital 12/16. There is no question in my mind that SPC was the cornerstone of recovery for this man. It works, the patient works and recovery is not only speeded up, but assured, as once the person relaxes and becomes positive in thought and action, the natural laws of healing can work harmoniously in the individual.
The SPC approach of course can be equally effective with lessening of pre-surgical anxiety as well. (see p.158 of TGFH)
Diabetes, High Blood Pressure and Arthritis
That the program can be effective with diabetes was also recently reported by one of the nurses (Ralph Mallen) in one of my all-day seminars held for medical personnel. The following are excerpts from two letters I recently received from this very greatful person:
Your SPC techniques helped me to cure my Hypertension, Diabetes, lose weight and control Arthritic Pain and Headaches . . . I just can't tell you how busy I have been telling all about what you have been doing or rather the help you gave me. My doctor who has treated me for six years - half believes in the power of the mind. He states 'You must be doing something right,' when I lowered my B/P in front of him and when I put the Diabetes under control and when I used to suffer with Gouty Arthritis badly in the left knee and now jog and play tennis. Also when I used to weigh 287 lbs. and now am down to 238 and a loss of ten inches on the waist ...
The following excerpts from the second letter will give you an idea of some of the ways he worked with SPC to achieve the above results:
I have cured my diabetes! No more medication needed. Dr. Register, my medical doctor was amazed but pleased with how I have done it with your technique. I proceeded to demonstrate in his office at my regular checkup that I had also cured my hypertension or was controlling it. The nurse took my blood pressure and it was 160/100. I proceeded to show her and the Doctor that I could bring it down and with practice keep it down . I did the shortcut method and brought my B/P down to 130/70 ... I have a new tape player and so now the last thing at night I've done is to go to bed and play your Garden Technique and also started the day with it ... SPC has given me a new life. Helped me cut off all guilt, helped me to be cured of illness and to eventually pick only the good things in life.
As in the case of Sue, seeing the effectiveness of SPC on himself motivated Ralph to teach it to others, and he, too, quickly began to get equally gratifying results. (e.g. see p. 148)
Acne
Even such an ailment as acne seems to be helped by the use of SPC for stress reduction. The following is taken from the Progress Report of one of my East Los Angeles College students:
One thing that really gets me down is my acne. I feel like a mess when I have a lot of pimples. I've decided that maybe it's all caused by my worrying and frustration. I'm being treated by a dermatologist and spend a lot of money on prescriptions and yet I'm not all that cured. So I've decided to be a little more calm and try to control my emotions. Just by doing this I already feel much better, and my face is beginning to really clear up. I can feel it. It feels good. I can do anything if I really set my mind to it.
That it is possible to affect acne with SPC is not so hard to believe in light of a study by Kraus (1970) the results of which supported the commonly held clinical impression that emotional stress can exacerbate acnevulgaris.
Other Stress Diseases
Examples of how SPC can be used to deal with other stress diseases can be found throughout this book: headaches (p. 157 & 216); asthma (p. 205); ulcers (p. 148); insomnia (p. 167, 204 & 213); high blood pressure (p. 130 & 214); and delayed ovulation (p. 158).
CANCER
Case Histories of Five SPC Treated Cancer Patients
Case #1 John Roswick - Had been given radiation treatment for cancer of the tongue. He refused the recommended follow up surgery. At this point he discovered SPC. The following letter describes his response to the SPC approach:
Dear Dr. BarriosAugust 5, 1985
"Almost 6 years ago on Oct 19, 1979 1 was told I had cancer of the tongue and had a year or less to live. I hit the bottom of the pit. I started praying. Knew nothing of God or Jesus, never read the Bible, but I started. I received 35 massive radiation treatments in the neck. I said to the doctors "am I healed". They said we now have to do surgery. I said What surgery? They were going to take out half my neck. I said no. I contacted you in the summer of 1980. You agreed to see me once a week for 8 or 9 weeks, instructed me on SPC techniques and other counseling on belief and visualization.I used your garden technique and visualizing myself 'well' on a mountain top. During my first visit with you, you gave me your book 'Towards Greater Freedom and Happiness.' You said: you now have two good books (meaning yours and the Bible) and told me to read them both. I thank God for you and your book, you strengthened my belief in what Jesus said in Mark ll:23 ['Believe and all things are possible.']"
"Dr. Barrios, in my opinion your program is bridging the gap between the mind, and the spirit then the body. Your program SPC was the beginning in my healing, reinforcing my belief in Jesus teachings, ridding myself of all pent up fear, especially fear, guilt, doubts, anger, unforgivness, and a bringing together of the Mind, Spirit and Body."
"My saliva returned to me during my sessions with you, my voice, and I forgot to mention, MY TASTER. [After radiation] I couldn't taste anything. The doctors said my saliva would never be the same, that my taster, taste buds, would be about 50 to 75% returned. Well today I enjoy full saliva, and full tasting abilities I had before radiation."
"It is sad to note that medical doctors don't, or won't advise patients on positive principles laid down in your book or the bible. I would urge anyone who has an illness of any nature to seek out the SPC program. It works. It puts you in tune with the real you, the spirit. It has for me and I know it will for others. I firmly believe you are an instrument of God's. And I thank him for you. I am not the same person you first met, frightened, confused, oh yes confused! My condition is healed. Your holistic approach is a blessing."
Case #2 Adele Buchanan - At the time I first saw her, Adele, age 45, was suffering from a rather fast-moving cancer of the spine, lymph glands, rib cage and base of the brain - a metastasis from an original cancer of the breast. At this time she had been placed on a low dosage of chemotherapy because of her very negative reaction to her initial dosage. I saw her over an eight-week period once a week while she was on this low dosage regimen.
As usual, my initial approach was to establish a strong belief in the body's ability to heal itself with the help of the power of the mind. In Adele's case heavy focus was also placed on helping her to become a more assertive person, especially with regards to her husband whose utter domination throughout her marriage had led to a state of extreme hopelessness. Her resultant breaking free of this domination I feel was the key factor in her recovery. Within six months of the time I started working with her, the cancer had disappeared in all four areas and three years later when last contacted, she was still very much alive. The following excerpt is from a letter written by her surgeon at the City of Hope praising the work I had done and recommending that she be allowed to have similar psychological support when she returned to Canada:
"When I first met Mrs. Buchanan, she was very negative about her therapy, and her situation in general. However, in the interim she has begun to see a psychiatrist [sic] on her own accord, and I have found that this has made a great difference in her outlook towards her cancer and life in general. I feel this therapy is very beneficial to her and recommend that it be continued and that the Manitoba Health Services continue sponsoring it."
Case #3 Michelle Hollingsworth - Rather than undergo a recommended mastectomy for breast cancer, she chose a combination of radiation and SPC. The following two letters, tell her story:
Dear Dr. Barrios May 18, 1982
"Enjoyed speaking with you the other day and relating to you my experiences with SPC.
Was told in May of 1980 that I had breast cancer and should have an immediate mastectomy followed by extensive radiation. Much to the physician's dismay, I refused the mastectomy, but agreed to the radiation. I knew then that I had a lot of work to do for myself.
It was with that thought that I took your class on SPC. Am now two years down the line, and am still using several of the techniques learned at that seminar. "Imagery" was of tremendous value during the radiation treatment. I imaged the radiation as little "critters" gobbling up the cancer cells which I imaged as oatmeal. Alternately I used the "garden technique" feeling I needed this as well to put my body in the most receptive mood to receive the radiation.
I carry my little biofeedback card in my wallet. If I feel myself getting tense or stressful, usually employ the "20-10 countdown" method to get into control. Then I check to see how I've done with my feedback card.
Have check-ups every three months and my oncologist (who was really quite supportive of my decision) is delighted to find there is no sign of any malignant activity.
Thank you again for the help.
Sincerely,
Michele Hollingsworth
Dear Dr. BarriosApril 27, 1984
"When my wallet was stolen recently, they took my money and my biofeedback card! (got back the wallet, pictures and credit cards!) Am really lost without the card. I still use it regularly and would like another. Still use so many of the techniques I learned in your class and still feel it was one of the most valuable classes I've ever taken. Am enclosing a copy of a letter I wrote you in 1982 as a reminder. Incidentally, am still cancer free and going into my 5th year."
Case #4 - Jolee Marshal - At the time I saw her, Jolee had been given two weeks to live as a result of an inoperable cancerous tumor that was blocking her intestines. I worked with her a total of four hours introducing her to the SPC-PNI approach. The miraculous results are best described by Jolee herself in a letter she wrote to Norman Cousins four months after I saw her:
Dear Norman CousinsJanuary 7, 1990
..."I had a blockage across my abdomen about one inch and a half wide & 8 to 10 inches long (across) and it was hard. Dr. Barrios had heard about me & came to the hospital. He worked on me from 9:30 PM to 1:30 AM. We worked on a mental process (to 'gobble' up the cancer cells). Dr. Weiner [her main doctor] came in the next AM & out of habit started feeling around the abdomen. I just laid there with a rather smug smile on my face. He started feeling - looked a little flabbergasted, felt deeper and deeper, looked at me and stuttered 'what happened?' [as he realized the blockage was gone]. I briefly told him about the night before. His hands still probing, he could hardly get the words out. 'It's a miracle!' His next very slow words were 'Maybe there's something to this stuff after all!'
I have since then gone from 89 lbs to 118. Energy all over the place & more than ever show in person how strong the mind energy really is."
Case #5 Pam Roth - When I first started working on Pam's case she had just gone through chemotherapy and radiation for metastic breast cancer. She was also having great difficulty breaking free of a 30 year two pack a day cigarette habit. The following letter she wrote tells her story:
To Whom It May Concern June 14, 1996
As CEO of P.J. Roth & Associates and President of The Public Service News Bureau, I have had the honor of knowing Dr. Barrios and observing his work since 1983.
Through his SPC approach, Dr. Barrios has developed a program that has allowed people worldwide to tap into their own personal power to change their health, their happiness and their lives for the better! He has made the mind/body link accessible and understandable to the world.
Over the years, I observed the extraordinary development of the clinical applications of his pioneering theories, and his enormous influence on the American public. At the same time, I felt it had little to do with me on a personal level. That is until 1992, when I was diagnosed with metastasis breast cancer. It was then that Dr. Barrios made the mind/body link accessible and understandable to me in the most profound way possible!
In light of my particular case and my prognosis, my physicians encouraged me to undergo the most strenuous chemotherapy and radiation; which I did.
At the same time, even faced with my own mortality, I could not summon up the resources to make necessary changes in my personal lifestyle. In many ways this was not surprising, after all, I had previously spent years of therapy unsuccessfully attempting to deal with the underlying lack of self worth that showed itself in an aggressive disregard of and for my own physical and emotional well being..
Years of therapy, will power and even cancer seemed to make little difference to ending my two pack a day habit and a 30 year addiction to nicotine. None of these could change the stress attached to my particular career choice or the fact that I had never developed necessary care and consideration for my physical "self". I was in trouble and I knew it. I had tried everything including traditional hypnosis but nothing seemed to work.
I was depressed, anxious about the cancer that I was sure was still with me, debilitated by my treatment and more out of touch than ever with the body that had betrayed me. It was then that Dr. Barrios stepped back into my life bringing all the benefits of his years of clinical experience in mind-body health.
Within two sessions, I made the remarkable breakthroughs that years of therapy and prior hypnosis were unable to achieve! And it was all so easy. Dr. Barrios' approach not only convinced me that I had the power to tap into my own subconscious - it showed me how to use and apply that power to achieve deep seated change.
Within weeks, through applying these powerful hypnotic and visualization techniques to my cancer and my personal "mind/body" split - I not only stopped smoking once and for all, I was transformed into a person in touch with and caring for her own physical and emotional needs.
Today, I am a committed ex-smoker, who exercises, eats well and takes care of herself in every way possible. I am also, according to all tests, "cancer free" [still "free" as of August, 2000]. More importantly, I intend to give myself every opportunity to stay that way by continuing to practice the SPC techniques that have made the difference in my recovery!
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