Seasickness
 

Rosalie B. wrote:
"Donal" wrote:

My advice first of all for your friend would be - find a place to go
out on a boat in rough weather and see how you feel. How do you feel
on roller coasters and other amusement rides. If you can do those
things, you probably won't get sick on a cruise ship.

"Scotty" wrote in message
...
I have a non-boating friend who's going on a cruise next
week. He's concerned about seasickness. I told him ginger is
a good cure. I bought him a box of Ginger Snaps ( more for a
joke ). Should he start munching on these before he steps
onboard or wait till / if he feels bad?
I'll add my opinion to all the rest.

Seasickness is 50% physical and 50% in the mind. It is triggered by
confusion between the signals from the eyes and ears(balance).

The treatment for the physical 50% is easy. Get Stugeron. Take *half* a
tablet one hour before setting sail. A whole tablet seems to cause
uncomfortable drowsiness.

The treatment for the "in the mind" side is also quite simple. Look at the
horizon .... this will synchronise the signals from the eyes and ears. On a
sailboat, this is easy. However, on a cruise ship this will be a bit more
difficult. If it is at all rough, then you should stay on the upper decks
where you can look at the horizon if your stomach begins to feel a bit
funny. After the first 24 hours the problem is likely to dissappear.

I have only gotten motion sick a couple of times - once I had an
earache and was reading in the car. I've been on a ferry crossing
the English channel where the waves were crashing over the bow and
virtually everyone else was sick except me and my mom (my dad was
sick). My mom got us a seat where it was warm but by a window and we
drank hot tea.

My grandson who is out in his dad's power boat a lot, fishing, was on
our boat while we were bashing into the waves. There are fixed
portholes in the bow, and all the little boys (3 grandsons) were up in
the V birth watching the water splash over the portholes. They
thought it was an exciting thrill ride. This grandson got bored of it
though, and lay down on the floor to play with his Gameboy - and
promptly got sick. Lost all his cred with his cousins.

My son was getting queasy in the cockpit, but he couldn't take my
husband's usual remedy (saltines) because he'd just had his tonsils
out, and his throat was very sore.

I can get seasick in a very short time. However, I have always managed to
prevent the decent into hell by getting onto deck quickly, and concentrating
on the horizon. If I get on deck quickly enough, I am fully recovered in
under a minute. I once took 20 minutes .... and it was touch and go for
most of it!!

One of the first times we went out on our boat we were going south
from the Patuxent to the Potomac and there was a south wind which had
been blowing for some time. We left about 10 - it was a cold April
day. The tide was going out (against the wind) and the boat was
banging into the square waves and taking green water over the bow.

I was at the wheel, and I did start to get a little queasy, but Bob
kept saying that being at the helm was the best thing for me. At one
point the anchor came loose and was banging up and down on the bow.
Bob had to go out and secure it. We didn't have any jacklines, and I
knew if he went overboard I couldn't get him back, but he hung on
tight and did the job. He also had to go out a little later and take
down the staysail.

Finally about 3:30 in the afternoon, I said to him - you HAVE to take
the wheel, I can't do this anymore. So he did. I dropped a pencil,
and leaned over to pick it up, and had an moment of intense nausea
(but did not throw up), and then when I sat up, it all went away and I
was completely fine. I think the uneasy feeling I had been
experiencing was nervous tension from having to hand steer for that
length of time.



Enjoy your (non-boating friend's) cruise.



Regards


Donal

Only times I have ever gotten queasy on a boat was in extreme heat and
humidity with lolling, glassy seas...rough weather usually provides
enough activity that you don't have time to sit and think about being
seasick...object is focus...if you focus on doing something, it will
alleviate the situation....

Seasickness
 

Bob wrote:
Geeze.......... 45%!?!?!

But I gotta ask who were the test subjects? Were they or had been SSRI
users?

If so I would think the study was skewed with a bunch of head cases. I
just can not believe that 45% of the general population would say they
felt better after swalling a sugar cube.
Snip

Hi Bob,
I don't recall all the details of the study , I just had the small
newspaper article about it a few years ago. From what I recollect all
the patients were people who had mild depression, which is what SSRI's
are generally supposed to be for. I don't recall if the article stated
if the patients had experience using SSRI's prior to the study.

Seasickness
 

Donal wrote:
Seasickness is 50% physical and 50% in the mind. It is triggered by
confusion between the signals from the eyes and ears(balance).
Snip

The treatment for the "in the mind" side is also quite simple. Look
at the horizon .... this will synchronise the signals from the eyes and
ears. On a sailboat, this is easy. However, on a cruise ship this
will be a bit more difficult. If it is at all rough, then you should
stay on the upper decks where you can look at the horizon if your
?stomach begins to feel a bit funny. After the first 24 hours the
problem is likely to dissappear.

When I got seasick the first time I was working on a small (303')
top-heavy ship for NOAA going across the Atlantic. I found that after
about 6 or 7 days of misery that if I was below decks I could just
defocus my eyes when going down a passageway - just sort of look at
nothing, and the sickness would go away. After awhile of doing that it
became habit and never got seasick again.

Seasickness
 

Solo Thesailor wrote:
So has anyone had any luck with getting a hypnotist/hypnotherapist do
their anti-seasickness magic on board, or before boarding? Anyone knows
a hypnotherapist would you please invite the person to do the work on
samples (if possible, a number large enough to be statistically
significant and on double-blind studies, but for this early stage any
reports will be just fine) please......? Please report back on this
forum, it will be just revolutionary.

Solo Thesailor

The trouble with doing it onboard is that you need the person's
attention, and their attention is usually focused strongly on their
feelings. It certainly can be done, but most people in that state will
be uncooperative, despite their own best efforts.

Doing it right before hand depends upon, once again, getting their
undivided attention - easier than when they are already sick, but even
better is to do it long before they even go to the marina, esp. in a
professional setting.

As for double blind, placebo-controlled, crossover studies... since
we're dealing with an abstract (the mind) I wonder if that sort of study
is applicable. There seems to be enormous differences in the abilities
of hypnotists, so that would have to be factored in. Plus, some
hypnotists are experts in stage hypnosis, while others are better in
clinical settings. There are people out there that will get change from
one type, but not the other. I would think you would have to do the
complete study with one hypnotist, then repeat the whole thing using
another hypnotist, etc. just to get pretty good results of some kind to
make the study valid.

Seasickness
 

"AMPowers" wrote
Now at that time I did not know that bile was supposed to
be bright green, like antifreeze. Seeing that made me
worry I was going to die, because obviously nothing that
color should come out of a person.

Hahahaha, kinda like the first time one eats fresh beets...

Seahag
(Never puked but came close after 36 hours on a small boat
in a hurricane with someone who did non-stop in the galley
sink.)

Seasickness
 

Sailaway wrote:
... but even
better is to do it long before they even go to the marina, esp. in a
professional setting.
.....
Is there some basis for this or is it an opinion/theory -I would
appreciate further thoughts. Might actually call on a hypnotherapist
before a 7-10 days 1,150 nM race, am wondering wheter it is better
nearer the time.
Cheers
Solo Thesailor
http://sailingstoriesandtips.blogspot.com

Hypnosis for Seasickness - was Seasickness
 

Solo Thesailor wrote:
Sailaway wrote:
... but even
better is to do it long before they even go to the marina, esp. in a
professional setting.
.....

Is there some basis for this or is it an opinion/theory -I would
appreciate further thoughts. Might actually call on a hypnotherapist
before a 7-10 days 1,150 nM race, am wondering wheter it is better
nearer the time.
Cheers
Solo Thesailor
http://sailingstoriesandtips.blogspot.com

For most people your ability to relax, follow instructions, and trust
the hypnotist you're working with are the important things in order to
have the best results. With some stage hypnotists its a little different
because the whole setting and dynamics are different. But the majority
of people will be able to make lasting internal change in their
responses during a clinical setting where the hypnotist has far more
control in the process, as well as the time to do it right. In addition,
most (not all) stage hypnotists are not very good at change work, and
may not even have that kind of training. Remember, their main job is
entertainment.

NLP, a much more sophisticated form of hypnosis is frequently much
faster and more eloquent in making lasting change, and many clinical
hypnotists have some of that training. NLP is frequently done while you
are in a fully conscious state, rather than in the deeply relaxed state
normally associated with hypnosis.

All that said, while it is very possible to have the change you are
looking for with almost any hypnotist, there is still the small chance
of just not 'clicking' with the hypnotist you are working with. Most
people will have some results from a session, many people will have good
results, and a few will not get results. This may not be anyone's fault,
it may just be dynamics and if that should happen you should definitely
go to another experienced hypnotist. Keep this in mind, hypnosis isn't
magic, it is a way of using techniques that your mind already is
familiar with and is using to learn. But just like you don't always
learn well with one teacher in school, another will present the same
subject in a slightly different way and you just *magically* understand
it - it just 'clicks'.

As for doing it nearer the time of the race, it shouldn't matter if the
job was done right. If you get permanent change then its a done deal.
But you may want to test it while you still have time before the race so
you are sure.

Hypnosis for Seasickness - was Seasickness
 

Thank you Sailaway. I will search for a good hypnotherapist and do it.
Additionally it would be great to have other people get the treatment
too so that collectively we might work towards a good cure. Just
imagine....how fantastic that would be!

BTW don't you differentiate hypnotherapists (fix problems, subject
fully conscious) from hypnotists? Would you need repeat sessions every
few years?

How best do I find a good one?

Any reports from hypnotherapists/hypnotists/nueropsychologists? Any of
you are sailors??

Vance, Vance, Vance....come in please, any take on this? Any stories?

From: Vance E. Lear - view profile
Date: Sun, Sep 28 1997 12:00 am
Groups: alt.sailing.asa

Hypnosis can be very effective in suppressing "Sea Sickness" without
undesirable side-effects. The problem is in finding a "hypnotist" who
has the slighttest idea of what theyare doing.

Vance E. Lear, Ph.D., Nueropsychology.

Solo Thesailor
http://sailingstoriesandtips.blogspot.com

Hypnosis for Seasickness - was Seasickness
 

BTW don't you differentiate hypnotherapists (fix problems, subject
fully conscious) from hypnotists? Would you need repeat sessions every
few years?

How best do I find a good one?

Any reports from hypnotherapists/hypnotists/nueropsychologists? Any of
Snip

Hi Solo,
I call 'em all hypnotists, cause that's essentially what they all do.
In most states, unless he's a licensed counselor of some sort he cannot
legally call himself a "therapist". Besides, he isn't doing therapy,
he's doing something far quicker and more effective for the covered
issues than really any other method. Remember, what we call *hypnosis*
is really just a set of patterns that your brain uses to learn from,
quickly, and on the unconscious level to change a habitual pattern, or
learn a new pattern.

When you get a good change, then your brain will continue to reinforce
that change over time. The speed you attain that change depends on a
number of factors like, the skill level of the operator, your comfort
with him/her, how fast your brain learns this particular new pattern,
how much change material was presented in a session, the methods
employed by the operator, your internal self talk, etc. and the list
goes on. This change can, and frequently does, take one good session.
But it can also take numerous sessions. Therefore you should go into it
with no expectations or preconceived notions and just go with the flow.
Its an enjoyable learning experience.

As for finding a *good* hypnotist, that's a tough one to give you, but
I'll just give you some basic advice that will get you started. Since
there are too many factors to consider including just dumb luck, if it
were me looking I would first look for one who does it full time for a
living. Ask about his credentials and schooling/background - especially
if he is skilled in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and uses it
routinely. You can call the American Board of Hypnotherapy and ask if
they have any references in your area (although I don't recommend
calling the Nat'l Guild of Hypnotists, because they just don't have any
idea about the skill levels of any of their members - anyone can join),
or call one of the NLP organizations.

And at the risk of incurring wrath (Vince, don't hit me :)), while I
have nothing but good things to say about them otherwise, psychologists,
with very rare but notable exception, usually do not comprehend hypnosis
very well, and most don't have any hypnosis training. Many of them are
even outright hostile towards it, due no doubt to their lack of
understanding it. In most cases it seems that if they have any training
in it at all (it will usually be no more than a weekend or a week long
course) they will use relaxation techniques and then do the same
psychological stuff they tried when you were conscious, instead of using
hypnosis techniques. So once again just to be clear, hypnosis and
psychology are not the same thing, and the techniques really aren't much
related except that they both deal with the mind. To be fair, some
psychologists today are getting some NLP training, which is helping
change their perspectives.

One last thing, if keeping your change is a concern for you, then a
strong suggestion is to learn self-hypnosis. Once you've done
traditional hypnosis, learning to do it on yourself is easy. Had a
client some years ago who I didn't know had motion sickness until a few
weeks after I had taught her self hypnosis. She told me one day she did
the self hypnosis just before a limo ride and never got sick, something
that would have brought on a severe case of it beforehand.

Good luck, let us know how it works out.

Hypnosis for Seasickness - was Seasickness
 

Correction: Just to be more clear - In most states, unless he's a
licensed counselor or therapist of some sort who's license allows him to
refer to himself as a therapist, then he cannot legally hold himself out
to be a therapist. Caveat Emptor

Sailaway wrote:
In most states, unless he's a licensed counselor of some sort he
cannot legally call himself a "therapist".
Snip