ONE DAY AT THE TIME
A unique approach to a similar problem was the case of a man called Joe. He was a florist who grew the flowers he sold and was an enthusiastic businessman, respected by family and friends. He developed a growth on the side of his face, and when the surgeon removed it there was found to be a malignancy. Joe was informed he had about a month to live, became unhappy and distressed, and developed extremely severe pain. Narcotics were giving him little relief, and a relative asked Erickson to try hypnosis. Erickson agreed reluctantly to see him, doubting whether he could do much in this situation. There were toxic reactions from excessive medication, and Joe disliked even the mention of the word hypnosis. In addition, one of his children was a resident in psychiatry who had been taught that hypnosis was of no value.
I was introduced to Joe, who acknowledged the introduction in a courteous and friendly fashion. I doubt if he knew why I was there. Upon inspecting him, I noted that much of the side of his face and neck was missing because of surgery, ulceration, maceration, and necrosis. A tracheotomy had been performed on him and he could not talk. He communicated with pencil and paper. He slept little and had special nurses constantly at hand, yet he was constantly hopping out of bed, writing innumerable notes about his business and his family. Severe pain distressed him continuously, and he could not understand why the doctors could not handle their business as efficiently and competently as he did his floral business.
After the introduction, Joe wrote, "What do you want?" Despite my doubts about being able to help him, I felt that if I was genuinely interested in him and desired to help him, this would be some comfort both to him and to the family members within listening distance in the side room. I began an approach to hypnosis which I call the interspersal technique. It is a way of talking as if in a casual conversation, but certain words and phrases are given special emphasis so they will be effective suggestions. (They are italicized in the following discourse:) I said, "Joe, I would like to
talk to you. I know you are a florist, that you grow flowers, and I grew up on a farm in Wisconsin and I liked growing flowers. I still do. So I would like to have you take a seat in that easy chair as I talk to you. I'm going to say a lot of things to you, but it won't be about flowers because you know more than I do about flowers. That isn't what you want. Now, as I talk, and I can do so comfortably, I wish that you would listen to me comfortably as I talk about a tomato plant. That is an odd thing to talk about. It makes one curious. Why talk about a tomato plant? One puts a tomato seed in the ground. One can feel hope that it will grow into a tomato plant that will bring satisfaction by the fruit it has. The seed soaks up water, not very much difficulty in doing that because of the rains that bring peace and comfort and the joy of growing to flowers and tomatoes. That little seed, Joe, slowly swells and sends out a little rootlet with cilia on it. Now, you may not know what cilia are, but cilia are things that work to help the tomato seed grow, to push up above the ground as a sprouting plant, and you can listen to me, Joe, so I will keep on talking and you can keep on listening, wondering, just wondering what you can really learn, and here is your pencil and your pad, but speaking of the tomato plant, it grows so slowly. You cannot see it grow, you cannot hear it grow, but grow it does-the first little leaflike things on the stalk, the fine little hairs on the stem. Those hairs are on the leaves too, like the cilia on the roots; they must make the tomato plant feel very good, very comfortable if you can think of a plant as feeling, and then, you can't see it growing, you can't feel it growing, but another leaf appears on that little tomato stalk and then another. Maybe-and this is talking like a child-maybe the tomato plant does feel comfortable and peaceful as it grows. Each day it grows and grows and grows, it's so comfortable, Joe, to watch a plant grow and not see its growth, not feel it, but just know that all is getting better for that little tomato plant that is adding yet another leaf and still another and a branch, and it is growing comfortably in all directions." (Much of the above by this time had been repeated many times, sometimes just phrases, sometimes sentences. Care was taken to vary the wording and also to repeat the hypnotic suggestions. Quite some time later, Joe's wife came tiptoeing into the room carrying a sheet of paper on which was written the question, "When are you going to start the hypnosis?" I failed to cooperate with her by looking at the paper, and it was necessary for her to thrust the sheet of paper in front of me and therefore in front of Joe. I was continuing the description of the tomato plant uninterruptedly, and Joe's wife, as she looked at Joe, saw that he was not seeing her, did not know that she was there, that he was in a somnambulistic trance. She withdrew at once.) "And soon the tomato plant will have a bud form somewhere, on one branch or another, but it makes no difference because all the branches, the whole tomato plant will soon have those nice little buds. I wonder if the tomato plant can, Joe, feel, really feel, a kind of comfort. You know, Joe, a plant is a wonderful thing, and it is so nice, so pleasing just to be able to think about a plant as if it were a man. Would such a plant have nice feelings, a sense of comfort as the tiny little tomatoes begin to form, so tiny, yet so full of promise to give you the desire to eat a luscious tomato, sun-ripened, it's so nice to have food in one's stomach, that wonderful feeling a child, a thirsty child has and can want a drink. foe, is that the way the tomato plant feels when the rain falls and washes everything so that all feels well?" (Pause.) "You know, Joe, a tomato plant just flourishes each day just a day at a time. I like t o think the tomato plant can know the fullness of comfort each day. You know, Joe, just one day at a time for the tomato plant. That's the way for all tomato plants."
I was introduced to Joe, who acknowledged the introduction in a courteous and friendly fashion. I doubt if he knew why I was there. Upon inspecting him, I noted that much of the side of his face and neck was missing because of surgery, ulceration, maceration, and necrosis. A tracheotomy had been performed on him and he could not talk. He communicated with pencil and paper. He slept little and had special nurses constantly at hand, yet he was constantly hopping out of bed, writing innumerable notes about his business and his family. Severe pain distressed him continuously, and he could not understand why the doctors could not handle their business as efficiently and competently as he did his floral business.
After the introduction, Joe wrote, "What do you want?" Despite my doubts about being able to help him, I felt that if I was genuinely interested in him and desired to help him, this would be some comfort both to him and to the family members within listening distance in the side room. I began an approach to hypnosis which I call the interspersal technique. It is a way of talking as if in a casual conversation, but certain words and phrases are given special emphasis so they will be effective suggestions. (They are italicized in the following discourse:) I said, "Joe, I would like to
talk to you. I know you are a florist, that you grow flowers, and I grew up on a farm in Wisconsin and I liked growing flowers. I still do. So I would like to have you take a seat in that easy chair as I talk to you. I'm going to say a lot of things to you, but it won't be about flowers because you know more than I do about flowers. That isn't what you want. Now, as I talk, and I can do so comfortably, I wish that you would listen to me comfortably as I talk about a tomato plant. That is an odd thing to talk about. It makes one curious. Why talk about a tomato plant? One puts a tomato seed in the ground. One can feel hope that it will grow into a tomato plant that will bring satisfaction by the fruit it has. The seed soaks up water, not very much difficulty in doing that because of the rains that bring peace and comfort and the joy of growing to flowers and tomatoes. That little seed, Joe, slowly swells and sends out a little rootlet with cilia on it. Now, you may not know what cilia are, but cilia are things that work to help the tomato seed grow, to push up above the ground as a sprouting plant, and you can listen to me, Joe, so I will keep on talking and you can keep on listening, wondering, just wondering what you can really learn, and here is your pencil and your pad, but speaking of the tomato plant, it grows so slowly. You cannot see it grow, you cannot hear it grow, but grow it does-the first little leaflike things on the stalk, the fine little hairs on the stem. Those hairs are on the leaves too, like the cilia on the roots; they must make the tomato plant feel very good, very comfortable if you can think of a plant as feeling, and then, you can't see it growing, you can't feel it growing, but another leaf appears on that little tomato stalk and then another. Maybe-and this is talking like a child-maybe the tomato plant does feel comfortable and peaceful as it grows. Each day it grows and grows and grows, it's so comfortable, Joe, to watch a plant grow and not see its growth, not feel it, but just know that all is getting better for that little tomato plant that is adding yet another leaf and still another and a branch, and it is growing comfortably in all directions." (Much of the above by this time had been repeated many times, sometimes just phrases, sometimes sentences. Care was taken to vary the wording and also to repeat the hypnotic suggestions. Quite some time later, Joe's wife came tiptoeing into the room carrying a sheet of paper on which was written the question, "When are you going to start the hypnosis?" I failed to cooperate with her by looking at the paper, and it was necessary for her to thrust the sheet of paper in front of me and therefore in front of Joe. I was continuing the description of the tomato plant uninterruptedly, and Joe's wife, as she looked at Joe, saw that he was not seeing her, did not know that she was there, that he was in a somnambulistic trance. She withdrew at once.) "And soon the tomato plant will have a bud form somewhere, on one branch or another, but it makes no difference because all the branches, the whole tomato plant will soon have those nice little buds. I wonder if the tomato plant can, Joe, feel, really feel, a kind of comfort. You know, Joe, a plant is a wonderful thing, and it is so nice, so pleasing just to be able to think about a plant as if it were a man. Would such a plant have nice feelings, a sense of comfort as the tiny little tomatoes begin to form, so tiny, yet so full of promise to give you the desire to eat a luscious tomato, sun-ripened, it's so nice to have food in one's stomach, that wonderful feeling a child, a thirsty child has and can want a drink. foe, is that the way the tomato plant feels when the rain falls and washes everything so that all feels well?" (Pause.) "You know, Joe, a tomato plant just flourishes each day just a day at a time. I like t o think the tomato plant can know the fullness of comfort each day. You know, Joe, just one day at a time for the tomato plant. That's the way for all tomato plants."
