Simchah Is a Cure

There is vast literature pointing out the effects of one’s mood on illness and recovery. Norman Cousins’ book, Anatomy of an Illness, describes how he laughed his way out of a chronic “incurable” illness. I’d like to enrich the literature with a case of a patient of mine.

In 1970, I received a call from a man in a nearby city, asking for an appointment because he was depressed. I told him that I don’t treat out-of-town people, and that he should consult a psychiatrist in his own community. He said, “No, Dr. Twerski, it has to be you. You are my only hope. I’ll come even at 2 a.m.” Hearing his desperation, I agreed to see him.

Ron was a man of 47. He said, “I consulted my family doctor because of a minor infection. He did a blood test and said, ‘You are going right from here to an oncologist.’ The oncologist repeated the blood test and said, ‘We must do a bone marrow test,’ and scheduled it for the following day. The bone marrow test showed that I had a form of leukemia. On a subsequent visit, the oncologist gave me a prognosis of 18 months.

This hit him like a ton of bricks. He was feeling fine, and suddenly was told he had 18 months to live!

I told Ron that whereas I do treat depression, that is when the depression is a form of illness. “In your case,” I said, “your depression is not a form of illness. It is a reality. The shocking prognosis you were given is a terribly depressing reality. All the antidepressant medications in the world cannot change that.”

“And another thing,” Ron said, “I have to go to the hospital every two weeks for blood tests, and I dread that. Ever since I was a child, I have a phobia of hospitals.”

I told Ron, “I think I can relieve your fear of hospitals with hypnosis, and I’ll be glad to do that.” I had Ron relax in a comfortable chair in my office, and I induced a hypnotic trance. After I gave him suggestions to relieve the phobia, I had an idea.

I told Ron that I wanted him to visualize a scene. “You are attending a wedding of a friend’s child. The band is playing lively dance music. I want you to listen to the music. You may clap your hands to the beat.” After allowing him to spend several minutes listening to the music, I said, “You will see your friends dancing. Someone comes along and pulls you into the dance.”

After several minutes, I terminated the trance. Ron smiled. “That felt good,” he said. I told Ron to come back in two days. The second session was much like the first, and I had him come back every two days.

After the fourth session, I told him that a trance every two days is not adequate. I told him that I would teach him self-hypnosis, and that he should put himself in a trance at home for 15 minutes three times a day, and visualize a simchah scene. It might be a wedding, a bar mitzvah, Simchas Torah, a Purim celebration — any joyous gathering. He was to return to the office twice a week for a “booster” dose to reinforce the trance.

Ron’s depression improved. After several weeks, I decreased the “booster” doses to once a week.

Ron’s business was dealing in pianos. One day, he reported that the doctor had said that his last blood test was bad. I asked him, “Did you buy or sell any pianos today?”

He said that he had bought a piano from a home in Pittsburgh.

“Who helped you load the piano?” I asked.

Ron said, “I don’t need any help. I loaded it myself.” I said,

“The blood tests are the doctor’s business. Your business is dancing at simchos and dealing in pianos.”

Eighteen months passed, and then two years passed. After three years, the doctor said, “I don’t know what you are doing, Ron, but do more of it.”

Ron continued his daily trances, and I had a follow-up after 30 years: Several years ago, when I moved to Israel, Ron sent me a piano for my new home.

Then Ron moved to a distant city and we lost direct contact. Unfortunately, more recently his wife called me that Ron had developed Alzheimer’s disease.

I can’t explain it medically, but I had solid evidence that simchah can be a cure. n

Rabbi Dr. Twerski is an internationally known Torah scholar, author and psychiatrist.