Stigma, stoma acceptance, quality of life among patients with colorectal cancer intestinal ostomy: a cross-sectional study.

Most psychotherapeutic and mind-body interventions (MBI) rely on repetition, as they are regarded as learning processes (; ). Mind-body instructions are often given via recordings and regular repetition of the exercises is recommended for patients. Similarly, in hypnotherapy patients are usually trained in self-hypnosis to continue successful therapeutic approaches. Both therapists and participants expect similar effects with repeated practice. In particular, the accompanying trance state is thought to recur at a comparable extent and quality. Most studies examining the effects of such interventions involve groups of participants. Between-subject variability is observed, and the distribution of effects is calculated in order to draw conclusions about an average population. Less information is available about the variability of a specific effect in an individual subject with repetition of the intervention, except that some learning effect is assumed. Moreover, time-of-day dependency is rarely considered or studied in relation to effects and effectiveness of both mind-body-interventions and hypnotherapy, despite demonstration of physiological and psychological circadian or ultradian rhythms (; ; ; ). Postprandial activation of the parasympathetic nerve system and a shift of physiological activity toward digestion may also have an impact on attention, suggestibility, and efficacy of interventions (). We recently published a study on trance states during a mind-body intervention based on measurements of the bispectral index (BIS) with an anesthesia depth monitor (). In addition to the measurements on a study population of 54 volunteers reported therein, we applied the same MBI to 6 participants with 10 repetitions of the measurement. In these within-subject analyses the effects of repetition and time of day were investigated. Given the lack of prior repeated-measures electrophysiological datasets in this field, the present study should be considered exploratory. Usually, research on MBIs or hypnotherapy focuses on their effects. However, the goals and objectives pursued by these interventions are very diverse, varied, and often complex such as pain reduction. Noteworthy, deviation from waking consciousness, in focus here, is a more general parameter and important when considered essential for reaching the unconscious mind to modulate physiological and psychological patterns encoded there (; ).