hepatitis c

Description of the situation

Male, 30 years old, diagnosed with hepatitis C.

Assessment/evaluation tools:

• Visual analogue quality of life scale (VIBRAC Skille- Lehikoinen centre for Vibroacoustic therapy and Research Eino Roiha InstituteVIBRAC, n.d,) - a self-rating six-parameter scale to assess current quality of life
• Emotion analogue scale (C. Izard., 2009)- self-assessment questionnaire to evaluate emotional changes in each session before and after receiving tearpy
• Clinical blood test report (E. Swan's laboratory) to record the ASAT/ALAT marker of inflammation and the overall dynamics of the blood picture

Goal

• Relief of stress symptoms - relaxation, muscle relaxation.
• Strengthening the body - awareness (of emotions), acceptance of needs.
• Balancing breath - regulating emotions, metabolic processes.
• Balancing and harmonising the breath - for metabolic and emotion regulation.

Process

Results

• Already after Session 4, there are improvements in the "Quality of Life" test on several scales. For example, in the scales "anxious- calm", "tired- cheerful", "depressed-happy"; a remarkable result was observed in the scale "tense-relaxed", where relaxation (5.5) had a higher score than tension (2), while in the scale "unbearable pain - no pain", pain decreased from 9 to 3.5 points. Similarly, there was an improvement in range of motion in relation to flexibility in the "tight-flexible" scale, in a ratio of 9 to 6.5 points.
• The most common affect in hepatitis C studies is 'anger', and as the client reported frequent mood swings, 'anger' was assessed separately before and after the VAT process. The results show a dynamic process which activated anger in the initial sessions (1-4) after VAT, but gradually started to decrease from session 5 onwards.
• Blood tests (E. Gulbis laboratory) show that after six VAT treatments the blood count has improved. For example, whereas before VAT there was a slight decrease in the number of Eosinophils (% Eosinophils 0.2 in the reference range 0.3-5.4 (%); and % Eosinophils abs. 0.01 at reference interval 0.02 -0.53 (10x9 /L)), then normalized after VAT treatment (eosinophil % 2.6 at reference interval 0.3 - 5.4 (%); eosinophil abs. 0.12 reference interval 0.02 - 0.53 (10x9/L)). The results also showed that ASAT decreased from 21 to 16 <37 U/L during treatment, while ALT decreased from 21 to 16 <37 U/L. 21 <41U/L

Conclusions

• To date, there are no studies of VAT in cases with a diagnosis of hepatitis C. Therefore, for the safety of the client, it was important to become familiar with and integrate a large body of research in the fields of medicine, psychology (social constructs, behaviour and prevention), as well as to identify the VAT method itself and its potential.
• Stimulating the Vagus Nerve during VAT therapy improves breathing, so metabolic processes that enter the bloodstream are released through exhalation, so it was important to introduce the client/patient to deep breathing techniques alongside the VAT method during therapy and to allow them to experience this directly with the VAT method.
• Somatisation is possible in hepatitis C and when starting VAT therapy, be aware that it is a dynamic process with the possibility of psycho-emotional distress, agitation or unconscious anxiety, but by stimulating the vagus nerve and activating the autonomic nervous system it is possible to reduce psycho-emotional distress and improve quality of life
• During the therapy, the awareness of inner anger (the emergence of repressed emotions) is a predictable outcome, so it is important to inform and teach (psychoeducation) the therapist to differentiate his anger and to combine with the VAT method active music therapy or psychotherapeutic talk for expressive release of emotions.
• As hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver caused by a virus, careful follow-up and serious research are needed to understand whether the VAT method stimulates the immune system, during which the body fights the virus, or whether the virus becomes active directly under the influence of the vibrations, which requires the development of specific programmes on vibration parameters.
• It is possible that the connection with the amplitude of the parameters and the balancing of emotions would contribute to a gentler dynamic somatisation of the psyche and the process.
• Activation of the Vagal Nerve through the experience of deep breathing and therapeutic safety through autonomic NS activates deep breathing, resulting in muscle relaxation (relaxation), regulation of heart rate and metabolic processes. Predictable improvements such as muscle relaxation, diaphragm activation, circulatory and metabolic homeostasis contribute to a rebalancing of the psycho-emotional state and, by reducing stress, possible regulation of anxiety, mood swings, sleep disturbances, which are very important factors in boosting immunity, always bearing in mind the effect of the presence of the hepatitis C virus in the body.