Pain Management… Hypnotherapy

A qualified and experienced hypnotherapist can offer coping strategies and relief for many types of pain.

Hypnosis can be used to treat chronic discomfort such as arthritis or pain from old injuries. A back problem can occur at any age and it is one of the most common reasons for people taking time off work. Back ache is not an illness in itself, it is a symptom; any disturbance in the muscles of the back results in problems of the spine and nerves. Back problems can occur from bad posture, incorrect lifting or carrying of too heavy objects, sitting in one position for too long or to damage in the spine.

Pain can be exaggerated by stress, anxiety, depression and other emotional problems. Some people feel emotional tension in certain parts of their bodies, the result is certain muscles contract and because muscles work in pairs this leads to an imbalance and eventual pressure on the nerves.

Hypnotherapy can be used to target specific muscles, to allow the areas to relax. Also, by relieving the emotional stress the person can benefit psychologically.

The brain can respond to pain by releasing chemicals called endorphins which reduce or inhibit pain sensations; when the body is in a state of deep relaxation or trance, these chemicals block the nerve pathways to the brain, so allowing relief from discomfort.

There are many different strategies therapists can use to reduce pain via hypnosis.

Teaching self-hypnosis or enabling people to control their pain can transform attitudes and allows for an easier standard of life. The most debilitating aspect of chronic discomfort is that it is constant and it can erode a person’s ability to cope with everyday life.

Hypnosis is now offered to patients with long term illness; therapy can offer the opportunity for a person to find it easier to cope with an uncertain future. Visualisation sessions can help to allow the patient to be transformed to a beautiful place, free from emotional worries and discomfort.

During chemotherapy a client may receive powerful suggestions to increase the haemoglobin blood count or create images to kill and destroy cancer cells. A client may want to focus and control specific areas of the body to heal and repair tissue after surgery.

The subconscious releases chemicals that control the repair and healing of the body; in a state of trance the subconscious mind becomes predominant and thus more receptive to hypnotic suggestion.

Clinical hypnosis gained popularity by the medical profession with its use as a powerful anaesthetic. During the First and Second World Wars, drugs such as morphine and chloroform where in short supply so surgeons performed operations on hypnotised patients. In hospitals today, people are choosing to have surgery with the help of hypnosis. A hypnotherapist may be required to calm, or help to reduce the high blood pressure of a patient, prior to their operation. It has been observed that a patient receiving clinical hypnosis, prior to and after surgery, recover more quickly.

Childbirth – mums can feel more relaxed during childbirth with the help of hypnosis.