In the case of chronic pain, Patterson and Jensen’s review found hypnosis to be consistently better than receiving no treatment, and equivalent to the other techniques that also use suggestion for competing sensations, such as relaxation and autogenic training (which is similar to self-hypnotism).
Hypnosis isn’t about convincing you that you don’t feel pain; it’s about helping you manage the fear and anxiety you feel related to that pain. It relaxes you, and it redirects your attention from the sensation of pain. In a hypnosis session, which usually lasts 10-20 minutes, you will likely start by focusing on your breathing to help you relax. Then the hypnotist will instruct you to imagine a pleasant place and describe it in detail, refocusing your attention from something that triggers negative emotions to something that will activate positive emotions, such as being at the beach.
Hypnosis is an astonishingly effective way of reducing – and even removing – pain responses. Some of the most impressive footage you’ll see of hypnosis is where it is being used for pain control. I recently watched a program where a woman had two front teeth removed with only hypnosis for anesthesia – you can’t argue with that! But how is it done, and how can you begin to use hypnosis to reduce pain yourself?
Hypnosis has been used for centuries to control pain. From major amputations to the resetting of broken limbs, hypnosis is excellent for producing analgesia and anesthesia. ‘Analgesia’ is the absence of pain, whereas ‘anesthesia’ means absence of any sensation.
In a recent Medical Trial in South Australia it was proven that:
Hypnosis was effective in pain management for 90% of the people trialed
Hypnotherapy reduced Anxiety in 84% of the people trialed.
Hypnosis is a highly effective treatment of chronic pain whether it’s back pain, arthritis pain, accident/sports injury or Fibromyalgia.
At Hypfocus (Melbourne, Australia) we understand how stressful the experience of ongoing chronic pain is and that the discomfort impacts not only the person experiencing the pain but their loved ones as well.
Our Pain Management Sessions include Counselling, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), NLP as well as Hypnosis. Please contact us for more details on our Hypnotherapy for Pain management program.
Chronic pain has been referred to as a the world’s silent epidemic. In fact, it’s so “silent,” you might be shocked to know just how prevalent it is.We can help you fix that!