Hypnosis for Chronic Pain: What to Expect
We’ve been talking about how to handle chronic pain and how the brain reacts to pain. You might thinking that we’ve covered the part about the brain but how do we really treat this and overcome it?
I’m a hypnotherapist so my first line of defense is going to be hypnotherapy. Some of you may be skeptical. What is hypnosis anyway? Does it just trick my mind? Is it just hokum? Thank you, Sheldon.
According to the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, “Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness which results in an increased receptiveness and response to suggestion. While associated with relaxation, hypnosis is actually an escape from an overload of message units, resulting in relaxation. Hypnosis can be triggered naturally from environmental stimuli as well as purposefully from an operator, often referred to as a hypnotist.”
A Session with Me
So, when I take you into hypnosis, you are going to be very relaxed. I mean v-e-r-y r-e-l-a-x-e-d! Like you are a limp bunch of overcooked spaghetti, relaxed. And for those of your with chronic pain, it may have been years and years since you have been so relaxed. For many of you, even when you’re sleeping, you still have pain so you never get as loose and limber as you’re going to experience in hypnosis.
This relaxed state is the first step in releasing discomfort. Because when you are in pain, you tend to tighten up and that tightness makes the pain even worse. So, letting go will allow your body to experience the first part of pain relief.
Guided Imagery
Next, in hypnosis, we spark your body’s natural healing. I do this with Guided Imagery. I tell you a story and ask for you to participate in it. This is a story that allows you imagination to connect with the nerve pathways in your body and send them a message that it’s time to heal. They are ready to pick up on this and find you relief. That’s the second step in pain relief.
At the end of each hypnosis, I give your subconscious mind suggestions about what it’s job is during the coming week. We’ll re-cap the work we did and let it know that the healing and pain relief we started, should continue throughout the coming days. I’ll ask it to release the old feelings and behaviors through vivid venting dreams each morning. That’s the third step in pain relief.
Tools for Your Toolbox
And at each session, I will be giving you Tools for Your Toolbox. This will include a special breathing technique to calm your physical body. Tapping is to reduce stress and pain and also to release old trauma emotions. Energy techniques to pull out pain in about two minutes. Mindfulness practices to calm the mind’s part of pain you can use on your own. All of these Tools in Your Toolbox are ways you personally can deal with pain, stress and trauma in your day to day life. That is the fourth part of pain relief.
In Conclusion:
In Hypnosis:
– you get very relaxed
– you imagine the story I tell your subconscious
– you learn a stress tool to calm you throughout the week.
About the Author Angie J. Hernandez, C.Ht.
A graduate of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, Angie J. Hernandez, C.Ht., has her private practice in Milford, Indiana. She is certified in hypnotherapy by the Hypnotherapist's Union Local 472. Angie is the author of "Weight Loss Epiphany: The Workbook", "Charlie's Cuddly Animals for Little Geniuses" and "Weight Loss Hypnosis: Lose Weight with Hypnosis Scripts & Recordings". You can find out more about Angie and how to schedule private sessions by calling (574) 658-4686.
