Persistent Pain Treatments: Pain Hypnotherapy

What is Pain Hypnotherapy?

Pain hypnotherapy is a therapeutic technique that uses hypnosis to help individuals manage and reduce pain.

Hypnosis is a state of focused attention, heightened suggestibility, and deep relaxation. In pain hypnotherapy, the therapist guides the individual into this state and suggests ways to alter their perception of pain or focus their mind away from it.

How Does Pain Hypnotherapy Work?

While every hypnotherapist works differently, the pain hypnosis process has some essential elements or steps:

1. Inducing Hypnosis. The therapist helps the person relax deeply and focus their attention inward, often using guided imagery, progressive relaxation, or other hypnotic techniques.
2. Pain Reframing. Once in a hypnotic state, the therapist provides suggestions aimed at reducing the individual’s perception of pain. This might include visualising the pain as something manageable (like turning down the volume on pain), shifting focus away from the pain, or changing the way the brain processes the sensations.
3. Post-Hypnotic Suggestions. These are instructions given while under hypnosis that the person can continue to use after the session ends. For example, the suggestion might be that, whenever pain is felt, the person can use a relaxation technique to alleviate discomfort.
4. Self-Hypnosis. Patients are often taught self-hypnosis techniques to manage pain on their own outside of therapy sessions.

While pain hypnotherapy isn’t a cure for underlying medical conditions, it can be a helpful tool for managing pain alongside other medical treatments. Research suggests that it can be effective for many people, though results vary based on individual responsiveness to hypnosis.

What does Pain Hypnotherapy Treat?

Some applications of pain hypnotherapy include (but are not limited to):

• Chronic Pain. It is frequently used to help with conditions like arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic headaches or migraines, back pain, neuropathic pain and other long-term pain issues.
• Post-Surgical Pain. Hypnotherapy can help reduce the need for medications after surgery.
• Labour Pain. Some people use hypnosis to manage pain during childbirth (such as hypno-birthing).

How does Pain Hypnotherapy Alleviate Chronic Pain?

Pain hypnotherapy alleviates chronic pain by tapping into the mind-body connection, helping to change how the brain perceives pain signals.

Chronic pain is often complex and involves both physical and psychological factors.

Hypnotherapy works on the mental and emotional layers of pain perception, reducing the subjective experience of pain and promoting relaxation and healing.

Altering Pain Perception

In chronic pain, the brain can become hypersensitive to pain signals, amplifying the experience. Through hypnosis, individuals are guided into a deeply relaxed state, where the therapist can introduce suggestions to change the way the brain processes pain.

For instance, visualising the pain as something that can be controlled (e.g., turning a dial down to reduce pain), dissociating from the pain (e.g., imagining the pain being distant or separate from the body), or reframing the pain sensation into something less distressing (e.g., thinking of it as warmth or pressure rather than sharp pain).

Reducing Stress and Tension

Chronic pain often leads to stress, anxiety, and muscle tension, which can exacerbate the pain cycle. Hypnosis promotes deep relaxation, reducing stress hormones (like cortisol) and muscle tension that can contribute to the pain. This allows the body to enter a calmer state, which can ease the perception of pain.

Changing Emotional Responses to Pain

Chronic pain is often accompanied by fear, anxiety, frustration, or depression, which can intensify the pain. Hypnosis helps to shift these emotional responses, making the pain feel less overwhelming. Through suggestion, hypnotherapy can help individuals adopt a more positive, resilient mindset, reducing emotional distress and enhancing coping abilities.

Focusing Attention Away from Pain

One of the key aspects of pain hypnotherapy is helping the patient focus on something other than their pain. By directing attention to positive imagery, pleasant sensations, or calming thoughts, the brain becomes less focused on processing pain signals. This “distraction” helps lessen the perception of pain.

Harnessing the Brain’s Natural Pain Relief Systems

Hypnotherapy can stimulate the brain’s natural ability to produce pain-relieving chemicals, such as endorphins. In a hypnotic state, individuals may experience an increase in their body’s natural pain-killing mechanisms, helping to reduce discomfort.

Empowering Patients through Self-Hypnosis

Patients are often taught self-hypnosis techniques to manage their chronic pain outside of therapy sessions. This empowers them to take control of their pain experience, using relaxation and visualisation techniques whenever they feel pain coming on.

The effectiveness of pain hypnotherapy depends on factors like the patient’s receptiveness to hypnosis and the skill of the therapist, but it offers a non-invasive, drug-free option for managing chronic pain. It can work alongside traditional medical treatments as part of a holistic approach or multidisciplinary program to improve the overall quality of life for those living with chronic pain.

Why Would You See a Pain Hypnotherapist for Chronic Pain?

You might seek pain hypnotherapy for chronic pain to manage discomfort without relying on medications, reduce stress, and improve emotional well-being. It helps by changing how your brain perceives pain, often making it feel less intense or distressing.

Hypnotherapy also promotes relaxation, reduces muscle tension, and can break the cycle of pain and anxiety.

Additionally, it empowers patients with self-hypnosis techniques to control pain on their own.

Risks of Pain Hypnotherapy

The risks of pain hypnotherapy are generally minimal, but some individuals may experience side effects like dizziness, headaches, or emotional discomfort.

In rare cases, hypnosis could bring up repressed memories or intensify negative emotions, leading to anxiety or distress. It is not suitable for people with certain mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia or severe personality disorders.

Additionally, relying solely on hypnotherapy without addressing the underlying medical cause of chronic pain could delay necessary treatments.

Pain Hypnotherapy’s Role in Chronic Pain Management

Pain hypnotherapy plays a supportive role in chronic pain management by altering the brain’s perception of pain, helping reduce its intensity. It complements medical treatments by promoting relaxation, reducing stress, and addressing the emotional factors that can worsen chronic pain.

By teaching self-hypnosis, it empowers patients to manage pain independently. Whist not a cure, it can enhance overall pain control and improve quality of life when used alongside conventional therapies.

Finding a Persistent Pain Doctor Who Works With Pain Hypnotherapists Near You

If you are suffering from chronic pain, then a multidisciplinary approach that involves pain hypnotherapy may be right for you.

To find a doctor near you who treats persistent or chronic pain and works in conjunction with pain-focused hypnotherapists, ask your general practitioner for a referral to a pain management physician.

You can also research pain management clinics with hypnotherapists online or speak to family members, friends, or support groups (both online and in real life) for recommendations; those who have dealt with similar chronic pain issues or other problems may have valuable advice to offer.

Pain hypnotherapy as part of a multidisciplinary approach to pain management can help to improve quality of life for patients dealing with chronic pain conditions.