Hypnosis for Chronic Pain

Can hypnosis be used for conditions with chronic pain to manage discomfort levels? Yes, it can . . . hypnosis for chronic pain.

recently i have seen someone advertising locally that they can help diminish cronic unrelenting pain through hypnosis.

Hypnosis for pain relief has a long history and it is one of the applications for hypnosis that has a very credible qualitative support for. In the nineteenth century, James Braid was doing dental work with hypnosis (he is the fellow who coined the word hypnotism to avoid the negative associations that mesmerism and magnetism held). Elliotson, friend of Charles Dickens, did a number of surgical demonstrations using hypnosis while Esdaile performed thousands ot surgeries (including amputations) with no chemical pain relief at all with a much higher survival rate than conventional chemical methods of the day. The illustration for this essay is of Charcot giving an early demonstrational lecture on hypnosis. The Mayo clinic began the first major quantitative studies into the use of suggestion for pain relief and had very good results.

Most people can indeed diminish chronic and unrelenting pain this way. Even simple relaxation can do wonders (the brief Garbage Can process I use in my recording of the same name on my Guided Imagery site – in the free MP3s used for classes section – was developed specifically for use in hospice for children with terminal illnesses and the study found that the kids who used the process daily for a few minutes not only experienced less pain and therefore lived longer due to fewer needs for pain medicines but that they also had a higher remission rate and long term survival rate).

I suffer from severe unrelenting arthritis and am to the point that i am willing to try about anything no matter how stupid it looks or sounds to to get some release from the pain. I’ve tried accupuncture and several of the herbal remidies to no avail. My doctor has me on strong narcaotics for the worst of the pain and i do not want to become addicted to them though i know that may be the end result. Will this help ( i know nothing can stop the progression of the disease) or is it another pie in the sky hope?

Yes, it can help. No, it is not a pie in the sky hope. There are a number of studies on pain relief and hypnosis in general and quite a few on the specifics of arthritis and hypnosis.

Of course, do NOT abandon your doctor’s qualified and competent care. Hypnosis should be used as an adjunct to medical supervised care, not as a replacement.

In addition to the plethora of recent AP and other service news reports on pain relief and hypnosis, here are some places you might look at for more information:

While there are a number of tapes and CDs out there that you can buy for pain relief via hypnosis or other trance modalities, I STRONGLY suggest that you use such recordings as a supplement and reinforcement track only AFTER you have seen a real live honest to goodness comptent hypnotist. Self-hypnosis methods can be helpful, but I find they are EVEN MORE POWERFULLY EFFECTIVE when a person has done the work with a skilled guide, a hypnotist who can help you achieve your goals.

While you are aware of the cause of your chronic pain and are ready for a management protocol to help reduce your discomfort, it is important to remember that one should never use hypnosis or any other trance modality to reduce or eliminate new or unspecified source pain without having a doctor determine what the cause is and beginning an appropriate treatment. Pain is there for a reason, it is a warning system setup so that our body can let us know something is wrong and needs attention. It is important that we not inadvertantly mask the symptom of pain before a proper course of treatment is determined and begun. If we help someone with pain relief, they must continue following their doctor’s advice.

Also, as hypnotists, NEVER work with a client for pain management without a specific referral from a physician. Our function is not to replace doctors or to mask symptoms, it is to supplement. Personally, I just don’t do such work without a referral. Albeit, with the appropriate referral, such work can be very rewarding. Of course, I have done emergency hypnosis to reduce pain for immediate aid and relief but in every case where I have been called on to do that, the subject was either on the way to hospital or waiting for EMTs to arrive. For chronic pain, don’t overstep the bounds of appropriate involvement.

I hope this has been helpful to you. Please keep us posted of your progress. Others have had successes ranging from complete control of their discomfort to at least diminished pain with additional benefits in terms of stress reduction and more. The worst that can happen is diminished pain and better stress control. The brightest outlook you can look foward to as you take this very positive step towards controlling your symptoms is full management of your discomfort levels and greater control over your life.

If you are in Taipei and wish hypnosis services for therapeutic, metaphysical, entertainment, or recreational needs, feel free to email me at phillips@nccu.edu.tw. I am a Board Certified Hypnotist and Certified Hypnotherapist in addition to being a Certified Hypnosis Instructor Trainer.

All the best,
Brian