Hypnotherapy For Chronic Pain
If you experience pain on a regular basis, it's important to consider how to manage your pain. As tempting as it may be to lie in bed and not move, in most cases this only makes things worse. Inactivity can cause your body to stiffen up and over time you lose strength. This can then affect your sleep and mood.
If you are able to, try to stay as mobile as possible. Gentle exercise can actually work as a natural form of pain relief. Be sure to consult your doctor to find out which exercises you can do safely. Look for something that won't put too much strain on your body such as:
Walking
Hypnosis for pain relief
Therapies that address the mind-body link are often recommended for those dealing with long-term pain. Stress and anxiety are common side effects of pain and can even make the sensation feel worse. The way the mind responds to pain also links to the perception of physical sensations.
Helping to reduce stress and change the thought patterns related to pain can therefore make a huge difference to pain perception. For this, many opt for hypnotherapy.
Research suggests that hypnotherapy can be an effective way of managing pain, chronic pain, and surgery-related pain and anxiety.
When you are under hypnosis you focus on relaxation and letting go of distracting thoughts. This temporarily tunes out the conscious part of your mind, opening you up to the power of suggestion. At this point, your hypnotherapist can make suggestions to encourage pain relief. Most hypnotherapists will also give post-hypnotic suggestions, allowing you to carry out self-hypnosis after the end of your sessions.
Rather than convincing you that your pain doesn't exist, hypnosis for pain aims to manage any fear and anxiety you may have relating to your pain. It also helps to reduce stress and relax the nervous system to help it become less reactive to pain.
Hypnosis for pain relief also refocuses your mind away from the pain and onto something more pleasant. For example, many hypnotherapists will ask you to imagine that you're somewhere nice, like a beach. Using visualisation techniques you may be asked to describe the place in more detail. Thinking about what the sea looks like, the warmth of the sun and the feeling of sand between your toes can help to distract you from your pain.
The number of sessions you'll need will depend on your individual circumstances, however hypnosis for pain usually lasts between four and 10 sessions. Some hypnotherapists will make recordings for you to use at home so you can continue to employ hypnosis techniques.
The nature of hypnotherapy means it doesn't work for everybody. However, it is a natural therapy with no side effects, so it's certainly worth trying. Many people say it's an effective tool to use as part of their chronic pain management plan.
Hypnotherapy interventions will often involve visualisations to help you decrease the intensity of the pain you feel. For example, IBS 'gut-directed hypnotherapy' involves using visualisations to calm the gut and digestive systems.
If you would like to explore how hypnotherapy and life coaching can help you with your pau
journey, visit Be a Better You and I would be happy to book you in for a consultation.