Hypnosis in the treatment of psychosomatic problems. Hypnosis and pain. Hypnosis and dentistry .
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.
According to the latest statistics, as many as 80 million American adults have experienced pain lasting more than 24 hours. In the UK, the numbers are similar. Two-fifths of UK adults experience chronic pain. And it affects many millions more around the world.
How do you treat chronic pain? Well, drugs have traditionally been the most commonly prescribed treatment option. Yet, more and more people are asking:
Is there are a drug-free alternative that can provide immediate and lasting pain relief?
Hypnosis. Hypnosis can be a wonderful pain reliever
A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Utah looked at how hypnosis could reduce pain in the short-term. The participants in the study had come to the hospital reporting “intolerable pain” and difficulty controlling pain. The researchers then prescribed hypnosis to one group, as well as mindfulness and pain coping strategies to others.
In the hypnosis group, 29 percent experienced immediate pain reduction (as well as a decreased desire for opioid medication). In other words, hypnosis was as effective at reducing pain as a small dose of a narcotic painkiller.
More interestingly, that was the effect after just a single hypnosis session.
In studies that have looked at long-term hypnotherapy treatments, the percentage of participants who experienced significant reductions in pain rises.
For example, a 2015 study found that roughly 50 percent of people suffering from chronic back pain experienced relief lasting more than six months. And a comprehensive review of research conducted that hypnosis could provide long-term and shorter lasting results.
Hypnosis - the subconscious mind – that area of the brain, which controls many of our attitudes, thoughts and beliefs. It’s the part of the brain that very often drives us to act.
The subconscious is also where we create a lot of our perceptions about stimuli. If we instantly like a movie, for instance, that was the subconscious making an instant decision to pay attention and tune in. Pain, in a way, is like the movie. It delivers constant stimuli to the subconscious, and asking the brain to make a decision. This, often, is where we develop our perception of the intensity of pain, our beliefs about how long it will last or if we can find relief.
Hypnosis gives us direct access to this part of the brain. And we can start to reprogram how it responds to stimuli. We do this by offering the mind positive, helpful suggestions, while in a trance.
Hypnotic suggestions allow us to unseat and remove automatic thoughts, beliefs and patterns of thinking that intensify and force us to think about the pain that we’re feeling.
Using hypnosis for pain management, we can help the mind think differently (or not at all) about the pain we feel, and there are four general ways we can do it.
1. Distraction
Have you ever been so deep into a thought that you forget your motorway exit? Or you accidentally cut your finger while chopping onions. In the moment, we’re often so distracted with stopping the bleeding – we forget how much it hurts. The pain comes after we’ve dressed the injury.
Using hypnosis, we can train the mind to distract itself from the intensity of pain. We might suggest that the subconscious thinks of a pain-free time in our lives, or thinks about another pain-free part of the body. As a result, we can’t hyper-focus on the pain and how intense it is – which is a powerful method for helping to reduce pain.
Distraction can be effective for short-term and immediate pain relief.
2. Re-framing
When we use re-framing, we use feed the subconscious with suggestions about how to perceive pain. For example, many chronic pain sufferers describe their pain as a “burning” feeling. Using hypnosis suggestion, we can begin to alter this description – from burning, to a feeling of warmth, and ultimately, to a cool sensation.
Often, for labour pain, a hypnotherapist might suggest to the subconscious that the feeling isn’t pain , discomfort, or pressure. Some re-framing techniques ask the mind to think differently about the pain in a more abstract way, i.e. not that it has control over our lives, but that it is something that happens in the background that we tune into, for example.
Re-framing works well long-term, as it may take multiple sessions to alter how the subconscious perceives and responds to pain. But over time, it can be a very helpful tool for reducing intense pain.
3. Numbing
When we guide ourselves into a deep trance, we can begin to work with sensory information. For example, a common hypnotherapy technique might require you to imagine your hand in ice-cold water. We can take that further and further, until, in your trance state, you perceive that your hand is actually numb.
Once this happens, you might visualise that numbness moving to where you feel pain. This technique can help to dull or numb the pain entirely.
4. Dissociation
Finally, we have dissociation. With dissociation, we ask ourselves to separate the pain or ourselves from the body. We visualise ourselves across the room, watching ourselves. Or visualise the area of our low back that’s in pain, as floating behind ourselves.
It sounds abstract, but just try it for a moment. Imagine you’re sitting across the room, watching yourself reading this.
Did you notice a difference? Did you feel calmer, or more grounded? Where you able to break your focus from your pain?
Dissociation can be a helpful tool, but like numbing, it takes time to master.
Over time, you’ll become proficient in the techniques, and you can begin to use it – not just for pain – but when you feel anxiety, stress, when you feel a lack of motivation. The technique can instantly calm the mind.
Hypnosis and Dentistry
Hypnodontics, the application of hypnosis in dentistry, is currently undergoing an upsurge of interest. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, there is an increasing public demand for patient-friendly approaches in dentistry. Secondly, there is an increasing public acceptance of clinical hypnosis as being therapeutically effective. And thirdly, there is a growing body of scientific data that validates the reality of hypnotic phenomena and provides substantial evidence of the effectiveness of hypnotherapy in a range of clinical applications. Far from being a specialised skill that is interesting but only remotely connected to everyday dental practice, hypnodontics is increasingly making its way into all branches of dentistry . This includes application not only in special dental procedures or with particularly anxious and phobic patients but also with “average” patients in the most routine dentistry. In the latter case, patients may avail of hypnosis to reduce any “ordinary” levels of tension and anxiety by using hypnotic techniques during the treatment with or without prior training.
From the point of view of dentistry, among the most important effects produced by hypnosis are the reduction of pain perception, the profound relaxation characteristic of the state, the greatly increased suggestibility of the patient for instructions geared towards relaxation and reduction of anxiety and fear. The production of states of relaxation is very easily achieved in most patients when hypnosis is used and this alone has the effect of reducing anxiety and subsequently of diminishing pain by decreasing treatments than is actually the case.
Dentists only rarely see those who are extremely phobic of dental treatment. These patients usually suffer severe dental and other oral problems due to their avoidance of dental treatment. The less fearful patients, in some estimates as much as 50 per cent of the general population, manage to attend dental appointments, although often less frequently than is advisable. Their experience of dental treatment is, for them, bearable but relatively unpleasant, whether or not they reveal this to the dentist. Consequently, many dentists work under the misapprehension that patients are happier with their experience of having dental treatments than is actually the case. This has several implications for the dentist. Firstly, the most obvious of these considerations includes the fact that patients who are less relaxed and less happy attend less frequently. Anxious patients often report a fear of “loss of control” in their passivity during dental treatments and hypnosis gives these people a powerful psychological tool to use so they have a part to play in their own treatment. Pain and discomfort, although much reduced by modern anaesthetics, are often associated in patients’ minds with their visits to the dentist, and the unpleasant experiences and their associations can be greatly reduced by hypnosis. A number of research studies have confirmed the effectiveness of hypnosis for pain relief method
Benefits of hypnodontics for patients A summary of the main benefits for patients includes:
• Alleviate dental anxiety and phobia.
• Reducing pain and discomfort in patients.
• Reduction/ elimination of needle phobia.
• Improved compliance with dentist during dental procedures.
• Boosting attendance for check-ups and cleaning.
• Eliminating behaviours that contribute to dental disease e.g. smoking.
• Increasing dental health behaviours (flossing, regular brushing, etc). • Improved quality of experience and satisfaction.
Hypnosis can also help -
Aid the physician in bringing the patient to a state of wellness.
Reinforce the physician's "orders" and give suggestions for continued speedy recovery.
Aid the hospital or health care facility in the performance of their function to:
Meet the requirements of D.R.G.
Reduce the amount of drugs the patient would normally require, especially in the control of pain.
Reduce the fear and anxiety associated with surgical procedures and catastrophic illness.
Assist the family in reducing their anxiety.
Teach the family members appropriate suggestions to reinforce the physician's and hospital staff's efforts on behalf of the patient.
Help prepare the family for what they will feel as they wait for results of surgery, tests, etc.; as they see their beloved in ICU; and to dispel any negative feelings in order to create peace and harmony within themselves.
Hypnosis may be defined as an education communication process to a person's mind that allows his/her conscious and subconscious mind to receive the same message. The process produces an altered state of consciousness through physical and mental relaxation. The critical faculty of mind is by-passed and the subconscious openly receives the communication. At this time, the senses are in a state of heightened awareness. The mind will only accept that which goes along with the established morals and ethics. The person in a hypnotic state will respond only to suggestions with which he/she is in agreement. Desire, belief and expectancy are necessary for this altered state to have effect in the outer behavior of the individual.
Research has shown that our unconscious mind makes 90% of our decisions and that behaviours are established at a very young age. The unconscious mind’s primary function is to protect us. However, behaviours learned at a young age are not always helpful in dealing with issues that we face as adults. Although our conscious mind knows how to deal with situations rationally, the unconscious mind which is the driving force, can create a raft of limiting and unhelpful behaviours because of early programming.
Life changes, and so can you!
Call Stuart: +44 7825 599340 / 0121 403 3163
stuart@hypnotherapy4freedom.com
www.hypnotherapy4freedom.com
