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The information below describes how the use of hypnosis is applied to address Pain Management as a frame of reference for those considering hypnosis. The information presented was researched by the National Guild of Hypnotists educational facility and is offered on this site with permission by ►Frances Carns, ND as a member in good standing.
The Hypnosis Services we offer are by no means restricted to those that are presented on this page. If an issue you are facing is not addressed, please call for a FREE telephone evaluation to learn if hypnosis may be an appropriate tool for your situation.
PAIN MANAGEMENT
A Powerful Achievement
The wife asked the hypnotist if he would see her husband and try to relieve the intense pain which he was suffering. The hypnotist requested medical authority to enter into the case and was advised that the situation was terminal, and that everything possible had been done – any help in pain relief was more than welcome. The prognosis was for about six months of life.
The situation was such that the patient could not visit the office, so the hypnotist offered to make a house call. He had some concern about the hypnotizability of the patient, since hypnosis usually requires the ability to focus attention as directed by the hypnotherapist in the fixation phase of induction. It was possible that the sheer intensity of the pain was so great that diversion of attention from it would be difficult or impossible.
Anticipating that repeat visits would be difficult in view of the medical and family situations, the hypnotist made a tape dealing with relaxation, rest, and pain reduction, taking it with him on the call. On arriving he learned that he was ill-prepared to face the situation confronting him. His friend was in bed, face contorted with agony, with a tube in his arm connected to a button which released morphine on demand. The morphine now provided minimal relief.
PAIN MANAGEMENT
The Power Of The Mind
In six weeks the patient died. At the funeral services the wife told the hypnotist the final six weeks had been bearable for both the patient and the family due to the tape. She commented that when the pain became intense the patient would ask for the tape, and when it begun the time required to move from deep pain to total relaxation was approximately thirty seconds.
It was evident that the expectation of relief more than the content of the tape was the effective element. Such is the power of the mind.
PAIN MANAGEMENT
Applications and Techniques
As is so important in hypnosis, attitude is a major factor. It is important that the patient accept that relief is possible. Constant pain needs to be approached on a different basis than interim pain. Constant pain is not to be relinquished completely even for a few minutes, since it is identified with the life force. The patient likes to feel it is there, however reduced, even during periods of sleep.
Physical pain is seldom constant. The hypnotist will determine if the patient has experienced periods, however briefly, which were free of pain. If the patient claims the pain is constant, it is more likely to be psychological in origin and may indicate a constant pain syndrome. Remedy will likely involve the establishment of rapport with empathy and appreciation of the value of pain. Hypnotic regression to the cause of the problem can lead to understanding and relief.
A reasonable hypnotist usually will not work with physical pain without being in communication with an appropriate physician, for the simple reason that pain is more of a symptom than a condition. Pain indicates that something is wrong, somewhere, and that it is true whether the pain is physical or mental. It would be the height of folly to address a migraine headache only to have it turn out to have been a brain cancer.
It is important to remember that some patients value their pains highly, just as a hypochondriac can be said to enjoy poor health. Through hypnosis patients frequently can be shown that they can control their pains and being able to do so they also can diminish pain to tolerable levels or turn it off completely at will.
Seemingly endless periods of tests which prove inconclusive, often accompanied by conflicting diagnosis, can instill levels of fear which may be dealt with through hypnosis. Guilt, anger, or other emotional problems often enter into the picture when accidents are involved as source conditions.
Negative attitudes must be dealt with, and again the capability of hypnosis to modify trends of thought becomes important. In difficult cases the power to cope can be programmed into the patient’s mind possibly together with cues to make the process more or less automatic.
In dealing with pain situations, teaching the patient the use of self-hypnosis techniques can be highly beneficial, reinforcing the programming that has been done in the case.
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The hypnosis information presented on this site was researched by the National Guild of Hypnotists educational facility and is distributed here with permission as a public information service by ►Frances Carns, ND as a member in good standing.
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HYPNOSIS SERVICES DISCLAIMER
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Hypnosis Services rendered at Angels at Work are offered as non-therapeutic hypnotism, defined as the use of hypnosis to inculcate positive thinking and the capacity for self-hypnosis. Services are not represented as any form of health care or psychotherapy, and despite research to the contrary, by law we make no medical health benefit claims for hypnosis services. ►Hypnosis Services are not intended to replace evaluation and treatment of medical or mental health conditions by your health care provider.
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