The following post about pain and stress is based on an article that appeared on the WebMD website. Additional comments by George Barron and suggested hypnosis sessions have been added as appropriate.
Stress is often accompanied by pain and pain will obviously cause stress. So it is that being in pain causes stress or being stressed can make the pain worse. Hypnosis, which is a psychological therapy similar to relaxation and meditation, can be beneficial in breaking the cycle.
Such treatments are considered mainstream by pain management therapists. That’s because they focus on the relationship between the mind and the body. To other professionals, such treatments are often thought of as alternative or complementary therapies. No matter of how they are labeled, the evidence is undeniable – they do work.
Still, even today, the public has many misconceptions about hypnosis. The false beliefs of the public can largely be traced to the entertainment industry where hypnosis is often shown to be some sort of magic trick. Because of this, many people associate hypnosis with nightclub acts where a man with a swaying pocket watch urges volunteers from the audience to walk like a chicken or to bark like a dog. But clinical, medical and therapeutic hypnosis is much more than entertainment. The heightened state of awareness during hypnosis is used by trained therapists to treat psychological and physical problems. Self hypnosis is a form of it that allows people to help themselves .
While under hypnosis, the perceptions of the conscious mind are temporarily subdued as the subject focuses on relaxation and releases distracting thoughts. The American Society of Clinical Hypnotists describes the focusing while under hypnosis as being like using a magnifying glass to concentrate the rays of the sun. Making suggestions, like the sun rays, much more powerful. When our minds are concentrated and focused, we are able to use them in more constructive ways.
Hypnosis may allow a person to experience physiological changes, such as a slowing of the pulse and respiration, and an increase in alpha brain waves. When deeply hypnotized a person becomes more open to specific suggestions and goals, such as reducing pain. There is also a post-suggestion phase that is used by therapists to reinforces the continued use of the new behavior.
Benefits of Hypnosis
There is much research to indicate that medical hypnosis is helpful for acute and chronic pain. In 1996, a special panel of the National Institutes of Health announced that hypnosis was found to be highly effective in relieving cancer pain. Recently other studies have shown its effectiveness for pain related to burns, cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis and anxiety reduction associated with surgery. A determination was made after reviewing of 18 separate studies by researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. It revealed moderate to large pain-relieving effects from hypnosis, supporting the effectiveness of hypnotic techniques for pain management.
(Suggested Hypnosis Download: Chronic Pain Management)
Hypnosis has been known to alleviate pain for hundreds of years. To this day it is commonly used in surgical procedures – especially for those patients that cannot tolerate anesthesia. You might wonder, how does hypnosis work to stop the feeling of pain? It works by changing the way your brain interprets and responds to the signals of pain.
Of course it’s important to know the cause of any pain you may be experiencing because pain is your body’s way of alerting you to a problem that you need to take care of. But if you’ve taken or are taking the right course of action to deal with the problem, then you need not endure more pain.
The following hypnosis downloads for pain relief focus on specific types of pain, while others are more about pain management in general.
Hypnosis Downloads For Pain Management
Hypnosis for pain is tried and tested and is safe. You can give it a try today.
Based on an article originally Posted at WebMD. Edited by George Barron for SelfHypnosisUSA.com