Pain is one of life’s inevitabilities. It evolved to alert us to injuries to our bodies – say touching a hot stove – and is a vitally important sensory phenomenon. Without it we would all suffer the same fate experienced by many diabetics with peripheral neuropathy, who injure themselves and develop infected lesions because they do not feel the injuries and therefore, don’t have them treated. But as we can all attest, the fact that pain is a necessary part of existence does not make enduring it any more enjoyable.
There are two different types of physical pain we experience. The first and most common is “Acute” or short term pain. That is what we feel when we break a bone, cut a finger, or get a bee sting. Acute pain generally resolves itself as the injury or condition that caused it heals. The second type is long term or “Chronic” pain. In general, chronic pain does not improve on its own because the condition underlying it does not improve on its own. Some examples of medical conditions leading to chronic pain are, arthritis, fibromyalgia, lumbar spinal stenosis, and degenerative disc disease.
While pain medications (“analgesics”) are effective and their use makes sense in situations of acute pain, using them for cases of long term pain management is problematic. The most commonly prescribed analgesic meds for severe, chronic pain are “opioids,”… medications like morphine, codeine, oxycodone, and hydrocodone. While powerful and effective initially, long term use can lead to “Tolerance,” a condition where the body adapts to the medication and requires continually larger doses to achieve the same level of relief. Another danger of long term opioid use is “Physical Dependence,” where the body adapts to the point that it constantly requires the drug to avoid the very unpleasant symptoms of withdrawal.
The greatest danger of long term opioid use is addiction – the terrible combination of not just a physical dependence on them but a psychological dependence as well. The United States today is experiencing epidemic levels of opioid dependence/addiction. It is so common that there was even a popular American TV series, “House, M.D.” which dealt with the issue.
The ability of the subconscious mind to block physical pain was one of the first discovered properties of hypnosis. During the 19th century (before the advent of general anesthesia) hypnosis was widely used by army surgeons, enabling them to more humanely amputate wounded soldiers’ severely damaged limbs. It is still used today with patients undergoing major surgery who are allergic to, or for other reasons cannot tolerate general anesthesia. Another very common use today is “Hypnotic Birthing,” where the mother is taught hypnotic methods which enable her to go through the pains of labor without medication.
The process of how we experience pain is quite interesting. We imagine that we “feel” the pain at the location of the injury, but this is not true. What actually occurs is that nerves at the injury site send electrical impulses to our brain where they are then “interpreted” and perceived as pain. This is exactly the same process by which our eyes “see,” our ears “hear,” our nose “smells,” and our tongues “taste.” No light or sound or chemical molecules are ever actually transported to our brains. All that ever does get to the brain are the electrical signals sent from our amazing sensory stimuli receptors (eyes, ear drums, olfactory bulbs, and taste buds) through our central nervous systems to our brains, where they are received and then interpreted as light, color, taste, sound. and smell. We do not feel pain in our bodies. We “experience” and “perceive” pain in our brains. And because our subconscious minds control that interpretive process, it means we can instruct them to perceive and interpret those pain signals differently. Please read those last three sentences again, for they are vitally important. Simply put, hypnosis enables us to manipulate and change how we experience pain.
After helping you enter a deeply relaxed, deeply focused hypnotic state, I can then teach you specific techniques which you can use to reduce or completely eliminate your pain. I can teach you how to change the perception of your pain to a warmth, a coolness, a pressure, a pleasant numbness, or any other feeling you prefer. And just as a dimmer switch reduces the intensity and brightness of a light bulb, I can teach you methods which will enable you to reduce the intensity of your perceived pain in exactly the same manner. It is incredibly remarkable, but it is not magic. What we are doing is teaching you to consciously apply the ability of your powerful subconscious mind to change how your brain interprets the electrical signals coming into it. I really cannot overstate how amazing it is to feel your pain fading quickly away, leaving you in a state of deep comfort and peaceful relaxation.
Pain management is one of the most common reasons people seek out a clinical hypnotherapist. If you too are experiencing pain, please give me a call at (916) 717-9150 for a free consultation regarding your own specific condition.
