Hypnotherapy for pain relief Gillingham, Kent
It’s been another interesting few weeks here at DO Hypnosis Kent in Gillingham. I have had two weight loss clients that are both benefiting from hypnosis for pain even though they have come to see me for weight loss! Which just proves how effective hypnosis for pain management can be!
One weight loss client awoke from trance and said that it was the first time she had felt pain free in years! This came as a real added benefit to her weight loss sessions.
My other weight loss client also feels pain free during hypnosis and says she looks forward to the sessions so much as she gets to relax and be pain free, plus she is losing weight at the same time!
A double benefit!
It came as no surprise at all to me that my clients felt pain relief whilst under hypnosis, as many clients come to us for hypnosis for pain management and pain relief.
Research shows that hypnosis for pain management is a very effective form of therapy
There has been a lot of research over the years regarding the effectiveness of hypnosis for pain management, and the evidence that hypnosis works for pain management is very strong.
Research has shown that hypnosis relieved chronic pain in a large percentage of patients with a smaller percentage of these patients experiencing permanent reductions in daily pain (1).
Further to this researchers found that hypnotherapy relieved pain for all of the following conditions (2)
- Cancer pain
- Lower back pain
- Arthritis pain
- Sickle cell disease
- Temporomandibular Pain
- Fibromyalgia
- Disability related pain
Neurophysiological research has discovered that there are various different areas in the brain that are responsible for our perception of how we feel pain. These areas work together to produce our experience of pain, and unless these cortical areas are active pain will not be experienced. Therefore when these processes are interrupted, pain will not be experienced. Hypnosis blocks the signals to these areas which is why patients can experience pain relief whilst under hypnosis and in a deep state of relaxation. This is further supported by Neuroscientific research which proves that changes in the brain occur under hypnosis.
The University of Iowa conducted research using Fmri scans and they found that hypnosis somehow reduced activity in areas of the brain that relate to pain while it increased activity in other parts of the brain. The pain signals that were sent to the part of the brain that perceive pain were blocked when a patient was under hypnosis. (2)
Thankfully, we also now know that psychological factors do play a role in the pain experienced by any one person as well. Pain is subjective, and what one person may describe as an 8 on the pain level scale another person may describe as a 2. Psychological factors such as expectancy or fear of the pain can serve to increase your pain. So for example, if you are going to the dentist but last time you went your mouth was not fully anesthetised and the dentist started drilling, your anxiety next time you go to the dentist is likely to be so high you may even feel pain that is not even there!
So there are many factors at play when a hypnotherapist works to relieve a patient’s pain.
A competent hypnotherapist will analyse any psychological factors influencing their patient’s pain, as well as social, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Each of these factors could be contributing to the subjective experience of the pain of the client, and incorporating issues with these factors into the hypnosis sessions is very effective for pain management.
I could write a whole paper citing the strong evidence out there supporting the efficacy of hypnosis for pain management, but the evidence I see every day that it works is when my clients return for pain management when they have started seeing me for other issues. There is great satisfaction for me seeing a client smile at the end of the session and report that they have experienced a relief from their pain, and even greater satisfaction when I treat a patient purely for pain and they report back daily and ongoing reductions in pain. This is why I do hypnotherapy and this is why I love my job so much!
We are situated conveniently just off junction 4 of the M2 in Hempstead, Gillingham. So if you are looking for hypnosis for pain management in Kent, please take a look at my website www.dohypnosiskent.co.uk or contact me on enquiries@dohypnosiskent.co.uk
Research papers
- Neurophysiology of pain and hypnosis for chronic pain, Translational Behavioural Medicine, 2012, Volume 2, Number 1, Page 65,Tiara Dillworth, M Elena Mendoza, Mark P Jensen
- Elkins, G., Jensen, M. P., & Patterson, D. R. (2007). Hypnotherapy for the Management of Chronic Pain.The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 55(3), 275–287. http://doi.org/10.1080/00207140701338621
Please note results may vary from person to person. There are never guarantees when undergoing any form of therapy and for this reason we do not offer any guarantees for any of our hypnotherapy services. *
