Over the Christmas season a young man travelled from Europe to see me for help with his Chronic Pain, interested in how he might utilize Hypnosis in his management. Coming halfway around the world to see me for hypnosis? That makes me sound important…but the truth is less impressive. He was really coming home to see family for the holidays and a friend referred him to me, and he fit me in while home…but a nice story to tell anyway.
In addition to a good story, we did actually do some great work together. Chronic pain is one of my specialty areas, working in it for the last eight years with both adults and children. It is also something debilitating and “life-sucking” for many people. Patients often see many health professionals in their quest for someone to take away the pain and many times are told that there is nothing that can be done…or worse…that the pain is all in their head so they should seek psychological help. I absolutely believe that my client’s pain is real and my growing knowledge of the pain system supports the complexity of that system and our limited understanding of it. Where psychology can be useful in the process is in helping people live their best lives despite the pain. There are proven and effective psychological strategies for reducing the suffering that pain brings and even techniques to reduce how much pain bothers a person…..but I could talk about this for hours.
The point I wanted to make in this is about how this young man’s commitment to himself and his openness to “alternative” therapies resulted in some beautiful moments in therapy. He had a great imagination which helps the hypnotic process immensely. Hypnosis isn’t magic but instead is recognized as an empirically supported approach to pain control. There are many misconceptions and myths related to hypnosis made popular by television, movies, and stage hypnotists. One of the biggest likely has to do with control and the idea that the hypnotist can somehow control the subject. In reality, hypnosis can never make you do anything you do not want to do. It is not about a loss of control, but about focussed attention. Pain is also about attention and it is VERY effective at getting our attention. Hypnosis therefore can be helpful in shifting attention away from painful sensations or stimuli. It is used in surgery, dental work, burn treatment, and in a host of other medical arenas.
If there is interest I will post in the future about some of the mechanisms of hypnosis and some of the ways I use it in my psychology practice. Until then …perhaps you are finding your eyes…becoming heavier and heavier….almost as if they want to close……Good Night 🙂