Pain Management (Analgesia)
Beach Hypnosis … Hypnosis is a valid choice for pain relief… It is an astonishingly effective way of reducing and even removing pain responses.
Hypnosis has been used for centuries to control pain. From major amputations to the resetting of broken limbs, hypnosis is excellent for producing analgesia and anesthesia. ‘Analgesia’ is the absence of pain, whereas ‘anesthesia’ means absence of any sensation.
Surgeon and master hypnotist Jack Gibson (1909–2005) performed over 2,000 operations using hypnosis while working on an emergency ward in Southern Ireland. He is one example of hypnotists who, every day, all over the world, use the power of hypnosis to help people reduce pain levels.
Dr. James Esdaile a pioneer in hypnotic surgeries worked as a surgeon for the British East India Company from 1845 to 1850 and performed as many as 261 surgeries using Hypnosis (Mesmerism) as anesthesia. Surgeries ranged from tooth extraction to amputations, taking off tumors weighing up to 108 pounds, hernias, piles and cancers.
On 4 April 1845, Esdaile performed his first mesmeric procedure. He was treating a convict afflicted with double hydrocele. The drainage and injection of one side of the scrotum caused the patient such pain that Esdaile determined to try mesmerism upon him for the second operation.
He was successful in rendering the convict analgesic, and at once began to experiment with mesmerism both as a means of producing analgesia in surgical cases, and as a method of treatment for medical ones.
How many times have you been mesmerized by something, so captured by it that it was like you were in a trance?
Mesmerism the name used for Hypnosis named after Dr. Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), who discovered Hypnosis, which was believed to be an animal magnetism (or using of one’s willpower).
WebMD reports: “Research has shown medical hypnosis to be helpful for acute and chronic pain. In 1996, a panel of the National Institutes of Health found hypnosis to be effective in easing cancer pain. More recent studies have demonstrated its effectiveness for pain related to burns, cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis and reduction of anxiety associated with surgery. An analysis of 18 studies by researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York revealed moderate to large pain-relieving effects from hypnosis, supporting the effectiveness of hypnotic techniques for pain management.”
If you’re looking for a gentle way to reduce the pain that comes with chronic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or osteoarthritis (OA), hypnosis may just do the trick. Studies show that more than 75% of people with arthritis and related diseases experience significant pain relief using hypnosis.
Forget what you’ve seen in movies about hypnosis. Today’s practitioners are using it to give patients an additional tool to help manage their pain.
Learning to Relax with Hypnosis
Hypnosis isn’t about convincing you that you don’t feel pain; it’s about helping you manage the fear and anxiety you feel related to that pain. It relaxes you, and it redirects your attention from the sensation of pain. In a hypnosis session, which usually lasts 10-20 minutes, you will likely start by focusing on your breathing to help you relax. Then the hypnotist will instruct you to imagine a pleasant place and describe it in detail, refocusing your attention from something that triggers negative emotions to something that will activate positive emotions, such as being at the beach.
Hypnosis typically helps relieve pain in just 4 to 10 sessions. But some people benefit faster and others not at all.
Is Hypnosis Right for You?
Some people respond to hypnosis better than others, but there’s no harm in trying it. It has no side effects and if it doesn’t work for you, you can stop at any time. But many people report significant reduction in pain and gain a simple tool for easing it that they can use any time.
Please note that hypnotherapy may not work for everybody and Beach Hypnosis is not intended to replace medical or psychological treatments offered by any doctor.
Hypnosis may help relieve pain for: Arthritis, Chronic pain, Cancer, Fibromyalgia, Labor, Migraine headache, Surgery, Tension headache”
Interested in learning more about Hypnotherapy? Check out the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association.