Reduce endometriosis symptoms with hypnosis
The news recently came to my attention that a woman with endometriosis did not qualify for disability benefits, even though her symptoms were incredibly severe and she even had to use morphine to reduce the pain. No fun and therefore understandable that she was dissatisfied with the announcement that she could work despite her "women's disease."
But what is endometriosis now and can hypnosis help stop the symptoms
What is endometriosis?
In a way, doctors were right that endometriosis is a woman's ailment, but it's really different from an ailment like hot flashes during menopause or having a lot of trouble with your period.
With endometriosis, uterine lining grows outside the uterus, usually in the fallopian tubes or on the ovaries. In some cases, however, it extends beyond just the pelvic organs. This is very troublesome because this lining is influenced by hormones. It grows between menstrual periods and shrinks again when you have your period. The growth, shrinkage, and bleeding of this lining can be extremely painful. This is because it can irritate the organs and tissues it comes into contact with, which can then become inflamed. That is why many women with this condition are prescribed pain relievers and anti-inflammatory medications.
There are many causes of endometriosis, such as when a discharge from menstruation goes the wrong way and attaches itself in the fallopian tube. In some cases, the cells can move through the limbic system to other parts of the body.
Sometimes the immune system suffers from a disorder that causes endometriosis.
You have a higher risk of endometriosis if you have a short cycle, such as shorter than 27 days, it is more common in your family and if you have high estrogen levels. Women who never get pregnant or are late to menopause also have a higher risk of developing endometriosis.
Symptoms of endometriosis
With endometriosis, you may experience pain, especially during your period. This can begin as early as a week before your period with pain in the abdomen and cramping. The lower back may also be painful.
- Sex can be painful.
- Going to the bathroom (#1 and #2) can be painful, especially if you have your period.
- You can lose a lot of blood when you have your period and between periods.
- Infertility.
- Fatigue.
- Diarrhea.
- Constipation.
- Nausea.
- Suffering from bloating.
The amount of pain has no correlation with the severity of endometriosis. Some women who have hardly any endometrium outside the uterus experience a lot of pain. While women who, on the contrary, have a lot of endometrium outside the uterus suffer little pain. So you cannot lump all people with endometriosis together to say whether or not it is a disease that makes normal life impossible.
It also increases the risk of uterine cancer.
Treatment of endometriosis
Endometriosis is usually treated with medication and sometimes surgery. Surgery is often a last resort.
Initially, it is recommended to take over-the-counter pain relievers, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen. When the maximum doses of these medications are ineffective, stronger pain relievers are often considered, which can ultimately lead to the use of morphine.
Hormone therapy is also used to reduce hormonal fluctuations so that the endometrium is less likely to grow. This can already be done with "the pill," for example.
In addition, hormone suppressants and other hormones can be used.
Surgical procedures are a last resort. They are primarily used to enable pregnancy by removing endometrial tissue that has grown in the wrong place. Sometimes IVF is recommended to help a woman get pregnant more quickly.
In severe cases, the entire uterus can also be removed along with the ovaries. Just removing the uterus is not enough because the ovaries then still produce hormones that can still affect leftover endometrium, causing the pain to remain.
Lena Dunham, a well-known English comedienne, recently underwent this surgery because she was suffering tremendously from endometriosis.
Complementary treatments for endometriosis
To avoid having to remove your uterus and ovaries, and to be able to live a normal life as much as possible despite the symptoms of endometriosis, more mental or alternative treatments are often given in addition to medical treatment.
Often cognitive behavioral therapy and other alternative care is given to reduce coping with pain and other symptoms. Cognitive behavioral therapy can also be done very well under hypnosis, and studies even show that you get results faster that way.
Hypnosis puts you into a trance-like state, allowing your subconscious mind to accept suggestions more quickly. This enables you to change your beliefs about how endometriosis pain affects your life, allowing you to live a freer life or feel more satisfied with the life you have now.
In addition, pain is often a subjective sensation. This is also why people have different pain thresholds. This is particularly evident in women because their pain threshold shifts after childbirth; most women can suddenly tolerate much more pain.
Because this is a (partially) subjective feeling, hypnosis can also do much to change the perception of pain. This can be done with several techniques, such as by changing beliefs about pain with hypnotic suggestions and to stop catastrophic thought processes (in which you make the problem bigger and bigger).
A practical hypnosis technique against pain is the one where you change your perception of pain through visualizations. There are 3 types of visualizations for this.
- The volume button
- The Warm Hands
- The Fine Place
The volume button
The volume button is a visualization where you will very practically control pain. You may need to practice this visualization several times, with a hypnotherapist if necessary, before it works for you.
In any case, you visualize a kind of volume knob that allows you to turn the pain up or down, just like the volume on a stereo.
With the knob, so to speak, you turn the pain down and gently "off."
First, you need to get into the hypnotic state. So you sit or lie down in a comfortable place and focus on your breathing. You relax your muscles and close your eyes. Then you imagine a volume knob that you gently turn to the left which also slowly makes the pain less intense. When this has succeeded you relax a bit more and then continue your day with your new pain.
The Warm Hands
This technique is also used for people with irritable bowel syndrome. Abdominal pain or cramping can be extremely uncomfortable. During this “visualization,” you place your hands on your abdomen or on the area where you’re experiencing pain. You’ll feel the warmth from your hands making your abdomen warmer and how that helps your muscles relax. The more relaxed your muscles are, the less pain you’ll experience.
It is also important to be relaxed and in a hypnotic state before using this technique.
The Fine Place
Sometimes you also just want to get distracted from the symptoms of endometriosis. Fine spot visualization is a form of hypnosis that promotes relaxation, which can also be very helpful against the pain symptoms of endometriosis.
For the visualization, you first relax and focus on your breathing. Then you close your eyes and visualize being in a nice place. This can be a place where you once felt totally chill, such as on vacation or just a place you always imagine as a relaxing place in a book or something from a movie.
You visualize yourself walking there, feeling the sand/grass, under your feet and being nice. The sun warms your face and maybe even your whole body. There is a nice breeze, of just the right temperature. You feel relaxed and nice and can lie down in the tall grass/soft sand. Your muscles relax piece by piece and even your tongue no longer presses against your palate, you didn't even realize you were doing that. Lovely relaxing in the sun, with a breeze and perhaps the finest music or twittering birds around you.
In addition to these visualizations, there are other hypnosis techniques to reduce the symptoms of endometriosis. This cannot replace medical treatment, however, it does make you less dependent on pain medication than you might otherwise be.
Are you struggling with these types of visualizations and want more than this? Then make an appointment with a hypnotherapist.
Would you like to learn more about hypnosis—and perhaps even help others? Then come to the Hypnosis Institute of the Netherlands’ workshop or check out the training programs and sign up.
Sources:
http://www.jpagonline.org/article/S1083-3188(03)00064-0/abstract
http://www.celebitchy.com/566463/lena_dunham_underwent_a_total_hysterectomy_after_years_of_endometriosis_struggles/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/endometriosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20354656