A while back, for a television program, I helped people hypnotize themselves against pain. This was necessary because they were getting a tattoo, which is still a painful way to get art on your body. To make this experience more pleasant, I helped them deal with this pain better with self-hypnosis.
To be able to help you reduce minor aches and pains, in this article I will discuss when and how hypnosis can help with pain.
In the program, I have helped people who were getting tattoos, but unfortunately I can't go with everyone who has needles put into them to help them get art on their bodies without too much suffering.
Besides getting tattoos, there are many other reasons that can cause you to suffer from pain. In this article, I mainly talk about short-term pain that can be eliminated with hypnosis. If you suffer from chronic pain, hypnosis can also do a lot, but other techniques sometimes apply to that.
Fortunately, you can already do a lot with self-hypnosis to reduce pain as well(1)(3). I just don't recommend you do this for surgical procedures as well. If it does fail, it will be very painful. When you go under a doctor's knife, you just have to do what he says and that is to go under anesthesia.
If you don't know what is causing your pain or if you suffer from pain for a long time, it is wise to see a doctor first to make sure the pain is not a sign of something serious. This is because pain is a signal from your body that something is not right. Pain can therefore be a sign of a serious illness, which is why you should always check first to make sure there isn't something else going on.
Always have a doctor check for the source of the pain, even if it requires an MRI scan! A nagging, stabbing pain that persists is not something you want to hide, you want to take action.
If you know your pain is not something serious, then you can move forward with using self-hypnosis to reduce pain.
When to use hypnotic sedation?
There are also situations in which you can use hypnotic sedation with self-hypnosis without directly endangering your life if it fails, as in:
- Tattooing.
- Getting a shot, such as vaccination or inoculation.
- Wait for the ambulance if you are already injured.
- Before anesthesia takes place during childbirth.
- With a migraine.
These moments are very different and can occur at different stages of life and have a clearly identifiable reason, if you are going to hurt yourself for a tattoo that is an obvious cause for pain. If you fell off your bike and broke your arm this is a clear cause of pain, while you are waiting for help you can do something to stay calm and be less bothered by the pain.
If you cannot pinpoint the cause very clearly you should always see a doctor.
For example, a child still receives regular vaccinations and inoculations. If your child is dreading these, it can help to teach him/her self-hypnosis or temporarily put him/her under hypnosis so that the experience becomes less painful and traumatic. Another round of vaccinations will then go a lot easier.
In the Netherlands, ambulances must be at an accident within 15 minutes to provide assistance, such as giving anesthesia. Then, if you have had a nasty fall, the pain can be unbearable. In that case, you can try using self-hypnosis to make the pain temporarily less severe until the ambulance arrives. Moreover, this can also make you panic less.
Hypnosis and self-hypnosis is frequently used during childbirth. Especially if you are still in the early stages of labor where you are not yet receiving anesthesia, self-hypnosis can help you feel less pain(2). Applying hypnosis will also keep you calmer and possibly also reduce anxiety.
A migraine is a terrible headache that can sometimes last up to 3 days. I have heard from patients that banging your head against the wall is a way to deal with it. With self-hypnosis, I want to offer you an alternative that is less painful and better for your health.
Steps for self-hypnosis to reduce pain
One of the first steps you should take to reduce pain is to reduce your acute stress due to pain. In fact, stress allows you to experience pain worse than it is.
Step 1: Focus on your breathing
To relax properly, it is important to first focus on your breathing. If you notice that your breathing is rushed and taking place mostly in your chest, it is important to slow down and breathe more through your belly.
In fact, when you breathe through your belly, you can get more air into your lungs than when you breathe through your chest.
Step 2: Relax your muscles
Another way the body signals that it is stressed and what can reinforce that response is the muscles becoming tense from pain. By consciously relaxing your muscles, you ensure that your body is at least no longer signaling through the muscles. This also allows you to focus better on the next step.
Step 3: Think of something that normally relaxes you
The second step is an important step to reduce pain. You then mentally move your mind to a safe place. It's best to visualize a place where you can best unwind. For example, you can visualize yourself relaxing in bed while you are actually on the street waiting for the ambulance.
If you just have a headache or are dealing with something that is causing pain on a massage table or something similar, you can also visualize how you are nice on the beach and how wonderful the sun is shining on you and how nice that feels.
Step 3 Option 2: Turn/slide down the pain
While you are visualizing, you can also visualize a volume knob of sorts. With that volume knob, you control how much pain you experience. You can turn the knob down and as you turn, the pain becomes less.
If the volume knob doesn't work, you can also opt for a slider that is on the highest setting when you start.
In some cases, you may need a hypnotherapist to install this button on you before it works.
Step 3 Option 3: Your Warm Hand
A third option is to place your hand where you are in pain. You then visualize how your hand radiates heat to the site of the pain and that that heat causes the pain to become numb. Especially if you have warm hands this can help reinforce this visualization if your hands are cold the cold from your hand can also numb the place with pain, just as ice does when you want to prevent a bruise.
If hypnotherapy allows you to get rid of the pain, but it returns within an hour, it is still wise to seek additional help from a doctor. This may still be a sign that something serious is going on.
Hypnosis to reduce pain
In the television program, I help people cope with the pain of getting a tattoo without the effort. If you find that you are finding it very difficult to perform the first two steps for self-hypnosis and the techniques are not working for you, it is wise to go to a hypnotherapist or learn about hypnosis even further.
In fact, a hypnotherapist can help you with post hypnotic suggestions. This has long been done by some hospitals when people come in with broken bones or bruises because those suggestions also improve the recovery process and make rehabilitation go with greater comfort.
Hypnosis is something you won't master 1,2,3 after reading a text, but it is in itself easy to learn. So stop by a seminar or check out the training courses offered by the Hypnosis Institute Netherlands.
Sources:
http://www.apa.org/research/action/hypnosis.aspx
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1471-0528.12087/full
http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/fsh/9/1/83/
http://empresa.rediris.es/pub/bscw.cgi/d5000807/Deltito-Hypnosis_treatment_acute_pain.pdf
