5 Benefits of Hypnosis for Chronic Pain

Hypnosis for the management of pain is an effective, yet underutilized, alternative treatment. By learning the techniques of self-hypnosis, a patient can experience these benefits.

1. Reduction of overall pain intensity: Hypnosis has not proven to be a cure for chronic pain, but has consistently given patients some control over pain intensity.
2. Ability to manage breakthrough pain: Chronic pain has an underlying roar that is frequently intensified by breakthrough pain depending on things like activity level, weather, and stress. With self-hypnosis, patients are able to minimize environmental and psychological effects on the pain experience.
3. No side effects: Hypnosis has no side effects; unlike managing pain with medications that cause drowsiness, constipation, nausea, itchiness, hormone imbalances, memory problems, swelling, and more.
4. Reduction in medication use: Studies have shown that pain medication use significantly reduces when someone is regularly practicing self-hypnosis. Less is better.
5. Improved mental habits: Physical habits like how one puts on a pair of pants or how one walks are easy to see and, in turn, accept. A person’s life is shaped by habits; not only physical habits, but also by mental habits like how one reacts to criticism or how one responds to a deadline. Through the use of hypnosis, these mental habits are changeable. Hypnosis can change unhealthy thought patterns into healthy mental habits. Hypnosis can stop the mental landslide.

With all of these potential benefits, hypnosis might be worth a try. This chronic pain treatment is not some circus act. This treatment is real psychotherapy that can unleash the power of the brain.

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Chronic Pain by drlasich