Hypnosis: The Power of Trance John Ryder Ph.D. Posted Oct 19, 2010 www.psychologytoday.com
There is a mysterious part to hypnosis and just how it works.
Lots of research has been done on it, but still there are many controversies between the experts of just what happens in a trance.
What we do understand better are the results. Hypnosis has been a very successful technique to help heal the mind, body and spiritual aspects of life.
So, allow me to draw your attention to how hypnotic techniques can heal the body. The hypnotic trance has many amazing properties that include experiencing “numbness” in general or in specific areas of the body. This enables a skilled therapist to produce the absence of feeling in any part of the body.
One of my clients was allergic to the anesthetics and had to undergo brain surgery. So I was called in to use hypnosis to help this person go through their operation without general anesthesia. Yes, with the help of hypnosis, this person underwent a major brain operation.
Hypnosis is more often used for more common problems, such as dental work, burns, headaches, giving birth and similar matters.
The body is designed to heal itself. And although this complicated process does work automatically, it can accelerated and enhanced by hypnotic techniques. Therefore, by directing the subconscious mind to focus energy on a specific system in the body, more of your natural resources will go there. This means that if, for example, you were burned, your body will naturally begin the healing process which may take a week to complete. If you were to employ hypnosis to quicken this process, you may complete the healing in half the time. At the very least, hypnosis is extremely effective to decrease pain.
The effectiveness of this technique depends on several factors.
There is the client’s susceptibility and willingness to use this approach, the skill of the hypnotherapist, and the severity of the problem. Therefore, Hypnosis has its limitations, however it is always worth trying to use it because there is no “down-side” to the technique.
At worst, it may do no more than make the subject feel a little better from getting attention, but it cannot do any damage itself.
One of the more profound effects of hypnosis is in using it to minimize or eliminate pain. An important caution is that if you do not know what is causing the pain, hypnosis may effectively remove the pain. However, it may also coverup something serious that requires attention. If you know what is causing the pain, then it is safe to apply it to decrease the experience of pain and help with the general recovery.
The fact is that most pain is “in your head” that means that it is possible to turn off the pain signals in the mind and minimize the sensation of pain. This can be accomplished in many ways using hypnosis.
In general, positive suggestions are a good starting point, then these are usually elaborated to facilitate healing and remove discomfort. There is a robust amount of clinical research using hypnosis to help heal the body or decrease the perception of pain. If you have a medical issue, consult with a specialist who is certified by the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (Asch.net) to use hypnotic techniques. The scientific literature is full of case studies validating the power of hypnosis to promote healing. If you have a problem I encourage you to consider the power of hypnosis to help you conquer it.
Charlestown Hypnotherapy uses Hypnosis as part of the treatment in eliminating chronic pain. Call for more information.