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| Photo by Rick Hustead |
You may recall one of the scenes in Glory, in
which a young soldier runs away from Confederate gunfire despite having had one
of his legs shot off. Presumably he is in considerable physical pain at that
moment, but his subconscious and conscious mind are completely focused on
fleeing the danger/surviving the battle and living.
He doesn’t even seem to even notice his injuries. Conversely, in Dances with Wolves, Union
Army lieutenant John Dunbar (Kevin Costner) runs toward enemy fire in a bid to
commit suicide rather than have Union doctors amputate his badly wounded leg. In
this case, Lt. Dunbar was likely more afraid of living the rest of his life as
an amputee—a totally unknown way of life, compared to the one he knows as a decorated
soldier—than the prospect of death, which he faced every time he went to
battle.
Even though at least one million sensations are going on in the body at any
one time, we typically only perceive a few of them at once. So, at this point in
reading my blog I want you to focus attention to your feet and how they feel in
the shoes you have on. Until I gave you that suggestion, had you even noticed your feet or shoes? This kind of
selective attention is very fortunate; otherwise, we would be in a state of
sensory overload every minute—every second—of the day.
This kind of selective attention is also what facilitates
hypno-anesthesia. Consider Dr. John
Kappas’s definition of hypnosis: “Hypnosis is created by an overload of
message units disorganizing our inhibitory process (critical mind), triggering
our fight/flight mechanism and ultimately resulting in a hyper-suggestible
state, providing access to the subconscious mind.” When you are in this state,
the level of awareness is actually heightened. However, the message in the hypnotic script has you focus on a
specific issue(s) or sensation(s) while disregarding or reforming the
significance of conflicting messages/perceptions. For example, when preparing a
pregnant client to manage the discomfort
of the contractions in labor, I would suggest that she imagine/perceive the
contractions as the gentle massage that is helping to bring her child into the
world. By changing the meaning or
association of the sensation from something uncomfortable to a process that is
bringing joy into her life, she can also change the perception of that sensation.
Hypnosis is to manage/control pain is one of the most common
requests/uses/applications of this modality. The body naturally produces its
own analgesics (pain-control enzymes) when the subconscious mind is overloaded
(distracted) or when you are comfortable and relaxed, such as during
hypnosis/hypnotherapy/therapeutic guided imagery. Therefore, when you are
relaxed and calm in hypnosis, you are more likely to feel greater comfort and
be better able to manage or control physical pain. However, the anxiety and
fear that often accompany pain typically increase this perception. Since
hypnosis helps a person relax and reduces anxiety and stress, being in this
state, alone, is a natural analgesic.
Unlike medically-induced anesthesia—which can induce physiological
complications from medication-induced side effects—hypnosis is a safe, natural,
drug-free state of awareness. In addition to helping create pain-free
labor/delivery, it is useful to control pain/discomfort during dentistry
procedures, low-back pain, headaches, arthritis and more.*
*California law allows access by California residents to
complementary and alternative health care practitioners who are not providing
services that require medical training and credentials. The purpose of a
program of hypnotherapy is for vocational and avocational self-improvement
(Business and Professions Code 2908) and as an alternative or complementary
treatment to healing arts services licensed by the state. A hypnotherapist is
not a licensed physician or psychologist, and hypnotherapy services are not
licensed by the state of California. Services are non-diagnostic and do not
include the practice of medicine, neither should they be considered a
substitute for licensed medical or psychological services or procedures.
Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified
hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors
from the Hypnosis Motivation
Institute in 2005. For more
information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an
appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
© 2016
