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| Photo by Rick Hustead |
Occasionally, clients develop headaches while they are in hypnosis. The
headache, which can last for two or three hours, is usually an abreaction to
the subject being addressed during the hypnotherapy session. This is especially
true if the individual doesn’t want to let go of the feeling or behavior.
According to Hypnosis Motivation
Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D.,
headaches are a subconscious device (body
syndrome) to protect our emotions. The majority of headaches experienced
during hypnotherapy are tension headaches. However, if the headache is caused
by another factor, such as a food allergy, the hypnotherapist should check out
whether there is an issue the person cannot or will not face (crying
syndrome). For example, migraine headaches—which start out as a bilateral
tension headache and migrate to one hemisphere—start out as a bilateral tension
headache and then migrate to one hemisphere. Symptoms include excruciating
pain, sensitivity to light, nausea and vomiting.
Before working with a client who is suffering from a headache or other
kinds of pain, the hypnotherapist must get a medical referral* to ensure that
the person doesn’t have an underlying medical problem that requires treatment. Once
the physician verifies that there is no etiological cause for this discomfort, the
hypnotherapist can help the client relieve the headache by moving it
to another part of the body. At this point, the hypnotherapist can use hypnotic
suggestions to dissipate the pain from this area.
“Train the body to accept [the pain] elsewhere,” Dr. Kappas said. It is
also important to increase your tolerance of stress and learn to relax, he
added.
*California law allows me to provide hypnotherapy as a complementary
or alternative treatment to help you manage/control pain as a way to achieve
vocational and avocational self-improvement goals (Business and Professions Code 2908). However, I must receive a referral from a
licensed medical doctor or mental-health professional in order to work with you
on this issue. I would also need a medical referral if your pain gets worse or
your condition changes during the therapy, or if your wakes you from sleep.
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
