One hypnotherapeutic method to consider is known as the theory of body syndromes, and it operates on the belief that pain manifests in your body in reaction to undealt-with emotions.

Finding the emotional source for the pain and releasing that will usually release the pain as well.

Sometimes pain will cause a person to lose sleep, which then makes (or seems to make) the problem more intense. Receiving hypnotic suggestions to sleep more peacefully and restoratively can help a person
begin to heal.

Another technique that’s often quite successful is one in which a person in pain visualizes a dial with the number of pain intensity on it. As the person imagines turning the dial down to a lower number, the aching is often reduced.

Water-image hypnosis is another method by which a person can be relieved, because when we float in actual water, it’s like being weightless, and pain is reduced or not experienced at all.

Glove anesthesia is a very successful method of pain release in which a person visualizes plunging his hand into snow until the hand becomes numb and then spreading the numbness to any areas that hurt.

Each of these methods, and so many more, have repeatedly been used with great success by qualified hypnotherapists in cases where pain relief is desired.

There are even examples of people receiving minor surgery using hypnotic techniques without anesthetic medication. Before using any of these techniques, however, the therapist must always make sure that it’s safe to proceed and that hypnotherapy will not, in any way, interfere with medical necessity.

Frances O’Brien