Dealing with pain with hypnotherapy

Everyone has had to deal with pain. We turn to medications for relief. Occasionally they don't work and our quality of life dwindles. We miss work or take longer to heal from an injury or surgery. Chronic pain can be very debilitating as anyone who deals with it can attest. We have heard of complementary medicine " using combinations of different applications such as Eastern and Western philosophies to achieve results. Hypnotherapy is becoming more accepted as a way to help with pain management either in daily life or when facing surgery or dental procedures, in the treatment of burns, and during childbirth. 

"The mind/body connection is a powerful resource, yet most people are unaware of their ability to affect functions within the body. Chronic pain can dramatically alter a person's quality of life and lead to feelings of hopelessness accompanied by anxiety and depression," Diane Mitchell, certified hypnotherapist, explains.

Studies done by the National Institutes of Health and the American Medical Association have shown that hypnotherapy lessens the need for anesthesia and after surgery pain medications allowing for shorter hospital stays and quicker recovery as well as fewer side effects. Combat physicians in World War II used hypnosis to treat the wounded.

Neuroimaging technology (MRI) has shown that the hypnotized brain processes information differently. Many physicians and hospitals are using hypnotherapy to help cancer patients better cope with their treatments.

Diane also enjoys helping in the birthing process. "We are inundated with cultural programming that shows childbirth as painful. The Inner Touch Birthing program is designed to eliminate fear and anxiety and provide tools to the mother for deep relaxation through hypnosis techniques."

"Less than a month before my due date, I met Diane at a birth class," said one of Diane's clients who recently gave birth to a healthy daughter using the methods. "She retrained my brain to laugh at, instead of fear, words like labor and labor pains. Diane's work was so effective that I didn't know I was in labor until I met with my midwife at a regular appointment. My midwife kept marveling at how relaxed I was in between contractions. I used Diane's techniques to anesthetize my body, making for a very smooth birth."

There are many misconceptions surrounding hypnosis since most of us associate it with the stage acts that show people doing strange things. But hypnosis can't make you do something you wouldn't normally do. If you have ever been driving and arrived at your destination without remembering how you got there, you were in a hypnotic state of mind. Hypnosis is a way to tap into parts of our brain that can help us overcome fears associated with a variety of conditions that we face every day. 

Diane is holding an open house at her new office at 1644 Highway 395, Suite 2A, just north of the Minden Post Office, Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. For more information or to reserve a seat, give her a call at 782-2027.

n To reach Gail Davis, e-mail RuhenstrothRamblings@yahoo.com or call 265-1947.