Hypnosis and Tms healing for Pain Pt 1

See how many correlations you can find with hypnosis and Tms healing?


A major component of hypnotic analgesia is perceptual

alteration. The specific alteration technique used should be adjusted

on the basis of the degree of hypnotic ability of the subject. Less hypnotizable

individuals often respond better to distraction techniques

that help them focus on competing sensations in another part

of the body. However, most patients can be taught to develop a comfortable

floating sensation in the affected body part. Some patients


can be taught to imagine that the affected body part is numb. This

technique is especially useful for extremely hypnotizable individuals

who can, for example, imagine a shot of Novocain in the affected

area and relive an experience of dental anesthesia, which they can

then transfer to the painful part of their body. They can also simply

“switch off” perception of the pain with surprising effectiveness

(Hargadon et al. 1995; Miller et al. 1993). Some highly hypnotizable

patients prefer to imagine that the pain is a substance with dimensions

that can be moved to another part of the body or can flow

out of the body as if it were a viscous liquid. Other highly hypnotizable

patients may prefer to dissociate the affected part from the rest

of the body. As an extreme form of hypnotically induced controlled

dissociation, some patients may imagine themselves floating above

their own body or stepping outside of their body and going elsewhere,

creating distance between themselves and the painful sensation

or experience.

Temperature metaphors are often useful, which is not surprising

given the fact that pain and temperature sensations are part of the

same sensory system, the lateral spinothalamic tract. Such metaphors

may be especially effective with more moderately hypnotizable patients.

They may be taught to imagine that an affected body part is

cooler using an image of dipping it in ice water, a bucket of ice chips,

or an ice-cold mountain stream, or they may be taught to imagine

heating the affected part with the sun, in a warm bath, or by applying

a heating pad. Imagining these temperature sensations can often

help patients transform their perception of pain signals.

The choice of images or metaphors used for pain control involves

certain general principles. The first is that the hypnotically controlled

image should serve to filter the hurt out of the pain. The image

should also help transform the pain experience. The patient is taught

to acknowledge that the pain exists, but that there is a distinction between

the signal itself and the discomfort that the signal causes. The

hypnotic experience, which patients create and control, helps them

transform the signal into one that is less uncomfortable. Patients

learn to expand their perceptual options. Initially, they experience

the pain as either there or not there. They can learn to see a third option,

in which the pain is there but is transformed by the presence of

such competing sensations as tingling, numbness, warmth, or coolness.

Finally, patients are taught not to fight the pain. Fighting pain

only enhances it by focusing attention on the pain; augmenting related

frustration, anxiety, and depression; and increasing physical tension.

Trance and Treatment
Clinical Uses of Hypnosis

Second Edition


Herbert Spiegel, M.D.

David Spiegel, M.D.

 

Herbie, this is a great post.
Some TMSWiki people are saying they're interested in hypnosis
as a supplement to TMS. I think they will respond to this after
they've had a hypnosis session or a few of them.