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Pain Control

What is Pain?

Pain serves a useful purpose. It is our body’s way of telling us something is wrong. It serves as a warning system and is a protective response which prevents us doing further damage while an area of the body repairs itself. Pain can be quite complex in nature and is a subjective experience. Associated negative emotions can serve to exacerbate one’s perception of pain, especially long-term pain.

Types of pain

Acute pain: (short-term pain). This is of recent origin, but lasts for a relatively short period of time, typically less than 3-6 months.

Chronic pain (long-term pain). This is persistent and lasts more than 3-6 months. Its cause is often hard to pin down to a single thing or event and it can last for years. Chronic pain affects millions of people in the UK and accounts for 1 in 5 GP appointments. There are many causes of long-term pain and it is a complicated issue that can be hard to treat. The most common conditions after are: Lower back pain, Neck pain, Headaches, and Nerve pain.

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Cognitive Factors

Our psychological state is highly predictive of our response to a pain stimulus. Dozens of studies show that your mood, your emotional state dramatically affects the way you experience pain. Many of those who live with chronic pain experience high levels of stress and anxiety which only serve to make the pain worse.

Treating chronic pain with opioids can do more harm than good

As a result of long-term pain, many adults take painkillers every day. These are often ineffective, and can have serious side-effects including risks of dependence and addiction. The over-prescribing of opioids has been a particular issue. Is there an alternative to drugs for pain relief? Studies show that people with chronic pain can lower their use of painkillers through hypnosis.

Hypnosis can help reduce chronic pain

What many people would like is to regain control and bring the level of pain down to a manageable level. There’s good evidence that hypnosis helps with pain, and it is increasingly being used successfully in pain management.

Hypnosis can significantly reduce your pain because it focuses on the link between mind and body. It addresses the way your brain interprets the pain messages it is being sent. It also helps you to deal with any negative thought patterns associated with long-term pain which can make a significant difference to how you perceive it. By using the power of suggestion to bring down these increased levels of stress and anxiety, pain levels can be reduced to the point where they no longer dominate your thoughts.

I offer a combination of Hypnosis, Self-Hypnosis, breathing techniques, and other therapies including EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). This is an eclectic package that can be tailored to any client who wishes to address their long-term pain.