Can hypnosis help with chronic pain?

Dealing with pain is never fun. We explain more about how hypnosis can offer a side-effect-free form of pain relief, and share six kinds of pain hypnotherapy can help with

Nobody likes to experience pain. If you experience chronic pain, it’s important to find ways of managing that pain that are sustainable and can help you over time. When pain goes without relief, it can start affecting your sleep, mood, and overall sense of wellbeing.

While exercise, physical therapy, and painkillers can all be helpful tools in helping to manage pain, hypnosis can also be a powerful tool in helping you focus on the connection between your body and mind and help manage pain. When experiencing pain, stress and anxiety can be common side effects and can make it feel even worse. 

How does hypnosis for pain relief work?

Working with a hypnotherapist, hypnosis for pain relief can help you to reduce your overall stress levels, and challenge and change unhelpful thought patterns related to pain, thereby helping change your perception of pain. 

Research suggests that hypnotherapy can help with a number of different kinds of pain. The way that hypnosis for pain works is that it helps alter your perception of pain. Pain isn’t just a physical sensation – it’s how our brain interprets and manages that sensation as well, meaning it can be possible for us to change how we perceive pain. Hypnosis can help to change other things (such as reducing stress and anxiety levels) which may be negatively impacting your perception of pain, and help instead focus on relaxation techniques like progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, and breathing techniques

Working with a hypnotherapist can help you to identify negative feelings or past experiences that might be causing you to anticipate pain before it happens (which can create a heightened sensation when you do feel pain). A hypnotherapist can help you identify negative feelings or past experiences, using techniques to help work with your subconscious mind to reduce or remove this anxiety. 

What kind of pain can hypnotherapy help with?

Hypnosis and hypnotherapy can help with a wide range of different kinds of pain. It’s important to remember to seek help and advice from your doctor before trying other complementary forms of pain relief. Hypnosis can only work if you are open and willing to try it. If you approach hypnotherapy with a closed mind, you are unlikely to experience the benefits. 

Hypnotherapy for chronic pain -  research suggests hypnotherapy can help to manage chronic pain. Studies have shown that hypnosis can consistently decrease pain associated with a number of different chronic pain-related problems. Hypnosis can help you to refocus away from the pain, helping you to manage related fear, anxiety, and stress.

Hypnosis for arthritis - studies show that more than 75% of people with arthritis and related conditions experience significant pain relief using hypnosis. As hypnotherapist Juliet Hollingsworth, MSc explains, “The chronic pain of arthritis is unnecessary and sometimes debilitating. When you know the cause of your chronic pain and have explored available treatments with your doctor, hypnotherapy for pain management is another complementary option. 

“Studies have down that over 75% of people with diseases like and including arthritis experience significant pain relief using hypnosis. Some research indicates that hypnosis as a tool to manage chronic pain relief is sometimes better than other recognised pain management treatments and consistently superior to no treatment.’ 

Hypnobirthing for childbirth pain - hypnobirthing can help equip pregnant people with the tools needed to feel more relaxed, calm, and happy in the lead-up to and during labour. Learning self-hypnosis techniques or working with a qualified, experienced hypnotherapist can help to decrease your anxiety about how you expect labour to go. 

Many people fear that labour will be overwhelmingly painful, that something might go wrong, or that they might have a bad overall experience. Working with a hypnotherapist can help you regain a sense of control over these feelings in the weeks and months before birth, decreasing your anxiety around labour, and teaching you mindful breathing exercises, relaxation techniques, and visualisation to help you make childbirth feel more comfortable.

As hypnotherapist Elizabeth Hollywood explains, mindful breathing techniques taught as part of hypnobirthing can help act as a natural form of pain relief. “By breathing calmly and rhythmically, we can reduce adrenaline and cortisol which is released during times of anxiety and release helpful hormones, endorphins and oxytocin which can help make childbirth more comfortable. Endorphins are found naturally in our bodies and provide relief from physical and emotional pain. It is very reassuring to women when they learn that their body is able to produce its very own natural painkiller.”

Hypnotherapy for lower back pain - studies have suggested that hypnosis can be beneficial for chronic back pain caused by pregnancy, diabetic and HIV neuropathy – particularly when combined with other mind-body techniques.

Hypnosis to reduce pain during sex - dyspareunia (pain during sex) can happen during or after sex – or even when inserting anything such as a tampon. Hypnotherapy can work with your subconscious to help reduce or remove fearful thoughts that may have linked sex and pain. A hypnotherapist might help you to learn more about visualisation techniques to dial down your pain levels. 

Hypnotherapy for migraines - hypnotherapy can be a useful tool in aiding with headaches and migraines. Research has shown that clinical hypnosis can be an effective, side effect free way of treating headaches and migraines. As one Hypnotherapy Directory hypnotherapist explains, “Hypnosis can help migraine sufferers to manage the physiological responses associated with migraines and can induce a deep sense of relaxation and well-being. 

“Starting treatment with talking therapy to identify individual trigger situations and stressors, therapist and client can then work to find appropriate solutions and coping strategies. Those can then be refused in hypnosis in order to try them out, and can also help bring about or enhance feelings of control.”

Experiencing chronic pain can feel overwhelming. Finding the right help and support is essential to help manage symptoms and change the ways in which you can cope with pain. Before starting any new treatments, it’s important to speak with your doctor first. Talking with others who live with pain through support groups in-person or online can also be helpful in ensuring you feel heard, understood, and better connected.