What a weekend, despite much rain (which as an avid gardener I am pleased with) and a subsequent waterlogged pitch at Dean Court which saw Bournemouth FC lose to Notts County 2-1, we got to spend time in the local pub, discussing football while drinking a very nice local ale… Curry afterwards, and a Sunday with family, England beating South Africa in the cricket very convincingly and Nottingham Forest climbing to 4th position in the Championship… What a successful weekend!
Some sunshine came my way via my computer this morning too… While catching up on my favourite blogs, I saw several of my peers mention that hypnosis and hypnotherapy are being cited as a possible aid for overcoming pain for sufferers of a cancer… There was much publicity last year, and I wrote about it then, when hypnosis was researched to find it very useful in helping pain management for cancer patients.
There is an article over at mesothelioma help website states:
Mesothelioma can be a painful cancer. Over half of the pleural mesothelioma patients experience pain in the chest which can be intense and severe enough to require narcotics to alleviate the pain and discomfort.
Not willing to take any more drugs, some mesothelioma patients are turning to hypnosis as a way to manage their pain. Hypnosis, once shunned by the medical profession, is becoming more popular in clinical settings helping people stop smoking, lose weight, and now, deal with pain.
Hpynotherapy, when performed by a trained specialist, can be a powerful and effective procedure. A hypnotist brings a patient to a state of high concentration allowing him to have a strict focus. The person then “projects” himself to another place or state where he can block pain awareness or substitute other sensations for painful ones.
It makes for a great endorsement, though the research findings of last year made for much more convincing reading than this, which is a little bit non-commital… Still, to quote that supermarket chain… Every little helps.
Looking forward to the week ahead 🙂
Adam, it’s great to see an interest being rekindled in pain control and hypnosis.
Of course, we know that this is not a new thing, the medical fraternity simply need a reminder!
It’s more than likely that your aware of Milton Ericksons use of hypnosis to control pain; both for himself and his patients. One time, when at a loss as to how to help a rather angry and aging lady, racked with the pain of terminal cancer, he used a simple but very powerful distraction technique.
It went roughly like this: “Imagine, if you would, a huge tiger appearing in that doorway over there, licking its chops and intent on having you for its next meal …. do you think you’d feel the pain at that moment?”. Of course, the lady’s pain was sidelined at the mere thought of this giant feline! Erickson taught her to be aware of the ominous purring of the cat, which lay beneath her bed when the pain was peaking.
I for one think that’s so elegantly, simplistically amazing.
Dan Elliott.
Lovely response Danny, thanks very much. Erickson examples and quotes are always welcome here.