Pain

Muscular Tension

Physical Discomfort

The Problem

Pain is our body’s way of telling us that something is wrong. It should never be ignored. However, when we already know what is wrong we can wish that our body would just ‘shut up’ and stop nagging us.

We should always remember that pain is almost always a symptom, so however annoying, uncomfortable and distressing, the cause of that pain needs to be known. For sufferers of conditions like IBS and fibromyalgia this is not always possible, and the persistence of the condition can lead to depression and taking drugs to mask the symptoms, but these drugs often do little or nothing to resolve their condition, as the cause is uncertain or theoretical.

Pain can be the ultimate symptom resulting from a number of other symptoms, for example, stress creates muscular tension, which makes muscular damage more likely, however the stress may be totally unrelated and may involve, emotional or other physical health issues.

Getting Help

I need to make it clear from the start that if you are asking me to help you manage your pain, I need to know what is causing your pain. You need to have received a diagnosis from a medical practitioner, such as your doctor, and I may need to liaise with them to ensure that any help I give does not undermine any ongoing treatment programme.

Hypnotherapy can help with pain management, however it is not a ‘magic wand’ that will make your pain go away. As an Advanced Clinical Hypnotherapist I can use hypnotherapy to help you, and I might suggest you see a pain management specialist.

Knowing ‘what is wrong’ can be a dangerous assumption, as things change and we need to know when, why and where that change happens. Totally stopping the pain response may mean that you are unaware of health or life threatening changes, so managing the pain to a lower level is always my intention, unless you are terminally ill. For example; In the case of sports people, continuing to carry on with sporting activities, whilst injured but not feeling pain, could end their sports career if the physical damage becomes irreversible.  

An essential part of pain management is stress management, as the stress condition can cause muscular tension, inflammation and the release of natural but damaging chemicals into the body.