When most of us think about hypnosis our minds often wander to watching someone get hypnotized on stage and running around barking like a dog or clucking like a chicken. This is known as stage hypnosis. The hypnosis therapy I am referring to is clinical hypnosis. It is very different then stage hypnosis and has many benefits.

A bit of a personal story before I get into what hypnotherapy is and the benefits…

In January (2023) , I began seeing a psychologist ( I will call her T. in my blogs) who is trained to understand chronic pain and to perform clinical hypnosis on clients she works with. She had introduced me to a self hypnosis video early on for chronic pain. I won’t lie, I probably tried not to roll my eyes when she told me she was going to send me the link to this video. ( Haha. Sorry T. for any eye rolls you may have witnessed). I’ve had very negative experiences with previous mental health counsellors and psychologists in my fibromyalgia journey that I found it difficult starting with a new psychologist without being sarcastic and defensive. I was used to having to defend myself and the guidance was not the best. “You are on the right track.” ” I can’t see you anymore, because you are too negative.” are two comments that stand out in my mind when I think back. I often thought to myself if I was on the right track I wouldn’t be sitting in your office. I always thought a psychologist was there to help a person work through the negativity and look at situations in a different way to help lower negativity. Although I do not think I was being negative simply by stating, “I feel like there is no program here for me at the pain clinic due to sitting on waiting lists for 6 months.” I know it was a lack of knowledge on chronic pain and fibromyalgia. However lack of knowledge should not result in comments that make the patient feel belittled and leaving the office crying. I began having anxiety attacks the night before when I saw the previous therapists, which then resulted in fibromyalgia flares. The one therapist I decided to walk away from treatment, but the other one had been set up by insurance disability and I was not allowed to walk away.

After several appointments and building rapport, I decided to allow T. to perform a hypnosis on me during my appointment. In order for hypnosis to actually work, one must feel comfortable enough with the clinician. The first session I was extremely nervous and felt uneasy because I didn’t know what to expect. T. reassured me that I would be aware of everything going on and that she can’t make me do anything I didn’t want to do while being hypnotized.

To my surprise the hypnosis was very relaxing and calming. She picked the perfect hypnosis script to use that I was able to resonate with. I can’t really reflect on whether it changed my pain levels as we only did one session with a script. I’m looking forward to trying more hypnosis sessions to see how my body reacts to the therapy. My goals are to help use it to lower pain levels, maybe see improvement in sleep quality and help keep my anxiety at bay. Maybe along the way other symptoms may diminish. Even the self hypnosis video helped me get into a deep state of relaxation. I often fall asleep while listening to this video. You can find this video here. It is geared towards chronic pain. There are many different self hypnosis videos on Youtube. I’ve tried different versions and always come back to the same one.

I decided I wanted to explore the hypnosis more, however hypnosis got put on hold for several months as I ended up needing talk therapy more at that given time. Now back on track, my next appointment we will step back into hypnosis sessions.

Quick run down on hypnosis…

Hypnosis is a strategy that is used to help people enter a deep state of relaxation and focused concentration. For myself I find hypnosis easier then meditation. While in the deep relaxation, it is said that one is more open to suggestions a clinician may make to help improve your health. The clinician will use guided cues, repitition and imagery to help you enter into this state of relaxation. Remember, you remain aware of what is going on around you at all times. Hypnosis accesses your subconscious mind.

Success rates with hypnotherapy is higher then other methods of treatment used by psychologists. . Hypnotherapy has a 93% success rate! That is a pretty high success rate in my opinion. Less sessions seem to be needed when hypnotherapy is used. Studies reveal that more than 75% of people with arthritis and related pain conditions – have pain relief after using hypnotherapy. If hypnotherapy can help lower arthritis pain why can’t it help fibromyalgia pain? Both are chronic pain conditions. I found this website with a ton of studies done on hypnotherapy. There are too many studies to begin to discuss in my blog. Here is the link to these studies.

Benefits of hypnotherapy on chronic pain

1. Known to help lower chronic pain levels.

2. Helps lower stress levels.

3. Helps lower depression and anxiety.

4. A study revealed people who use hypnosis for fibromyalgia reported 80% fewer painful episodes versus people who did not use hypnosis. Wouldn’t it be wonderful for symptoms to possibly diminish up to 80%??

5. Hypnosis can enhance quality of sleep. As we know lack of sleep causes fibromyalgia symptoms to be worse.

6. Hypnosis is said to influence the autonomic nervous system. it helps regulate the autonomic nervous system. Thus, allowing people to control their symptoms better.

There are many more benefits to clinical hypnosis, but these are the ones that stood out when I did my research on hypnosis. One must keep an open mind when starting hypnosis and trust the process. It may awkward at first. Allow the process to happen. After all, what have you got to lose? Hypnosis doesn’t always work on everyone, but you won’t know until you try. I am learning, the mind is a very powerful, with the right guidance. I will write a blog later on reflecting on consistent hypnosis sessions and how my body responded.

Here are a few websites on hypnosis

1. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/hypnosis/about/pac-20394405
2. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22676-hypnosis