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How Cognitive Hypnotherapy can help with Fibromyalgia
Posted on Apr 07 2011
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Fibromyalgia can be a very debilitating condition, and as sufferers probably know, the symptoms will vary from person to person. Hypnotherapy may help in several ways, both in terms of relieving some of the pain experienced, as well as assisting in reducing the stress and anxiety, which CAN make the condition a little worse because that’s all sufferers dwell on.

It very much depends on how it affects each person, but Cognitive Hypnotherapy can work on several levels:

 

  • Increase relaxation through teaching self hypnosis- this helps to produce more of the body’s happy hormones and natural pain killing hormones.
  • Deep trance work and visualisation- by guiding the unconscious with how you want to look and feel, you’re giving the unconscious the push it needs to do what you need it to do (as opposed to thinking negatively about how the condition is constantly affecting you). In other words, if you think negatively, you feel negative too. Your thoughts and feelings control your behaviour, so it’s helpful to guide a client to a place where their mind is controlling their body and not the other way round.
  • Use of suggestion therapy to ‘turn down’ the level of discomfort experienced.
  • Identify any emotional blocks/trauma that may have triggered the onset of the condition. As well as tackling any negative beliefs that they may be using to underpin and reinforce their condition.

The net effect a client may experience is:

  •  Ease some of the pain
  • Help with sleep
  • Relieve anxiety and stress
  • Empower them and give them hope of controlling the condition

 

In my experience and research, either a prolonged bout of illness or an emotional trauma has in many a case brought about the onset of Fibromyalgia. Identifying such contributory factors has helped reduce symptoms. What I’ve also done with my clients is to refer them to my associate Martin who does sports massage. Martin works in conjunction with my work to ensure we get more physical movement back for clients. Often a client will have mobility issues in the arm/shoulder joints, or leg joints. Martin sees them on a 2 weekly basis to increase those problem areas (to great affect).

Hypnosis can help to a degree. I know a study in the US found that hypnosis helped in a reduction of pain by up to 80% in the Fibromyalgia cases they studied.

 

Last changed: Apr 07 2011 at 4:59 PM

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