Hippocrates’ initial direction to aspiring physicians is famously, ‘First, do no harm!’ Whilst this is also golden advice for any aspiring hypnotherapist, it is particularly applicable when addressing issues related to the relief of pain.
Whilst the removal or reduction of pain through hypnotherapy is generally a straightforward matter and can often provide almost immediate relief, this may not always be in the client’s long-term interest and may therefore fall foul of Hippocrates’ advice. Indeed, the removal of physical pain may lead to disastrous consequences for the client and, in some cases, fatality.
Not all pain is the same, there being two distinct types, each of which having different sources or causes. Both feel as real as the other, cause an equal amount of concern and discomfort and both types of pain can be relieved by hypnotherapy. Indeed, it is easily possible to remove either type of pain from waking consciousness entirely by way of hypnotherapy, but it is rarely a good idea to banish pain that arises from a purely physical source.
Physical pain is the body’s natural alarm system which alerts the sufferer to the fact that there is a problem in the body that needs to be addressed, either by medical intervention or a change in the sufferer’s activities. Pain thus serves a good and necessary purpose in persuading us to take action to address the problem that is generating the discomfort in question. In this way pain is our friend. This type of pain is useful pain and should not simply be removed by way of a hypnotherapy session.
But, as previously mentioned, there is another type of pain, a pain that would appear to serve no useful purpose whatsoever. This other type is known as neuropathic pain which is unnecessary pain and, happily, it is easily possible to eliminate this type of unnecessary pain completely by way of hypnotherapy. Neuropathic pain generally results from damage to the nervous system and manifests within the patient as pain in areas where there has been no physical damage.
Such damage to the nervous system can arise for many reasons e.g. surgical error, hereditary conditions or disease, Multiple Sclerosis being a particularly common source. This type of pain is of no value because of the fact that it neither indicates nor originates from a real, physical problem within the body. Its removal by hypnotherapy can often be more beneficial/less damaging to the client than resorting to pain relieving medicines as these harbour the possibility of leading to further problems such as addiction, damage to the liver or interference with other medicines the client may also be taking.
When a client requests pain relief through hypnotherapy, it is crucial to first ascertain its reason and source. If one is not the client’s personal doctor/physician one must always direct the client to that person first as only a trained doctor/physician is qualified to make such a diagnosis.
Failing to do so may end in serious injury and, in some cases, death for your client. For example, were a client to present with a constant and severe headache, their pain may either be neuropathic and therefore safely removable but it may also be caused by a growing tumour or some other physical ailment that must be addressed surgically if the patient’s state is not to worsen.
There is also the potential for legal ramifications.
The question one must ask is, ‘Will the ending of this pain (by way of hypnotherapy) be beneficial to the client in the long run, even although it removes discomfort in the short term?’ If there are any doubts whatsoever, the answer must always be ‘No’ and the therapy session should not take place.
Single Eye Hypnosis offers several complete hypnotherapy scripts in which this can be achieved.
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