Someone once mentioned to me that their physician recommended cognitive behavioural therapy and hypnosis as part of their pain management regimen.
“I thought it would be total BS at first, but, I’m actually learning a lot and finding physical relief from pain”, she said.
“It does work!”, I replied.
But it’s not as rocket-science as you may think.
Has it ever occurred to you to “forget” about your pain when enjoying an engaging conversation or doing some interesting activity?
You can enter a hypnosis state many times throughout the day on your own without the help of a professional hypnotist.
Hypnosis a sleep-like state, a state of focused attention, a state of hyper-awareness.
Chronic pain is often a habit—neural pathways which get switched on and remain so.
An engaging activity that puts you into what we call “flow” can break that habit and switch off those neural pathways.
You can unlearn your pain the same way you learned it.
How?
By focusing your attention on something else.
Something interesting, engaging, captivating, rewarding.
Something other than pain.
Whatever you used to focus on before pain entered your life.
Right now your eyes are locked on the pain.
You just have to turn your head to a new direction.
What do you want to be hypnotised by today?
A book, a song, a conversation with a friend, sun rays cutting through the water?
I’m sure you’ll find something more beautiful than pain to lock your eyes on.
With love, Angelos
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