Eric "Herbie" Watson
Beloved Grand Eagle
See how many correlations you can find with hypnosis and Tms healing?
A major component of hypnotic analgesia is perceptual
alteration. The specific alteration technique used should be adjusted
on the basis of the degree of hypnotic ability of the subject. Less hypnotizable
individuals often respond better to distraction techniques
that help them focus on competing sensations in another part
of the body. However, most patients can be taught to develop a comfortable
floating sensation in the affected body part. Some patients
can be taught to imagine that the affected body part is numb. This
technique is especially useful for extremely hypnotizable individuals
who can, for example, imagine a shot of Novocain in the affected
area and relive an experience of dental anesthesia, which they can
then transfer to the painful part of their body. They can also simply
“switch off” perception of the pain with surprising effectiveness
(Hargadon et al. 1995; Miller et al. 1993). Some highly hypnotizable
patients prefer to imagine that the pain is a substance with dimensions
that can be moved to another part of the body or can flow
out of the body as if it were a viscous liquid. Other highly hypnotizable
patients may prefer to dissociate the affected part from the rest
of the body. As an extreme form of hypnotically induced controlled
dissociation, some patients may imagine themselves floating above
their own body or stepping outside of their body and going elsewhere,
creating distance between themselves and the painful sensation
or experience.
Temperature metaphors are often useful, which is not surprising
given the fact that pain and temperature sensations are part of the
same sensory system, the lateral spinothalamic tract. Such metaphors
may be especially effective with more moderately hypnotizable patients.
They may be taught to imagine that an affected body part is
cooler using an image of dipping it in ice water, a bucket of ice chips,
or an ice-cold mountain stream, or they may be taught to imagine
heating the affected part with the sun, in a warm bath, or by applying
a heating pad. Imagining these temperature sensations can often
help patients transform their perception of pain signals.
The choice of images or metaphors used for pain control involves
certain general principles. The first is that the hypnotically controlled
image should serve to filter the hurt out of the pain. The image
should also help transform the pain experience. The patient is taught
to acknowledge that the pain exists, but that there is a distinction between
the signal itself and the discomfort that the signal causes. The
hypnotic experience, which patients create and control, helps them
transform the signal into one that is less uncomfortable. Patients
learn to expand their perceptual options. Initially, they experience
the pain as either there or not there. They can learn to see a third option,
in which the pain is there but is transformed by the presence of
such competing sensations as tingling, numbness, warmth, or coolness.
Finally, patients are taught not to fight the pain. Fighting pain
only enhances it by focusing attention on the pain; augmenting related
frustration, anxiety, and depression; and increasing physical tension.
Trance and Treatment
Clinical Uses of Hypnosis
Second Edition
Herbert Spiegel, M.D.
David Spiegel, M.D.
A major component of hypnotic analgesia is perceptual
alteration. The specific alteration technique used should be adjusted
on the basis of the degree of hypnotic ability of the subject. Less hypnotizable
individuals often respond better to distraction techniques
that help them focus on competing sensations in another part
of the body. However, most patients can be taught to develop a comfortable
floating sensation in the affected body part. Some patients
can be taught to imagine that the affected body part is numb. This
technique is especially useful for extremely hypnotizable individuals
who can, for example, imagine a shot of Novocain in the affected
area and relive an experience of dental anesthesia, which they can
then transfer to the painful part of their body. They can also simply
“switch off” perception of the pain with surprising effectiveness
(Hargadon et al. 1995; Miller et al. 1993). Some highly hypnotizable
patients prefer to imagine that the pain is a substance with dimensions
that can be moved to another part of the body or can flow
out of the body as if it were a viscous liquid. Other highly hypnotizable
patients may prefer to dissociate the affected part from the rest
of the body. As an extreme form of hypnotically induced controlled
dissociation, some patients may imagine themselves floating above
their own body or stepping outside of their body and going elsewhere,
creating distance between themselves and the painful sensation
or experience.
Temperature metaphors are often useful, which is not surprising
given the fact that pain and temperature sensations are part of the
same sensory system, the lateral spinothalamic tract. Such metaphors
may be especially effective with more moderately hypnotizable patients.
They may be taught to imagine that an affected body part is
cooler using an image of dipping it in ice water, a bucket of ice chips,
or an ice-cold mountain stream, or they may be taught to imagine
heating the affected part with the sun, in a warm bath, or by applying
a heating pad. Imagining these temperature sensations can often
help patients transform their perception of pain signals.
The choice of images or metaphors used for pain control involves
certain general principles. The first is that the hypnotically controlled
image should serve to filter the hurt out of the pain. The image
should also help transform the pain experience. The patient is taught
to acknowledge that the pain exists, but that there is a distinction between
the signal itself and the discomfort that the signal causes. The
hypnotic experience, which patients create and control, helps them
transform the signal into one that is less uncomfortable. Patients
learn to expand their perceptual options. Initially, they experience
the pain as either there or not there. They can learn to see a third option,
in which the pain is there but is transformed by the presence of
such competing sensations as tingling, numbness, warmth, or coolness.
Finally, patients are taught not to fight the pain. Fighting pain
only enhances it by focusing attention on the pain; augmenting related
frustration, anxiety, and depression; and increasing physical tension.
Trance and Treatment
Clinical Uses of Hypnosis
Second Edition
Herbert Spiegel, M.D.
David Spiegel, M.D.
