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Hypnosis has been used for pain control since the 1800s by Dr. Esdaille for anesthesia in India in thousands of surgical operations. Columbia University has physicians trained by other physicians how to use hypnosis to help provide anesthesia for burn victims who's lungs cannot take traditional forms of anesthesia for operations. Dentists also classically have been able to use hypnosis for their operations instead of laughing gas. The uses of hypnosis for pain control are many, and backed by psychological and scientific studies. It is natural from this standpoint to then take it to the next stage which is the use of self hypnosis to provide relief from pain for such things as headaches.
What should be emphasized at this point in the article is the following: ALL PAIN IS A WARNING AND THIS INCLUDES HEADACHES, ONE SHOULD ALWAYS CONSULT A PHYSICIAN IF THERE ARE WARNING SIGNS OF PAIN, REGULAR HEADACHES OR ANY PAIN MAY BE AN INDICATOR OF SOMETHING SERIOUS, SO CAUTION IN GETTING RID OF HEADACHES WITH OTHER PAIN CONTROL METHODS SHOULD BE UNDERTAKEN.
Self hypnosis can be an effective tool for relieving stress and controlling headache pain. Headaches basically occur when stress comes upon the person and capillaries, small blood vessels or riverways of blood constrict when under pressure or get smaller. Then later when the stress lets up, these small capillaries, or riverways open up and blood flows faster causing the pounding effect of a headache. In many cases the headache occurs after the initial stress has already happened. There are more common migraine headaches which may have other causes and may be blindingly painful.
In many cases these have to be treated with ongoing medication or injections of powerful pain killers. However, self hypnosis does offer an avenue for pain control, especially for the common headache.
The object of self hypnosis is to a degree to bore the mind or confuse it or both to cause it to go deeper into itself or a state of trance so that suggestions can be made directly to the subconcious mind. This can even change ones brain wave patterns in a positive way similar to sleep. The procedure for going under trance with self hypnosis is relatively simple. The following steps are key parts of the process:
1. Stretch first, then find a comfortable chair or couch. Make sure you have had enough rest in order to prevent yourself from falling asleep. This is a relaxation exercise and could relax a tired person into going to sleep instead of going into trance. This is harmless but not effective other than for stress relief.
2. Count backwards aloud from 10 to 1 breathing in and out deeply with each number, feeling yourself relax more and more with each number and breath.
3. Then count backwards from 100 to 1 breathing deeply between each number, feeling yourself becomeing more relaxed and slipping into a trance like state similar to daydreaming. After you have reached some of the lower numbers or when you reach the number one, then you will give yourself the self hypnosis suggestion.
4. At one or once you feel you are in trance, visualize your headache as a red coal, falling into a crystal blue pool, and as it does so it steams, the heat starts to go out of the coal, the red color fades and it starts to turn ash gray, and as it does so you feel the pain of your headache being reduced and going away. Then the gray coals starts to break apart as does your headache, and you feel soothing healing from the crystal cool waters. Finally they wash away the disintegrated coal, and there is nothing left but soothing healing.
5. Then to come out of trance count up from 1 to 10 breathing in and out and instructing yourself to feel relaxed, calm and refreshed as you come out of self hypnosis.
This is a simple and easy method of getting rid of a headache although there are others and as you become more experienced you might find other ways of using self hypnosis. There are a number of good books written in the field on the subject. In the final analysis it is mind over matter and can be a very successful powerful tool for healing and relaxation as well as stress relief. It can also be used to control anger management, as one can visualize the red coal as the source of your anger in a similar process to rid yourself of unwanted angry feelings. Self hypnosis is an excellent methodology with so much flexibility. It may not be for everyone, but it has been successful for so many.
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