“Hypnosis is first hailed as a panacea by its protagonists, and then discarded as useless by its antagonists.” – Gray TC 1956
The truth must lie somewhere in between, where hypnosis may be effective in certain situations, on certain patients with certain conditions. However, in order for it to be effective, the provider must demonstrate to the receiver, confidence, impressiveness, dignity, intellectual and social superiority. “The uncertain or inexperienced hypnotist is quickly detected by the perceptive unconscious of the patient.” – Gray TC 1956
You may be asking yourself, why is Bahram talking about hypnosis? Please read on!
We are all already hypnotized by our education, beliefs, advertisements, social media etc. meaning they influence our thoughts and how we perceive the world and ourselves.
Using fMRI, they have found that entering the hypnotic state involves several changes in brain activity such as increased functional connectivity between the parts of the brain that process mind-body control, self-reflection and pain.
“These findings suggest that hypnotic intervention can deliver meaningful pain relief for most people and therefore may be an effective and safe alternative to pharmaceutical intervention.” – Thompson et al 2019 (systematic Review)
Hypnosis can alter the perception we have of ourselves. If we think better, we will feel better. If we feel better, we will act better. If we act better, we will think better. It is important to note that hypnosis for pain modulation will inevitably fail if used by the hurried or impatient practitioner.
You may be telling yourself now, Bahram, I don’t know how to do hypnosis. YES you do. The words you use, the education you provide are influencing your patients’ minds.
“Hypnosis with pain education results in improved outcomes over pain education alone in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain” – Rizzo et al 2018
You & I may never become professional hypnotists, but we cannot underestimate the power of our words on our patients. Please view my 3-minute video on this.