I consider myself to be very fortunate for I am a hospital chaplain and certified hypnotherapist. As Director of Pastoral Care at Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital, I have full support for the use of hypnotherapy in my pastoral ministry from both the Administration and Medical Staff of our hospital. I receive many consults from our doctors for stop smoking, weight control, stress management, pain management and other problems. This article will focus on pain management. Like Baskin Robbin's ice cream, pain comes in many different flavors.
Pain comes in three main flavors with different variations of each of the three divisions.
The three main flavors are physical, emotional and spiritual. In this presentation I will focus on physical pain, preparation for surgery, post surgery, pain management for those who are suffering and enhancement of healing. In using hypnosis to reduce and eliminate pain, it must be remembered that pain is a warning that something is wrong. When part of your body is injured or damaged, nerves in that area release chemical signals. Other nerves act like tiny telephone wires and send these signals to your brain where they are recognized as pain.