Hypnosis is a psychological tool that is used to explore the
human mind but it has now been highlighted by experts that this technique may
also be employed to relive pain.
Hypnosis has,all
along, suffered a dubious reputation; mainly because the average man seesit
being employed in movies, to control the mind against the wishes of theperson
concerned.
But according to Dr
Bob Large, a Perth-based psychiatristand pain medicine specialist, hypnosis
could be employed to control pain, evenin those who are undergoing surgery. It
has been observed that some patientscan be deeply hypnotized to enable them to
undergo surgeries such as thyroid orgall bladder removal, without the use of
any anesthetizing drug.
Dr Large claims that
about 15 percent of peoplecan be easily hypnotized. The best response comes
from those with an activeimagination, those who are pliable and from children
in the age group of 8-12as they are naturally blessed with vivid
imagination.
It has been observed
that some sort of paincontrol is possible by
engagingthe patient in a good 'clinical interaction' using a reliable
hypnotictechnique. This indicates that anesthetists and other clinicians can
interactwith the patient during the pre-operative period using a set of
instructionsand suggestions that are capable of creating positive vibes in the
patient ratherthan alarming the patient.
ClinicalHypnosis is
perfectly ethical; it involves motivating the patient to be incontrol rather
than controlling the patient. The technique has been used inmany fields of
health care involving chronic pain including cancer care andalso in dentistry,
childbirth and surgery.
Hypnosis begins by
asking the patient to gaze ata particular spot on the wall and go easy on
everything else.
Childbirth isa
promising area where hypnosis can be used effectively. Women were able to
deliverwith greater comfort and required less anesthetic drugs. Some did
notrequire drugs at all. Another plus was that the baby thus delivered was
lesssedated.
Dentistry isanother
area that could potentially benefit from hypnosis. Some dentists usehypnosis as
a method to reduce anxiety among dental patients.
Dental Association
president Dr Geoff Lingardsaid "You get patients who are more anxious than
average. In those cases hypnotherapycan certainly be an effective aid to
relaxing them and providing them withcomfortable, pain-free dentistry."
There is nothing
extraordinary about the role ofhypnosis in pain relief as it just taps into our
inner potential to be able toslip into an altered state of awareness.
In some parts of the
worldhypnosis has been employed on patients before a surgery. Experts believe
thatin future, hypnosis will be used widely around the world as a form of
analgesiaand anesthesia.