Banishing pain

The truth is that there is not simply a “connection between” mind and body.  The body and mind are continually informing one another; creating a dialogue.  The mind sends out the neurotransmitters and hormones that CREATE inflammation.  Sometimes it does that for protective purposes.  And sometimes it’s just a feedback loop.  

It’s a well-known problem.  When we are in a state of distress, the brain doesn’t judge.  It sends out the biochemical components that prepare you for the “flight or fight” response.  These stress hormones are KNOWN to cause inflammation, which may well lie at the heart of all chronic disease processes.  And of course, the experience of pain creates tension, which creates MORE stress hormones.  

To be frank, we don’t know everything there is to know about chronic pain and its biochemical markers.  But we DO know that once a pain signal has served its purpose of alerting you to a problem – and you’ve sought appropriate medical treatment – the pain signal can persist, creating a state of chronic tension.  That tension then produces the inflammation that keeps the cycle active.  We know that when we focus the mind’s full attention on a state of ease and comfort, inflammation (and the resultant pain) are reduced and even eliminated.

In other words, there is a lot of long-term comfort to be gained in finding a state of even temporary comfort.  This is where hypnosis becomes a “wonder drug” for so many chronic pain sufferers.  It breaks the cycle.  And yes, even a temporary state of ease and comfort has a tremendously beneficial effect.  

A skilled hypnotist can help you reboot the system and teach you how to interrupt and reverse a useless pain signal.