We tend to know pain as a physical sensation that causes bodily suffering and distress. To understand how this physical pain is sensed, imagine this:

You are standing in a crowd. The person in front of you steps back up and stands on your toe.

Several chemical substances that are stored near your nerve endings are released. These chemicals make the nerve endings sensitive, so that the pain message can be transmitted from the toe to the brain. These chemicals also increase circulation to the injured area, which then causes swelling and redness. This process is a natural one that sets-off the healing and fights off bacteria.

The pain message then travels to the spinal cord, on to the sensory centre of the brain and to the cortex where the location of the pain is determined.   It is at this point that you say to yourself (or scream out loud) “you clumsy fool, you stepped on my toe”.

Then the help arrives. Chemicals that provide pain relief are released in the brain and the spinal cord and the pain in the toe seems less severe than it was moments ago.

The above example shows a pain resulting from injury, however the basic pain process is the same, regardless of how it comes about. The painful sensations may come from a wide range of causes – from chronic pain to a debilitating disease – but the path the pain takes is still the same, as are the basic physiological responses to it.

There are also four other factors that influence pain:

• The emotions: dependant on the cause of the pain – anxiety and pain are inseparable;
• Previous experience or associations with pain – childhood experience, previous exposure, recurrent discomfort;
• A persons’ characteristics – some personal traits can contribute to the susceptibility of pain;
• The perception of what the pain signifies – apart from the physical, it triggers emotional factors of stress, anxiety and fear – am I dying, what’s wrong, what has happened.

Treating the Pain:

The source of the pain will fall within one of the following:

• Chronic pain;
• Pain due to surgery;
• Pain due to injury, illness or disease.

Use hypnotherapy to help reduce or eliminate the pain, it will assist in:

• Transforming, altering or displacing the pain;
• Directly address the pain and suggest that it decrease; and
• Direct attention away from the pain and experience the benefits of tranquil, peaceful imagery;
• Allow the experience of deep relaxation to reduce stress and anxiety;
• Own the pain and control it;
• Visualise being healed and strong;
• Anesthetize the part of the body that is painful; and
• Visualise and focus on positive images that direct the attention away from the pain.

Through the use of hypnotherapy and guidance, Karen will be able to assist with ways of overcoming the pain and discomfort and allow for feelings of freedom, control and comfort within, which will benefit the body in so many ways

For further information contact us on (03) 5223 2370 or via email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.