Pain Control

The first account of painless surgery using hypnosis was in 1838. Dr. Elliotson capitalized on the times by giving public demonstrations of hypnosis (which was at that time still referred to as mesmerism, a name given by Franz Anton Mesmer) at the London University College Hospital. Later in 1845 James Esdaile performed over 2000 operations including amputations in which patients were hypnotised. The patients reported feeling no pain throughout their operations.
In 1955 The British Medical Association approved hypnosis after it had been used successfully throughout the 2nd world war to treat post traumatic stress and to perform operations in on soldiers who had limited medical supplies whilst fighting.
Unfortunately no one can really say how hypnosis for pain control works, however,
research seems to suggest that it is based upon a disassociation model, as seen in
patients with Multiple Personality Disorder. In Multiple personality disorder we see evidence that the personality becomes fragmented, so that different behaviours and characteristics are displayed depending on which personality a person is operating from. In some cases the shift from one personality to another is so apparent, even the patients eye colour can change. Whilst one personality is operating, the client is associated into that personality, and the other personality(ies) are dissociated.
In regards to pain management, dissociation can eliminate pain by placing it in a sort of psychological storage area, away from the consciousness of the patient. There are many accounts in history of hypnosis being used in place of anaesthetics.
This model of dissociation is commonly referred to as the "hidden observer"
model of cognition.
Pain is a very suggestible "state" to be in, we can all associate to a dull tooth ache occurring, how it can begin to throb and tighten and how that pain can ooze in to the gums and jaw and spread. Now if you have successfully managed to create a toothache for yourself, just stop and allow the feeling to dissipate. Notice how itchy you foot feels instead, it will stop you from thinking about your teeth!
NLP can also be a helpful tool in alleviating pain. If a person can elicit the submodalities of their pain (the coding the mind has labelled to the experience) the submodalities can be changed, by adjusting them to see what impact they have on the pain levels. More specifically, the submodalities of an area of the body which are not experiencing pain can be elicited (or the submodalities can be elicited when the body is not in a painful state to give contrast) then the submodalities of "pain" can be adjusted to the same as the submodalities of "no pain." For example if one of the things a person says about their pain is that it is like a red throbbing ball, try changing it to a pink wobbly blob and see if it continues to be as troublesome.
Remember that pain is your body's way of letting you know that something is wrong, so before using these techniques to override your pain, you must get the approval of your doctor.

Gemma Bailey is a Hypnotherapist and NLP trainer based on Hertfordshire. Please visit her website for free hypnosis mp3 sessions. http://www.gemmabailey.co.uk