The symptoms of Fibromyalgia can sometimes be so painful that they prevent sufferers from going to work, attending school classes, or just managing their daily routines.
Traditional Fibromyalgia treatments aim at improving the quality of sleep and reducing pain. Recent research confirms that a multidisciplinary approach to treating FMS provides the greatest relief from symptoms and the best prognosis. This approach includes improving the quality of sleep, proper nutrition, physical conditioning, deep relaxation and positive mental imagery. By combining therapies, the patient can frequently return to a healthier state and a more active lifestyle.
In one study published by the Journal of Rheumatology, 40 Fibromyalgia patients were randomly assigned to treatment with either hypnotherapy or physical therapy for 12 weeks and followed up at 24 weeks. The patients in the hypnotherapy group showed significantly better outcome with respect to pain reduction, fatigue on awakening, sleep patterns, and global assessment at 12 and 24 weeks. In addition, those patients treated with hypnotherapy showed a significant improvement in overall levels of comfort.
The following are articles on hypnosis
The Journal of the American Medical Association “Pain Management: Beyond Pharmacology to Acupuncture and Hypnosis”: http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/283/1/118.full
American Psychological Association “Hypnosis for the Relief and Control of Pain” http://www.apa.org/research/action/hypnosis.aspx
Unfortunately, there is no cure available for Fibromyalgia syndrome, so patients often resort to numerous different treatments to lessen the severity of their Fibromyalgia symptoms. However, hypnosis is now emerging as one of the best alternative treatments available for Fibromyalgia pain.
Recently, hypnosis has received more attention from the medical field; in fact, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has now recommended that hypnosis be part of a treatment regime for chronic pain, like that caused by Fibromyalgia.
Hypnosis is a non-invasive technique that encourages you to achieve heightened levels of focus and sensation. People who practice hypnosis believe that there are two main components to the mind: the conscious mind and the unconscious mind. Through relaxation and suggestion, you are able to access your subconscious mind and stop behaviors or thoughts that may be contributing to pain or other unpleasant symptoms.
People who are in a state of hypnosis are not unaware of their actions and will not do anything that they have a serious moral or ethical objection to. In fact, you do have control over your actions as well as what you say while you are hypnotized.
The initial protocol of FMS therapy rarely varies. After the initial group of sessions, the protocol can vary depending on the client’s symptoms and lifestyle. The initial treatment protocol is aimed at improving the client’s quality of life rapidly. Once their symptoms start to abate and come under better control, then it is time to address the underlying causes and to begin re-patterning the way the client’s body responds to stimuli.
The first three sessions are one week apart, and address pain control and sleep only. The remaining sessions are two weeks apart. Many clients do not complete all of the sessions because their symptoms are reduced to bearable levels. The sessions are as follows:
Session 1: Head-to-Toe Progressive Relaxation & Pain Control
Session 2: Pain Control
Session 3: Insomnia Control
Session 4: Exercise
Session 5: Nutrition
Session 6: Anxiety
Session 7: Removing Unconscious Blocks
Session 8: Healing Imagery
Session 9: Body Awareness
Session 10: Healing Energy
Session 11: Forgetting Pain
Session 12: Body Control
