Overcoming Chronic Pain Through Hypnosis

I feel like an advertisement for hypnosis when I tell my chronic pain story, but if it helps one person gain relief from chronic pain, it is a story worth telling. I never believed in hypnosis until I was in college. I didn't try hypnosis for chronic pain relief at that time. It was recommended by a friend that I try it for stress management. Much to my surprise, the hypnosis worked. I didn't cluck like a chicken, and I remembered the whole process. What the hypnosis did do was give me relaxation practices to help me cope with my stress.
Years down the road I found myself a patient repeatedly visiting doctors' offices for chronic back pain. I did not want to undergo surgery of any kind, but chronic pain management through medication was not working. At least, it was not working well enough. When one doctor suggested I try hypnosis to help ease my chronic pain, I was on board from the get go. I am sure, had I not had the positive past experience, I would have been more than hesitant to try it out.
I started hypnosis therapy for my chronic pain in June. By August I was feeling some relief from the chronic back pain. Through hypnosis therapy, I was able to learn to embrace the chronic pain and teach my body to accept it. I found that the more my body fought the pain, the more chronic back pain I felt. Through hypnosis I learned more relaxation techniques, not so different from the stress relievers I needed in my college days. I also learned to take care of my body in general better. All of this, combined with my medication, has helped manage my chronic pain. Through the use of hypnosis, I was able to stay out of the hospital, and I only go to the doctor's office for regular check-ups now, not for chronic pain complaints.
Granted, my story of beating chronic pain through hypnosis is one of success. Hypnosis does not work for everyone, especially anyone who is overtly skeptical of the practice. Non-believers, as I like to call them, are less receptive to the power of suggestion used during hypnosis. Again, no one suggests you cluck like a chicken, but the strategies of relaxation are channeled through suggestion. Similarly, individuals who are skeptical of hypnosis to cure their chronic pain tend to be tense during the hypnosis. Again, the hypnosis will not work. I have been told that with repeated sessions, some non-believers can even begin to feel relief as they begin to relax within the treatments.
All I know is I don't classify myself as a person with chronic backpains anymore. I don't limit myself or because of possible chronic pain or flare-ups. Sure, I still go through hypnosis on a regular, although less intense, basis, but it beats the pain, recovery time and cost of surgery. I figured it out, and I save thousands staying out of the operating room!
All in all, the choice was a good one for me. I'd recommend it to anyone who is suffering from chronic pain and can't find relief. Hypnosis just may work for you.