March 2019 is Endometriosis Awareness Month #EndometriosisAwarenessMonth, a condition that affects roughly 176 million women around the world.
It is the biggest cause of infertility in women and it can have a devastating effect on the quality of life of its sufferers.
Managing the pain
Hypnotherapy doesn’t cure, or remove endometriosis, but it can help menage the pain and discomfort. A great deal of chronic pain has a psychological aspect to it, which means you can utilize your imagination to change the sensations.
In addition to this if you learn how to use self hypnosis, you can take hold of the problem and have some level of control. I usually help my clients go in and out of trance, using their breathing rhythm and favourite beach to move into that trance state. When you’re there you lose sense of time and body sensations.
Case Study for Endometriosis
Tina was in her early thirties and had been diagnosed with endometriosis. She suffered a great deal with pain. She was on high doses of pain killers and when the pain got too bad she would often drink a lot. This obviously was a habit she wanted to get out of. Her sleep was broken because of the pain and it was affecting her efficiency at work.
The alcohol was a No No, it can increase the production of “Bad prostaglandins”. If you add flax oil, fish oil, and olive oil to your diet it can increase the production of “good prostaglandins” which help with the pain.
I asked Tina to close her eyes and see if she could describe the pain. It was hot, red and sharp. I then led her into trance and to relax. I then asked her to imagine a colour which would defuse the red. She chose blue, cool and soft. Using those suggestions she was able to change her perception of the pain. In the deepest part of the trance she forgot about the pain altogether.
During the next session, I taught her to relax into trance, so she could do this whenever she wanted. I also introduced her to the idea of using glove anesthesia to remove the pain of the endometriosis.
So I asked her to relax and allow her hand to become inanimate. You can use stone or wood, but I wanted something gentle and chose cotton wool. I had her imagine her hand was cotton wool and then touch the area which was in pain and the cotton wool soak up all the pain. I then asked her to touch the arm of the chair and let all the pain soak into the wood. This exercise worked brilliantly.
Also see Pain Management