Pain is a subject that touches everyone. After all, it is a human condition from which we all suffer at one time or another. There are headaches, dental procedures, sports injuries, broken bones, soft-tissue injuries, and psychosomatic pain.

Research shows that 75% to 80% of all adults will experience lower back pain at some time in their lives. Approximately 40 million Americans suffer from arthritis pain and as many as 45 million suffer from chronic, recurring headaches. There are thousands of people every year who suffer the agony of surgical interventions and thousands more who endure the pain of debilitating or terminal illnesses.

All of this pain falls into two basic categories: (1) acute pain, which is of short duration and (2) chronic pain, which continues for weeks, months or years.

Most people respond to pain - whether acute or chronic - by taking drugs of some kind. But drugs are often a temporary solution.

What few people realize is that the ancient art of hypnosis offers a safe, effective alternative for reducing sensitivity to pain.

Hypnosis has been shown effective in the management of various types of pain. Besides providing an effective solution for maladies such as headaches and acute injuries, hypnosis offers a unique solution for those suffering from chronic conditions like back pain and arthritis as well as intermediate and advanced stages of cancer. Studies show that patients with chronic diseases require fewer painkillers to achieve pain relief when they practice hypnosis. These same patients exhibit fewer signs of anxiety and experience greater comfort during medical procedures.

Hypnosis also has been shown to be effective in reducing nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients.

The most effective approach for acute pain appears to be the use of hypnotic suggestions focusing on anxiety reduction and minimizing the importance of the pain. For chronic pain, it is more effective to confront the pain directly under hypnosis, dealing with both the pain's physical and psychological effects.

Another area where hypnosis offers significant positive results is in dealing with pre- and post-operative patients. Using hypnosis in preparation for surgery has been shown to reduce the experience of pain during surgery, resulting in the need for less anesthetics. Hypnosis as a pain management tool with surgical patients also has been shown to reduce nausea and greatly increase the recovery rate in most patients, thereby truncating the length of time spent in the hospital. (That creates another rarely mentioned positive result: reduced medical costs!)

But efficacy and lower medical expenses are not the only positives related to the use of hypnosis for pain management. This modality has no dangerous side effects. Unlike medications, hypnosis does not become less effective with use and does not require stronger and stronger doses to cope with pain. While patients may have to ingest costly medications several times a day for years, they have the potential for reducing or eliminating their pain in just a few hypnotic sessions for significantly less cost.

Does hypnosis always work? In the area of pain control, everyone can be helped to SOME degree. There are essentially five categories into which subjects fall:

1. Those who find total and permanent relief.

2. Those that have a decrease in the severity of pain.

3. Those who experience pain relief initially, but who need occasional reinforcement.

4. Those that experience intermittent relief.

5. Those that still have pain, but feel 10-30% less pain than before.

What accounts for these differences in relief? The answer appears to be the patient's susceptibility to hypnosis - the level of relaxation reached during the hypnotic sessions. The deeper the relaxation, the more effective the pain reduction.

Certainly, no treatment for pain - whether chemical, physical or psychological - is effective all the time. However, hypnosis has shown over and over again that it can help people reduce or eliminate both acute and chronic pain. Best of all, it works its magic without any side effects.

As a safe, effective alternative for reducing sensitivity to pain, hypnosis is second to none.

Many of us would like to make some changes in our lifestyle and habits. However, it is often easier said then done. Hypnosis can be a great process for encouraging such changes to take place. Hypnosis is a state of mind similar to being in a trance. In this state, an individual becomes more aware, more focused, and more willing to accept changes. Hypnosis has often gotten a reputation for causing people to lose control. It is portrayed this way on many movies and talk shows. Generally, hypnosis is stereotyped with a person impersonating an animal or person at the request of the hypnotist. When they come out from under hypnosis, they don't remember anything about the performance they just presented to those in the crowd. The reality of hypnosis is nothing like that.

While under hypnosis you aren't thinking about the change, you are experiencing without question or critical thinking. This state allows you to explore your inner thoughts and processes without analyzing it. You remain in complete control of your thoughts and feelings, yet you are more willing to openly explore them.

Who might use hypnosis as a tool for change People commonly undergo hypnosis to make changes that they are having a hard time doing on their own including losing weight, to stop smoking, and to quit drinking. It is beginning to be used to improve relationships and self esteem as well. Hypnosis is considered to be a type of therapy that is very brief and works quickly. This type of therapy is often free or very low cost. For weight loss and to stop smoking, group seminars are often held that cost very little. Is it dangerous? While the medical profession and researchers continue to debate the success of hypnosis to make changes, they are all in agreement that hypnosis is not dangerous. You have the right and ability to exercise your free will anytime while under hypnosis. It uses the power of suggestion to encourage the changes to take place. Physicians, dentists, chiropractors, clergy, psychologists and psychiatrists are recommending hypnosis to their patients more often than ever before.

A great place to start Making changes under hypnosis occurs while the individuals mind is focused on the unconscious. Over 80% of our habits and behaviors are controlled by the subconscious. This being said, it makes sense that working with the subconscious to make changes is the right place to start. This would explain why we often slip back into our old habits quickly, no matter how much willpower we try to muster. The use of hypnosis to assist individuals to make positive changes to their habits and lifestyle is becoming more well known every day. The issue is very controversial. Some believe hypnosis puts a person into a trance where they can be programmed. However, the reality of it is that hypnosis allows a person to explore their subconscious without conscious thoughts getting in the way. Our habits and behaviors are controlled by the subconscious. We must get in touch with this level before we can make changes. While hypnosis isn't the only method of doing this, it is one of the most popular. It often works quickly and is inexpensive.

Over recent years, hypnosis has gained acceptance as a credible method of treatment within the traditional medical community. It is now recognized as credible by both the Mayo Clinic and the National Institutes of Health, as seen by the information provided on their websites.

Hypnosis has been proven to be effective in treating many physical, emotional, and mental concerns. These include pain control, weight loss, phobias, quitting smoking, sleeplessness, and many others. Historically, the alternative medicine community has accepted hypnosis as a valuable option in treating distress.

Hypnosis is a process in which an individual goes into a trance, or a state of deep inner focus. The person stays in control and aware of their surroundings while in the trance, although their focus is channeled inward. A trance can be facilitated by another person, a taped recording, or by the person her or himself (self hypnosis). A common myth is that a susceptible person can be hypnotized without their consent, and this is just not true.

Techniques to induce hypnosis often begin with a process to relax the body. The subject is guided in a systematic way to tense the various muscles in their body and then to let go of the tension. Ultimately, the body reaches a very relaxed state. Counting backwards slowly, interspersed with affirmations of deepening relaxation, then serves to deepen the trance state. A guided image of walking down a stairway or descending in an elevator while counting slowly backwards can also serve to deepen the trance.

The purpose of inducing a trance is to bring the person to a very calm relaxed place, where the conscious mind has let go of control and the subconscious mind is more directly available. It is widely held that the subconscious mind is more receptive to suggestions than the conscious mind is, which allows changes to occur more rapidly.

Suggestions and affirmations are used when the person is in the deep trance to allow the new behavior or condition to take hold. These suggestions are most effective if they are stated in positive terms and in present tense. If the hypnosis is being used to support the psychotherapy process this is the stage in which the therapist may ask the person questions to draw out answers that the conscious mind wants to block.

Self-hypnosis is similar to meditation, with the self-directed inner focus, however the purpose is different. With meditation the desire is often to quiet the mind, while with hypnosis the aim is to create a positive behavioral or mental change in the hypnotized person.

The person who chooses to practice self-hypnosis can learn to talk him or herself into the trance state and then integrate suggestions that the desired change occurs. It is best if the person has prepared and rehearsed making the suggestions before going into the trance, so the process is smooth and the conscious mind does not become involved in thinking of what to say.

Hypnosis is clearly becoming a popular technique to enhance many areas of our lives, from pain control, to stress management, to athletic performance. So, although much about hypnosis remains a mystery, it has become a very credible and gentle option for creating positive change.

Imagine that you want to take a trip. The first step in this process is to decide where you want to go — for example, from your hometown to San Francisco, California. What is your next step? Well, you cannot just point your nose in the direction of San Francisco and magically teleport to the City by the Bay. You have to do some planning. Will you drive, fly or take the train? How long will the trip take? What will you need to take with you?

The client who comes to the professional hypnotist is also planning a trip. S/he has every right to expect that the hypnotist will manage each detail necessary to ensure that the client's "trip" is successful. And just like a successful trip, a positive outcome to the hypnotic session is no accident. It is the result of following a specific procedure for each session. The first step in that procedure — the first step in the successful hypnosis journey — requires that the hypnotist provide the client with the information that the client needs to succeed. In other words, before the actual hypnotic induction, the hypnotist must educate the client about what hypnosis is and what it is not.

The primary element here is to make certain that the client understands who has the responsibility for the success or failure of the hypnosis session. It is the CLIENT — not the hypnotist — who controls the outcome. The client must understand that the hypnotist is not a magician, that the hypnotist cannot MAKE the client effect the desired change.

Having said that, the hypnotist CAN create an atmosphere for optimal success by enhancing the client's imagination and imbuing the client with a powerful mental expectancy of success. How? The successful hypnotist will establish a positive atmosphere from the moment that the client first contacts him or her. It is imperative that the hypnotist employs the power of waking hypnosis to convince the client that the client has located a professional with the skills necessary to help the client solve his or her problem. Invariably, the client will ask whether the hypnotist can help. It doesn't really matter what the goal or the problem is. The hypnotist begins to build the necessary confidence by assuring the client, "Of course that can be done. We've helped with situations like this before." What the mind EXPECTS to happen tends to happen. So from that moment until the client arrives for the actual session, the client's expectation of success increases. And that expectation enhances the probability for a successful outcome.

Once the client arrives, the hypnosis session itself comprises three equally important parts: the pre-induction interview, the hypnosis session and the post-hypnotic interview. For the purpose of this article, we will examine the pre-induction interview. (The remaining two components will be covered in "Anatomy of a Successful Hypnosis Session - Part 2.)

The pre-induction interview consists of two parts: the information provided by the client and the information provided by the hypnotist. First, the client explains to the hypnotist what the client believes the problem is. It is not unusual for the client to miss the mark when self-diagnosing the problem. S/he is working from a conscious level, while the real problem may lie in the subconscious realm. Nevertheless, it is important for the hypnotist to listen carefully to this information. This interlude allows the hypnotist to learn about the client and to establish rapport — an element critical to success.

During the second part of the pre-induction interview, the hypnotist provides information to the client. It is the time when the hypnotist removes whatever fears or misconceptions the client may have about hypnosis. Why is this important? Because every subject accepts hypnosis in direct proportion to the amount of fear s/he has of the process. Contrary to popular belief, there are no bad subjects — only subjects who resist entering the hypnotic state. And what will prevent a person of normal intelligence from entering hypnosis? Fear.

The person who insists that s/he cannot be hypnotized because the person "has a strong mind" is actually saying that s/he is frightened of the process — frightened of "giving up control."

This fear, of course, comes from ignorance. That is why for the hypnotic session to succeed, the hypnotist must educate the client about hypnosis and remove that fear. A pre-induction interview provides the opportunity to present an in-depth discussion of how hypnosis works, what it can do and (just as importantly) what its limitations are. It is not enough simply to ask the client if s/he has any questions. The client may respond that s/he has no questions because s/he already knows all about hypnosis. And it turns out that what the client "knows" is that the hypnotist will control the client's mind and make the client do anything the hypnotist wants!

The hypnotist must be proactive about the pre-induction talk and dispel any such false notions. If the client is left with misconceptions, the client is left with fear. And as we have already seen, fear is the one thing that will cause a client to resist hypnotic induction. It is critical that the client understands (1) how hypnosis works, (2) what will happen during the session and (3) that the client — NOT the hypnotist — is in complete control.

As an added benefit, the pre-induction talk showcases the hypnotist's knowledge, enhancing the client's perception of the hypnotist as an authority. This, in turn, reinforces the client's expectancy of success.

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Part 2 of "Anatomy of a Successful Hypnosis Session" will consider the remaining components: the actual induction and the post-hypnotic interview.