Pain Management Couselors

[DandMe]

Can anyone tell me what the difference between a regular couselor and a pain management?  Has anyone ever heard of hypnosis for pain control? Anyone had it done?

[Tuckamore]

Hi Mary,

We can relate. Depression goes hand in hand with uncontrolled severe chronic pain. When we are first stricken it take a lot of "thinking" if you will, to come to terms with the pain, limitations and life changes that if often forced upon us.

We often experience many of the stages that Dr Elisabeth Kubler-Ross identified for death, dying and transition. We lose the self we once knew and we grieve for it. If you are not familiar with her research and conclusions I suggest that you do some reading. It can be very helpful and provide you with some insight. I bounced between the anger and denial stages for years fully aware of what I was doing and where I was. Once one reaches the acceptance stage, life and in my case pain and life changes became so much easier to deal with. it's difficult for me to explain but when you get there you will understand.  

As Kolo said self relaxation techniques, your form of mediation and hypnosis can be beneficial and can all go hand in hand. If you beleive in the power of suggestion you should make do well in hypnosis therapy.

Good luck to you.

[DandMe]

Thanks so much for the info.  I saw the pain management couselor today.  It was a really odd session.  I took a computer test.  Most of the question were about coping, stress, and emotional health.  My results show that I have a lot of depression, but have good coping skills with great emotional support.  My understanding from the doc I saw, was I needed his recommendation on should I have the procedure or not.  I do also plan to try hypnosis too.  My pain is driving me insane.  My life is strained due to the pain.  The pain is also causing me depression. I belieive in the power of suggestion.
Thanks again
Mary

[kolo13]

I think hypnosis can be very helpful, at the margins at least, for people in pain. I have used hypnosis, self-hypnosis, relaxation techniques - they all seem to be about the same, to get to sleep despite annoying pain that would otherwise keep me up. I used to have my hypnosis routines on tape (that's how long I've been doing it), now I have some on my ipod that I got for free at itunes under podcasts. I found some for sleep, relaxation, and pain control. I am quite certain that it could help at least a little bit for anyone in pain. It takes some practice to get good at it but you really can train your body to relax on cue. It's quite pleasant. This gives you the possibility of getting some rest, maybe taking one less pill that day, and just maybe getting a little relief. I would highly recommend it for anyone. And like Tuck said, it can't do any harm.

[Tuckamore]

The difference between the two is that the PM Counselor is more focused on helping one live with and deal with your pain. They have more education and training in the pain management arena. I saw a PM Counselor once and found much better guidance from a regular counselor. But I only saw her that one time and we just didn't click. So don't judge my experience as the norm. I know others that have found them helpful.

Hypnosis is utilized for all types of issues, including pain management. I have not tried it and I don't personally know anyone who has. I beleive it is harmless and certainly noninvasive. Anything that fits in that category in my opinion is worth a try.

Best of luck to you. Please share the results with us if you decide to try either or both.

Peace,
Tuck