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Hypnosis

One of the first reports of hypnosis during surgery is cited in a medical textbook. . Here a French surgeon, Dr. Cloquet, used what was then called mesmerism on a woman, prior to conducting a surgical operation to remove part her breast due to breast cancer. She was able to speak to Dr. Cloquet and her respiration and pulse rate remained stable throughout the operation.

Hypnosis is thought to work by providing a hypnotic induction, or an extended suggestion for using the patient’s imagination. The patient is guided by the hypnotist to respond to suggestions for changes in his or her subjective experience, alterations in perception, sensation, or emotions. This state of mind can be employed to suppress acute or chronic pain in an individual by focusing that individual on the hypnotic experience instead of on the pain. Though hypnosis appears to be similar to distraction, in at least one study, hypnosis has actually been shown to be more beneficial to patients undergoing bone marrow aspirations and lumbar punctures than a distraction procedure.

A 2007 review of 13 studies found evidence for the efficacy of hypnosis in the reduction of pain in some conditions, though the number of patients enrolled in the studies was small, bringing up issues of power to detect group differences, and most lacked credible controls for placebo and/or expectation. The authors concluded that "although the findings provide support for the general applicability of hypnosis in the treatment of chronic pain, considerably more research will be needed to fully determine the effects of hypnosis for different chronic-pain conditions." (p. 283)[28]

Hypnosis has been shown to reduce discomfort associated with gastric colon response to irritable bowel syndrome, to reduce the pain of noxious medical procedures in children and adolescents, and hypnosis also helps cancer patients cope with the pain of metastatic cancer. Hypnosis has been shown to reduce acute pain in general as well as to successfully control acute pain due specifically to childbirth, dental procedures, burns, headaches, and other medical procedures. Hypnosis has also been used successfully to treat chronic pain including that due to cancer. The effects of self hypnosis on chronic pain are roughly comparable to those of progressive muscle relaxation.

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