Pain is a signal from the mind that is sustained by stress and anxiety, even when that anxiety is from a past event.
My client Pat’s story is like many in Hong Kong who lost professional staff during Covid. When the city finally opened up, his company expanded its job to include operations throughout Asia. It was a great job opportunity for him but unfortunately, he didn’t have enough staff to support him. He still tried to make it work. He spent days and most evenings bent over his laptop. He had no time for himself, even less for his family. There was pressure from all sides. His anxiety went through the roof.
He remembers when the muscles in his lower back became tight every day. He couldn’t sit for long without feeling very uncomfortable. It eventually spread into his hip. He knew that he should do something about it, but he had no time.
Our mind is finely tuned to maintain our health and comfort. It gives us plenty of advance notice when our body is experiencing damage. It uses pain and discomfort as a warning signal for us to restore balance. We first become aware of it during a crisis or stressful period. When we don’t listen, it digs in.
After months of increasing pain, Pat finally did listen.
He came to me highly motivated to make hypnosis work for him. He was easily able to experience a deep state of hypnotic trance. We used the trance state to help him focus his mind on changing the way he experienced his pain. He discovered how the anxiety of succeeding in his new role despite a weak team was like a vice in the muscles and nerves of his back. Being in a trance helped him detach from the anxiety and step out of that vice. He learned how to gradually control the degree of his pain and restore himself to comfort.
Like most hypnotherapy clients, he learned how to use his mind in ways he hadn’t thought were possible.