Manage Your FMS Fibromyalgia Pain Better Today with Hypnotherapy
Fibromyalgia or FMS is a devastating long-term condition that can cause chronic pain, stiffness, sleep problems and more issues that we can help you with. With hypnotherapy we utilise tried and tested techniques with can heal your mind-body connection. Many useful hypnotherapy techniques for pain control and pain relief are well documented, and time tested. For example, changing modalities of how you perceive your pain. The classic control room metaphor is used to dial down your pain level. Regression can be used to take you back in time to when you were not in pain and bring that into the hear and now. Mindfulness can be used to distract you away from pain into feeling your breath instead. An anaesthetic glove metaphor can also be offered to numb your pain. So many techniques on offer if the first one does not work for you there are still so many other that can help. Let’s find a personalised solution to suit you. Contact us or call 07979 814388 for a free 15 minute consultation today.
We Understand Your Fibromyalgia Problems
Fibromyalgia, also known as FMS or fibromyalgia syndrome, is a complex condition which can result in extensive pain through the entire body. Those living with fibromyalgia often face an array of symptoms beyond the devastating chronic pain involved. These other symptoms can include muscle stiffness, problems sleeping, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and also low mood making daily life challenging. Having to cope with any of these symptoms can badly affect your quality of life. Understanding the complexities that are involved with fibromyalgia is an initial stepping stone to discovering efficient ways to manage symptoms as above. Handling them successfully really can benefit from a holistic approach which addresses both the mind and the body. This is where hypnotherapy comes in because it can be a great addition to the way you cope right now.
The Connection Between Mind and Body is Important
Deep relaxation is a recommended treatment for fibromyalgia by the NHS. Hypnotherapy is a fascinating approach that focuses on the deep link between our mental and physical being. At its heart, this therapeutic use of hypnosis can guide individuals into a genuinely relaxed state, allowing the required access to the subconscious mind. You have come to us saying you want help with your pain, and we can then use positive suggestions to your subconscious that are what you have told us you want to happen. As these are more or less your own words, your subconscious will listen, understand and then act on them. We may introduce positive affirmations and even some visualisations in the dream like state that hypnosis is. These can help shift your minds focus away from body pains or muscle stiffness and towards the state of complete relaxation and comfort you feel during a hypnotherapy treatment. So, mind and body relax together, and the pain can then be soothed for you.
Hypnotherapy Techniques for Pain Relief
The devastating, recurring, chronic pains associated with fibromyalgia is what a number of hypnotherapy techniques can help with. These techniques are not taking the pain away but instead, altering the way you perceive it. In effect softening which can make it better.
1) Therapy to Transform Displace Alter Your Pain
We can transform, displace or alter your pain by changing its modality. Modalities refer to the sense which you perceive the pain in. For example, most people will feel pain which is the kinaesthetic modality. During hypnosis we might change that modality to visual by asking “What colour is your pain?” or change it to auditory modality by asking “What does you pain sound like?”. Changing the modality can allow you to perceive the pain differently and then cope with it better.
2) Control Room Metaphor to Turn the Pain Down
A control room metaphor can also help. Imagine you walk into your control room and see dials, buttons, sliders and switches of all sorts. You see one control that says “My Pain”. You see that this control is set very high at an 8 or 9 or even a 10. Now you slowly turn down that control bit by bit to a 7 or a 6 and as you do so you feel the difference right away. You continue to turn that control right down to a level where you find your pain manageable or even completely gone. Just imagine this like a dream. It can work wonders.
3) Regress to a Time Before Pain
Regression can also be a useful tool. You are first induced into deep relaxation using hypnosis. Then while in this dream like state you are taken on a journey back in time to a time when you did not have any pain. Through exploring this idea you can then bring that wonderful feeling of pain free continent back into the present day right here right now pain free.
4) Mindful Distraction
Mindfulness exercises can be used to perceive your pain differently and distract you away from it. If you can imagine, pain is a series of nerve transmissions that are interpreted in your mind. Instead of feeling pain, concentrating on how terrible it feels, your mind is redirected to feel your breath coming in and out of your body. If you can imagine your breath becomes an anchor for you that you can use anywhere and any time it is safe to do so. In the moment, right here right now, feel the breath. Feel your lungs filling and emptying. Just this breath coming in, just this breath going out.
Anaesthetic Glove Metaphor
Anaesthesia metaphors can also be offered. Imagine you have a crystal bowl 1/2 full of water placed on a sturdy table in front of you. Now the person you trust most in the world comes in and slowly fills the bowl up with ice. They smile at you and gesture that you should put your hand into the ice water. You feel the coolness, that slowly turns to cold and then you notice your hand has become numb. You can’t feel it at all. You take your hand out of the bowl and place it on the part of your body that is in most pain. You notice the numbing effect transferring from your hand and your pain becomes numb too until you cannot feel the pain anymore and when you are completely sure that you feel comfortable or in no pain at all you remove your hand and gently allow it to fall into your lap.
Ethically we must make it clear that hypnotherapy is a complimentary therapy. Thus, any medication or advice given by your doctor must not be reduced or stopped but, instead used in conjunction with our treatment. You should ask your doctor’s advice about using hypnotherapy alongside their own offerings.
References:
Anbar R (2018) A Literature Review Examining the Effects of Hypnotherapy for Chronic Pain [online] available from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/233576732.pdf last access 20/05/2025
Benedittis G (2023) The Challenge of Fibromyalgia Efficacy of Hypnosis in Alleviating the Invisible Pain: A Narrative Review [online] available from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00207144.2023.2247443 last access 25/05/2025
Elkins G et al (2012) Cognitive Hypnotherapy for Pain Management [online] available from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00029157.2011.654284 last access 17/05/2025
NHS (2025) Treatment Fibromyalgia [online] available from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/fibromyalgia/treatment/ last access 19/05/2025
Ozgunay S (2023) Effect of Hypnosis on Pain, Anxiety, and Quality of Life in Female Patients with Fibromyalgia: Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Study [online] available from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00207144.2023.2277853 last access 19/05/2024
Taylor D et al (2019) Hypnotherapy for the Treatment of Persistent Pain [online] available from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1078390319835604 last access 27/05/2025
Waller D et al (2020) Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training Module 8C Cognitive Hypnotherapy and Working with Health Issues