The Magic Glove by Dr Elizabeth McCardell, BA, BA (Hons), M. Couns., PhD, Dip CH
Oct 2014
Imagine wearing an invisible glove that, when you
touch a really sore part of your body, diminishes the pain, or takes it away
altogether. You can look at the glove, and yes, there really isn’t anything
there, but yet you can feel it, sort of. There is a sensationless sensation covering your hand. It’s the magic
glove of anaesthesia.
The anaesthetic glove is a technique used in clinical
hypnotherapy that is profoundly effective in changing the experience of acute
and chronic pain.
What occurs in this hypnotic process is not yet fully
understood, but the effect is measurable, just the same. Brain-imaging studies show a
significant and consistent change in how pain feels experientially as well as the
reduction in firing around the
associated place in the brain where pain is felt. How successful this change is
depends on how receptive to hypnotic suggestion a person is. 75% of people
studied in experiments investigating this show a substantial improvement, while
some receive moderate improvement; very few are not responsive at all. For
evidence based proof, if this is important to us, these are very good odds.
The repeated and prolonged use of pain relief
medication in chronic pain conditions such as arthritis, fibromyalgia,
headaches, backaches, temporal mandibular disorders, etc is sometimes not
advised. Sometimes such medication significantly damages the gut, or causes
others reactions that are very unpleasant, like nausea, vomiting, headaches,
etc. Hypno-analgesia decreases a
person’s sensitivity to pain when the strength of such pain is interfering with
every day life. Pain, obviously, is useful in telling us something is wrong,
but too much pain is debilitating. On-going pain also lengthens the amount of
time a person stays in hospital. Reducing it, allows natural healing to occur
more easily.
The magic, or anaesthetic, glove may be taught during
the course of hypnotherapy sessions
so that it may be employed whenever the patient wants to control their own
level of pain.
What is going on in the brain, as shown by brain scans,
demonstrates that hypnotherapy actually produces a physical effect, and that it
isn’t just a psychological technique. We are, after all, whole beings (mind and
body united).
Brain scans have certainly been used interestingly in
the observation of what is going on neurologically, but the measurement of
hertz levels also shows very interesting things. A paper I read a couple of
years ago illustrated how, under hypnosis, the person’s brainwaves showed a
dominance of theta, delta, and a
bit of alpha patterns. Theta brain-waves are associated with healing,
strengthening the immune system,, creativity, intuition, enhanced concentration,
and increased memory. Theta brainwaves are found mostly in sleep, meditation,
and hypnosis, as well as deeply relaxed states. The heightening of theta
brain-waves in hypnosis points to the especial value of such techniques for
sleep disorders. Delta brainwaves are associated with deep sleep, where a
person’s heart rate slows down and a deep relaxation occurs. Alpha are active
in visualization, daydreams and fantasy. It is said that alpha brainwaves are
like the bridge between beta’s wakefulness, acuity, and the analytic mind, and
theta’s relaxed state. Interestingly, the same paper said the hypnotherapist’s
brainwave pattern exhibited a similar one to the patients, but with one
exception. The therapist also showed beta brainwave patterns. The layout of
brainwave patterns for the therapist is something I literally experience every
time I do a hypnosis with a patient. I can “feel” the different levels of
awareness while I shape my language, organize the structure, decide how many
times I need to say something, which metaphors to use, observe what is going on
for the person (all processes in which beta brainwaves are dominant). At the
same time, I, too, enter a state of relaxation, shape what is to be visualized,
and feel it in my own being. For instance, the image of lying in a boat might
be evoked. I will feel its gentle rocking, even while I speak of it and invite
my patient to enjoy it, or not. Sometimes, being with the person as they enter
the healing space, I feel it too. It is as though I am sharing their dream.
Neurological investigations are interesting, but this
is only part of what’s going on in the hypnotic process. The bottom line is
that what happens in each session needs to be relevant and useful for the
patient, as well as how committed they are in their own healing. Without this,
there is not much point. Commitment and relevance is the critical thing. While
I can write of magic gloves and all that, the intention of a person with regard
to their own healing matters more than any magic.
One session is rarely ever enough. Most responsible
hypnotherapists recommend at least three sessions. The deepest change occurs
when three sessions are committed to, and participating with the patient in
these, I see actual healing taking place and the person’s reports feeling much
better.
