From alarm to awareness
How hypnosis may help us notice old patterns and rewire new responses
Over the past few posts, we have followed a thread.
We began with a nervous system shaped by stress — an alarm system that may become highly skilled at detecting threat.
Then we looked at trauma, and how the body may remember not only what happened, but what it learned it needed to do to survive.
From there, we explored pain, and the idea that pain is real, but not always a simple measure of damage. Pain is shaped by attention, emotion, memory and meaning.
Then we looked at addiction, not as a moral failing, but as a pattern that may begin with relief: a search for something outside ourselves to change an internal state.
So where does hypnotherapy fit?
For me, this is where it becomes interesting.
Because hypnosis works with many of the same things we have been talking about all along: attention, state, perception, meaning, expectation and response.
There is research supporting the use of hypnosis for pain relief, particularly as an addition to usual care.
A well-known meta-analysis on hypnotic analgesia found that the average person receiving hypnosis experienced greater pain relief than 89% of people in control conditions. More recent reviews also suggest hypnosis can be helpful for some people with pain, especially when used alongside other treatments, although outcomes vary depending on the person, the pain condition and the setting.
It’s significant, because pain is not only a body signal. It is an experience shaped by the brain and nervous system.
There are many ways to approach pain, trauma and addiction, and I have a lot of respect for anyone meaningfully making a difference in the lives of people who are suffering.
For some people, medication matters. For some, medical treatment is essential. For some, psychological therapy, physiotherapy, community, movement, education, rest or lifestyle change may all form part of the picture.
And then there is the therapeutic process itself — the experience of being deeply listened to, supported, guided and met with curiosity rather than judgement.
Hypnotherapy is one possible doorway into that process.
Not the only doorway.
Not a magic doorway.
But, for some people, a useful one.
I wish to give you something of value here.
Something that does more than explain hypnosis — something that lets you experience it for yourself.
So, if you have a little quiet time, I invite you to listen to the hypnosis audio I created especially for this series.
It is general in nature, of course, and not a substitute for personalised therapy, medical care, or mental health support.
But my hope is that it gives you a chance to pause, settle your nervous system, and notice what becomes possible when your attention turns inward in a calm and purposeful way.
Please only listen when it is safe to close your eyes and relax — not while driving, operating machinery, or doing anything that needs your full attention.
And if you find value from these articles or hypnosis, feel free to reach out and let me know. I always appreciate feedback from those who take time to read and listen.
Till next time,
Marisa
Footnotes –
Montgomery GH, DuHamel KN, Redd WH. A meta-analysis of hypnotically induced analgesia: how effective is hypnosis? Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2000 Apr;48(2):138-53. doi: 10.1080/00207140008410045. PMID: 10769981.
Montgomery GH, David D, Winkel G, Silverstein JH, Bovbjerg DH. The effectiveness of adjunctive hypnosis with surgical patients: a meta-analysis. Anesth Analg. 2002 Jun;94(6):1639-45, table of contents. doi: 10.1097/00000539-200206000-00052. PMID: 12032044.
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