Chronic pain
Long-term pain from conditions such as arthritis, back pain or fibromyalgia, where the nervous system has become sensitised and medical treatment alone has not brought sufficient relief.
A different relationship with pain
Hypnotherapy for pain
Persistent pain can affect sleep, movement, mood and attention. Hypnotherapy may help you change aspects of your experience alongside appropriate medical care.
You might recognise this
Pain keeps pulling your attention away from the rest of life.
Your body braces in anticipation of movement or a flare-up.
Poor sleep and worry make an already difficult experience harder.
Your pain is real.
Pain is a genuine experience, including when scans or tests do not provide a simple explanation. It deserves proper assessment and respectful care.
Hypnotherapy does not treat the underlying medical cause. It may help with relaxation, attention, coping and the way pain is experienced as part of a wider care plan.
Your hypnotherapist
Kathleen Misson
Qualified clinical hypnotherapist, working with adults in person in Moraira and online. Dip.Hyp. I.S.C.H. APHP.
Contact me to ask any questions you like.
If pain keeps claiming your attention, sleep or confidence in your body, you don't have to find a way through it alone: tell me how it affects your life and we can explore whether hypnotherapy could support you alongside appropriate medical care.
More than a physical signal
Pain is shaped as much by the mind as by the body.
Pain is a real experience, not a weakness, not something you are imagining. But pain is also shaped significantly by the mind: by attention, emotion, memory, belief and expectation. Modern pain science shows that the brain actively constructs our pain experience, drawing on signals from the body alongside the broader state of the nervous system.
This means the mind is not simply a passive receiver of pain signals. It is actively involved in determining how intense the pain feels, how much of your attention it demands, and how much it limits what you can do.
Persistent pain can involve changes in how the nervous system processes signals, as well as the effects of attention, expectation, sleep and stress. Once a doctor has assessed the pain, hypnotherapy may help with relaxation, coping and aspects of how the experience is managed.
Working with the brain's pain response
How can hypnotherapy help with pain?
Hypnosis does not block or suppress pain signals in a way that would prevent you from noticing something medically important. Instead, it works with the brain's natural ability to shift attention, alter perception and regulate the body's response to sensation.
Depending on the nature of your pain, our work together may help you:
- Reduce the perceived intensity of pain
- Move pain from the foreground of your attention to the background
- Ease the anxiety, frustration and dread that commonly intensify chronic pain
- Build a greater sense of control over your response to painful sensations
- Reduce the muscle tension and physical bracing that often amplifies pain
- Improve sleep and daily functioning that pain has been affecting
- Feel more confident resuming activities you have been avoiding
Chronic pain, procedural pain and more
Conditions hypnotherapy may be able to support.
Headaches and migraines
Tension headaches and migraines often have a strong stress and nervous system component that hypnotherapy can work with directly, alongside appropriate medical care.
Nerve pain
Conditions involving heightened nerve sensitivity, including neuropathy and post-herpetic neuralgia, where the pain experience has become disproportionate to the underlying cause.
Pain around medical procedures
Anxiety about dental treatment, injections or minor procedures can significantly amplify pain. Hypnotherapy can ease this response and make the experience more manageable.
Tension and stress pain
Jaw clenching, neck and shoulder tension, and other physically held stress responses that produce genuine, often persistent, pain and discomfort.
Calm, focused and collaborative
What happens during a session?
We begin by talking about what pain looks like in your daily life, where it is felt, what makes it better or worse, and how it is affecting your mood, sleep, movement and sense of yourself.
Hypnosis is then used to help your mind and nervous system shift their relationship with the painful sensations. This is not about pretending the pain is not there. It is about changing the volume, the urgency and the emotional weight it carries, so that it takes up less of your life.
Sessions may also include approaches for managing flares, building a greater sense of control, and addressing any anxiety or low mood that has developed alongside the pain. You remain aware and in control throughout. Hypnosis usually feels deeply calm and restful.
A genuine desire for change
Is hypnotherapy right for me?
Hypnotherapy for pain may be suitable if you:
- Experience chronic or recurring pain that has already been medically investigated and diagnosed
- Find that stress, anxiety or mood significantly affects your pain levels
- Have been told that nothing more can be done medically, but want to explore additional support
- Are looking to reduce your reliance on pain medication, with the guidance of your medical team
- Find that anticipating pain makes it worse, or that you brace for pain in ways that create additional tension
- Are looking for a compassionate, complementary approach alongside your existing care
Medical diagnosis comes first
An important note about pain and medical care.
Hypnotherapy is appropriate only for pain that has already been properly investigated and diagnosed. New, unexplained, sudden or worsening pain must be assessed by a doctor before any complementary therapy is considered.
Pain is the body's signalling system. Seeking to reduce or manage pain that has not yet had a proper medical diagnosis could delay the identification of a condition that needs treatment. Please see your doctor first.
If you are already working with a pain specialist, GP, physiotherapist or another healthcare professional, hypnotherapy can form a valuable part of a broader pain management approach. I am happy to work as part of a team where that is helpful and appropriate.
Do not reduce or stop any prescribed pain medication without advice from the doctor who prescribed it.
Your wellbeing comes first
Pain should be medically assessed before complementary work.
Hypnotherapy is a complementary approach. It does not replace medical or mental health assessment, diagnosis or treatment. Please continue any prescribed medication unless the professional who prescribed it advises you otherwise.
Read Your wellbeing matters for guidance about seeking professional or urgent support and using hypnotherapy alongside other care.
Free and no obligation
Let's have a chat first.
Tell me your story. I will explain everything about hypnotherapy and you can ask me any questions you like. We can then explore whether it feels like the right next step for you.
Ask me any questions you like
Compassionate, confidential support