Rachael Howe, 32, has been dealing with chronic pain in her back since she herniated three disks between 2013 and 2016. Both her physical pain and mental distress prevented her from getting restful sleep. Ms. Howe, who lives in Auburn, Wash., tried years of physical and talk therapy in addition to medication, but they didn’t help very much, she said.
About a year and a half ago she tried a remote hypnosis session after a referral through a previous therapist. In an early session for relaxation and sleep, her psychologist took her on an imagined walk through the Cascade Mountains, where she had gotten married. He described arrows on the ground that would each lead her to deeper levels of relaxation.
As she walked, Ms. Howe recalled, she felt her pain fade away as her body loosened its tension. “I actually ended up falling asleep,” she said — her therapist ended the session and they rescheduled. “I can’t believe I actually got a couple of hours.”
Ms. Howe has done many sessions since, focusing on increasing calm, managing pain and reframing negative thoughts. “The ideal scenario is for patients to work with a hypnotist and learn the skills to go through these sessions themselves,” said David Patterson, a pain specialist and clinical psychologist at the University of Washington School of Medicine who is Ms. Howe’s clinician. Practicing this way is especially important for conditions “like chronic pain, where you need relief over a long period of time.”
Ms. Langis noticed that the immediate relief from pain and fatigue she gets through hypnosis wanes after a few days. She regularly re-ups, going through recordings of her previous sessions. She said she feels herself going deeper into the hypnotic state over time. “As I practice more, I’m seeing more and more benefit, and so I’m becoming more encouraged to practice more,” she said.
After re-listening to sessions and practicing staying in a hypnotic state, Ms. Howe said she feels she now has the discipline and skill to calm her body and mind when pain flares.
“It’s not like it works 100 percent of the time,” she said, but “the more you do it, the more you get out of it.”
