Even a simple visit to the doctor’s office can be nerve-wracking for many. How about surgery? After all, we mostly visit the doctor’s office when we are in pain or feel like something is just not right.

Although we go through the surgery process to heal and get better, many people have negative associations with surgical operations. The unknown, the anticipation of the pain, and the horrific stories that we hear set us up in an anxious state before and after the surgery. Being anxious means tightening up all the muscles, excessive worry, and more chances for complications as a result.  

Hypnosis has been a very helpful mental tool to prepare for surgery, aid during the surgery, and even after the surgery to enhance recovery. Before routine has become anesthesia, different forms of hypnosis were used for health-related issues.

Within the last 50 years, hypnosis has been studied more and more. Results from some of these studies show that hypnosis can significantly help surgical patients to be calm before the surgery, to use less anesthesia during the surgery, to take fewer pain medications, to have fewer complications during surgery, and also to recover quickly after the surgery.

Hypnotherapy can help you be calm and relaxed before the surgery

Nowadays pain is defined as an unpleasant subjective experience with a sensory and emotional component. Therefore, what you think about pain or your previous experiences with pain can really determine how you will feel as the surgery approaches.

Hypnosis by itself is already a more relaxed and comfortable state of being. When this positive feeling is coupled with powerful suggestions and calming imagery, hypnosis becomes even more effective to prepare you for a comfortable and easy surgical experience.

According to Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D., who is the director of the Integrative Medicine Program at MD Anderson, “Over the past couple of decades there is a very solid evidence base that incorporating hypnosis during invasive conscious sedation medical procedures reduces anxiety, helps to control pain, decreases recovery time, and helps lower medical costs”

Hypnosis can reduce the use of anesthesia

When we feel calm and relaxed, the parasympathetic nervous system is activated. The parasympathetic nervous system is the opposite of the fight/flight reaction which is activated unconsciously when we are nervous or feel in danger. When the parasympathetic nervous system is active, we are in the “heal and rest” mood. This means, we tend to relax our muscles and feel comfortable, which enables us to feel less pain.

A research study that was published in the European Society of Anesthesiology reported that combined local anesthesia and hypnosis was enough to assure comfort, assist healing and reduce drug use.  

In the study, out of 78 women who underwent breast cancer surgical operations, 18 of them were hypnotized. At the end of the surgery, the group who used hypnosis required significantly fewer opioids and recovered in significantly less time.

Not only hypnosis can help with the reduction of sedatives and pain relievers used during recovery, but also hypnosis can help with eliminating the anesthesia altogether. Since the 1800s, hypnosis has been used just like anesthesia, to take the person to a physically dissociated state during surgery.

Hypnosis can reduce the risk of complications

When we enter into a surgery feeling anxious, naturally the blood pressure can be higher, oxygen levels can be affected or other hormones can affect the way the surgery takes place. On the other hand, when our body is relaxed and calm, we are in a stable state physically and mentally. And the results of research studies, support that as well.

In 1996 Elvira Lang and her colleagues studied 30 people who underwent interventional radiological surgical procedures. They split the patients into two groups. Both groups received patient-controlled anesthesia but the test group -16 of them out of 30-, received hypnosis additionally. The results showed that not only the test group reported less pain but also significantly more control group patients exhibited oxygen desaturation and/or needed interruptions of their procedures for hemodynamic instability. 

In other words, calm surgery means fewer complications, less drug use, and quicker recovery! 

Hypnotherapy can help to reduce the costs of surgery

Knowing how expensive a surgical procedure and recovery process can be, being able to save even a little from those could be a relief, right?

So far, we talked about less drug use, quicker recovery time, and maybe even needing less sedative during surgery with hypnosis. Just these effects of hypnosis could be enough to save a ton of expenses from your surgery!

In the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, David Spiegel talks about another study that was done with breast cancer patients. Out of 200 patients who underwent either breast biopsy or lumpectomy for breast cancer, the control group received routine anesthesia plus empathic listening while the test group received brief hypnosis and imagery for muscle relaxation. Although the test group received hypnosis very briefly, it was enough for the majority of the group to have positive effects! Patients in the test group reported less pain, nausea, fatigue, discomfort, and emotional upset than the control group. These positive effects were also reflected in the surgery room and shortened the surgery time by 10.6 minutes. As a result, that meant 772.71$ savings per patient!

Hypnosis can help with quicker recovery

More and more, we are discovering plenty of evidence about how the mind and the body are connected. When the mind is calm and relaxed, it sends the signals of “rest and repair” to the body. When we are resting, the body can focus its healing powers to wherever it’s needed. 

Years ago, professors of radiology from Harvard Medical School wanted to test whether hypnosis can help with healing broken bones. Out of 12 people who had broken ankles but did not require surgery, half of them received regular treatment while the other half were hypnotized for 12 weeks in addition to regular treatments. Everything was the same, except for hypnosis. The results were amazing! The hypnotized group showed significantly quicker healing than the non-hypnotized group. So much so that 6 weeks after the treatment, the hypnotized group showed healing of 8 and a half weeks!

Final Words…

We can no longer underestimate the effects of the mind-body connection. The results are so much significant than we can even comprehend! Understandably, going into surgery with so many unknowns and expectations of pain can throw us off and put us into survival mode. However, the survival mode counteracts the healing process.

Our bodies are extremely powerful and we have tons of healing abilities. We can only allow our bodies to heal if we are in a calm and relaxed state and let our bodies do what they are capable of doing.

If we know that there is a potential for quicker recovery or using fewer drugs during/after surgery with the help of hypnosis, wouldn’t it be worth a shot?