Manage Headaches, Don’t Just Live With Them!
In his article* Daniel P. Kohen, MD, said that often these patients improve more slowly than those with migraine or tension headaches. He hypothesized that this is because the standard medical therapies that their clinicians have prescribed for them have been unsuccessful and that they therefore must just “live with it.” These patients frequently feel hopeless and helpless, depressed, anxious, stop attending school, stop playing on teams, and eat poorly.
Dr. Kohen’s experience indicates that medical hypnosis can be a very valuable tool for these patients.
* Kohen, D. P. 2011. Chronic daily headache: helping adolescents help themselves with self-hypnosis. Am J Clin Hypn 54:32-46.
37-year-old Woman with Chronic Migraines Story
In my early thirties, I began to suffer from chronic migraines. I would have at least 1 bad attack per week along with daily head pain. There was not much that would prevent my severe attacks, and I would have to cancel my plans, lay in bed in the dark, and not be able to parent my 2 small children. It really was awful and debilitating.
I started seeing a Pain Management doctor at Stanford and went through a series of triptan medication to help with my attacks but between my constant intake of Advil to now the triptan medication, I felt like I was always taking something for the pain. I would often suffer through the pain with an ice pack wrapped around my head just so I could take a break from the medication.
The beginning of 2021, I switched general doctors and it was then that my new doctor recommended I try hypnosis with Dr. Lazarus. I’ll be honest. At first, I was extremely skeptical. My doctor pushed me to try it and seeing as I had nothing to lose, and nothing else seemed to be helping my chronic pain, I decided to give it a go.
Dr. Lazarus is kind, patient and caring. He truly cares about his patients and only has one goal in mind – helping heal your pain and to manage the pain severity. He does not do hypnosis in the tv sensationalized way – where he swings a watch, and you are hypnotized, and then you are magically healed, or acting like a chicken. He has a unique way of teaching his patients how to self-hypnotize, using personalized experiences of his patients. It is almost akin to a deep, personalized meditation whereby you get into a trance of whole-body calmness. With only a series of 5 sessions, I can happily say that my migraine pain level has decreased by at least 50%, and that I no longer experience severe attacks where I am paralyzed by the pain. I still listen to my hypnosis sessions which Dr. Lazarus records, and the best part is, that I can use my self-hypnosis techniques throughout the day to keep me calm and help tackle the many ups and downs of life. I would recommend anyone with chronic pain meet with Dr. Lazarus for medical hypnosis.