yunea Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 This is going to be a little silly I guess...but when I was a believer, especially towards the end of it, I got pretty good at pain management. I could do self-hypnosis and change the pain into a more pleasant sensation, or pray it away. And what now? I am in so much pain right now (ear/tooth/eye/throat and hair base, all on the left side of my head, and painkillers aren't working like they should, I've taken four times the usual dose that I take for bodily pains and it's partly still there) that I honestly miss being able to do that. After all my bad experiences I certainly don't pray (other than the accidental half-thought out of habit), and I generally don't want to even do self-hypnosis. The other day I did it to breathe out a bad, teary mood that I was stuck in for no reason, and it worked perfectly and allowed me to focus on my lecture. I did try that now too, but I couldn't let myself fall into deep enough trance from my own command to manipulate the experience of pain. The bad memories of trance that deep stop it. Sigh. I almost want to call up an xtian friend or energy healer or whatever the heck. I had forgotten how it feels to be in severe pain and know you're alone in it right now, no angels patting your head, no jesuses going to heal you once you've hurt enough to be grateful. Ironically I saw my doctor today for my other health issues, but this pain began after that. If I can't sleep it off, I'll go to the emergency room tomorrow I guess and hope for something that'll knock me out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted March 25, 2015 Super Moderator Share Posted March 25, 2015 Unlike gods, your brain actually exists and it can be used to relieve pain in your body. It's not magic and I do it every day, otherwise I'd be a junkie like Dr. House. Meditation and visualization aren't off the table just because you're rational. I am a certified hypnotist and I know that hypnosis can relieve pain and do many other unbelievable things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellinas Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I see no reason to be shy of deliberately manipulating your own perceptions - particularly if the result is to ease pain. Do what you need to do. There is no admission of weakness or danger of irrationality in this. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymistake Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Whatever happened when you use to pray the effect was caused by your mind. That is still inside you ready to be taped whenever you need it. I've learned to have a high pain tolerance using two basic techniques. First it is important to physically relax your muscles. Tension is a natural response to being injured but tensing a muscle will multiply the pain you feel. So figure out how to relax everything and you will feel less pain. The other technique is in the mind. Choose to want the pain. Wish that the pain were stronger. It's counter intuitive but I have found it to be very effective. If you try to imagine a much greater pain and long for that the pain you are going through now is more bearable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yunea Posted March 26, 2015 Author Share Posted March 26, 2015 Thanks, all! I called the Emergency room (well I'm not sure what it is in English actually...but the area in a hospital for acute cases, and you can call them for mere advice too) and they couldn't take me in today, but tomorrow I will see a dental specialist, because the pain is most likely rooted there. Until then I'll just have to eat a bunch of painkillers and indeed do whatever makes this even a little bit more tolerable. Unlike gods, your brain actually exists and it can be used to relieve pain in your body. It's not magic and I do it every day, otherwise I'd be a junkie like Dr. House. Meditation and visualization aren't off the table just because you're rational. I am a certified hypnotist and I know that hypnosis can relieve pain and do many other unbelievable things. That is true. I also didn't know you were a hypnotist. I am beginning to see how it's very unfortunate that my experiences with hypnosis were what they were - I did get to see how powerful it can be but I also went through some very traumatizing stuff that make me scared to go to the deeper states. I did try self-hypnosis again today, after these encouraging comments here, and I will be trying it more, gently and carefully, because the experience was more positive than it was yesterday. I wish I had access to a sensible, secular, trained hypnotist that could maybe take the fear out of me again. I see no reason to be shy of deliberately manipulating your own perceptions - particularly if the result is to ease pain. Do what you need to do. There is no admission of weakness or danger of irrationality in this. Well, yeah, thinking of that and the severity of this pain, it's true that's I'm not seeking to live outside of reality the way I maybe used to when I was a believer, I just need to survive a while before I can get anything actually done by a doctor, and then I can stop. Whatever happened when you use to pray the effect was caused by your mind. That is still inside you ready to be taped whenever you need it. Very true. I've learned to have a high pain tolerance using two basic techniques. First it is important to physically relax your muscles. Tension is a natural response to being injured but tensing a muscle will multiply the pain you feel. So figure out how to relax everything and you will feel less pain. The other technique is in the mind. Choose to want the pain. Wish that the pain were stronger. It's counter intuitive but I have found it to be very effective. If you try to imagine a much greater pain and long for that the pain you are going through now is more bearable. The relaxing made sense right away, as far as it's possible to relax your face (it was tricky finding a good position for it). I also took in your advice of "wanting" greater pain, and I don't know if it's because you said it so convincingly or what, but it actually does help for little moments at a time. And with facial/dental pain in question, any help is welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymistake Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 The relaxing made sense right away, as far as it's possible to relax your face (it was tricky finding a good position for it). I also took in your advice of "wanting" greater pain, and I don't know if it's because you said it so convincingly or what, but it actually does help for little moments at a time. And with facial/dental pain in question, any help is welcome. It gets better with practice. If you can get a medical pain killer then go with that. But one is not always available and some pain is too great for the pain killer to control. So the other methods make a great back up plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yunea Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 The relaxing made sense right away, as far as it's possible to relax your face (it was tricky finding a good position for it). I also took in your advice of "wanting" greater pain, and I don't know if it's because you said it so convincingly or what, but it actually does help for little moments at a time. And with facial/dental pain in question, any help is welcome. It gets better with practice. If you can get a medical pain killer then go with that. But one is not always available and some pain is too great for the pain killer to control. So the other methods make a great back up plan. Yes, I'm taking Ibuprofen and Paracetamol almost like candy, but I'm still in pain. That's why I posted in the first place. I'll keep practising! Gonna see a doctor today...rarely have I looked forward to it this much!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreeThinkerNZ Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 I'm so glad to hear you are going to see a dentist. If that doesn't help, then maybe ask your doctor to refer you to an appropriate specialist, such as an otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat specialist). Pain that is referred around the face, head, jaw and neck can arise from a dental problem, or temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction (which can be triggered by teeth grinding), sinus problems, migraine, or other less common problems. Ipubrofen is a good painkiller, but remember to always take it with food to reduce the risk of stomach problems and don't exceed the maximum dosage on the packet. Paracetamol (Tylenol in the US) is also good, and it's really important not to exceed the maximum dosage of 4g a day, as it can do liver damage. Ice packs or heat packs may also help. Good luck. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShackledNoMore Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Thanks, all! I called the Emergency room (well I'm not sure what it is in English actually...but the area in a hospital for acute cases, and you can call them for mere advice too) What you describe is indeed called an Emergency Room in English, but at least in America, I don't think that people are turned away because they are too busy, at least in normal circumstances, although they triage, taking the most urgent cases first, so you could wait a crazy long time for a less urgent complaint. Anyway, yes, as others have said, hypnosis can be quite useful, and we're talking the human mind here, not supernatural woo. I think you had a hypnotist that was suspect if it resulted in trauma and becoming afraid of doing it again. Your hypnotist incorporated religion into his/her approach? Sheesh, I can only imagine what a religionist would come up with there, particularly if they were one of the more toxic religionists. Get to your doctor/dentist, avoid charlatans, and enjoy relaxation techniques and hypnosis to the extent you are ready to do so. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yunea Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 I saw the dentist, it was bad but I survived...I had a really bad rot in a tooth root and it was bothering a facial nerve, hence the severity of the pain. I was supposed to just have a quick check today to locate the problem, but it changed into emergency surgery to remove the tooth as it was obvious what had to be done and it would have threatened my health if we'd waited any longer. No laughing gas, certainly not putting me under. It was supposed to be quick routine procedure but it wound up into torture. I used all my visualization techniques I could think of, it helped a lot so I didn't go into full panic when the tooth didn't go numb properly and removing it didn't go as easily as the doctor planned at first and it just kept on taking longer and longer.....i'm just glad it's over. The nerve pain is completely gone now. I must rest and only eat very soft, cold foods for a few days, but just being left with a throbbing sensation in my cheek is like a high after the pain of the last few days. I'm feeling kind of crazy now so my writing is possibly all over the place. Thanks for the support, you fellow ex-c's are so great. <3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeCycle Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 The source of the pain is the brain. Not the injury itself. Pain can be manipulated and it's why there are methods to increase pain, used by "interrogators" to anger you and sadden you before they inflict punishment. It's a science, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator TrueFreedom Posted March 30, 2015 Moderator Share Posted March 30, 2015 Unlike gods, your brain actually exists and it can be used to relieve pain in your body. It's not magic and I do it every day, otherwise I'd be a junkie like Dr. House. Meditation and visualization aren't off the table just because you're rational. I am a certified hypnotist and I know that hypnosis can relieve pain and do many other unbelievable things. Your awesomeness just went up another notch in my book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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