Hypnotherapy has helped Lisa, from Watertown, MA, in several ways. Initially seeking relief from constant pain, her treatment also helped her in dealing with life-long family issues and weight-control problems. Here is her story:
Prior to meeting Suzanne Kellner-Zinck, I was bedridden for 5 years with daily severe chronic pelvic pain. Now, I have a part-time job and lead a life of higher quality than I ever expected to have again.
There are various theories of pain, but I found an article by Melanie Thernstrom (“Life without Pain” Reader’s Digest, December 2003, pp.128-133) that seemed to explain my situation-
“Pain has traditionally been understood as a symptom of some underlying disease: Treat the illness and the pain takes care of itself. Yet the experience of patients shows that chronic pain often outlives its original causes, worsens over time and takes on a puzzling life of its own…Unlike ordinary or acute pain, which is part of a healthy nervous system, chronic pain resembles a disease, a pathology of the nervous system that produces abnormal changes in the brain…this pain harms the body, unleashing negative hormones like cortisol that adversely affect the immune system.”
This article made sense to me and my situation, for I had run the gamut of doctors and hospitals with little success. I had every gastric test possible and was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. My GYN diagnosed endometriosis and other doctors, various mental illnesses. I had a laporoscopy, a surgical procedure to take out endometriosis, yet I was in worse pain than ever. I went to another hospital and was put on massive doses of Neurontin. This led to side effects similar to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, for which I was given more drugs. I went to Spaulding Pain Clinic, which included treatment with Oxycontin and then a 3 week inpatient program to get off the Oxycontin. I had another laporoscopy, two years after the first, and received some relief, but not enough to allow me to go back to work.
On a scale of 1-10, I was a 10, a physical and emotional wreck. I felt that the pain had become a disease itself and that western medicine did not have the answer. After a lot of research, my husband found Suzanne Kellner-Zinck.
Through hypnosis, Suzanne was able to alter the mind-body connection of the pain. When I began my sessions, I was literally bedridden. When we finished our work, I had a part-time job, was doing household chores and was beginning to exercise. My husband and I even signed up for tango lessons!
I am not saying I am pain free. I am saying I used to be in severe pain every day. Now, I have two weeks of little to no pain 0-3 (on pain scale) and then one week of mild to severe pain (5-8 on pain scale) (the “schedule” due to continued hormonal imbalances.) If you have chronic pain, you will understand that this is a momentous change.
Lisa continued seeing Suzanne for treatment and later reported this breakthrough:
I had developed post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD) living my first 17 years in a very abusive environment. Until I worked with Suzanne , I woke every morning in terror, wondering “Where was he,” and trying to locate my father in the house. This despite the fact that I am now 44 and left parental home at the age of 17! Suzanne successfully cleared my terror. period. it is gone!
Finally, Suzanne received this e-mail an elated Lisa:
“Friday after seeing you, I had to go by my mother’s house to get some things. My father came out and met Jim (my boyfriend) and tried to help. After he shook Jim’s hand goodbye, I HUGGED MY FATHER . . . AND HE HUGGED BACK, after 40 years of never touching him! I bawled my eyes out all the way home. Thank you Suzanne for helping me reach such a resolution. It was incredible.”
Lisa benefitted from hypnotherapy in other ways. The process helped her shed 40 pounds.
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