Many cancer centers also offer psychological support to their patients, one of which is hypnotherapy. However, proving the effectiveness of hypnosis in controlling cancer complications has contradictory results that require further investigation. The results of a research on acute pain using cold water method and muscle depletion method showed that hypnosis can reduce pain. In hypnosis, people who are more hypnotizable respond more to pain-free suggestions.

In fact, in hypnosis, similar to the attention reversal technique in cognitive behavioral therapy, the person’s attention is diverted from the position of pain to other subjects, and this condition causes the feeling of pain to be perceived in a weaker way. Hypnosis often creates a state that increases attention to internal perceptions and decreases environmental stimuli. For example, when people are hypnotized, they may experience “positive hallucinations” in which they perceive things and events that are not actually there, or “negative hallucinations” in which they perceive things that should normally be perceived. Do not feel.

Because hypnosis can cause painlessness, researchers have been looking for physical neural mechanisms that relieve pain during hypnosis, and the role of releasing endorphins has been significant. In pain-free hypnosis, various techniques are used to reduce the feeling of pain. The success of hypnosis in acute pain suggests that it may also be effective in chronic pain, but more research is needed to confirm this conclusion.

Even if this research is finally done and proves its usefulness, all patients who have completed hypnotherapy courses recommend this course to other patients because they believe that this course is useful, patient-centered and relaxing.