Glove Anesthesia Instructions
Guided imagery is a type of mind/body medicine that utilizes personalized mental images to communicate with the body's built in regulatory and healing systems. These include the autonomic nervous system, immune system, endocrine or hormonal system, digestive system, respiratory system, and other so-called “housekeeping” systems that keep us alive.
Guided imagery also allows us to communicate with the entire realm of our unconscious mind -- the "90 percent of the brain" that is normally outside our conscious awareness. Our unconscious is a valuable storehouse of the insights, suggestions, and desires that determine our behavior, and these are often expressed through the subtle symbolism that characterizes our dreams and daydreams.
Most importantly, imagery immediately accesses the autonomic nervous system, and thus, can be used to mobilize and amplify the body's natural healing and pain relieving abilities. To demonstrate how effectively imagery can produce dramatic changes in the body's physiology, close your eyes for a moment and imagine that I have in my hand a big, fresh, plump, juicy, yellow lemon, just picked this morning. Wow. It’s really heavy and full of juice, and I can really smell its fresh lemony tartness?
Now I’m going to take a small knife and carefully cut out a thick, juicy section and hand it to you. In a moment, I’ll ask you to take a big bite into this slice of lemon, so you can fully experience how sour and tart the juice is.
OK. Here you go. Now take a big bite of the lemon slice, and feel the sting of that bitter, sour lemon juice splashing into your mouth, stimulating every taste bud of your tongue so fully that your lips and inner cheeks start to curl . . Swirl this sour lemon juice all around in your mouth for a few seconds more, bathing every taste bud with this tart, acidic juice. . .
OK. There’s no lemon here, but to the extent that you were able to imagine it, your body responded as if it were real. If thinking of a lemon makes you salivate, what happens when you think of yourself as a helpless, hopeless victim of an incurable pain problem? Doesn’t that tell your body, “Why even bother to try?” On the other hand, to the extent that you can imagine yourself healed or free of pain, your body will be encouraged to maximize and optimize its own healing abilities to make this real, too..
We now know that the nervous system manufactures its own pain relieving substances called "endorphins" which are hundreds of times more powerful than our most potent pain relieving drugs. Scientists believe that the endorphins are responsible for the lack of pain that occurs when, for example, a football player breaks his arm but continues to play, unaware of the pain in his arm until after the game. Endorphins may also be responsible for the pain relief that occurs following acupuncture, physical therapy, and other related modalities.
In addition, researchers have found that placebos or "sugar pills" may produce pain relief because they stimulate endorphin release. Although they contain no active ingredients, placebos work because of the patient's positive belief that they will help. In other words, there is abundant scientific evidence which suggests that if you imagine that something can control your pain, your nervous system will release substances that can, in fact, help to do so.
That’s why I created Mind-Controlled Analgesia (MCA), a powerful extension of the basic Conditioned Relaxation exercise. It utilizes three images or pictures associated with the pain experience, for as they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words." And like the lemon, whatever pictures we imagine have tremendous influence upon the regulatory healing systems of the body.
At this point, you need to take a moment to get some paper, pens or pencils, or even colored markers or crayons. If you're into sculpturing, get some clay or other materials. Use whatever media that you feel best expresses the images of pain that have formed in your mind. You’ll find out what they are shortly.
Really, you need to do it right now. Get some supplies that you can use for drawing, and turn your CD player off until you've assembled what you need. Do it now. . . .
Ok. I really mean it. Do you have everything now you need to make three drawings? If not, go get whatever else you need and pause your player. I'll wait.
If you're really ready now, let's get to work. The first drawing I want you to make is one that symbolizes the experience of your pain at its worst. If it’s safe to do so, close your eyes for a moment, and bring to mind a time when your pain was at it’s very worst…. A twenty on a 0 to 10 scale….. Don’t worry, we won’t stay here long, but take a moment to recall one or more times when you felt almost incapacitated by pain…. How it affected you….. and those around you ….. and all the things you were thinking and feeling when your pain was at its very worst. Let yourself really feel it for a moment or two….And as you get in touch with these feelings, invite an image to form that expresses this horrible pain experience. . . .Your pain at its very worst…. Let the image symbolize not only the physical aspects of your pain, but especially the emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions, as well. . .
Many different images or even symbols or people may come to mind, and when a clear image has formed that symbolizes your pain at its worst, open your eyes, and draw a picture that represents it. You don’t have to be an artist, and your drawing can be as simple, abstract, or comprehensive as you want. Take as much time as you need to create this first picture and pause your CD player until you're done. . . I’ll wait for you.
Now that you've completed the picture of your pain at its worst, let that image go, for now, it’s time to draw a second picture that represents your pain at its best. If it’s safe to do so, close your eyes for a moment and recall a time when you were having pain, but you were easily able to handle it…. Maybe an important event of some kind when your pain was intense, but it didn’t seem to stop you from doing what you wanted or needed to do…. The pain just didn’t seem to stop you or affect you so much…. Somehow, this time, it just wasn’t so bad that you couldn’t handle it… Recall how this affected you… and those around you …. And all the things you were thinking and feeling when your pain was at its very best. Let yourself really feel it for a moment or two…. And as you get in touch with these feelings, invite another image to form that represents or symbolizes your pain at its best. . . . Again, incorporating the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual aspects…
When an image becomes clear, open your eyes and draw a second picture that represents or symbolizes your pain at its best….. Your drawing can be as simple, abstract, or comprehensive as you want. Take as much time as you need to create this first picture and pause your CD player until you're done. . . I’ll wait.
Now that you've drawn the first two pictures, let these images go, for the third and last one will be a lot more fun. If it’s safe to do so, close your eyes again and take a few moments to imagine how you'd feel if your pain didn’t bother you at all, and your life was moving forward in exactly the direction you want it to go…. What if you could experience a life free of pain and full of fun, joy, happiness, and pleasure. . . . Take your time, and have some fun creating this scene in your mind’s eye. . . . Make it as vivid and real as you possibly can… How would you feel if you had no pain whatsoever, and if you could totally immerse yourself in all the things you want or need to do….
Don’t waste any thoughts or time grieving that this hasn’t yet happened. Let any of that go, for this is a precious time to imagine being happy, and to fantasize for just a bit how good it would feel to break the chains and be free of pain. Stay with it and work it in your imagination until it makes you smile….
As you get in touch with these more positive, joyful images and feelings, allow an image to form that represents this happy, pain free state. When this image becomes clear, open your eyes and draw the final picture, one that symbolizes your life without pain. Take your time and make your third drawing as vivid and detailed as you can. Turn your CD player off now until you’re done. . . .
After you have finished drawing all three of these pictures, study them very carefully, or even better, memorize them. They will play a important part in learning Mind Controlled Analgesia, for your goal will be to transform your pain experience from that of the first picture to that of the second, and then to that of the third.
By practicing this technique several times, you may be able to use your creative energies to turn off pain in your mind's eye, and simultaneously in your body through increased endorphin release. If you have been practicing Conditioned Relaxation regularly, you may obtain significant relief the very first time you try it. So, make sure you have all three pictures clearly in mind, and when you do, get ready to learn Mind-Controlled Analgesia on Track Two.
Guided imagery also allows us to communicate with the entire realm of our unconscious mind -- the "90 percent of the brain" that is normally outside our conscious awareness. Our unconscious is a valuable storehouse of the insights, suggestions, and desires that determine our behavior, and these are often expressed through the subtle symbolism that characterizes our dreams and daydreams.
Most importantly, imagery immediately accesses the autonomic nervous system, and thus, can be used to mobilize and amplify the body's natural healing and pain relieving abilities. To demonstrate how effectively imagery can produce dramatic changes in the body's physiology, close your eyes for a moment and imagine that I have in my hand a big, fresh, plump, juicy, yellow lemon, just picked this morning. Wow. It’s really heavy and full of juice, and I can really smell its fresh lemony tartness?
Now I’m going to take a small knife and carefully cut out a thick, juicy section and hand it to you. In a moment, I’ll ask you to take a big bite into this slice of lemon, so you can fully experience how sour and tart the juice is.
OK. Here you go. Now take a big bite of the lemon slice, and feel the sting of that bitter, sour lemon juice splashing into your mouth, stimulating every taste bud of your tongue so fully that your lips and inner cheeks start to curl . . Swirl this sour lemon juice all around in your mouth for a few seconds more, bathing every taste bud with this tart, acidic juice. . .
OK. There’s no lemon here, but to the extent that you were able to imagine it, your body responded as if it were real. If thinking of a lemon makes you salivate, what happens when you think of yourself as a helpless, hopeless victim of an incurable pain problem? Doesn’t that tell your body, “Why even bother to try?” On the other hand, to the extent that you can imagine yourself healed or free of pain, your body will be encouraged to maximize and optimize its own healing abilities to make this real, too..
We now know that the nervous system manufactures its own pain relieving substances called "endorphins" which are hundreds of times more powerful than our most potent pain relieving drugs. Scientists believe that the endorphins are responsible for the lack of pain that occurs when, for example, a football player breaks his arm but continues to play, unaware of the pain in his arm until after the game. Endorphins may also be responsible for the pain relief that occurs following acupuncture, physical therapy, and other related modalities.
In addition, researchers have found that placebos or "sugar pills" may produce pain relief because they stimulate endorphin release. Although they contain no active ingredients, placebos work because of the patient's positive belief that they will help. In other words, there is abundant scientific evidence which suggests that if you imagine that something can control your pain, your nervous system will release substances that can, in fact, help to do so.
That’s why I created Mind-Controlled Analgesia (MCA), a powerful extension of the basic Conditioned Relaxation exercise. It utilizes three images or pictures associated with the pain experience, for as they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words." And like the lemon, whatever pictures we imagine have tremendous influence upon the regulatory healing systems of the body.
At this point, you need to take a moment to get some paper, pens or pencils, or even colored markers or crayons. If you're into sculpturing, get some clay or other materials. Use whatever media that you feel best expresses the images of pain that have formed in your mind. You’ll find out what they are shortly.
Really, you need to do it right now. Get some supplies that you can use for drawing, and turn your CD player off until you've assembled what you need. Do it now. . . .
Ok. I really mean it. Do you have everything now you need to make three drawings? If not, go get whatever else you need and pause your player. I'll wait.
If you're really ready now, let's get to work. The first drawing I want you to make is one that symbolizes the experience of your pain at its worst. If it’s safe to do so, close your eyes for a moment, and bring to mind a time when your pain was at it’s very worst…. A twenty on a 0 to 10 scale….. Don’t worry, we won’t stay here long, but take a moment to recall one or more times when you felt almost incapacitated by pain…. How it affected you….. and those around you ….. and all the things you were thinking and feeling when your pain was at its very worst. Let yourself really feel it for a moment or two….And as you get in touch with these feelings, invite an image to form that expresses this horrible pain experience. . . .Your pain at its very worst…. Let the image symbolize not only the physical aspects of your pain, but especially the emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions, as well. . .
Many different images or even symbols or people may come to mind, and when a clear image has formed that symbolizes your pain at its worst, open your eyes, and draw a picture that represents it. You don’t have to be an artist, and your drawing can be as simple, abstract, or comprehensive as you want. Take as much time as you need to create this first picture and pause your CD player until you're done. . . I’ll wait for you.
Now that you've completed the picture of your pain at its worst, let that image go, for now, it’s time to draw a second picture that represents your pain at its best. If it’s safe to do so, close your eyes for a moment and recall a time when you were having pain, but you were easily able to handle it…. Maybe an important event of some kind when your pain was intense, but it didn’t seem to stop you from doing what you wanted or needed to do…. The pain just didn’t seem to stop you or affect you so much…. Somehow, this time, it just wasn’t so bad that you couldn’t handle it… Recall how this affected you… and those around you …. And all the things you were thinking and feeling when your pain was at its very best. Let yourself really feel it for a moment or two…. And as you get in touch with these feelings, invite another image to form that represents or symbolizes your pain at its best. . . . Again, incorporating the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual aspects…
When an image becomes clear, open your eyes and draw a second picture that represents or symbolizes your pain at its best….. Your drawing can be as simple, abstract, or comprehensive as you want. Take as much time as you need to create this first picture and pause your CD player until you're done. . . I’ll wait.
Now that you've drawn the first two pictures, let these images go, for the third and last one will be a lot more fun. If it’s safe to do so, close your eyes again and take a few moments to imagine how you'd feel if your pain didn’t bother you at all, and your life was moving forward in exactly the direction you want it to go…. What if you could experience a life free of pain and full of fun, joy, happiness, and pleasure. . . . Take your time, and have some fun creating this scene in your mind’s eye. . . . Make it as vivid and real as you possibly can… How would you feel if you had no pain whatsoever, and if you could totally immerse yourself in all the things you want or need to do….
Don’t waste any thoughts or time grieving that this hasn’t yet happened. Let any of that go, for this is a precious time to imagine being happy, and to fantasize for just a bit how good it would feel to break the chains and be free of pain. Stay with it and work it in your imagination until it makes you smile….
As you get in touch with these more positive, joyful images and feelings, allow an image to form that represents this happy, pain free state. When this image becomes clear, open your eyes and draw the final picture, one that symbolizes your life without pain. Take your time and make your third drawing as vivid and detailed as you can. Turn your CD player off now until you’re done. . . .
After you have finished drawing all three of these pictures, study them very carefully, or even better, memorize them. They will play a important part in learning Mind Controlled Analgesia, for your goal will be to transform your pain experience from that of the first picture to that of the second, and then to that of the third.
By practicing this technique several times, you may be able to use your creative energies to turn off pain in your mind's eye, and simultaneously in your body through increased endorphin release. If you have been practicing Conditioned Relaxation regularly, you may obtain significant relief the very first time you try it. So, make sure you have all three pictures clearly in mind, and when you do, get ready to learn Mind-Controlled Analgesia on Track Two.
