Hypnosis and its Role on Children with Chronic Headaches

Everyone gets headaches. Most often, children fall victim to these sudden attacks as well. Headaches occur when certain sensitive areas of the brain become over-worked or damaged. According to the Mayo Clinic, 90% of children under the age of 18 experience headaches. The headaches might be due to stress, injuries to the head, sickness, or caused by the ingestion of certain foods. Along with all other forms of therapy to treat chronic headaches, studies show that hypnosis therapy has been proven to decrease the number of headaches particularly in children.

If children complain of frequent and/or intense headaches it is important for them to see a doctor to make sure the cause of the headaches is not something serious. Chronic headaches are defined as repeating headaches for at least 15 days in a month for at least three months in a row.

Headaches can be somewhat controlled or prevented by a variety of techniques. It is important for children to have a daily routine that does not add to any stress. A child`s diet is also very important. Sugary and high-fat foods should be replaced with healthy and nutritious foods. Also, many children need a full 8-10 hours of sleep every night.

It can be naturally assumed that an increase in stress can result in more severe and recurring headaches. Another way children can take control of their headaches is by using hypnotherapy or self-hypnosis. By decreasing the level of stress that they experience, through the help of hypnosis, children can decrease the number of headaches that they have. A study appeared in the German journal Forschende Komplementarmedizin (Research in Complementary Medicine) that discussed the use of hypnotherapy to help children with chronic headaches gain control over their headaches.

The study mentioned that children`s headaches are becoming resistant to pain relievers after long periods of use, so the researchers wanted to look into alternative forms of treatment. The study involved two types of treatment. One treatment was hypnosis. Children in the hypnosis group received 5 hypnosis sessions one week apart and were taught how to use self-hypnosis while having a headache. The other two forms of treatment included therapy and talking with a doctor for the same amount of time that the hypnosis sessions took (30 minutes).

The results of the study showed that both forms of treatment were effective in treating the children`s headaches. However, using hypnosis was found to be better in reducing the frequency of headaches. Hypnotherapy also helped reduce the intensity of the headaches the children were experiencing. The children receiving hypnosis also reported feeling more in control of their headaches and their well-being.