You may or may not know what causes it, but pain, intense, excruciating and severe, takes you to the point where nothing else matters. And yet there is no easy way of eliminating pain

HYPNOSIS

• Sit in a comfortable chair. Close your eyes and relax. Lift one foot, let it drop gently; repeat with the other foot and arms. Visualize a repetition.

• Now you are ready to take the plunge into a hypnotic trance. Picture yourself in a place where you are at complete ease with yourself and the world.

• Count one to five and imagine your body sinking down and down into the chair, gradually becoming a thing apart from you. You can now transfer the pain you are feeling to another part of the body or you can consciously feel the pain less, or not feel it at all. You can also tell yourself what to experience or what to do after you come out of hypnosis, using what is called post-hypnotic suggestion.

• Do not; however, be discouraged by a lack of immediate success. The fact that you are using hypnosis means you are tapping the power of your mind in a battle against pain.