Children can imagine away their pain
Frequent abdominal pain with no explanation is something that effects up to one in five children. Thankfully there could be a far more simple solution than anyone had thought as a child’s vivid imagination means they can simply think away their pain.
Research has shown that children can be taught to tackle their stomach pain with their imagination in a similar way to which they can tackle bed wetting.
The US research shows that a relaxation CD asking children to put themselves into scenario’s such as floating on clouds, has led to a dramatic improvement in their abdominal pain. This technique works particularly well in children because of their fertile imaginations and it prompts the child to imagine things that will reduce their discomfort.
Another example of a scenario which requires the imagination of a child is the one in which they let a special shiny object melt into their hand and then place their hand on their belly, spreading warmth and light from the hand inside the tummy to make a protective barrier inside that prevents anything from irritating the belly
It is not completely clear how the technique works but it is thought that it is partly related to reducing anxiety which in turn effects the pain response. Some researchers have also said they believe the hypnosis like techniques reduce “hypersensitivity” in conditions such as this and irritable bowel syndrome.
Some researchers think hypnosis-like techniques reduce “hypersensitivity” in conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome.
