Children who experience frequent stomach aches can use their imagination to reduce their pain.

Researchers studied 34 American children, aged 6 to 15 years, with functional abdominal pain, which is a persistent pain with no identifiable underlying disease. The children were randomly divided into 2 groups – one group received standard medical care and the other group received eight weeks of guided imagery therapy, which is similar to self-hypnosis. Children who received only standard medical care initially received guided imagery treatment after 2 months. Children were monitored for 6 months after completion of guided imagery treatment.

The audio recordings for the guided imagery therapy consisted of four bi-weekly, 20-minute sessions and 10-minute daily sessions. The therapy offered the children suggestions and imagery for reducing abdominal discomfort. For example, in one session they were told to imagine a special shiny object melting in their hand. They then placed the hand on their abdomen, spreading warmth and light from the hand into the belly in order to create a protective barrier that prevents anything from irritating the belly.

It was found that the children in the guided imagery group were almost three times more likely to experience improvement in their abdominal pain than those who received standard treatment alone. The benefits of the guided imagery lasted for six months after the end of the sessions.

The above findings indicate that guided imagery treatment in addition to medical care is superior to standard medical care only for the treatment of abdominal pain.