How Hypnotherapy Helped Jenny Break the Cycle of Chronic UTI Pain
Living with chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) can be exhausting — physically, mentally, and emotionally. For Jenny, the pain wasn’t just something she experienced in her body; it had begun to shape her thoughts, decisions, and future plans.
Jenny was an Accounts Manager working from home, engaged and living with her partner. But ongoing UTI pain and repeated antibiotic use left her feeling stuck in a constant state of fear and vigilance. Eventually, the emotional toll became so heavy that she made the heartbreaking decision to cancel her wedding.
When Jenny found my Facebook post offering hypnotherapy sessions, she was sceptical but hopeful. She wanted to understand whether hypnotherapy could help her stop focusing on pain, reduce the anger she felt towards her body, and break the strong connection between stress, fear, and UTI symptoms.
Chronic UTIs, Stress, and the Nervous System
During our initial consultation, we focused on understanding how chronic pain conditions — including persistent UTIs — are influenced by the nervous system.
Long-term stress increases cortisol, which can weaken the immune response and increase inflammation. When the brain perceives threat, it prioritises survival, keeping the body in a constant fight-or-flight state. For many people with chronic UTIs, this heightened vigilance can maintain symptoms even when infections are being medically treated.
Jenny found this explanation reassuring. Rather than feeling broken, she began to understand that her symptoms made sense in the context of stress, fear, and learned pain pathways. She left the session with a relaxation recording to support nervous system regulation and better sleep.
Shifting Focus Away from Pain
At the beginning of each hypnotherapy session, I ask clients the same question:
“What’s been good since we last spoke?”
For Jenny, this was challenging at first. But slowly, she began to notice small positives — supportive moments with her partner, work successes, social interactions. These moments mattered. Each one helped reduce pain-focused thinking and retrain her brain to recognise safety instead of threat.
Through solution-focused hypnotherapy techniques, Jenny identified small actions that would signal progress to her mind. One of the first was reconnecting with a close friend she had avoided since cancelling her wedding — a step that helped her feel less isolated and more supported.
Hypnotherapy for Chronic Pain and UTIs
As sessions progressed, Jenny noticed meaningful changes:
She attended a work retreat without UTI anxiety
She reduced antibiotic use and experienced improved gut health
She stopped constantly researching UTI symptoms online
She accepted social invitations without fear of flare-ups
By reducing stress and calming her nervous system, her focus naturally shifted away from pain. Hypnotherapy didn’t ask her to ignore symptoms — it helped her body feel safe enough to stop amplifying them.
Our conversations moved from managing UTIs to rebuilding confidence, identity, and enjoyment of life.
Rebuilding Confidence and Trust in the Body
Over time, Jenny reported sleeping better, having more energy, and feeling more emotionally stable. She reduced unnecessary supplements, re-engaged socially, and noticed she was no longer triggered by wedding conversations.
One particularly powerful moment came when she told me she had started looking at wedding images again — something that had previously felt overwhelming and impossible.
This wasn’t about forcing positivity. It was about restoring choice.
Living Well with (and Beyond) Chronic UTIs
By our final sessions, Jenny described feeling calmer, more hopeful, and more in control. She attended social events without monitoring her bladder, enjoyed work without fear, and even began planning future travel.
While she wasn’t completely symptom-free, her relationship with pain had fundamentally changed. She felt confident in her ability to regulate stress, reduce flare-ups, and support her own healing.
Jenny chose to end therapy because she felt equipped — not because she felt “fixed,” but because she trusted herself again.
Final Thoughts on Hypnotherapy for UTIs and Chronic Pain
Jenny’s journey highlights how hypnotherapy can support people living with chronic UTIs by addressing the mind–body connection. When fear, stress, and hyper-vigilance are reduced, the body is often better able to heal.
Later, Jenny shared the following reflection:
“I didn’t realise how many things I was doing that were keeping me symptomatic. Laura’s knowledge of the brain and her ability to explain how it functions made me understand how little changes in my daily life can make big impacts in my physical and mental health. Hypnotherapy helped me change — and I finally feel confident that I will heal.”
If you’re living with chronic UTIs, bladder pain, or ongoing health anxiety, hypnotherapy may help you reduce stress, regain confidence, and reconnect with your life beyond symptoms.
*Details changed to protect privacy