In the movies, hypnosis is frequently portrayed as a control strategy used, for example, to persuade subjects to commit crimes or fall in love. Hypnotists are frequently viewed as bizarre magicians who put spectators on stage and make them neigh at the mention of “horses.”
The way hypnosis is depicted in the media may give the impression that it is only used for entertainment, yet hypnosis has uses beyond amusement. Hypnosis actually has positive effects on your health and well-being.
Hypnosis can be used as a psychological treatment in the medical field to assist patients in changing their feelings, perceptions, beliefs, or behaviors. A skilled, certified healthcare practitioner, such as a psychologist or a doctor, does it in a clinical setting, according to Alison T. Grant, MD.
Hypnosis frequently contains suggestions to promote tranquility, relaxation, and general well-being. These suggestions may only be active during the session, but the patient may choose to activate them again at a later time. Common strategies include telling you to reflect on pleasant memories or using verbal cues to lull you into a trance-like condition.
Your health can be improved in a number of ways through hypnotherapy, a type of therapy that employs hypnosis as a primary or auxiliary treatment.
Here are six typical health conditions that hypnosis can treat:
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1. Insomnia, difficulty sleeping, and sleepwalking
If you sleepwalk or have trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep, hypnosis can be a useful technique for you. If you struggle with insomnia, hypnosis may help you unwind enough to fall asleep more quickly.
Hypnosetherapie can teach you to wake up when you feel your feet touch the ground if you sleepwalk, which can help you prevent misadventures.
Hypnosis can also help if all you desire is to sleep a little bit better. Learning self-hypnosis techniques can lengthen the time you spend sleeping and in deep sleep, which is the kind of sleep required to wake up feeling rested.
Verbal cues induce a trance-like condition comparable to what you experience when you’re so engrossed in a book or movie that you lose awareness of your surroundings. You’ll nod off after, or even during, hypnosis.
2. Anxiety
Hypnosis is one relaxation technique that has been shown to reduce anxiety. When worry is caused by a long-term medical condition, such heart disease, rather than by a generalized anxiety disorder, hypnosis is frequently more beneficial.
If you suffer from a phobia, a form of anxiety disorder in which you have a strong dread of something that does not constitute a serious threat, hypnosis might be able to assist.
How it works: By urging your body to trigger its natural relaxation response with the use of a phrase or nonverbal signal, hypnosis works to alleviate anxiety by slowing breathing, reducing blood pressure, and fostering a general sense of well-being.
3. Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Clinical investigations have consistently supported the efficacy of hypnosis in treating IBS. Hypnosis can help with symptoms including constipation, diarrhea, and bloating associated with IBS, which is abdominal pain brought on by your bowels.
According to Dr. Grant, “sometimes, IBS can result in secondary symptoms, such as nausea, exhaustion, backache, and urine issues. These issues can also be resolved through hypnosis.
How it works: As you experience progressive relaxation during hypnosis, your symptoms will be reduced by calming images and feelings.
4. Continual Pain
Pain, such as that felt after surgery or from migraines or tension headaches, can be relieved with hypnosis. Additionally, it can lessen chronic discomfort. Hypnosis may be used to treat lower back pain as well as discomfort brought on by illnesses like arthritis, cancer, sickle cell disease, and fibromyalgia.
How it works: Hypnosis can give you more self-control over your suffering and a way to deal with it. Studies also show that hypnosis has the power to maintain this effect over an extended length of time.
5. Giving up smoking
“Stopping smoking is not simple. There are several ways to stop smoking, including nicotine patches and pharmaceutical drugs. Many patients have discovered that hypnosis has assisted them in quitting smoking, despite the lack of conclusive evidence in this area, according to Dr. Grant.
Working one-on-one with a hypnotherapist who can adapt the hypnosis sessions to fit your lifestyle is essential if you want hypnosis for smoking cessation to be effective.
How it works: You must genuinely desire to stop smoking for hypnosis to be effective in helping you do so. One of two ways can hypnosis function. The first step is to assist you in identifying a productive, healthy substitute action, and then to direct your subconscious mind away from smoking and toward that habit. This can involve doing something like chewing gum or going for a walk. The second is to teach your brain that smoking causes unpleasant emotions like a nasty taste in your mouth or a bad odor.
6. Loss of weight
Though some studies have indicated minor weight loss using hypnosis — about 6 pounds over 18 months — there aren’t many research to date that can validate the effectiveness of hypnosis on weight loss, similar to studies on quitting smoking. Hypnotherapy typically works best when combined with dietary and exercise modifications.
Your attention is intensely focused when you are under hypnosis. This increases your propensity to pay attention and act upon advice on behavioral modifications, such as adopting a healthy diet or increasing your physical activity, both of which may aid in weight loss.
