Hypnotherapy is a punchline in popular culture. A pair of eyes quickly glaze over as they fall into a trance after a strange doctor swings a pocket watch right in front of their face. In reality, though, the next wellness trend is hypnotherapy.
Science shows that hypnosis offers some surprisingly significant benefits for a person’s health. But what is hypnotherapy in the first place? That’s what you’re going to learn here in this post. Of course, you’ll also learn how the practice may benefit your health and wellness. So, read on to discover more.
How Does Hypnotherapy Work?
In hypnosis, you’re focusing your attention inward as the technique brings you into an entirely new state of consciousness. As a result, you become more open to suggestions and less aware of the things around you. Think of it as being inducted into a deep meditation.
When hypnotized, you’ll experience hypnotic suggestions like they were occurring in reality. You’ll find it easier to replicate relaxation or reduce anxiety on your own when fully awake because hypnosis teaches your brain and body to consciously transition into those states.
Health And Wellness Benefits Of Hypnosis
Can hypnosis improve health and wellness? Science says it can. Below are some of the health and wellness benefits you may get from hypnosis.
Kick Bad Habits Away
There’s evidence that being hypnotized can help someone quit smoking, drinking, and other bad habits. It makes sense because the technique allows you to be more open to suggestions than usual.
A hypnotherapy session is conducted by a hypnotherapist who will suggest negative connotations with the bad habit you want to get rid of, all while you’re in a hypnotized state with increased suggestibility. The therapist may talk about having an excessively dry mouth after puffing a cigarette to deter the smoker from the urge to smoke again next time, as explained by WebMD.
Hypnosis could be the ticket you’ve been looking for if you have a vice that you can’t quit.
Lose Weight
Many people search for effective products or methods for weight loss. However, most of them overlook hypnotherapy. Hypnosis may actually be even better than the traditional methods used to lose weight, as it helps to change habits that lead to weight gain, like overeating.
In a study from 2017, a small group of obese people underwent hypnotherapy combined with dietary modifications, and they didn’t just successfully lose weight, they also managed to keep it off.
Italian scientists in another experiment also used hypnotherapy on overweight women. They found that the subjects’ overall eating habits, body-mass index, and weight significantly improved.
It would make sense to use hypnosis for weight loss since it helps adjust a person’s attitude or frame of mind. However, it’s also essential to take note that hypnotherapy is a method that helps individuals overcome mental barriers that prevent them from losing weight. It isn’t and will never be a replacement for proper diet and exercise.
Cope With Anxiety And Stress
Highly anxious people are a good candidate for hypnotherapy. That’s because they’re already utilizing their imagination to think about the future, although negatively. A crucial part of hypnosis is, of course, asking a person to imagine the future. However, they have to do it with less worry and more confidence this time. Simply saying, they’ll think of what’s ahead, but in a positive way.
Hypnotherapy also works for stress, which isn’t really surprising because anxiety and stress go hand in hand. Hypnosis for one hour a week for eight weeks can reduce a person’s stress levels by around 40%. That’s what Baylor University scientists in Texas found in their research. It supports the idea that hypnosis is handy in stress management strategies.
Treat Or Curb Chronic Pain
Hypnotherapy can help in chronic pain treatment, according to WebMD. Pain is processed in the brain, so using a mental therapy like hypnosis to change how one perceives pain and how they react to it may indeed be helpful.
Improve Depression Symptoms
With hypnotherapy being successfully used in patients with anxiety, it’s not a surprise that it may also benefit patients who are also suffering from depression.
University of Hartford researchers analyzed ten scientific studies and 13 clinical trials on depression and hypnosis. They found out that individuals suffering from the condition who underwent hypnotherapy improved their symptoms more significantly than those who didn’t receive at least one session. That only means one thing: hypnosis for depression works.
Promote Healthy Sleep
It’s understandable why hypnotherapy might help with insomnia, given that relaxation under hypnosis is almost like sleeping. A person’s brain can be trained to develop more restful nighttime sleep patterns through hypnotic suggestions.
Final Thoughts
Hypnotherapy is a relatively inexpensive but effective method for addressing health and wellness issues. That’s because any problem we face in life has behavioral, emotional, and mental components. Anyone can achieve a more balanced, healthier, and happier life once the issues in both the subconscious and unconscious mind have been eliminated or managed.