Does Hypnotherapy Work for Confidence?

02 September 2021

If you struggle with attaining your goals mainly because you think you are not good enough, your confidence and self-esteem are probably low.

Self-esteem is how you assess your worth, which means that if you have high self-esteem, you value yourself highly, and vice versa.

Self-esteem also affects how you see the world. If you have low self-esteem, you will always see things negatively and as if they are directed to you. It increases your chances of getting into bad relationships or ruining the goods ones.

In the wake of social media, it’s very easy to compare yourself with others, not only according to where you are in life but also physically.

Most of the time, you feel like you don't have the right skills, are not slender enough, or not successful enough. Sometimes, it might be one of these thoughts, and sometimes you might feel them all.

On the other hand, self-confidence is viewing yourself with the right skills and abilities to perform different tasks and roles. Without confidence, you will always think everything is too big for you to do.

While being confident and having high self-esteem does not mean that you always expect to succeed all the time, it helps you cope with those failures and not rate your self-worth based on them. It enables you to respect your efforts and learn from your mistakes.

Having low self-esteem and lacking confidence comes from holding onto negative occurrences and failures from your past. That makes you think lesser about yourself, and you always look for a company that reinforces your low expectations and opinions about yourself.

That ends up affecting some or all areas of your life. Some of the things you will experience if you have low self-esteem and lack confidence in yourself include:

• Comparing yourself negatively to others
• Enduring worry and anxiety
• Avoiding changes
• Continuous negative thinking
• Self-criticism
• Always wanting to be in control
• Frustration if things don’t go as you expect
• You take criticism and failure personally
• Avoiding challenges and being afraid to take risks or make decisions
• Negative thinking all the time
• Disturbed sleep, low energy levels, and poor digestion
• Harmful coping mechanisms like smoking, overworking, comfort eating, and excessive drinking

Low self-esteem and lack of confidence are key contributors to depression, eating disorders, uncontrolled and unhealthy weight gain, obsessions, and phobias.

You need to understand that high self-esteem and confidence are the keys to unlocking all your potentials and getting to wherever you want. It also makes you feel happier and content all the time.

It is also important to help cultivate new positive behaviours and changes in different aspects of your life. However, building confidence and improving your self-esteem it’s easier said than done.

Whether your low self-esteem and low confidence are self-inflicted or came about because of other factors, you have a chance to change that. You have all the power.

Hypnosis is one of the most effective ways to reverse the effects of lack of confidence and low self-esteem.

What Is Hypnosis?

Hypnosis is an altered state in which you are both focused and at ease. Your hypnotherapist leads you into the hypnotic trance, in which you are not only relaxed but also highly suggestible. To an observer, you will appear as if you are asleep in the hypnotic state, but you are not asleep.

In that state, you are more receptive to helpful affirmations, suggestions, and ideas than you usually are. You also internalize those ideas, suggestions, and affirmations subconsciously, which is hard to do in a normal awake state.

That way, you get a strong sense of self-esteem and confidence after just a few visits to the hypnotherapist. That is one of the reasons why hypnotherapy is more efficient than normal therapy.

You can also get yourself in a hypnotic state using an app at home. Your hypnotherapist, or app, uses hypnosis techniques such as metaphors, suggestions, affirmations, and visualisations to assist you in getting to the level of self-confidence you want to achieve.

How Does Hypnosis Help Improve Self-Confidence And Self-Esteem?

Your inner voice is your biggest critic, and it is what makes you view yourself negatively and results in negative behaviours. Through hypnosis, your hypnotherapist re-teaches your subconscious and teaches it to be more positive.

Hypnosis works in different ways to help boost your confidence and increase your self-esteem.

It enables you to let go of the things that no longer serve you

To build a new and positive thinking pattern, you need to let go of the old and negative thoughts. However, this is one of the most challenging things to do.

However, with the positive images and affirmations your hypnotherapist instils in your subconscious, you can see yourself in a different light. It also helps you to identify all the negative thoughts better, pulling you back.

It gives you the courage to face your fears

Your fears are challenges, situations, or things you experienced before that trigger negative behaviours and thinking patterns. When you face similar situations, even after a long time, you tend to have the same negative reactions and always avoid them.

Facing your fears is not an easy thing, but it could be the key to unlocking higher self-esteem and more self-confidence. Hypnosis helps you get to the roots of your fears and also enables you to release them.

Eliminating those fears means permanently getting rid of all those negative feelings and thoughts that come with them.

Changes the beliefs you have about yourself

Positive affirmations like “I can do it” or “I am more than this challenge” are some of the most effective things when it comes to increasing your self-confidence and promoting higher self-esteem.

Science has evidence that those affirmations affect your brain and thought system. Hypnosis adds a twist and makes those affirmations more effective because you hear them in the hypnotic state.

In that state, not only are you very suggestive, but the affirmations also get to your subconscious, enabling them to have a faster effect on your behaviour. They also remain there for a longer period than if you heard them in your awake state.

Masks it easier to identify the roots of your insecurities

It's challenging to address and deal with the things that give you low self-esteem and lower your confidence if you don't know what causes them. Dealing with the cause is a permanent solution.

Hypnosis enables you to get deeper into your subconscious, revealing the past events that resulted in low confidence and self-esteem. That way, it will be easier for you to heal from them and move on without denial.

What To Expect During A Hypnotherapist Session

To start your sessions, your hypnotherapist asks you about what you want to achieve after your sessions. They will ask you about what you feel and the bad behaviours you want to work on. That helps them establish the best techniques to use.

They also ask questions about your past experiences and identify the roots of any negative thoughts and feelings you have. The hypnotherapist then explains how hypnotherapy works to boost your confidence and self-esteem to ensure you are both on the same page.

They also inform you about what you should expect throughout the sessions and the approach they will use. If you have any questions, the hypnotherapist will encourage you to ask to ensure you are content.

Once all of you are happy, the sessions begin. To start, the hypnotherapist guides you into a very relaxed state. However, you will not be asleep but will be fully aware of all your surroundings.

After you are in the hypnotic state, the hypnotherapist connects with your subconscious and challenges the limiting beliefs about yourself with suggestive statements and questions.

The statements and questions depend on your circumstances, and they relate to the issues you have and your past experiences.

What To Expect After Hypnotherapy Sessions

The number of sessions you require for hypnosis for confidence depends on your needs and circumstances. However, it is something you have to discuss and agree with your hypnotherapist.

After every session, your hypnotherapist will likely suggest that you listen to the pre-recorded session regularly. That helps reinforce all the suggestions made during the session.

They may also teach you several self-hypnosis techniques you can use at home when you need them. Listening to the pre-recorded sessions and practicing those self-hypnosis techniques are effective ways to continue boosting your confidence outside the hypnotherapist’s office.

Does Hypnotherapy Work To Improve Confidence?

Research shows that hypnotherapy targets the sources of your lack of confidence and low self-esteem like anxiety, traumas, or weight gain. Therefore, it is an effective way and has positive results for your confidence.

How soon you experience the results depends on the source of lack of courage and your attitude. Some people get the results faster and almost immediately. However, others may need to take more sessions, practice the self-hypnosis techniques, and listen to the sessions more frequently.

You need to keep an open mind and not keep anything from your hypnotherapist if you want to see the best results.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does hypnotherapy eliminate unwanted thoughts?

No form of therapy works by removing negative thoughts from your mind. However, hypnotherapy will help you deal with intrusive and repetitive negative thoughts that damage your confidence and self-esteem.

By reaching your subconscious, hypnotherapy reframes your relationship with those negative thoughts and ensures they don’t rule you anymore.

Does hypnotherapy change personality?

Hypnotherapy does not change your personality, and it does not give you more personality traits. What it does is tap into your subconscious and help bring out some personality traits you already had but were too afraid to show.

How can I find a good hypnotherapist?

To find the best hypnotherapist, you need to find one who has sufficient skills and qualifications. You should also ensure that you get along perfectly with your hypnotherapist.

While no laws currently regulate the profession, you can check whether they have the right training from voluntary regulatory bodies. Those bodies also hold the hypnotherapists to a code of ethics, ensuring that they treat you with a high level of professionalism.

You should also ensure your hypnotherapist has the level of training outlines by the National Occupational Standards. Experience is another essential factor you should consider.

• ACCPH - Athol Abrahams
• CNHC Registered - Athol Abrahams

Ask your hypnotherapist how long they have been in the business, how many clients they have attended, and when was their most recent session with a client. You should also ask if they have treated a patient with the exact needs as yours.

Ask them if you can speak to some of their clients to ask for their experience and read customer reviews from their online pages if they have any.

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• Does Hypnotherapy Work for Weight Loss?
• Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy As An Aid To Weight Loss
• The Benefits Of Hypnotherapy
• Hypnotherapy for Stress Management