What is Hypnotherapy Used For

18 January 2021

Making a positive contribution to our world always begins with us. If we have to transform the world for the better, we need to get rid of some setbacks.

While most of the things that drag us behind may result from chronic pain, others result from destructive behaviours that we picked along the way. Hypnotherapy is a worthwhile place to start the healing process.

Hypnotherapy is a psychological healing process that utilizes hypnosis to attain the desired results. Hypnosis is derived from the Greek word "Hypnos" which refers to sleep. It is the induction of a passive state of mind with a heightened response to suggestions that promote changes in subconscious behaviours.

Prerequisite for the Therapy

Hypnotherapy will only work if the following conditions are met.

• You are willing to go through hypnosis
• You commit to the process
• You have confidence in the hypnotherapist

What Happens During a Hypnotherapy Session

As a disclaimer, Hypnotherapy should only be administered by a professional hypnotherapist or a trained psychologist. Before engaging a hypnotherapist, confirm that they are registered with Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC).

• You will talk with the therapist and agree on the objective and the appropriate methods to be used.
• He will then lead you into a trance using agreed techniques.
• In the relaxed state, the therapist will use the right method to counter the issue.
• The therapist may encourage you to speak about your initial experience of the issue or behaviour.
• The Hypnotherapist may teach you to use guided imagery and STOP methods when facing your fears.
• The therapist will slowly take you out of the trance.

During the hypnotized state, your mind is focused only on the therapy session. Your mind is so relaxed that you cannot hear someone calling your name. However, you are fully in control of your mind, and you can break the session at will.

Common Technique used in Hypnotherapy

a. Suggestion Therapy

The technique is used mainly for behaviour change. The therapist will suggest positive messages which the patient agrees to follow.

b. Regression Therapy

It is also called analysis in Hypnotherapy. Here the aim is to find the root cause of the behaviour or issue. In the altered state of mind, the therapist helps retrieve memories that lead to fear, anxiety, or trauma. Once it has been identified, psychotherapy is used to treat the condition.

What is Hypnotherapy Used for?

i. Pain Management

When pain persists in the human body for an extended period of up to six months, it is considered chronic pain. The use of Hypnotherapy has been on the rise. Research and studies show hypnosis as an effective method to ease chronic pain compared to other interventions.

Hypnotherapy has proved effective in vomits and nausea associated with chemotherapy. Suggestive therapy in hypnosis helps patients with severe back pains, sickle cell diseases, arthritis and cancer.

Undergoing a hypnotherapy session before surgeries, tooth extraction and childbirth helps ease the pain.

ii. Phobia Treatment

The body uses fear as a survival instinct to keep away from threats and flee from trouble. Nonetheless, when the fear becomes excessive and irrational, it could result in panic attacks and anxiety. At such a stage, the fear becomes a disorder, and it is considered as a phobia.

Phobias result from past traumatic events, acquired responses from early childhood, genetics or substance abuse. Places or animals considered dangerous may lead to aversion. Height and darkness may also result in some form of phobia in some people. Phobia leads to increased heartbeats, dizziness, perspirations, sweating, trembling and stomach upsets.

A hypnotherapist usually tries to find out the original trigger of the phobia. Once established, the therapist will use other methods to assist you in changing the response. Usually, the therapist will gently suggest ways to remain calm when you face the triggers.

iii. Weight Loss

Excessive weight is a health risk and could easily result in heart failure, uncontrolled blood pressure or death. While physical exercise and diet are the best remedies, Hypnotherapy also helps in weight loss.

iv. Boosting Self-esteem

Lack of self-worth generates terrible habits. Depression and anxiety can easily kick in, and you may see yourself as a failure. Lack of self-esteem is attributed to many factors. Reasons may include past failures, lack of purpose, perfectionism, comparison with others or bitterness.

A therapist helps you to regain control over your mind and tune it to speak positive affirmations. The therapist will softly suggest activities that will help you better yourself. He may use questions and messages to unlearn negative beliefs and replace them with a positive mindset.

v. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) is a severe mental disorder caused by witnessing or undergoing a terrible event. PSTD is common in people who have served in the military. Flashbacks of vivid images or events replaying within the mind can cause intense trauma and distress.

People suffering from PSTD are easily irritable at the sight of anything that reminds them of the traumatic event. PSTD could result in reckless and destructive behaviours. There is usually a feeling of guilt, anger and self-blame for what occurred.

Hypnotherapy help patients to understand their helplessness during the occurrence. The program allows veterans to bring back control and how to avoid and counter common triggers. The sessions enable PSTD patients to understand the events that fuel the condition.

vi. Relationship or Work or Family Conflict Resolution

Family conflicts out of sibling rivalry, money issues or neglect can be disturbing. When a colleague, girlfriend or boyfriend betray your trust, it is a painful moment.

Whereas some people can move on, to others, it is a season of mental torture. The hurt from people you care about most or due to a job you hold dear can lead to depression.

Hypnotherapy is vital in helping one to recover from rejection, betrayal and abuse. Hypnosis is used to help you rediscover new strength and move on from the toxic chapter. The therapist helps you to acknowledge that indeed the conflict happened. The therapy will then focus on inner healing and building your confidence once more.

vii. Help to Overcome Grief

Losing a loved one or divorce is not a path that we want to go through. The denial phase is too strong and leads to delusion. The pain is immeasurable, and the world seems to have come to a halt.

Anger and rage easily overwhelm us and depression takes over. To some people, it is never easy to keep up with daily life activities. It is easy to slip into destructive behaviours.

Hypnotherapy helps us accept the situation. During the session, the therapist points us to the best memories that we shared. The therapist tells us about the inner strength that helps us to cope with our situation. The aim is to help us come to the acceptance stage and find joy from within us.

viii. Slow Dementia

Imagine your friend vividly remembering how high school was fun twenty years ago but cannot recall he took breakfast. Or he starts telling you the same story over and over again. Strange, Right? However, he may have dementia.

Dementia is a severe condition where one suffers from multiple underlying illnesses and brain impairment. Some of the common diseases that cause dementia are Alzheimer, Parkinson's disease and vascular dementia. There is a tendency of being forgetful, sluggishness in performing usual routine tasks and low social interactions.

Patients who undergo hypnotherapy show improvements in concentration span, short- term memory and social skills. The therapy sessions boost focus and concentrations in patients.

ix. Treat Skin Diseases

The central nervous system in the human body plays a significant role in the coordination of the body. The skin and the central nervous system are closely linked since both originate from the ectoderm during the embryonic stage.

When experiencing stress and anxiety, the nervous system is disturbed, and the body releases cortisol hormone. High levels of cortisol result in skin inflammation and uncontrollable scratching.

In Hypnotherapy, the mind reduces its focus on the itchiness and relaxes to combat stress. Reduction in stress levels minimizes the release of cortisol. The inflammatory sensation goes away and the dermatological diseases linked with excessive scratching, pain, and anxiety are contained. Some of the common diseases treated using Hypnotherapy include psoriasis, rosacea and acne.

x. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

IBS affects the large intestines causing sharp abdominal pains, cramping, diarrhoea, weight loss, bloating and rectal bleeding. IBS also result in nausea, backaches and difficulties during urination.

The condition is aggravated by stressful events and eating certain foods such as wheat, milk products, carbonated drinks, beans and cabbage.

Stress is associated with signals via the vagus nerve, which leads to gastrointestinal issues. Drastic increased or reduced movements of the gut cause discomforts, which is a result of anxiety or depression.

Emotions of fury, excitement or aggression cause high colon movements while thoughts of despair or happiness lead to low manoeuvres in the colon. There is a direct link between thoughts, emotions and the colon movements.

Hypnotherapy helps to manage and improve the colon movements by addressing the associated emotions. The practitioner uses techniques for stress reduction and helps to solve the gut problems.

xi. Relieve Allergic Responses

The human immune system is made to fight against foreign substances that pose a threat to the body. When a person is exposed to those foreign substances, it produces histamines that lead to an allergic reaction.

Allergens get introduced to the body through food, inhalation or touch. The body's immune system fights back leading to allergic reactions. The allergic reactions may include swelling, running nose, diarrhoea, shortness of breath, uncontrollable sneezes and itchiness.

In hypnosis, the allergies are equated to phobias. The therapist needs to find out the first encounter with allergic reactions. The use of suggestive therapy eases the response towards the allergens. After several sessions, the patient is entirely free, and the body ceases identifying with the allergens as threats.

xii. Management of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

ADHD refers to a mental disorder that is associated with little attention and hyperactive behaviours. People experiencing the condition have no restraint, have a brief attention span and are very moody. Learning disabilities and depression are common characteristics of the disease.

The therapist aims to let the patients believe in themselves. The practitioner then introduces suggestions for problem-solving skills. The effectiveness of the program is in attending frequent sessions.

There is a positive behavioural change that can be observed regarding memory recall and attention to details. The sessions help to reduce the number of activities and improve on sleeping patterns.

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• Hypnotherapy for Stress Management
• The Benefits Of Hypnotherapy
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