Hypnosis is frequently used in movies as a means of control, such as to persuade individuals to commit crimes or fall in love. Hypnotists are sometimes thought of as bizarre magicians who put subjects on a stage and make them shiver at the mention of the word “horse.”
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There’s more to hypnosis than meets the eye, despite the impression given by media portrayals that it’s only for amusement. Hypnosis actually has positive effects on your health and wellbeing.
Hypnosis is a psychological treatment used in medicine that can help you undergo changes in feelings, perceptions, ideas, or actions. According to Alison T. Grant, MD, “it’s done in a clinical setting and performed by a trained, licensed healthcare professional, like a psychologist or physician.”
During a hypnotic session, the patient may be given recommendations for relaxation, serenity, and general well-being; however, they may also be reactivated at a later time. Typical methods use verbal cues to induce a trance-like condition or directions to focus on positive memories.
There are several ways that hypnotherapy, a type of therapy that employs hypnosis as an additional or stand-alone treatment, might improve your health.
Hypnosis can be used to treat the following six frequent health issues:
1. Difficulties falling asleep, insomnia, and sleepwalking
If you suffer from sleepwalking or have trouble falling and staying asleep, hypnosis could be a useful technique. Hypnosis can help you relax enough to fall asleep more quickly if you struggle with insomnia.
Hypnosis can also help you prevent sleepwalking mishaps if you have trouble waking up when you feel your feet contact the ground.
Hypnosis can also be used to improve your sleep quality if that’s all you’re looking to achieve. You may sleep longer and spend more of it in deep sleep, which is the kind of sleep you need to wake up feeling rejuvenated, by learning self-hypnosis techniques.
How it works: When you are immersed in a book or movie to the point that you lose consciousness of your surroundings, you are thrown into a trance-like condition by verbal signals. You’ll go to sleep either during or after hypnosis.
2. Nervousness
Hypnosis is one relaxation technique that can help reduce anxiety. When someone’s anxiety is caused by a long-term medical condition, such heart disease, rather than a broad anxiety disorder, hypnosis is typically more beneficial.
If you experience a phobia, which is a form of anxiety condition in which you have a severe fear of something that is not really dangerous, hypnosis could also be able to assist.
How it works: By using a word or nonverbal signal to trigger your body’s natural relaxation response, hypnosis can reduce anxiety by slowing breathing, reducing blood pressure, and fostering a general feeling of well-being.
3. Signs of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Clinical trials have repeatedly demonstrated the efficacy of hypnosis on IBS. IBS causes pain in your abdomen that is caused by your bowels, and hypnotherapy can assist with symptoms including bloating, diarrhea, and constipation.
According to Dr. Grant, “IBS can occasionally result in secondary symptoms, such as nausea, exhaustion, backaches, and urological issues.” These have also been demonstrated to be helped by hypnosis.
How it works: You are guided through a gradual relaxation technique via hypnosis, which offers calming images and sensations to help you manage your symptoms.
4. Persistent Pain
Pain from headaches or migraines, as well as pain following surgery, can be relieved by hypnosis. Additionally, it helps with persistent discomfort. Hypnosis may provide comfort for persons with lower-back pain as well as pain associated with illnesses including fibromyalgia, cancer, sickle cell disease, and arthritis.
How it works: You may learn better self-control over your discomfort and learn coping mechanisms using hypnosis. Studies also show that hypnosis is an effective way to do this for extended periods of time.
5. Giving Up Smoking
“Ceasing to smoke is not simple. There are several strategies to assist you in quitting, including prescription drugs and nicotine patches. Many patients have reported that hypnosis has helped them break the habit of smoking, albeit the study is still in the early stages, says Dr. Grant.
The most effective way to use hypnosis to stop smoking is to work one-on-one with a hypnotherapist who can tailor the sessions to fit your schedule.
How it works: You must genuinely desire to stop smoking for hypnosis to be effective in helping you do so. Hypnosis has two modes of operation. The first is to assist you in identifying a beneficial substitute behavior and then nudge your subconscious to adopt that behavior instead of smoking. This might be anything as simple as going for a stroll or chewing some gum. The second is conditioning your subconscious to link smoking to negative emotions, such as a poor aftertaste or an offensive smoke stench.
6. Loss of Weight
Similar to quitting smoking, there aren’t many research that support the usefulness of hypnosis for weight reduction; nonetheless, a few have found that hypnosis can help people lose a little amount of weight (about 6 pounds over the course of 18 months). Hypnotherapy often works best when combined with dietary and exercise modifications.
How it works: Being hypnotized causes you to be extremely concentrated. This increases the likelihood that you’ll pay attention to and act upon advice to modify your behavior, such eating a healthier diet or exercising more, both of which may aid in weight loss.
Do you have questions regarding hypnosis and its potential benefits? Make an appointment at contemporary hypnosis by Alan Currie with a primary care physician.