In cinema, hypnosis is often depicted as some sort of control tool. People fall in love against their will, commit crimes, get brainwashed. Hypnotists are shown as mesmerists who put people on stage and make them quack like chickens or perform other nonsensical tricks. Even though hypnosis is shown in rather ridiculous ways, making it seem like something simply used for fun, there is in fact a useful therapeutic element to it. Hypnotherapy can be used to benefit you either as a standalone treatment or as a supplemental one when paired with other treatments.

• Insomnia and Sleepwalking

Hypnosis may be a helpful tool if you are sleepwalking or having trouble falling asleep. If you are suffering from insomnia, then hypnosis may be the best way to relax and get you in the mood to hit the pillow. Hypnosis may be a very helpful tool if you’re having issues with sleepwalking, staying asleep or falling from your bed. If you have insomnia issues, the treatment can also help you enter a relaxed state so you can sleep more soundly.

If you happen to be a sleepwalker, then you should know that hypnosis can train you to wake up as soon as you’re out of bed, making you avoid the dangers of sleepwalking. You can be put in a trance-like state with verbal cues, something similar to the feeling of being so involved in a movie, a book or something else that you lose track of what happens around you. After hypnosis, you can easily fall asleep.

• Dealing with Anxiety

Relaxation techniques, such as hypnosis may sometimes ease anxiety. Hypnosis is often most effective with people whose anxiety comes from a chronic health condition. This is far more often the case than with people who suffer from a generalised anxiety disorder. Hypnosis may also be able to help with phobias, anxiety disorders where people have intense fears of something that doesn’t ordinarily pose a threat. Hypnosis works to help with anxiety by encouraging the body to activate the natural relaxation response, through the use of nonverbal cues, lowering of blood pressure, slower breathing and an overall sense of well-being. 

• Irritable Bowel Syndrome

The effectiveness of hypnotherapy on IBS is being supported by clinical studies. IBS is an abdominal pain experienced in your bowels, but hypnosis can help alleviate symptoms such as diarrhoea, bloating and constipation among other things. Hypnosis will work through progressive relaxation, providing you with sensations and imagery that soothes the symptoms you’re experiencing.

• Chronic Pain

Hypnosis can also help with pain, especially one that is experienced after surgery, migraines or tension headaches. It can help with chronic pain as well. Conditions like cancer, fibromyalgia, sickle cell disease, arthritis and more can experience relief through the use of hypnosis as well. The treatment can help you cope with pain, getting more self-control over how you deal with it. Studies have shown that hypnosis can help for long periods. 

• You Can Quit Smoking

The use of hypnosis to quit smoking can work best with a one-on-one session with a hypnotherapist. They can help you organise the hypnosis sessions around your lifestyle, so you can address the issue. For hypnosis to work, you need to want to quit smoking. That works in two ways. The first step is to find a healthy, effective replacement for the act of smoking, then you can guide your subconscious into forming that habit and replacing smoking that way. This may be something as simple as chewing gum or any other activity. The second is to help train your mind to connect smoking to unpleasant feelings like a foul smell or bad taste in your mouth. 

© Zoe Clews & Associates