Some people love it and swear by its benefits in pain management and managing mental health. Other people are more pessimistic about the process and benefits, some even going as far as believing it can verge on dangerous.
With such a polarising therapy, we spend some time in the following looking into hypnotherapy and hypnosis. Is it therapeutic? It is a load of nonsense?
What is hypnosis?
Hypnosis is believed to have been around since the 1700s, with the name coming into used in the 1800s.
It is guided relaxation. It is intensely focused concentration that means a person can reach a heightened state of awareness. It was originally believed to be a state of sleep.
During hypnosis, the person’s attention is so focused that anything going on around them is either blocked out or ignored for a period of time. It allows the person to solely focus on a very specific set of thoughts or tasks.
What is hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is the use of hypnosis to help people with medical, psychological or behavioural issues or conditions. It can help gain control over behaviours and manage anxiety, stress or pain.
As we mentioned, during hypnotherapy, a person’s attention is focused on a very specific set of thoughts or tasks. Because of this, it can be used to get to the root of a specific issue and resolve it.
How does it work? It’s the suppression of influences from your conscious mind that allows your subconscious mind to have a voice and nerve pathways to re-route. Hypnotherapy works because all physical and mental behaviours link back to nerve transmissions in our brains. These nerve pathways can be altered through deep relaxation.
Can hypnotherapy be therapeutic?
It has been proved to be effective in helping people to cope with stress, trauma and anxiety. Altering the nerve pathways that cause negative reactions in the brain reduces the severity of reactions and their possible recurrence.
Due to the state of deep relaxation that the person is in, stress and anxiety is reduced. Hypnotherapy also helps through allowing the person to see and perceive things differently. It can be used to change perceptions and sensations, by doing this, anxiety and pain can be reduced.
Rewiring nerve pathways through hypnotherapy can also help reverse behavioural and/or addiction issues such as smoking, alcoholism, weight gain or obesity, self-sabotage, the list goes on.
Are there risks associated with hypnotherapy?
Yes, there are. As with any medical or medical based treatment. Documented risks include feeling a little lightheaded from deep relaxation, infrequently a headache or feelings of anxiety, caused by doing something new and unfamiliar. However, while they are possible, they can be minimised, if not avoided with a skilled and experienced therapist.
What are the benefits of hypnotherapy?
In the case of hypnotherapy, the benefits of the treatment far outweigh any risks. Benefits include reduced chronic pain, reduced anxiety and depression, management of phobias and fears, insomnia, just to name a few.
Having a good quality professional is also a must. A skilled and experienced therapist is not only critical to avoiding risks, but also getting the most benefit out of your treatment.
In the right hands, you are completely safe while undertaking hypnotherapy and results can be immediate and powerful!
At Strategies4Life, we specialize in providing the best hypnotherapy in Perth.
Check out our Individual Hypnotherapy Programs, our Corporate Training or our Online Anxiety Workshops.