Hypnosis therapy is a form of treatment that uses focused attention, intense concentration and guided relaxation to achieve a trance, also known as an enhanced state of awareness. When in this state, all your attention is so focused on a particular issue that everything else is ignored or blocked out. The trance is a naturally occurring state that can be achieved by the help of a trained therapist.
Hypnosis is often used to complement counselling because the trance state allows patients to explore painful memories, feelings and thoughts hidden in their subconscious minds.
Hypnotherapy can be used in two ways:
• Suggestion therapy – The trance state enables people to effectively respond to suggestions. Therefore, the therapy helps patients to change certain behaviours such as nail-biting and smoking. It’s also useful in pain treatment.
• Analysis – This method uses the relaxed state to search for potential psychological root causes of symptoms or disorders, including traumatic past events usually hidden in the subconscious memory.
The benefits of hypnosis
The trance state allows a person to be more receptive to suggestions and discussions. The hypnotic state increases the success of other treatments for numerous medical conditions, including:
Smoking cessation (stopping smoking)
Hypnosis is effective in helping people to quit smoking by helping them to think about the vice at a profound level, thus motivating them to stop. Research reveals that hypnotic suggestions enhance a person’s motivation to resist the urge to smoke, which is particularly effective when combined with other types of smoking cessation programs.
Weight control and management
Hypnotherapy enables people to gain control of their eating habits, instead of allowing food cravings to control their lives. Hypnotherapists often use frame control to help a person lose weight. The concept entails leading the patient in any suitable direction where the issue is observed in a more appropriate context.
There are three types of frames:
• Preframe – It sets the scene before a lapse so that the person can zoom in on the root cause
• Reframe – It changes the person’s perception for a circumstance or an event
• Deframe – It makes the person’s objection or viewpoint irrelevant
Pain management
Studies reveal that hypnosis is effective in alleviating chronic and acute pain. The therapy was first used to reduce pain in cancer patients, but it’s now used for several other conditions such as arthritis, surgery anxiety and burns. During treatment, the subconscious mind is turned on and the patient focuses on a single idea or thought, which helps to target and alleviate pain.
Helps to treat sexual dysfunction
Stress is a major factor contributing to numerous health issues, including sexual dysfunction. Hypnotherapy treats this condition by enabling patients to use visualisation, deep breathing and focused awareness. Sexual dysfunction can also be caused by psychological issues such as previous bad experiences, but hypnosis helps a person to get rid of the anxiety, shame or pain that hinders a healthy sex life.
Hypnosis is effective for numerous medical conditions, especially when it’s used with other types of treatment. It’s a real form of therapy, not just a passing craze that will soon fade. The future holds more for this type of non-invasive form of treatment because it has no reported side-effects but numerous benefits.
