What is Hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is the term given to describe the method that therapists use to bring their clients into a state of deep relaxation. Most people use it to heal past traumas, overcome addictions and use weight loss hypnotherapy to help change their bodies! The Oxford Learners dictionary definition is a kind of treatment that uses hypnosis to help with physical or emotional problems.’
People often think of Hypnotherapy as the stereotypical-looking therapist swinging a pocket watch from side to side while repeating the same sentence while they’re in a trance-like state. In this trance state, the patient’s conscious mind becomes less critical and resistant, and the unconscious mind becomes easier to access and therefore penetrate.
The patient is fully awake and aware, but highly responsive to the therapist’s suggestions or instructions. They will then respond to these messages within the subconscious mind and begin adopting the new behaviours when they return to their daily lives.
They can begin to reprogram their mindset through repetition of the instructions from their Hypnotherapist. Think of the process being some kind of Jedi mind trick, that can be used for good intentions!
The History of Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy dates all the way back to the 18th century when the German Physician Franz Mesmer started to hypothesise that he could cure people’s illnesses and ailments by channelling a mysterious force called ‘animal magnetism’ through himself and into his patients. Mesmer was heavily discredited at the time, but without knowing it, he had tapped into the power of suggestion and trace states.
In the 1840s, Scottish surgeon James Braid coined the term “hypnotism” after researching Mesmer’s practices. Braid was not convinced by the term animal magnetism, which is not surprising, and began investigating hypnosis and how it can be implemented in medical practices. Doctors and Physicians began using Hypnosis to treat conditions such as hysteria and nervous disorders.
By the late 1800’s Hypnotherapy was pioneered by one of the world’s most influential psychoanalysts, Sigmund Freud. He would use hypnosis on his patients to try to recover repressed memories from the depths of their subconscious, to gain a greater understanding of themselves. Freud would eventually abandon hypnotherapy to lean greater into his work with talking therapy in order to psychoanalyse his clientele.
Then, in the 20th century, the American psychiatrist Milton Erickson developed hypnotic techniques further, popularising indirect suggestion. Erickson believed that hypnosis could help patients overcome phobias, stop bad habits and reduce pain. He is known as one of the most influential people in hypnotherapy and psychotherapy.
From the 1950s until now, hypnotherapy has become widely accepted, with studies being done into the effectiveness of the techniques involved. It remains a controversial topic within the mainstream, but it is increasingly being recognised as a legitimate method of treatment.
Health Benefits of Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy is mainly used to help people overcome psychological issues, but often this can lead to physical health benefits as well. Not everyone will feel or experience the same effects, so the results can vary from person to person.
We’re going to take a look at the various ways that hypnotherapy & weight loss hypnotherapy can improve people’s physical and mental health:
Reduce Anxiety and Depression
Patients can quickly elevate feelings of anxiety around certain areas of their lives, such as public speaking, socialising or confrontation. They can also feel reduced levels of depression, allowing them to feel certain emotions that they were previously numb to.
This can be used as a method of improving their mental health and is usually best when paired with medication, a healthy diet, self-care and exercise. Hypnotherapy can also be a great way to reduce stress, which can improve many other areas of health.
Help Manage Chronic Pain
The method of hypnosis is designed to help take your focus of attention away from the pain you’re experiencing. Having hypnotherapy can reduce the pain in many chronic conditions, such as arthritis and cancer pain.
Hypnosis can be beneficial for those who have tried all other methods of relieving pain but need another option. People can learn how to self-hypnotise so they can relieve feelings of pain without having to visit their therapist.
Alleviate Symptoms of PTSD and Phobias
There have been many studies into the effectiveness of hypnotherapy in those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Hypnosis allows people to revisit their most painful or traumatic memories and restructure how they perceive them.
It allows them to reframe and understand their inability to change the situation, elevating feelings of shame or guilt that they hold to this day. This is the same for phobias, which are often formed by previous traumatic experiences and are therefore developed into a learned response.
Help Stop Addictions
As hypnotherapy is designed to help rewire thought patterns in your brain, it can be a good way to help overcome certain addictions or obsessive habits. Some addictions can be purely psychological, which hypnotherapy can sometimes help with, but if the addiction is physical, it’s unlikely the hypnosis will have an effect.
Breaking patterns of behaviour is one of the most challenging things to do for anyone, and addictions are often a result of unprocessed trauma. People can be addicted to food, so weight loss hypnotherapy can help make changes to their addictive behaviours.
Food, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and gambling are all extremely common addictions that people suffer from, which are all coping mechanisms for other areas of their psyche they’ve either ignored or are unaware of.
Lower Blood Pressure
People can experience high blood pressure for many reasons, but it’s usually linked to their lifestyle. Those experiencing anxiety, depression and stress are more likely to experience high blood pressure, as blood pressure is inherently linked to our mental state.
Those who undergo hypnotherapy have reported a lowering of blood pressure, which is most notable when they are suffering from high blood pressure, to begin with.
Weight Loss Hypnotherapy
weight loss hypnotherapy targets the subconscious patterns and eating habits to help overcome compulsive eating, eating disorders and unhealthy food choices, which can therefore aid in weight loss. While under hypnosis, the therapist can make suggestions to reduce cravings, control portions, and make healthier choices.
It can work by re-framing how patients think about food and about exercise on a much deeper level and with a greater understanding of how it can impact their health.
Weight loss hypnotherapy is used to create new thought patterns that are positive rather than from a place of fear and desperation.
While not a magic bullet, weight loss hypnotherapy can help you make dietary changes by combating the emotional triggers and ingrained behaviours that often sabotage people’s attempts at weight loss. When combined with lifestyle changes, hypnotherapy techniques can possibly help promote fat loss for some people. But not all, remember!
Dangers & Misconceptions About Hypnotherapy
While most people believe that hypnotherapy enables therapists to control the actions of their patients completely, this isn’t a certainty. There’s little evidence to suggest that hypnotherapy works for everyone. It’s impossible for the data to be consistent across the board, as some are more susceptible to being hypnotised than others.
Think of it like advertising or marketing a product, not everyone who sees a television advert or billboard is going to go and buy that product within the next month, but some will. The data is often mixed, so it’s not clear that hypnotherapy will be successful for everyone.
Hypnotherapy should not be used to treat patients with severe mental health issues or those who require specialised medical care for physical conditions. This should always be done with a medical professional who is trained to treat these specific areas of medical care.
This form of therapy can sometimes lead to the opposite of the desired effects, with some symptoms worsening if the therapy is carried out incorrectly, so it’s always important that if you are having hypnotherapy, you are seeing a professional who is trained by the National Council for Hypnotherapy or has the relevant experience.
Hypnotherapists don’t need to have any qualifications in order to start seeing clients, so we recommend thoroughly vetting them before you begin any sessions.
Future Research
It’s important to note that while hypnotherapy is accepted by most to have its benefits, there is still lot of research that needs to be done. The more research that’s done, the more we can truly understand hypnotherapy and if the effects of it are genuine, consistent and if it’s worth implementing into mainstream therapy or healthcare.
Ask a Pharmacist
Though we don’t offer hypnotherapy, if you are concerned about your health in any other way, then please do make use of e-Surgery’s free-to-use ‘ask-a-pharmacist’ service which puts you in direct conversation with one of our pharmacy team. You shouldn’t have to wait weeks for a GP appointment to gain access to the advice and medications you need.
