Introduction to hypnotherapy
A far cry from the image of a man in dark robes dangling a pocket watch in front of you, hypnotherapy is a credible alternative therapy that’s used in conjunction with other medical treatments to help with various physiological and psychological ailments.
What is hypnotherapy?
As the name suggests, hypnotherapy is a therapy categorised under psychological alternative therapies along with many others like Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), past life regression and self-hypnosis. Basically, this therapy aims at restoring mental stability and balance among individuals undergoing stress and mental trauma by using hypnosis techniques that calm and relax the mind and attempts to bring about a beneficial change both physically and mentally.
When a person is hypnotised, he/she shows some characteristics that are different from the person in their un-hypnotised state and hence it becomes easier to manipulate with the functioning of the patients body.
The fundamentals of hypnotherapy
Unlike psychiatrists, who undertake a number of counselling sessions that try and make you open up yourself, hypnotherapy is designed to let you enter a calm, relaxed state of mind and give suggestions to your more active subconscious mind, altering mind-sets that may have caused harm to your mental stability and boosting self esteem.
Your hypnotherapist may also suggest self hypnosis techniques if you are unsure abut the process. This is helpful as you will probably be more calm and poised after trying your hand at self-hypnosis and getting acquainted about the process.
How does hypnotherapy work?
Hypnotherapy in real life is very different from what you may have seen on TV. There are no stage shows where the hypnotist addresses the audience to do as he says and wakes them up with a snap of the finger from the so-called slumber. Rather, it works by completely relaxing the body and mind. The hypnotherapist may ask you to relax completely and loosen up every single muscle of your body. Following this, he may tell you to visualise going into a very deep meditative state with every single breath. As you are relaxed, your subconscious mind, which is till awake, and probably more alert, accepts suggestions more readily without interference from that part of the mind that has deeply set misconceptions and age-old beliefs.
Suggestions are given according to your healing session and then you are returned to your initial state. Regular sessions like this cause the mind to function in a more positive manner, paving way to you physical and mental health.
Where you can count on hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy is not just limited to solving mental states among individuals who have undergone trauma or have low self-esteem. A large number of women in the US have been using hypnotherapy techniques to make childbirth easier. Also, hypnotherapy has shown miraculous results in curing people suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder.
Using hypnotherapy to get rid of addictions either smoking or excessive alcoholism, is a wise decision. People attempting to lose weight and get the better of stress have shown good results after having hypnotherapy sessions regularly.
Hypnotherapy – what to watch out for
While hypnotherapy is considered a fairly reliable form of alternative therapy, there are certain points that should be kept in mind before trying it out:
Remember to choose only a qualified hypnotherapist and not just anyone who claims to know the techniques.
Hypnotherapy is generally not recommended for people with serious psychological problems.
It’s not a miracle cure that’ll work instantly, so be ready to put in the some time and effort.
One of the biggest drawbacks is that the suggestions from the therapist could create false memories in the person being hypnotised. It’s not, however, a form of mind-control and cannot be used to make a person do something they don’t want to do; unlike what we often see on TV.