Hypnosis

Overview

Hypnosis is a mental state characterized by concentrated attention, reduced awareness of surroundings, and heightened responsiveness to suggestions. It affects how individuals pay attention to things and peripheral surroundings and how they respond to suggestions or invitations.  Hypnosis is a mind-body tool that serves as an addition to routine treatments like medications and cognitive behavioral therapy. It cultivates the imagination and facilitates the connection between mind and body which can lead to positive emotional and physical well-being. 

Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy is a type of psychological therapy used to treat certain mental and physical ailments using hypnosis and to change certain habits. Sometimes, hypnotherapy is also used to increase the effectiveness of other psychological treatments or pain management. 

Hypnotherapy Uses 

Hypnotherapy can be used to treat conditions like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), insomnia, certain eating disorders, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), backaches, and functional disorders, which may have a significant psychological component. It can also be used to improve memory in brain injury situations. 

It is also helpful to reduce anxiety and pain in medical and surgical procedures and to combat side effects of cancer treatments, anesthetic procedures, burns, dental procedures, pregnancy and childbirth, and menopausal symptoms. Additionally, hypnotherapy also improves warts and other skin conditions and is also effective for individuals who are trying to lose weight and limit or stop smoking.

Contraindications of Hypnotherapy

Conditions like psychosis may worsen when individuals are exposed to hypnotherapy. Hence, it is always advisable to inform the health care professional about the health conditions and medications, if any. 

Hypnotherapy session

Individuals undergoing hypnotherapy are made to sit comfortably and listen to a therapist or a recording for about 10 to 90 minutes. Hypnotic Induction, a procedure to induce hypnosis, is the first step of beginning a session of hypnotherapy. This involves instructions to think of pleasant imagery, counting down, or suggestions for relaxation and deepening. 

• Relaxation: The therapist's slow and soft speaking helps the individual focus and relax. 
• Suggestions: Once the individual is profoundly relaxed or hypnotic, the therapist will start making suggestions or invitations. 
• Coping: Individuals are taught specific cognitive-behavioral coping skills to confront fears. 
• Past exploration: Sometimes, a therapist might make the individual revisit the past. This helps to identify, watch, and resolve the issues of an individual. 

Individuals are generally in control when under hypnosis and need not follow the therapist’s suggestions if they are not comfortable.

Duration of Hypnotherapy session 

The duration of a single session of hypnotherapy depends on the individual, their ability to get induced, and the underlying condition for which they are getting treated. Sometimes therapist suggests individuals work on hypnotherapy at home to reduce the number of sessions (self-hypnotherapy). But if the problem comes back, top-up sessions may be needed. 

Hypnotherapy – How it works

Hypnotherapy techniques explore the problem's origins by creating a state of focused attention and minimizing critical thought. It is a form of top-down regulation where verbal suggestions (top) affect how one thinks and feels (bottom). These verbal suggestions or invitations change activity in relevant areas of the brain. 

With this, individuals get immersed in images that help change unhelpful ideas and associations often formed in childhood and no longer helpful to adult daily life. Hypnotherapy helps one decide which things or situations to pay attention to and which not. 

Previous recordings, web-based applications, and smart-speaker devices are some of the ways hypnosis has been automated to increase access to hypnotic interventions. 

Hypnotherapy effectiveness

Hypnotherapy can be very effective depending on the individual. It helps to get cured of various mental and physical health conditions. It can also be used on oneself, called self-hypnosis, and is taught during hypnotherapy sessions by a therapist. Later, the therapist adapts certain suggestions and measures the progress to provide a fast and effective treatment. Self-hypnosis helps an individual with stress management, insomnia, and performance anxiety. It also helps them to keep themselves away from medications which can disturb their focus. 

If hypnotherapy does not work well for an individual, the therapist suggests other treatment modalities, sometimes along with hypnotherapy. There is a strong inter-individual variability in the effectiveness of hypnotherapy. The Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility is one of the questionnaires that help to understand how well hypnosis works on an individual. 

Benefits of Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy makes an individual aware of the situation or may experience deep relaxation. It breaks the day-to-day concerns and helps increase the focus of an individual. It also lets the unconscious mind focus intensely on the issue, thus calming the individual and making them more receptive to innate fears. 

Side effects of hypnotherapy

There are very few side effects like anxiety, headaches, and drowsiness after a session of hypnotherapy. Therapists evaluate and check for any other side effects while performing hypnotherapy. Sometimes, it can distort memories and decrease the sense of personal control. 

Misconceptions on Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy and stage hypnosis are not the same. Individuals generally remember the events of the session. It will not cause them to forget things or sleep or be unconscious. Nothing can be done against the will of the person. Individuals undergoing hypnotherapy are generally under control. Being induced to hypnosis quickly means one is more intelligent. 

Conclusion 

Hypnotherapy is one of psychological technique that uses hypnosis to focus the mind and increase receptiveness to suggestions. It treats mental and physical health issues. Though effective for many, its success varies between individuals and differs from stage hypnosis. It has minimal risks and has successful outcomes.