Say What!! Hypnotherapy Works, Especially with Pain Relief

One of the biggest growing tools within the mental health field is HYPNOTHERAPY.  A question I am most often asked is, “Is hypnotherapy for real?” The answer is yes.  However, like every other therapy or medication, every person will respond differently.  Some people may need to receive more sessions and others not as much.  One of the myths below discuss the myth of people either being able to be hypnotized or not. People must dedicate themselves to hypnotherapy and have an open mind so that the hypnotherapist can assist in re-wiring the brain to stop the negative behavior.  Others will go into a hypnotherapy thinking negatively and decrease their suggestibility.

Suggestibility is defined as follows “: the quality or state of being susceptible especially lack of ability to resist some extraneous agent (such as a pathogen or drug): sensitivity. 2a: a susceptible temperament or constitution. b susceptibilities plural: feelings, sensibilities.  Specifically, when the hypnotherapist suggests alternatives to prevent weight gain, increase weight loss, reduce pain or quit smoking, the person has become adamant into not believing which will directly affect the positive results of hypnotherapy.

Even through stage hypnotherapist and TV shows have given hypnotherapy a bad image and “rap sheet,” the effectiveness of the practice of hypnotherapy is promising and effective.  A growing body of scientific research supports hypnotherapy benefits in treating a wide range of conditions, specifically pain, depression, anxiety, and phobias.  The most recent non-biased research has confirmed how effective hypnotherapy has been in reducing pain and went further to discuss how hypnotherapy has been used within in surgeries over anesthesia.  Of course, we are talking minor surgeries and nothing catastrophic.

As a non-biased mental health professional, I have seen success using hypnotherapy with weight loss, anxiety, depression, pain reduction, and sleep apnea.  The research is still inconclusive about hypnotherapy with smoking cessation.  With some people it is extremely effective and others hypnotherapy does not work.  Variables in the effectiveness of hypnotherapy with smoke cessation can be many such as: not listening to the tape three times a day, not attending hypnotherapy sessions, follow through and sometimes the nicotine has such a biological effect that it may result in a mixture of some type of smoking patch and hypnotherapy.

What I have learned in my 25 years of practice, not everyone is the same and each person has a different reaction to hypnotherapy and any other therapeutic intervention. There are many myths, through the years that I have had to assist in defeating.  These are a few myths about hypnotherapy.

1. That hypnotherapy produces an unusual state of consciousness or trance associated with loss of willpower and self-control. The tv shows and other stage acts are just that “acts”.  There are a small 0.02 percent that may not recall every detail regarding their hypnotherapy experience, but hypnotherapy takes an alert client to work effectively.
2. Hypnosis is not a quick fix for weight loss, anxiety, smoke cessation, self-love, sleep and so forth. As any other treatment, it takes work from the client and follow through.
3. “Hypnosis is not helpful for everyone; nor is it a quick fix. However, previous research has found hypnosis to be beneficial in the treatment of numerous health conditions: Pain, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), obesity, psychosomatic conditions, chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting, and others (Psychology Today).”
4. Hypnosis is not a stand alone intervention-Hypnosis is often used as an adjunct to other techniques, like medications, psychodynamic therapy, and especially cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
5. One is either hypnotizable or not hypnotizable at all. Positive response to hypnotic suggestions is often called hypnotizability, which some assume is an “unvarying ‘trance’ state with universally shared properties that is either present or absent.” That is not true. For instance, even those with a high degree of hypnotic suggestibility respond to some suggestions but not others.
6. “Hypnotic and non-hypnotic suggestibility are fundamentally different. The tendency to respond to suggestions (i.e. to experience one’s responses as involuntary) is called suggestibility. Trance is not required for response to a type of suggestion called imaginative suggestion (used in hypnosis). This means hypnotic and non-hypnotic suggestibility are not significantly different (Psychology Today).

These are just a few of about 30 myths of hypnotherapy.  The bottom line is that people fear hypnotherapy and it merely is a state of deep relaxation/meditation and you will be aware.  The deep state of relaxation allows your mind to become uncluttered and the ability for rational thoughts (suggestions by hypnotherapist) to be openly considered while under a calm biological response.

People often ask if online Hypnotherapy is possible and if it's effective. The simple answer is yes. It is possible, and it is just as effective as in-person Hypnotherapy. Almost all hypnosis tools and techniques can also be used online via video technology, like Zoom. Rest assured that hypnosis works over the phone as well as it does in person. Clients might even feel more comfortable over the phone since no one can see them or judge them for whatever they might ask of you. As with any hypnosis session, make sure the client is alert after the session is over.

MYTH: Hypnosis is like sleep. Fact: The hypnotized person is an active participant who remains responsive and aware of his or her surroundings. MYTH: It is possible to be hypnotized against your will. Fact: Anyone who actively resists attempts to induce hypnosis cannot be hypnotized.  What this means is if you want to prove a point, then you won’t be hypnotized.  However, by doing this, the only person you hurt is yourself!