A lot of clients who come to my hypnotherapy business in California are initially apprehensive or even a little scared because they’ve seen hypnosis portrayed as a control tactic — to get people to bark like a dog or dance around like a belly dancer.
I’ve seen “stage hypnosis”, as we professionals refer to those type of hypnotists, and it is even a little surprising to me what people are capable of. I’ve seen people on stage under hypnosis make their bodies as strong as a board so that a person could walk on their chests and straight legs. Yup, I’ve seen it. Just goes to show the power of the mind.
Hypnotherapy for Positive Medical Benefits
The way hypnosis is shown on TV or on big stages makes it seem like it’s just for fun. But, there’s a lot more to hypnosis than entertainment. In fact, hypnotherapy has hundreds of possible benefits for your health and well-being.
Around the world, hypnosis is being used as a psychological treatment and complimentary medical therapy to help people experience changes in their physical symptoms, perceptions, sensations, beliefs, and behaviors.
It’s my observation that much of the illnesses and diseases people seek professional medical advice for are often due to two things; out-of-balance nutrition (poor diet) and inadequate stress management.
As a hypnotherapist I am able to work with the client’s conscious and subconscious minds to promote deep states of relaxation, calmness, peace of mind and overall well-being allowing them to better manage everyday life stress. I work with other professionals when I need to refer a client who needs comprehensive nutritional counseling to address problems with their diet.
Hypnotherapy — which is the form of therapy that uses hypnosis as either a standalone or supplemental treatment — can benefit your health in a variety of ways.
Here are 7 surprising medical issues where hypnotherapy can help:
1. Better Sleep and Insomnia
In many studies into hypnosis’ benefits, it has been suggested that participants who utilized hypnosis to help with insomnia or erratic sleep (waking up repeatedly in the night) reported that they slept better and were able to sleep through the night after being hypnotized.
Scientific research from the University of Zurich had scientists monitoring the brain activity of patients who had hypnosis sessions. The researched found that participants who were receptive to hypnosis spent over 80 percent more time in a “slow-wave sleep” state. The “slow-wave sleep” is the deepest stage of sleep that allows for the greatest restorative potential.
The wellness benefits of restorative sleep are too many to list, but for clients who struggle to fall or stay asleep, the immediate benefits of feeling less sluggish, foggy or needing stimulants like caffeine to get going are huge. Not to mention the long-term benefits on overall health of healthy sleep hygiene.
In addition, unlike other treatments for sleep problems, such as drugs, hypnosis has no adverse side effects.
2. Halts Hot Flashes and Menopausal Symptoms
Hypnosis has also been found to help stop or minimize the effects of hot flashes in various studies and trials.
As a newly certified hypnotherapist, I had a client who, during her first time in the hypnosis chair, began to have a hot flash. I immediately read up on how to help her in future sessions because I could tell the experience was not only physically uncomfortable, there were emotional side effects like embarrassment and feeling uneasy wondering when the next one would strike.
Hot flashes are a sudden and intense (think your body is on fire from the inside!) sense of warmth across the body common in about 4 out of 5 menopausal or post-menopausal women in the United states.
In one study from Baylor University’s Mind-Body Medicine Research Lab, participants found that hypnosis helped their hot flashes by reducing the occurrences by 1/3 to ½ as often.
By helping my hot flash client in as little as two sessions to better understand the cause of her symptoms (a confused hypothalamus gland), she was able to work with her mind. During hypnosis I provided her subconscious mind with suggestions which reduced her hot flashes from 6 – 10 times a day to one or two, plus they were shorter and her night sweats went from 2-3 a night to one a night and sometimes zero. She’s thrilled at these results and expects to see continued benefit from future sessions.
Researchers reported that only hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was more effective at alleviating the symptoms of hot flashes and night sweats and many women refuse HRT because of the health risks.
3. Immune System Response
Working with and influencing your immune system is easier than you might think.
You might be asking yourself, “Is it really possible to influence your immune system?” You’ll be happy to learn it is.
Most people today recognize that stress has a negative impact on our immune system. If you’re living with long term stress you’re more likely to become ill and take longer to recover (from illness or more invasive procedures) than people who have less stressful lives.
In our modern world, stress is expected. Stress management strategies and relaxation protocols can make a significant difference in how healthy your immune system is.
The latest research confirms hypnosis can even boost your immune system.
In a study at Washington State University, a group of volunteers were given hypnotic suggestions specifically to boost their immune systems. Another group received only relaxing suggestions, or no suggestions. Their levels of T- and B-cells (special defense cells) were measured. Those who had received hypnotic suggestions showed significant increases in their levels of protective cells.
Consider this…what makes your heart beat 100,000 times a day without you having to consciously think about it? How is it your kidneys, liver, and pancreas know what to do or when? How does your stomach and digestive system know what to do with the food you put in your body?
Your autonomic nervous system controls of all of your organs so they function without you needing to tell each one what to do and when. Can you imagine how exhausting it would be if you had to spend time on all of those systems each day?
Your autonomic nervous system is controlled by your subconscious mind. In hypnosis, we are gaining direct access to work with and empower your subconscious mind to help you work with your immune system to boost its effectiveness.
Hypnosis is also a powerful tool to manage everyday stress and anxiety. Because you’re better able to handle everyday stresses and situations, your immune system gains strength and helps to protect vulnerable parts of your body.
When we are relaxed the brain produces endorphins to help restore hormone balance, regulate the nervous system, and promote a healthy immune system.
4. Alleviate Anxiety
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America, reports that 18 million or nearly 20% of Americans experience anxiety disorders. That is so sad and to me it appears to be rapidly increasing as I survey friends and clients alike.
Thankfully, hypnosis can help with anxiety, too. This speaks to the incredible power hypnosis has over our minds. I’ve found that a client’s expectation of whether hypnosis will benefit them or not will have an effect on their results. So, if you believe hypnosis can help you…it can. If you don’t, then look for something you can believe in.
In my hypnotherapy studies at HMI College, I also learned of the powerful negative effects low blood sugar and poor diet have on many anxiety sufferers.
While hypnosis has major benefits in terms of helping clients experience relaxation and ease, which relieves their physiological symptoms, the biggest bang for the buck is when a client is willing to look at their diet and make changes that magnify the results of the hypnosis sessions. In this way, as a therapist I’m able to work in partnership with you to have long-term results in alleviating anxiety from your everyday life.
balance, regulate the nervous system, and promote a healthy immune system.
5. Infertility
Yes, it’s true, hypnotherapy could help you conceive.
Approximately 6.1 million women in the United States struggle to conceive and for many women it can take a year or more after they start trying to get pregnant. For some, it’s painfully longer.
When we plan to start a family and getting pregnant doesn’t come easily, it’s common to feel stressed and anxious with our wandering monkey mind that creates all sorts of reasons and drives women to Google searching for “why am I not getting pregnant?!”
The trouble is the more frustrated, stressed or anxious you become about getting pregnant, the stress hormones your body releases can create a catch-22 keeping you from conceiving as quickly. It’s like your body needs you to be calm and ready to take on the responsibility you’re asking for before it will allow the process to take place.
Hypnotherapy can be an excellent alternative or additive treatment to use to help you feel at ease about conceiving, especially if it’s your first child.
Hypnosis can help you be more at ease, relaxed and manage everyday stress better. This keeps the body from releasing the hormones adrenaline and cortisol into the body. Too much of these hormones can make it difficult to conceive as they interfere with the part of your brain that controls other hormones.
Mom-to-be isn’t the only one who can benefit from hypnotherapy. The stress of infertility can reduce Dad’s testosterone levels and semen quality making the whole process even harder on both of you.
Hypnotherapy can help with fertility issues by helping both mom and dad (to be) feel calmer, relaxed and more in control, and therefore reducing stress and anxiety.
6. Seasonal and Food Allergies
Hypnosis is a very powerful treatment (with no side effects) in the battle against environmental and food allergies.
Spring-time allergies such as hay fever is caused by an over-reaction or allergic reaction to pollen. Hay fever (like any allergy) is an overreaction of the immune system. The immune system wrongly determines the pollen as a threat and produces a big unnecessary response.
Therapeutic hypnosis techniques can help you in three primary ways:
- Relieving the stress related to allergies and allergic reactions.
- Educating the immune system about friendly and non-friendly environmental chemicals or substances and using the subconscious mind to restore the body’s sense of biochemical safety.
- Stopping the body from overreacting to toxins and allergic reactions to certain foods.
7. Parkinson’s Disease
My step father has had Parkinson’s for more than 10 years and his symptoms are mostly manageable and don’t seem to interfere with his life to a great degree. However, for many people suffering from Parkinson’s, stress can add to the intensity of tremors.
With Parkinson’s the more you have stress, the more you tremble and the more you tremble the more stressed you become and the more you tremble. Sort of trapped in a loop within the confines of a body and mind not working in harmony.
If you suffer from Parkinson’s disease don’t lose hope. Hypnotherapy could make a difference.
As your confidence weakens when the body seems to be out of control and you lose steam to help yourself, some people can withdraw inward and stop going out in public. For many, the loss of human connection has far-reaching effects on your emotional wellbeing, so consider hypnosis to help you regain your old lifestyle.
Hypnosis can help you relax around your shakes. It teaches you to relax into them. Through brain training and hypnosis, clients can learn to retrain their brain to reduce the shaking. Hypnotherapy can actually help people exert a degree of control over their symptoms.
Hypnotherapy can also help you regain your confidence to get back out into the world and enjoy being with people again. For clients who have difficulty walking, they can learn to retrain their brain and body, plus boost their confidence around walking so they’re not focusing on their shakiness or trembling.
While hypnosis can’t cure Parkinson’s, it’s valuable in helping patients regain control over their bodily symptoms and therefore their joy in life.
Hypnosis Has So Many Positive Benefits
Now you know just 7 of the surprising medically related benefits of hypnosis.
It’s clear there’s much more to hypnosis than fun or entertainment.
There are mental, emotional and spiritual benefits in addition to a bounty of health benefits to the relaxing hypnosis sessions.
Are you interested in learning more about the benefits of hypnosis? Get in touch with us today to schedule your complimentary 20 minute consultation.