Anxiety has become one of the most common mental illnesses in today’s day and age and there are several Anxiety Treatment measures available for people suffering from the disorder. However, when the illness reaches a state when simple medication or self-care is not able to treat it, some high order treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure therapy or hypnotherapy can be used. All these are generally used along with counseling.
What is Hypnotherapy?
Unlike our common perception that is developed from movies, hypnotherapy involves much more than sending the person into an unconscious state by staring into someone’s eyes. During a hypnosis session, the body is relaxed and focused. A person is sent into a sleep-like state, but the mind is much more centered and is also more susceptible to suggestion. A person’s attention is so focused when in this state that anything that is going on around the person is temporarily blocked out or ignored and only the guided meditation of the professional is registered but they are only there to guide the mind and do not have any control over the mind of the patient.
Hypnotherapy sessions might be used effectively to:
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- Explore repressed memories, such as abuse
- Instill a desire for healthy habits, such as those that can lead to weight loss
- Help to relax and reprogram an anxious brain
- Understand the ill-effects of addiction like drugs, alcohol, etc.; You may use hypnotherapy to quit smoking.
How is Hypnotherapy used in Anxiety Treatment?
Suppose someone has a phobia of flying. In the hypnotherapy session the therapist provides what is called a “posthypnotic” suggestion regarding the situation. In a dreamlike hypnotic state, the mind is more susceptible to suggestions and this allows the therapist to give suggestions to the patient to be more confident the next time the person is on the plane.
Because of the relaxed state one is in, it is easier to avoid the escalation of the symptoms of anxiety that someone might feel. These symptoms include:
- A feeling of impending doom
- Shortness of breath
- Increased heart rate
- Muscle tension
- Irritability
- Nervous stomach etc.
Hypnotherapy can be used as a complementary anxiety treatment method along with medication and professional therapy depending on the severity of the anxiety. Hypnotherapy allows the body to heal as if it were meditating. The body is relaxed and a safe space for letting out and addressing fears, phobias and anxiety are created.
How Effective is Hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is used in psychotherapy which involves a counsellor to understand and guide the patient through conversation. Certain important things that might be imperative in anxiety treatment that the patient might not want to reveal or does not remember themselves is tried to be uncovered using the process of hypnosis. The hypnotic state allows people to explore painful thoughts, feelings, and memories that their conscious mind might have blocked them from remembering. Furthermore, hypnosis also enables people to perceive some situations, objects or people differently, such as blocking an awareness of pain. There are two ways in which the process can be used which are suggestion therapy and for psychoanalysis.
Is Hypnotherapy Dangerous?
The use of hypnotherapy in anxiety treatment is not considered to be dangerous. The therapist cannot control or brainwash the mind into thinking something that it does not want to think about or doing something that might be embarrassing. It is recommended that a professional and certified therapist only guides one through the process.
“Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.”
– Henry Ward Beecher
Author Bio: Alyssa Moylan is an ordinary woman from Australia, a writer by day and a reader by night. She writes on various topics like home improvement, business, lifestyle, health, travel and fashion. She likes to think of ways on how to solve daily life problems of people. Follow her on Twitter to stay updated.
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