Finally, you decide that hypnotherapy can bring a resolution to the problem that you’ve been dealing with for a while now. Although you now know that hypnosis is very safe and will be helpful for you, it’s still hard to convince your mind that it’s not what you’ve been seeing in the movies and stage shows all the time. Here are the answers to some of the most asked questions about hypnosis and hypnotherapy that can help you to really understand what you are about to experience.

A couple of weeks ago, I answered the most frequently asked questions about hypnosis and hypnotherapy. However, there are still so many unanswered questions that confuse the minds. In this article, I am answering the most common questions about the efficacy and the reach of hypnosis and hypnotherapy. Let’s get to it!

#1 Is hypnotherapy really effective?

The key findings of hypnotherapy show that it is very effective in various cases. For example, according to the research that was done by the Birmingham IBS Research Group, 10 out of 18 trials indicated significant benefits from hypnotherapy for IBS intervention. Another research that was done with 20 adults showed that hypnotherapy significantly decreased intense arousal state which is highly associated with “fight and flight” response. Moreover, according to the Australian Counseling Research Journal, eleven studies -in areas of analgesia, burn trauma, childbirth, dental procedures, enuresis, fibromyalgia, headaches and migraines, labor, lower back pain, multiple sclerosis, pre & post-operative care, procedural pain in children, psychophysiological immune function, sleep, Vestibulodynia and wound care- showed that hypnotherapy is a safe and clinically effective intervention.

So, the answer to the question is yes, hypnotherapy is very effective in various areas. So why it is still not widely accepted? Although hypnotherapy is proven to be effective, the effectiveness highly depends on the motivation of the person. For instance, think about a pain killer that one might take for headache relief. Chances are, the pain killer will work on almost everyone. It’s chemically designed and perfected for this specific need. On the other hand, when someone decides to use hypnosis for headache relief, they need to be open to hypnosis and also believe in the power of their mind. In other words, hypnosis is effective as long as you are ready for a change!

#2 How does hypnosis work on the brain?

Sigmund Freud called it the subconscious mind and Carl Jung called It the unconscious mind, our hidden part that directs our decisions, actions, and emotions representing about 88% of our total mind power. Every day, we make decisions, we fall in love with people & things, we prefer one to another, and just like that, we think we are in control. However, all these cognitive actions retrieve the answers from somewhere deeper: the subconscious mind.

Although you might think that you consciously made the choice of eating salad for lunch today, the reason why you chose salad over pizza or sandwich is your subconscious mind. We develop our subconscious programming and belief systems until we are about 8 years old. After that, we develop another area that is called the critical mind to protect the subconscious programming. This is why later in life we find ourselves acting just like our parents!

The critical mind is a filter that is active all time and it filters all the new information coming in. If the information doesn’t match with the subconscious programming, the new information doesn’t even make it to the subconscious mind. So, knowing something doesn’t mean that you will change that thing. Think about how many times you learned new valuable information that would benefit your life, but for some reason you didn’t use it at all! Probably it didn’t make it to your subconscious mind.

We use the hypnotic state to bypass the critical mind. The filter opens up and this is when we can actually add new information to our subconscious mind and change the existing old ones. After all, the life that you’ve been living based on what you’ve learned from your parents, social environment, and culture doesn’t have to be your reality!

#3 What does a hypnotherapist do?

A hypnotherapist is a therapist that understands the problem objectively and is also the facilitator that leads your hypnotic journey. A hypnotherapist is a trained facilitator that has therapeutic knowledge as well as a hypnotic experience. Similar to traditional therapy, a hypnotherapist will listen and understand your concerns, emotions, and expectations. Unlike traditional therapy, each hypnotherapy session includes hypnosis in which the hypnotherapist facilitates the journey and helps the person to make sense out of the insights.

#4 Can hypnosis help with anxiety and depression?

Yes, yes, and YES! Hypnotherapy has been found to be an excellent intervention for depression and anxiety in several research articles. For example, according to the Australian Counseling Research Journal, hypnotherapy was used to treat anxiety over a broad range of conditions (with adults and children) including alopecia, asthma, breast cancer, cancer management, dental treatments, emotional distress, medical procedures, phobias, and pregnancy and found a to be effective.

Most often, depression and anxiety can develop together. Anxiety usually triggers the fight-flight response and an over-active fight-flight mechanism may result in depression. Hypnotherapy helps with switching from the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system. During hypnosis, the person is very calm and relaxed. The hypnotic state allows them to release negative emotions and excessive worries.

What I think…

Hypnotherapy has been an unknown field for so many people over the years. Misconceptions around hypnosis and wrong portrayals of hypnotherapy don’t help either. However, hypnotherapy is a great intervention to tap into the subconscious mind. It’s one of the most effective methods of changing your life without waiting to hit rock bottom. It’s one of the rare methods of therapy that enhances a person’s control over his/her mind. There is still one question, and that needs to be answered by you: Are you really ready to let go of your old belief systems?