When some people think of hypnosis they might think a magician standing on stage swinging a pocket watch and saying “you’re getting sleepy, you’re getting sleepy.”
However, the truth about hypnosis is that it can be a valuable tool used by trained therapists to help patients overcome fears, anxiety, and has been shown to help treat certain illnesses and even alleviate pain.
How Hypnosis Works
Hypnosis helps to put you in a state of deep focus and concentration.
This allows you to use your mind much more powerfully than you normally would. Through the medical use of hypnosis, known as hypnotherapy, the hypnotherapist will put you under an almost trance like state of concentration which opens you up to suggestion and reinforcing positive thoughts and outcomes.
The important point to remember is that while under hypnosis you are always in control.
No one can make you do things or say things that you don’t want to do.
Benefits of Hypnosis
Hypnotherapy has been proven effective in helping sufferers of chronic pain, be it from illnesses such as arthritis or even cancer.
Although there has yet to be any standardization for treatment of pain through hypnotherapy, clearly there’s no arguing with the results. Along with the easing of pain, hypnotherapy has helped insomniacs with none of the side effects that come along with sleeping pills.
And it is also very effective for reducing stress and helping people with anxiety as well.
Hypnosis and Weight Loss
With shows like Oprah reporting on how people have lost weight through hypnosis, now may seem like the right time to try hypnosis for weight loss plan and finally shed those unwanted pounds.
There have been a number of studies done on the effectiveness of hypnotherapy for weight loss.
And though the jury might still be out on how hypnotherapy helps, there definitely seems to be a connection between using hypnosis and actually losing weight. In fact, the Mayo Clinic reports that when included in a health regimen along with a healthy diet and regular exercise hypnotherapy has been shown to be effective.
One way hypnotherapy can assist those struggling to lose weight is by adjusting a person’s expectations, in much the same way they would with anxiety sufferers, and assisting them in gaining a better sense of self control when it comes to meals and replacing cravings for unhealthy, sugary foods with healthier alternatives.
Furthermore, in one study participants who underwent hypnosis shed a significant 9 extra pounds by the end of the study over those that were not hypnotized.
If you are considering hypnosis to assist you in losing weight be sure and look for a licensed hypnotherapist or hypnotist.