How Does Hypnosis Therapy Work

The term hypnosis stems from the Greek word hypnos, meaning sleep. Hypnosis Therapy or Hypnotherapy employs several techniques that create a feeling of deep relaxation in patients, which then leads to an altered state of consciousness known as a trance. Therapists use hypnosis techniques to open a gateway into the mind, where they can actually influence folks on how to change their embedded behaviors.

While it has not been proven beyond reasonable doubt, a number of patients have reported the use of hypnosis sessions to quit smoking, lose weight, overcome obstacles in their marriage and find a sense of empowerment.

In a hypnotherapy session, the patient's body relaxes, blood pressure decreases, heart rate decreases, oxygenation of the blood increases and brain wave activity may be altered. By contrast, the mind becomes more attentive, more focused and more awake. While patients are in this deep concentration, they are more in touch with their emotional side, the left and right brain hemispheres are communicating better, mental gatekeepers open up and they are highly responsive to suggestion. A patient may be given a list of reasons to stop smoking or convinced to eat smaller portions. Perhaps a series of coping mechanisms can be directed into the subconscious realm to help a person calm down and overcome anxiety, anger disorders, stress or depression.

Hypnosis therapy is used to treat a wide host of ailments, both mental and physical. Most recently, researchers discovered that the mind plays an important role in pain management, particularly with cancer patients or those undergoing surgery.

Studies show that hypnosis meditation can lessen one's need for medication and shorten recovery time. Thinking negative thoughts can lead to stress, which has powerful ramifications on the body. It can disrupt a woman's menstrual cycle, create a cold sore, make a person ill with a cold, disrupt sleep patterns, generate ulcers, facilitate hair loss, exacerbate psoriasis, lead to heart disease and contribute to obesity.

Nowadays, hypnosis sessions are used in treating obesity, asthma, anxiety, pain, sleep walking, thumb sucking, nail biting, smoking, inflammatory bowel disease, insomnia, addiction, warts, bedwetting, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, eczema, psoriasis, acne, migraines, stress, tinnitus, cancer pain, obesity, anorexia, bulimia, indigestion, phobias, depression and the pain of childbirth.

The problem with hypnosis therapy is that not everybody is susceptible to hypnotic suggestion. The subject must be an open-minded, willing participant who pledges to remain attentive, suspend disbelief and go along with what the therapist is saying. A common misconception is that hypnotists can mesmerize somebody against his or her will, plant suggestions and cause the subject to act against his or her free will. The process itself is mysterious, although there must be a certain level of agreeableness before healing can occur.