Hypnotherapy is not mind control or brainwashing, as some people think. It cannot make a persons do something dangerous or embarrassing. In fact, it highlights the power of the mind to bring about positive behaviour and help heal the body.

What is hypnotism?

In simplest terms, hypnotism is an artificially induced sleep-like condition in which an individual is in a high state of concentration and extremely responsive to suggestions made by a hypnotist. In other words, you are put in a suggestible, open state where your subconscious mind is willing to accept new thoughts as a reality.

How is one hypnotised?

A hypnotic state can be induced by a wide variety of techniques ranging from simple verbal suggestions to an eye fascination method such as being asked to concentrate on a moving object.

Benefits

While in a relaxed hypnotic state, you become more receptive to suggestion, such as the reduction of pain. While in this state, you can also be more receptive to recalling earlier life events that might have had a traumatic impact. For instance, a hypnotherapist can regress someone to where he had almost been strangled by his mother’s umbilical cord at birth. Symptoms that resulted from this experience, such as asthma-like symptoms, can disappear after hypnotherapy.

Hypnotherapy is also used to treat conditions such as depression, multiple personality disorder, anxiety, bi-polar disorder, concentration problems, impotence, anorexia, insomnia, panic attacks, fear of flying, stress and neuroses. It is also often used to help people to stop smoking or lose weight.

Medical doctors are known to use hypnotherapy to treat a variety of ailments, including allergies, arthritic pain, heart disease, hypertension, nervous tension, headaches, colitis and asthma. It has even been used as an experimental technique in treating cancer.

Some dentists use hypnotism as an optional extra to traditional anaesthetic to help control bleeding and salivation and to help people to relax.

Caution

Qualified hypnotherapists have to undergo comprehensive training at reputable organisations such as the South African Institute of Hypnotism. Beware of unqualified or inexperienced practitioners and those who make what seem to be exaggerated claims. Although hypnotherapy may work faster than many other modalities, it is not a miracle cure. Also, there is a risk that false memories can potentially be created unintentionally by the therapist.

 

Sources

Austin, Valerie. Self-hypnosis. Thorsons, HarperCollins Publishers, London
Karle, Helmut WA. Thorsons Introduction Guide to Hypnotherapy. Thorsons, HarperCollins Publishers, London
Mental health and hypnosis. Retrieved from www.webmd.com

 

(Revised by M van Deventer)