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Are you considering hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy is a form of therapy that is used to recondition the unconscious mind. In most cases, patients seek hypnotherapy in order to refrain from doing or thinking in a certain way. While some might use hypnotherapy to stop smoking or fight addiction, others might use it to manage mental health or weight.

When it comes to attending your first session, it’s only natural to be fearful. After all, this is an incredibly new experience that likely falls outside of your comfort zone.

If you’re thinking of booking a hypnotherapy session, you’re going to want to read this. We’re uncovering seven helpful tips on preparing for your first hypnotherapy session. In reading these tips beforehand, you’re bound to feel all the more comfortable and confident in attending.

1. Conduct Your Research

First and foremost, it’s time to conduct your research!

There’s no denying that attending your first hypnotherapy appointment can be daunting. The best way to alleviate some of these nerves is to learn as much as possible beforehand. Before attending your first session, you want to have a generalized idea as to how it works and what you can expect.

You’ll also want to learn about the potential outcomes of hypnotherapy. This is a great way to manage your expectations and determine whether hypnotherapy is right for you.

It may be helpful to consider watching a video introduction to hypnotherapy prior to your appointment. While each and every session is different, this will at least give you a basic idea of what to expect.

2. Schedule a Phone Consultation Beforehand

Before you move forward with booking an appointment, it’s always best to schedule a phone consultation.

This consultation will take place with the hypnotherapist and you will discuss how the process works and your generalized expectations. If you’re feeling anxious, your hypnotherapist will be able to answer your questions and relieve some of your concerns.

This is a great time to see if you connect with this hypnotherapist. After all, it’s important to feel a sense of trust and ease when partaking in a hypnotherapy appointment.

It’s also important to prepare yourself to speak about your problem areas during this consultation. It’s essential for your hypnotherapist to know what’s bringing you to hypnotherapy in the first place. Assuming the phone consultation goes well, you can move forward in booking an appointment.

3. Prepare Your Mind

After booking your first appointment, it’s likely you’ll have a waiting period before the appointment arrives.

It’s best to use this time to prepare both yourself and your mind beforehand. When you prepare yourself in advance, it’s all the more likely that you’ll be able to get the most out of your session.

If you have never entered a trance-like state before, the thought of doing so can be overwhelming. To help ease your mind, try reading up on the process beforehand. Once you understand how it works, you’ll feel more comfortable when this eventually takes place.

You can also try engaging in deep breathing sessions prior to your appointment. After all, abdominal breathing for 20-30 minutes each day is known to reduce instances of stress and anxiety.

4. Avoid Stimulants and Substances

Prior to your session, it’s important to avoid all substances and stimulants.

While you might normally have a morning coffee, it’s best to avoid this morning ritual on appointment day. The goal is to show up to your session with a clear mind and as little stimulation as possible.

For those battling addiction, it’s imperative that you avoid your substance of choice on that day. Being one hundred percent sober is absolutely mandatory for your session.

5. Be Honest With Your Hypnotherapist

Next, it’s absolutely crucial to be open and honest with your hypnotherapist.

After all, it’s going to be challenging to achieve your desired results if you’re holding back on certain things.

If you’re attending hypnotherapy to help combat extreme stress, be upfront and honest about the details of your struggles. This information is going to help the hypnotherapist understand the extent of your struggles and how to best counteract them.

Remember, your hypnotherapist is not here to judge you. Instead, they’re here to help you and provide solutions to your problem areas. Each and every patient they see is fighting their own personal battle.

6. Be Open and Ready for Change

When it comes to hypnotherapy, it’s important to remind yourself that there are two parties involved.

While it may be the hypnotherapist’s job to lead the session, it doesn’t stop here. Instead, you need to be co-operative and willing to follow wherever the session might take you.

The truth is, hypnotherapy isn’t going to work unless you want it to work. Both your mind and body need to be prepared for change as well as embrace the potential of change.

It’s imperative that you give your sessions your best effort. Remember, it’s only natural to feel fearful at first. But, allow your trust and confidence in your hypnotherapist to reign over your initial fear.

7. Relax!

At the end of the day, do your best to relax.

When your mind is at ease, hypnotherapy can be an incredibly fascinating and enjoyable experience. You’re also bound to get more out of your session if your body and mind are in relaxation mode.

In order to feel relaxed, it’s essential for you to trust your hypnotherapist. You must feel comfortable and confident that they are here to help you.

Hypnotherapy

We’ve all seen hypnotherapy take place in countless Hollywood films.

Of these films, it’s safe to say that the majority portray hypnotherapy in a playful and generally amusing light. One minute a character is being hypnotized with a pocket watch and the next they’re showing up to class in their underwear.

In truth, hypnotherapy is a highly-skilled form of therapy. While it might seem too good to be true at first, hypnotherapy has helped many people. In fact, research has found that 60 to 70 percent of people are considered to be moderately hypnotizable.

So, if you’re preparing for your first hypnotherapy appointment, be sure to use these tips to guide you. The more comfortable and confident you are going into your session, the better your session will be.

Are you ready to get started? If so, click here to book an appointment today.

When you hear someone talking about hypnosis, what comes to mind?

You might be thinking of a magician-like man swinging a pocket watch back-and-forth, trying to convince you to forget who you are or to act like a chicken. This is a common thought for many people, but hypnosis is so much more than that.

Psychologists have been using hypnotherapy for years as clinical practice. It has proven to be particularly therapeutic for treating patients with PTSD.

In this article, we will explore how you can use hypnotherapy for PTSD treatment. Keep reading to learn more.

Understanding PTSD

Before you can understand this type of treatment, you first need to have a good understanding of PTSD.

So what is PTSD? PTSD, also known as post-traumatic stress disorder, can occur in those who have seen or experienced a traumatic event. About 8 million adults in America receive a new PTSD diagnosis every year.

We used to think that only war veterans could have PTSD. We now know that it can occur in people of any race, nationality, culture, and age. During World War I, PTSD was often referred to as “shell shock”, and later “combat fatigue”.

Those who experience PTSD often suffer from other related conditions. These could be anxiety disorders, acute stress disorder, or reactive attachment disorder.

Symptoms

Symptoms of PTSD vary from patient to patient but can include the following:

• Intrusive thoughts
• Reactive symptoms
• Avoiding reminders
• Negative feelings

Intrusive thoughts could be troublesome dreams, involuntary memories, or flashbacks. Flashbacks are often a very serious symptom of PTSD. They can be so vivid that it feels like you’re living through the trauma over and over again.

Reactive symptoms are the quintessential “hypervigilance” that the media associates with PTSD. They involve a direct response to something going on in a person’s surroundings. Violent or angry outbursts, self-destructive tendencies, trouble sleeping, and heightened sensitivity are examples.

There are a lot of things that can trigger symptoms, including smells, colors, sounds, places, or activities. It is common for patients with PTSD to avoid these triggers and reminders whenever they can. This might mean that they skip out on family events or avoid driving on busy roads.

Negative thoughts and feelings can be things like low interest, detachment from others, guilt, lack of trust, or ongoing fear. These might be always present or triggered by stress.

A patient with PTSD may have all or only some of these symptoms. No two people experience the disorder in the exact same way.

Causes

There are a variety of things that can cause PTSD. Any sort of event that is traumatic to the patient can trigger a PTSD response. This could include patients who were not actually experiencing the event but heard about it later from someone else.

Traumatic events could be natural disasters, war, rape, serious accidents, assault, or witnessing the death of a loved one.

Determining the cause of PTSD is crucial for understanding and treating each patient.

Using Hypnotherapy for PTSD

Hypnotherapy for PTSD is often turned to as a last resort when traditional methods don’t seem to help. Therapists use different methods of hypnotherapy depending on the initial traumatic experience and symptoms. Two methods of hypnotherapy are suggestion therapy and patient psychoanalysis.

With suggestion therapy, therapists use a hypnotic state to allow the patient to better respond to suggestions. This method helps patients control symptoms such as nail-biting or aggressive behaviors.

Patient psychoanalysis helps to explore and identify specific factors causing the PTSD. Often times, there are triggers buried in the patient’s unconscious memory. Psychoanalysis helps to determine these factors so you can treat PTSD from its roots.

Another component of hypnotherapy is using a hypnotic state to allow the patient to relive whatever traumatic event is causing the PTSD. This addresses the freeze response, which occurs from the inability to take action during a traumatic event. Think of fight, flight, or freeze.

PTSD can be a result of being stuck in the “freeze” state. Hypnotherapy can help to address these unresolved feelings of helplessness and usher them into conscious awareness.

Case Studies of Hypnotherapy and Mental Health

While hypnotherapy is often a last resort for people, there have been many studies that show it’s effectiveness as a psychological treatment. Here are a few studies:

In 2016, six experiments tested the efficacy of hypnosis based treatments. Results ended in favor of hypnotic treatments, and remain strong after a four-week follow-up and long-term evaluation at 12 months. This study concluded that hypnotherapy was an effective treatment in alleviating PTSD symptoms.

Another study showed that hypnotherapy is an effective modality for treating PTSD related symptoms. The study also concluded that hypnotherapy could speed up the healing process. Therapeutic hypnosis could result in a positive treatment outcome by addressing coping skills, promoting a sense of competency, and working through traumatic memories.

A similar study published in 2016 found that hypnotherapy is a strong candidate for the treatment of PTSD symptoms. The diagnostic criteria for patients in the study were exposure to death, serious injury, or sexual violence. Researchers used both suggestive therapy and psychoanalysis in the study.

Could Hypnotherapy Be Right for You?

If you are one of the millions of adults suffering from PTSD, hypnotherapy could be right for you.

Not only does hypnotherapy allow you the opportunity to relax and focus your mind, but with a skilled therapist, you will be able to revisit the traumatic experience that’s been haunting you. This will help you determine the specifics of the experience that are causing the PTSD, allowing you to address them head-on.

Book an appointment with us today for a free consultation to see if hypnotherapy for PTSD could be right for you.

Depression doesn’t discriminate. It hits people of all ages, races, and ethnicities. More than 300 million people worldwide deal with depression.

Depression ranges from mild to debilitating and can even lead to suicide.

Do you suffer from depression? Have you tried everything without results? Keep reading for information about how hypnosis for depression helps.

Understanding Depression

Depression is more than a sad feeling. It’s a mental illness with serious ramifications. Those with depression may suffer hopelessness, aches, and fatigue on a daily basis.

A person may have racing and uncontrolled thoughts along with anxiety and even physical pain.

If you’ve never suffered from depression, you may wonder why someone can’t “suck it up,” and feel better. A depressed person can’t do that. Depression is more than a bad mood.

Many people suffer from situational depression—depression caused by something that’s happened to them. A job loss, the breakup of a relationship, or the death of a loved one can all cause situational depression.

Most people suffer from situational depression at one time or another. They don’t usually need help to come out of it. But for someone with clinical depression, rebounding is much harder.

Clinical depression also appears to have a genetic component. Siblings and children of someone with a major depressive disorder have a 4-5 times greater risk of depression.

The subconscious mind plays a big role in depression. People with traumatic early-life experiences may have subconscious responses to certain triggers. A trigger is an event or topic that causes emotional discomfort.

Many people weren’t taught good coping mechanisms for stressful events in childhood. So the triggers cause improper coping which can lead to anxiety and depression.

Negative thinking patterns are a common bad habit. It’s a habit that results in anxiety for many people. And anxiety is a close cousin of depression.

Training the Subconscious Mind

Training the subconscious mind helps us to better manage depressive symptoms. The goal is getting to the many underlying causes of depression.

But how do we train the subconscious mind? One way is through hypnosis.

Hypnosis for Depression: How Does It Work?

Hypnosis is a mental state. Its hallmarks are a mind that’s relaxed and hyperfocused. It’s a trance-like state.

During hypnosis, the subconscious mind is more open to suggestion. In this state, your critical conscious mind is quiet. You’re open to different ways of thinking.

How Do You Reach a Hypnotic State?

If you’ve never done it before, it’s best to work with a trained therapist.

Once you learn how to achieve hypnosis, you can do it on your own. But it’s important to learn how first. Most hypnotherapy sessions are about an hour.

The therapist guides you through relaxation techniques designed to put you into hypnosis. Once under hypnosis, discussing difficult emotions and feelings is less stressful.

This is when the trained therapist makes suggestions to your subconscious mind. The therapist might say something like, “You’re now able to control your pain and anxiety. You no longer have negative thoughts that throw you into a depressive episode.”

Hypnotherapy for depression works by getting to the underlying causes. Sometimes there’s more than one root cause for your depression.

Weight Issues

Depression and obesity are closely linked. Obese people have a higher chance of depression. And those with depression are at a higher risk of obesity—higher by as much as 55 percent.

It’s not uncommon for someone who’s depressed to use food as a coping mechanism. The unhealthy coping mechanism leads to weight gain. This, in turn, leads to further depression.

Hypnosis helps retrain the subconscious into better coping mechanisms. It also helps break the automatic patterns that drive unhealthy eating behaviors. Hypnosis can also help root out the trauma, such as physical abuse, that leads to unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Self-Esteem

People with depression often suffer from low self-esteem. Negative thinking patterns often become self-fulfilling prophecies.

Do you engage in lots of negative self-talk? Do you tell yourself you’re not good enough or you’re ugly? That negative self-talk embeds itself into your subconscious mind.

Are you stuck in limiting beliefs about yourself? Do you tell yourself you’ll never get the job, the partner, or other things you want out of life?

During hypnosis, a therapist gives you powerful suggestions. These suggestions help turn negative thinking into positive beliefs. It helps get rid of limiting beliefs about yourself.

Stress and Anxiety

The modern world is a stressful place. You must learn proper coping mechanisms for dealing with outside stressors. Once you do, you’ll navigate life without debilitating anxiety.

Anxiety is the body’s automatic response to stress for a lot of people. But once you learn how to identify what’s happening, you can change it. You can break the negative feedback loop that’s causing anxiety and depression.

Problems Sleeping and Insomnia

Depression and anxiety lead to sleep difficulties and insomnia for many people. Sleep deprivation makes depression and other underlying issues worse.

Hypnosis helps people fall asleep faster and stay in deep sleep longer.

Addiction Issues

Addiction and depression often go together. People with depression search for external ways of managing the condition. Drugs and alcohol numb the mind and may make you feel better for a short while.

But in the long run, addiction is often the result. People with addictions often lose everything, including jobs and families. Hypnotherapy helps reverse the subconscious habits that drive cravings.

Treating and Managing Depression Through Hypnosis

Hypnosis for depression is natural and medication-free. Hypnosis helps train your subconscious mind away from the negative feedback loop.

Depression isn’t your fault and you can’t pull yourself out of it. You need to get to the root of the problem first.

Hypnotherapy helps you identify your underlying issues. Once you know what your issues are, tackling them is easier. Through hypnosis, you’ll learn how to gain control and take back your life.

Are you ready to gain control of your mind? Are you ready to reprogram the negative thinking into positive outcomes? Make an appointment with our trained professionals today!