Hypnosis Vs Hypnotherapy

You might presume that hypnosis involves a psychiatrist waving a pocket watch in front of a patient, saying, ‘You’re getting very sleepy.’ Old movies and television often portray hypnotists or hypnotherapists as brainwashing their subjects, forcing them to do things they don’t wish to do. Obviously, this is not true.

Whether you are trying to overcome an addiction, phobia, or anxiety, hypnotherapy can come to your rescue. Weight loss, addictions, and pain management can all be treated with hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy is a natural and safe way of aiding in the treatment of numerous psychological conditions and can even help to bring relief to certain medical disorders and illnesses such as IBS, migraines, asthma and high blood pressure.

To understand hypnotherapy, you first need to become familiar with the concept of ‘Hypnosis.’ Hypnosis is a trance-like state in which you have heightened focus and increases suggestibility. Trance can be described as a relaxed state of mind that most of us have encountered from time to time without even realizing it, an example would be daydreaming only to realise you have missed part of a conversation. A hypnotic trance can be induced by repetition of words and guided imagery used by the therapist that allow for total body and mind relaxation. Usually, you feel calm and at ease when you are in a hypnotic state, hypnosis bypasses the critical analytical conscious mind allowing for positive suggestions to be accepted.

At the basic level hypnotherapy is a combination of hypnosis and therapy and is used to improve mental health and wellness or a physical condition, such as chronic pain or high blood pressure. In short, hypnotherapy treats a symptom, disease, or addiction by using hypnosis as an aid for psychotherapy. The hypnosis allows the subconscious mind to recall memories, events or hidden resources while blocking out conscious analytical thought, at all times you are awake, participating and are able to remember.

In more specific terms, hypnosis forms part of the hypnotherapy, which is a type of psychotherapy. Therefore, hypnosis may be used during a psychotherapy as a means of relaxing a client allowing them to enter a receptive state where suggestions are accepted to bring about change.

Hypnotherapy is extremely successful in treating trauma-related issues, the Hypnotherapist can explore the past, buried emotions, and false conclusions hidden in the subconscious mind allowing you to be the observer rather than reliving the event. In this way it is possible to treat some of the most debilitating and persistent mental health challenges encountered. A ‘memory chip’ within the subconscious allows a hypnotherapist to trace back past experiences and emotions that may have led you to adopt behaviors that are no longer healthy or useful such as in the case of fears and phobias.

For instance, Angelica fears spiders, a condition known as arachnophobia. She wishes to be free of the fear as it negatively impacts her life, she is unable to enjoy a family picnic or tend her vegetable garden. During Angelica’s hypnosis, the hypnotherapist suggests that spiders are friendly and helpful as they kill other insects and pests that might destroy her vegetables and replaces the negative thoughts with more positive aspects of spiders. Angelica is more accepting of her hypnotherapist’s positive suggestions about spiders while in a hypnotic state.

These days hypnosis and hypnotherapy is successfully used as a safe and natural treatment for mental health issues such as reducing anxiety, depression, trauma, behavioral issues, OCD and for aiding in physical pain relief, quitting smoking, addictions, insomnia and weight management.

Links and References:-

1. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/hypnotherapy
2. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/hypnosis/about/pac-20394405
3. https://web.wellness-institute.org/blog/bid/256330/what-is-the-difference-between-hypnosis-and-hypnotherapy
4. https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-hypnotherapy-definition-benefits.html
5. https://www.therapytribe.com/therapy/what-is-hypnotherapy/