Hypnosis anyone?

ReenieHJ

I know many people have tried hypnotherapy for different things but does it really work? Is it pretty successful?

My sister wants to try it for sleeping and anxiety/depression. So I was just curious if anyone here has had any experiences they'd like to share. Thanks!

Osiris275

If you're open minded, then yes, it can absolutely work. I went in believing it would never really work and as a result, it didn't. I tried it for my anxiety and sleeping too.

ythannah

I was seeing a counsellor who happened to also be a licensed hypnotherapist so I asked for a session to help with insomnia. No appreciable effect.

AnnPT77

I had good results from hypnotherapy for sleep interruption insomnia, after unsuccessfully trying every other thing I could think of (including being diagnosed with sleep apnea and being correctly treated for that).

It didn't perfect the situation, but improved it very meaningfully.

paperpudding

My husband gave up smoking with hypnotherapy.

Went from smoking at least a packet a day and many failed attempts to give up to literally never having another cigarette again.

robertw486

I worked with a guy that quit smoking after many years with just one session, and he had tried lots of ways to stop.
I've never tried it so no first hand experience myself.


But I wish it worked often and was easy to do. I'd have contractors at my house finishing up a free project or 10, my wife would be serving me up a delicious meal, and I'm sure someone would take car of my cars and clean my guns as volunteers also. I'm sure if it was easy....... well who knows!

penguinmama87

I tried it to have an easier labor after two very long ones. My third on have been much easier, but I have no idea how much the therapy had to do with that, because I was also doing other things. I don't know if you can call it hypno, really, though it marketed itself as that - more like a series of guided audio meditations that I could listen to as I went to sleep.

I figured at worst it would do nothing, so might as well give it a shot.

At some point I read a book about how you could hypnotize *yourself* and that was a fascinating idea. I can't remember the title - I think I picked it up randomly at the library.

33gail33

I'm actually am a hypnotist (or I used to be anyway I am not practicing anymore) so I am biased I guess. My experience with my clients for weight loss and quitting smoking was mostly positive. But my favorite client over the years was for a phobia. The woman had a fear of flying to the point she went catatonic, and her husband flew small planes as a hobby. After her sessions she sent me pictures she took from his plane.

And yes you can hypnotize yourself, my programs always included self hypnosis training to support the work we did during the session.

ETA: for issues like anxiety and depression I would suggest that someone make sure they go to a licensed therapist who also uses hypnosis. I am not a therapist so the scope of my practice was motivational work (weight loss, smoking etc) - it wouldn't be ethical for me to treat depression - but some people do market themselves as hypnotherapists without being actual therapists.

ReenieHJ

Thank you all for your input. I think she'd use the hypnosis primarily to quiet her mind during the night so she can sleep. She's tried so many things and after seeing the dr. a couple days ago, she's just about given up. The best the dr. could suggest was prescriptions for sleep meds., all of which she cannot take due to having glaucoma. I barely survive on less than 5-6 hrs. of sleep a night; I have no idea how she does it on 3-4, night after night.

I'll talk with her more about it and see if there are options within 100 mile radius. Living in a small town we don't have many options.

kshama2001

penguinmama87 wrote: »

I tried it to have an easier labor after two very long ones. My third on have been much easier, but I have no idea how much the therapy had to do with that, because I was also doing other things. I don't know if you can call it hypno, really, though it marketed itself as that - more like a series of guided audio meditations that I could listen to as I went to sleep.

I figured at worst it would do nothing, so might as well give it a shot.

At some point I read a book about how you could hypnotize *yourself* and that was a fascinating idea. I can't remember the title - I think I picked it up randomly at the library.

While at the dentist, I once put myself into a very deep state of relaxation and was completely unaware of the drilling. Unfortunately, I've never been able to do it again. However, I've never tried very hard. It was a little freaky.

AnnPT77

ReenieHJ wrote: »

Thank you all for your input. I think she'd use the hypnosis primarily to quiet her mind during the night so she can sleep. She's tried so many things and after seeing the dr. a couple days ago, she's just about given up. The best the dr. could suggest was prescriptions for sleep meds., all of which she cannot take due to having glaucoma. I barely survive on less than 5-6 hrs. of sleep a night; I have no idea how she does it on 3-4, night after night.

I'll talk with her more about it and see if there are options within 100 mile radius. Living in a small town we don't have many options.

Bear with me for a little background, I have a point.

While I was seeking solutions for my sleep interruption insomnia, I consulted the professional counseling staff at my (large) employer's employee assistance program, looking for help finding a hypnotherapist.

The counselor (psychologist) asked me questions about my insomnia. What I learned in that conversation: The most common type of insomnia is the type where the person either has trouble getting to sleep, or trouble going back to sleep after waking, because their mind just keeps spinning with daily life concerns (or similar) and that thought process prevents sleep. (It sounds like that may be your sister's issue?)

The counselor was very clear that they had found short-course Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) - just a few sessions - to be quite effective in helping people improve sleep, and control that type of insomnia.

She seemed a little disappointed that that was not the type of insomnia I had, because she felt they would've been able to help me at no cost to me. (She did help me find a psychotherapist who used hypnotherapy, and that worked pretty well for me, half a dozen one-hour-ish sessions with recordings to take home for future use, but that was on my own nickel.) At the time, the per-hour pricing was similar to what I'd expect to pay for professional services like credentialed massage therapy, independent good-quality personal training, etc. - less per hour than (say) lawyers.

xrj22

I volunteered to be a demonstration "patient" when a colleague (who did hypnosis professionally) was doing a demonstration and educational presentation. I did not believe in it much and wasn't expecting it to help with anything. I was just going along with it to be helpful to a friend. At that point in my life, I was cheating a lot on my plans for vegetarian and healthy eating. I had him do some hypnotic suggestions about eating healty. He focused on my reasons for wanting to eat differently and my reasons for being a vegetarian. It lasted less than 30 minutes. I was really surprised that it did seem to make a difference. It wasn't life-changing, but I do think there was a reall effect and it lasted for a few weeks. I found it easier to eat the way I planned, and I felt more settled about it; not strugling and tense about it so much. I wasn't focused on weight at the time, and I don't think my weight changed any. Recently, I have been remembering that experience and thinking about seeking out hypnosis again. I think it is definitely in the "might help, can't hurt" category (at least if it is financially feasible).

lx1x

Theo166

ReenieHJ wrote: »

I know many people have tried hypnotherapy for different things but does it really work? Is it pretty successful?

My sister wants to try it for sleeping and anxiety/depression. So I was just curious if anyone here has had any experiences they'd like to share. Thanks!

I think it can help for behavioral change. But sleep/anxiety/depression may have biological components that need to be addressed.

Have seen research that D and B vitamins can help with sleep, which leads to improvements in other areas. see below video, it was interesting.

https://youtu.be/74F22bjBmqE