Is hypnotherapy effective at healing depression and anxiety? As someone who used to be a long term sufferer of anxiety, depression and low self-esteem I can confirm first hand the effectiveness of hypnotherapy,

I, John, the founder of Seek A Therapy, tried many different tools on his own healing journey. Counseling, EFT, CBT, reiki, exercise routines, meditation, homeopathy, art therapy, and hypnotherapy. In this article, we explore hypnotherapy and explore what hypnotherapy is and whether it is effective at helping alleviate depression and or anxiety.

As already mentioned I had tried many therapies. I had explored CBT, exercise, citalopram tablets, EFT, breathing exercises, meditation, traveling and more!

All of these techniques eased the tension but they did not allow me to deal with my past hurts and disappointments. The feelings and thoughts that stayed with me like a shadow over my shoulders. They were maybe quietened but never dealt with and so progress was never made.

After suffering for many years with depression and anxiety it could be said that negatively, emotionally charged, experiences can cause other problems to occur in our present moment.

Learned Patterns Of Behaviour

To continue living, we sometimes put memories and moments to the back of our minds (literally, within our subconscious). This allows us to continue living as able as possible but not in peace. In order to have a state of peace we really need to deal with the disappointments and hurts we have experienced. These hurt experiences become learned patterns of behavior and can cause further illness if not dealt with. Some of these pains, in some instances, have been buried so far down in our subconscious that we have totally forgotten about them!




Is Hypnotherapy Effective? It Can Delve Into Past Experiences That You Are Holding Onto

is hypnotherapy effective. A picture of a woman asleep

We all go through difficult times in life, sometimes these experiences are traumatic but we don’t realise it at the time. Past life experiences can have a detrimental effect on our well being in the present.

We either keep thinking about the moment in time when we made a bad decision or we can create unhealthy patterns of behavior that have helped us deal with an uncomfortable memory. If undealt with it can keep us from moving forward and living a fulfilling life.

Under hypnosis, Hypnotherapists believe that they can help you reveal past pains and experiences, experiences you may have forgotten about. Looking into these times can allow you the opportunity to heal from them.

By going under hypnosis you are activating your subconscious mind, the place all your life experience is held. Similar to accessing the hard drive of your supercomputer. Your waking life is your computer desktop and all memories are kept deeper in separate folders within your mind.

What Is It Like To Be Under Hypnosis?

When you are put under hypnosis your hypnotist should explain what is about to happen. You will enter a deeply relaxed state that allows you to increase your brain wave frequency and give you an increased sense of peace.

Your brain has four different brain wave states: beta, alpha, theta, and delta. While you are reading this article, you are in the state of beta. You are alert and able to concentrate on this article. The beta state is normal wakening state. Alpha state is a relaxed state. You are able to access creativity and visualization. Theta state is a deeper state of relaxation; this is a common state of hypnosis and meditation.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/026844_hypnosis_brain_consciousness.html##ixzz3TWDCDpC8

Contrary to what people think you NEVER fall asleep or are unconscious. You are not being controlled, you remain fully in control of your mind, your actions and your experience.

Deep Relaxed State

Under hypnosis, you are in a very deep relaxed state, similar to that of when you are asleep. The difference between sleep and meditation is that you are conscious and able to communicate with your therapist.

It is true to say that when in hypnosis your consciousness doesn’t dilute at all. In fact, it is possible to say that your awareness even increases to make you even more aware of your surroundings. Hypnotherapy opens your subconscious so you can access memories that have affected your well being in an area of your waking life.

When I was in hypnosis I felt a sense of relaxation and peace that I had not felt for a while. As the hypnotist guided me through my mind’s eye, experiences of the past and thoughts of the past came to the forefront of my mind. He would ask me questions that would guide me through my hypnosis and memories within my subconscious. Once confronting a memory, I was able to alter the memories and reassess them.

What Was My Hypnosis Experience Like?

When under hypnosis I could see vividly in my mind’s eye situations and times that continued to haunt me to my present day. Things that I had reacted badly to, even as far back as when I was 7. I experienced things that had not gone how I would have wanted in my life.

Yes, it was emotional at times, bringing back past hurts and disappointments, but it helped. It helped me to understand why I thought about certain situations the way I did and it helped me to reduce the pain that came with those thoughts and memories.

Trapped Emotions & Memories Can Lead To More Health Problems

If you don’t deal with your memories and painful emotions that are connected to life experiences it can cause several problems. Common illnesses such as depression, anxiety or being unopen to certain situations.

Hypnosis allows you to, in a controlled environment, release your past hurts. Hypnotherapy will help you begin to find your way to recovery again. You may not realise that what you have experienced in the past has affected you so much as an adult. These experiences can make you unwittingly react to situations in certain ways due to the learned behaviour of the past. Hypnotherapy allows you to change that.

What is The Subconscious?

 …the totality of mental processes of which the individual is not aware unreportable mental activities.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/subconscious

As previously mentioned, I like to use the metaphor that the subconscious mind is a super hard drive. A place to store all the information we process throughout our lives.

Some of these files are stored away so far down in our hard drive they almost become lost. A bit like a hidden trojan virus lurking in the background without our knowledge. The virus, ready to take down the whole computer and steal our important data.

Have you ever experienced doing things without thinking about it such as touch typing? Driving somewhere without realising how you got there? Or you smell a familiar smell that takes you back to a time that links the smell to a period of time in your past?

This is all our subconscious mind in action.

Hypnosis allows you to tap into the subconscious hard drive and allows you to start finding the files that are corrupt. It allows you t activate your anti-virus software. Understand why you feel the way you do in your present situation and begin to eradicate your past thoughts and emotions holding you back.

This might bring up things that you had forgotten about and didn’t realise just how painful it had been to your present. Those memories and emotions MUST be dealt with. Although sometimes painful, once you have solved the problem of the past you can begin to move on and feel a sense of relief.

Is Hypnotherapy Effective At Healing Depression & Anxiety?

Is Hypnotherapy Effective at alleviating the pain of depression and anxiety? Hypnotherapy definitely has its place as a choice to heal when depressed or anxious. For some people that maybe find other therapy isn’t working for them it can be an alternative. Or if a person is unsure of why they are feeling the way they are, hypnotherapy allows you to discover ‘the why’.

Hypnotherapy, unlike antidepressants and other therapies, can get to the core of the issue that is causing a depressive and negative mindset.

That is where I believe Hypnotherapy is one tool that could really help in finding the core root of your emotional and mental anguish. The only cause for concern is the cost of sessions. Hypnotherapy is not a cheap therapy. A person will usually need at least 5 sessions and will cost anything between £500/$750 to £700/$1000 for the privilege.

Have you experienced hypnotherapy? What are your views on it? What else works for you when you were on the road to healing from depression? Please comment below




Leave a Reply

  1. Back to the future day - look to the past to alter your future ⋆ Battle of Mind

    […] Another alternative therapy that might also be even more beneficial is the use of hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy puts your brain into a delta state (the dreamstate, you can learn more about brainwaves in this blog post) and activates the subconscious mind in order to look at the memory in more detail discover things you may have forgotten. Hypnotherapy also gives the opportunity to alter the memory so you can begin to let the pain go and begin to live your life and look to the future rather than the past again ( you can read about hypnotherapy in a previous article written by the founder of BoM and his first hand exper…). […]