What is Hypnosis good for?

What is Hypnosis Good For?

There are a lot of people nowadays that endorse hypnosis as a cure-all for something; whether for emotional problems or psychological problems, or even physical health problems. Is it really that good? What is hypnosis good for? For one thing, hypnosis made Dracula popular. His use of hypnosis to seduce women is even deemed as possible – at least in the form of conversational hypnosis. What’s even seemingly less plausible is hypnosis helping someone overcome a health issue like asthma. Blame it on the sales pages that everyone has read that people started believing hypnosis to be a magical thing. It’s not.

How does hypnosis work? Hypnosis works by putting you in a trance and then using the power of suggestion to give you an advantage over your ordeal – whatever it may be. The trance is anything but magical. It’s no different than when you can’t hear your teacher talking because you were busy daydreaming about your crush. It’s no different than not realizing you are driving on the wrong side of the road because you were too distraught about your boss getting mad at you. The trance is nothing more than an intense concentration on a single thought – enough concentration that you shut everything else around you. It is during this trance that the power of suggestion works best.

So how is hypnosis good for physical complications like asthma? It actually isn’t. However, the process of hypnosis involves relaxation. Before the hypnosis session can actually begin, you will need to go through some relaxation techniques. During the hypnotic session, you will even be more relaxed albeit you may not realize it. The relaxation techniques include breathing techniques, which is very effective in controlling asthma attacks. They don’t really alleviate asthma attacks – although some claim otherwise – but the relaxation techniques can prevent exacerbation, which would buy some time for medications to take effect.

How about weight loss? One of the areas where hypnosis shines is helping people lose weight. Most people would just shrug hypnosis off because they think hypnotists “command” the fats to burn. They don’t. Hypnosis is effective because it attacks the source of the problem with weight – the lack of self control. Hypnosis helps in weight loss by instilling the good things about losing weight, and by motivating the “hypnotee” to resist the urge to eat more; along with motivating him or her to exercise regularly, or to be able to follow any weight loss therapy to the letter.

Another area where hypnosis shines best is in smoking cessation – for the same reasons it works well with weight loss. Sometimes, nicotine tablets may not be enough to stop a smoker from puffing on a cigarette – especially since they tend to be more expensive than a pack of cigarettes. This is where hypnosis comes in. Hypnosis can prep the mind of the smoker to resist the urge to smoke, and not lose touch with the ultimate goal of quitting.

Hypnotherapy is good for a lot of things – even depression and other stress related psychological states. One thing you have to understand, though, is that it is best used with others. For instance, a smoker who goes through hypnosis alone may not yield results as fast as when he goes through hypnotherapy and nicotine patches or gums. While hypnosis is effective, it is even more effective when used with other methods.