Does Hypnosis Work and How Does it Work?

Hypnosis is an excellent form of therapy to help you quit smoking as well as to help you lose weight and overcome any number of life challenges.

It can do everything from help you to build a greater level of confidence in yourself to helping rid you of a debilitating phobia. Before deciding to give this alternative method of treatment a try many people want to know if it actually works and if it does then how it works. Here we tackle these two very important questions.

Does it Work?

Before you can make a determination as to whether or not hypnosis works it is essential to understand what it is all about. Hypnosis is a practice that takes a person out of their conscious mind and moves them into their subconscious mind. Hypnosis is sometimes described in this manner. It “brings a subject into a state of consciousness with reduced peripheral awareness accompanied by strictly focused attention.”

The word hypnosis was coined by James Braid and means “nervous sleep.”

However take note of the fact hypnosis is not really sleep at all. What separates the two are alpha brain waves. These brain waves are very high during hypnosis but are extremely low during sleep. During hypnosis the individual can hear what is going on in the room whereas a sleeping individual cannot hear.

Hypnosis also differs from relaxation and mediation. Meditation has an inner focus whereas hypnosis is geared at the subject focusing on something outside of himself. Hypnosis is a very real practice used to help people combat any number of problems (as previously mentioned) including obesity, depression, phobias, and nicotine addiction.

Other problems it has been known to benefit include stomach disorders, skin conditions, recovery from surgery, childbirth, nausea, impotence and migraine headaches. Delving into the subconscious mind helps peel back the layers to get to the root cause of many problems. Once that is uncovered, a solution for the problem can then be found.

According to the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association hypnosis is effective in treating many personal challenges.

Both associations have seen many cases where hypnosis has helped patients to recover from any number of physical and mental problems. The National Institute of Health points to the fact that pregnant women who have been hypnotized or who have learned to hypnotize themselves have less painful deliveries and tend to be in labor for shorter periods of time than other women.

How Does it Work?

Hypnosis is induced in a subject by placing them into a daydream-like state. The patient’s mind becomes 10 times as concentrated and focused as it would be in a conscious state. At the same time, the body becomes 10 times as calm and relaxed. The two elements need to come together to allow the patient to move into their subconscious mind.

Over the years I’ve seen people for smoking cessation, weight loss, stress reduction, phobias, writer’s block, and helped athletes with their sports performance. Get more information about my private hypnosis sessions in Worcester Massachusetts area here.

Erika Slater, CH
Director
Free At Last Hypnosis
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