When I tell people what I do for a living, I often get asked whether hypnosis really does work, or if it’s just smoke, mirrors and sham. While I understand that some people struggle to imagine that you can radically change someone’s thought patterns, improve their willpower or make a really positive difference to their outlook and determination to achieve just by talking to them, it’s true.
Hypnosis Has a History of Success
Hypnosis has a really strong history of success, dating right back to when it was first developed as a healing technique in the early eighteenth century. Franz Mesmer is credited with bringing hypnotism out of the murky depths of occultism and myth and placing it firmly in the camp of scientific reasoning and psychological therapy, by documenting and analysing the power which a state of deep relaxation can have in helping people.
Over time, surgeons and doctors began to realise that hypnosis had real, tangible benefits when it came to assisting people to recover from procedures or overcome illness, and medical science began to adopt hypnotism as a scientific practice. This helped to bring hypnosis away from its traditional roots as a mystical force, and scientists began to uncover the concrete reasons for why hypnosis worked, and what made it so effective. As more and more science-based professionals advocated it as a valid therapy, the traditional fear of hypnotism began to fade in favour or a real understanding of the discipline.
Hypnosis Really Does Work…
These days, hypnosis is an accepted therapy which has a firm foundation of evidence and proof to demonstrate its effectiveness. Practitioners such as Milton H. Erickson did a lot to change the way hypnosis was practiced, realising that its power lay in the language used with people, and the positive benefits of absolute relaxation. This meant that our modern-day version of hypnotherapy, where the therapist works with the client to achieve positive changes in mindset and outlook became more popular.
Recent studies by establishments including the Harvard Medical School have demonstrated that hypnosis really does work. They took two groups of patients, all of whom were recovering from broken bones, and practiced hypnotherapy to speed up the healing process on one group. The group who did not have hypnotherapy were slower to heal than the group that did, providing real evidence that the process works.
A similar study conducted by the University of Iowa measured how different people responded to pain using hypnosis. People who were hypnotised were able to withstand much higher levels of pain than people who weren’t, and brain scans have actually proven that the patterns of thought for people under hypnosis are different to those in other patients. As more and more studies show the effectiveness of hypnotherapy in helping people with pain management, weight loss, anxiety, depression and healing, it has grown in popularity for people looking to achieve positive results in all areas of their life.
Hypnosis is now Credible
Studies like this have given hypnosis much more credibility over the past few years as a really positive tool for personal health and wellbeing – something that therapists have known for generations!
Hypnosis is useful for a wide range of issues, from promoting rapid healing in patients right through to supporting people to achieve more confidence or overcoming phobias. Whether you have a specific issue in mind that you would like to tackle, or would simply benefit from being able to relax more to ease everyday stresses and tension, hypnosis is a valuable and positive therapy for making that happen.
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