Hypnotherapy is a method of inducing a relaxed state of mind in order to treat mainly psychological or emotional problems.
In hypnosis you are in a trance like state where your body is deeply relaxed but your mind is active. We all go into such states of mind naturally in daily life, for example, when daydreaming or concentrating deeply on something.
The therapy is led by a person called a hypnotherapist who can use various methods to put you into a trance state. These include speaking to you slowly and soothingly, or asking you to look at a fixed object in front of you or at the edge of your field of vision.
You stay in control at all times. You may feel heavy or light but remain relaxed. When you are in this relaxed state your hypnotherapist suggests things that might help you to change your behavior or relieve symptoms. During hypnotherapy your conscious mind switches off while you are relaxed. Your unconscious mind is then open to the helpful suggestions of the therapist.
Hypnotherapy is commonly used as an alternative treatment for a wide range of health conditions, including weight control, pain management and smoking cessation. Hypnotherapy is also useful in helping patients to overcome phobias.
Hypnotherapy is used for non-medical patients as well as those who wish to overcome bad habits. Hypnotherapy has been shown to help those who suffer from performance anxiety, such as in sports, and speaking in public. In academic applications, it has also been shown to help with learning, participating in the classroom, concentrating, studying, for using, attention span, improving memory, and helping remove mental blocks about particular subjects.
In more general areas hypnotherapy has been found to be beneficial for problems such as motivation, procrastination, decision making, personal achievement and development, job performance, buried or repressed memories, relaxation and stress management.
Hynotherapy is widely accepted by various medical organizations all over the world like British Medical Association, American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, The National Institutes of Health, etc.
People who want to be rid of their psychological problems without any side effects of drugs will normally choose hypnotherapy.