A Serious Look at ‘Mind over Matter’

Say the word ‘hypnosis’ to most people and the first thoughts would likely to be a stage performer getting their subjects to perform any number of embarrassing ‘acts’. Funny to some but Clinical Hypnotherapy has a serious side that can assist people who want assistance with conditions or to change habits.

‘Want’, from the client side is the key to it all with a hypnotherapist being more a guide than a person exerting any form of power over the subject. In other words if you want it to happen you may well be surprised by the results.

So what happens once you have been guided into this state where you aren’t awake and you’re not asleep? Hypnotic suggestion has been found to alter a persons brain pattern – research has shown that people viewing a range of colour or black and white photos have been shown that their brains react to the suggestion rather than what they are actually seeing. In other words show a person a black and white photo and give them a hypnotic suggestion that they are seeing colour and their brain is seeing colour. People using hypnosis to deal with pain go through a similar situation with studies showing that hypnotic suggestion prompts changes in the parts of the brain that process pain sensation so when people are hypnotized before painful procedures, the areas of their brains that process pain are less active. In other words a persons perception of their pain has changed, they really are feeling less pain! Is it an actual deadening of the pain perception areas of the brain or just a subtle (but effective) redirection of attention science has yet to confirm.

Historically, hypnosis has been used for pain control with James Esdaile one of the better examples successfully performing the most complicated surgeries in the 1800’s. Recently a successful surgery was filmed and shown on Englands Channel 4 such is the re found interest in the possibilities of hypno-analgesia. In between it has been used by dentists and doctors on a spasmodic basis due to the fact chemical relief was ‘easier’ and due to a lack of understanding of exactly what hypnosis was and how best to apply it. Lately there is an increased interest in the use of hypnotherapy in many areas, such as migraine where the condition needs to managed rather than cured.

Lack of consistent training ensures that practitioners can vary in skill and experience so if you consider seeking hypnotherapy it is important to talk with the therapist about their qualification and experience. Ascertain if they are members of a society and what level of support they have from their peers. Most importantly you must be comfortable with the person you are dealing with for without sufficient rapport / empathy between client and therapist the chances are that success will be limited or denied completely.

If you have questions relating to any area of Clinical Hypnotherapy please feel free to email me