How hypnotherapy can change your life

Hypnotherapy can help with more than you might realise. A hypnotherapist can help you tackle some of life's biggest problems, achieve your goals, and make positive, sustainable changes. We share 10 ways hypnotherapy can help change your life

We’ve all got something in our lives that we wish we could change for the better. Maybe you don’t have enough time to relax or you have trouble sleeping, maybe you’ve got that one bad habit you can’t seem to kick, or you keep meaning to do something but you always find yourself putting things off. Whether you want to make little changes or big ones, hypnotherapy could be the answer you’ve been looking for.

What is hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy refers to therapeutically using hypnosis. With the help and guidance of a trained hypnotherapist, hypnotherapy uses hypnosis to guide you into a state of deep relaxation and concentration (the ‘hypnotic state’) where, if you approach things with an open mind and a willingness to change, you are more open to suggestions. Your hypnotherapist can then make suggestions for different ways you can change unhelpful habits, thoughts, behaviours, or reactions. 

It’s important to remember that both hypnosis and hypnotherapy only really work if you want to be hypnotised. If you aren’t ready to make positive changes in your life, or don’t believe that hypnosis will work, it’s unlikely to work. 

So, now that we know what hypnotherapy is, how can it really change your life for the better?

Hypnotherapy can help you reduce feelings of stress and anxiety

Studies have shown that hypnotherapy can help to reduce stress and anxiety before medical procedures and alleviate symptoms of conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It’s also thought to be helpful in breaking negative thought patterns and responses to stress, helping you to instead find newer, healthier ways to react to and deal with unexpected stress. Working with a hypnotherapist can also help you to learn self-hypnosis and relaxation techniques you can continue to use to help ease short and long-term stress. 

Hypnotherapy can help you to change your relationship with food

Many of us struggle with our relationship with food. Whether we struggle to make healthy food choices, feel like we’re powerless to change what and how we eat, or we’d like to lose weight, changing our attitudes around how and what and when we eat can be tough. Hypnosis can be a powerful tool in helping challenge and change unhealthy mindsets that may be subconsciously affecting your success in making sustainable changes.

Hypnotherapy can help you manage pain

Studies have shown that hypnotherapy can help assist with pain control for a wide variety of different kinds of pain, including childbirth, joint pain, headaches, dental procedures, and even IBS. One study that looked at 13 studies focused on how hypnosis can be used to treat chronic pain found that hypnosis consistently decreases pain across a number of different chronic pain-related issues. Other studies have found that hypnosis provides significant pain relief benefits to those in labour, as well as suggesting that hypnosis may help reduce medical procedure-related pain. 

Hypnotherapy can help you stop smoking (and vaping) for good

Working with a hypnotherapist can help you to stop smoking or quit vaping for good. Many people find hypnotherapy for stopping smoking to be an effective way of breaking negative behaviours and ways of thinking. For example, you might think of smoking or vaping as a good way to relieve stress. Challenging these thoughts can help you to break existing patterns and routines. 

Hypnotherapy can help you to challenge your fears and phobias

Fear is a natural, healthy response to danger. But phobias? Phobias are a kind of anxiety disorder that can make us feel terrible in the moment physically, and can change our behaviours, stop us from doing things, and impact our lives in ways we might not even realise. Hypnotherapy can help you to get to the root of your fears and phobias, using techniques to help change your responses, helping you to gradually confront them. 

Hypnotherapy can help you improve yourself

Working with a hypnotherapist isn’t just about overcoming bad habits – it can help you to improve yourself in so many ways, too. Together with a professional and the power of hypnosis, you can help you to develop a winning mindset and improve your sports performance, boost your confidence, increase your work performance, and even feel more comfortable public speaking. 

Hypnotherapy can help you drink less (or stop drinking alcohol)

There can be plenty of different reasons why you might want to change how much, when, where, or why you’re drinking alcohol. Reducing how much we drink can help us to sleep better and improve our moods. A hypnotherapist can help you to identify behaviours and thoughts that might be affecting how much you drink, tackle underlying issues, break automatic bad habits and thoughts, and find new, sustainable alternatives. 

Hypnotherapy can help you get a better night’s sleep

Sleep plays an important role in our overall sense of health and wellbeing. Without enough sleep, we can become more easily overwhelmed by stress, feel exhausted, and may struggle to find motivation. Many of us have trouble sleeping due to unhelpful habits (who hasn’t found themselves doom-scrolling at 2am?), stress, and even anxiety. A hypnotherapist can help to identify the cause of your problem sleeping and introduce more helpful suggestions. They can also help you to learn self-hypnosis and relaxation techniques to create a more relaxing bedtime routine. 

Hypnotherapy can help you to procrastinate less and get more done

Procrastination can be frustrating – but when it starts to get out of control? It can lead to increased feelings of stress and anxiety. At its core, procrastination is often an unhelpful coping mechanism that we turn to when we’re bored, frustrated, overwhelmed, or stressed. This can lead to trouble finishing tasks – or even getting started. A hypnotherapist can help you create new habits, let go of self-critical automatic thoughts that might be leading to self-sabotage, and release feelings of guilt and self-doubt. 

Hypnotherapy can help you learn how to relax 

Hypnotherapy for relaxation can help you to bring your body back to balance, ease pressure and tension, and help you learn how to access a deep state of relaxation to feel more calm and tranquil. A hypnotherapist can also help you to learn self-hypnosis techniques to continue using hypnosis for relaxation in between sessions, so you can continue seeing positive effects on your emotional and physical wellbeing. 

Want to learn more about hypnotherapy or considering working with a hypnotherapist and not sure where to start? Visit Hypnotherapy Directory to find out more about the benefits of hypnotherapy, how you can find a qualified, experienced hypnotherapist, and what to expect from a hypnotherapy session.