What is Hypnotherapy and How Does it Work?

Before you run an online search for hypnotherapy near me, it is essential to get a better understanding of hypnosis and how it works. It will enable you to make a more informed decision, and choose your hypnotherapist accordingly.

What is Hypnotherapy?

Hypnosis comes from the Ancient Greek word Hypnos, which means sleep. The term was first coined by Etienne Felix d’Henin de Cuvillers, a French researcher, who was interested in how mental and behavioral processes occur when a person is in a hypnotic trance. However, there are sources who claim that Dr. James Braid, a surgeon from Scotland, was responsible for coining the term.

Nonetheless, putting people into a hypnotic trance was first experimented in the 18th century, when Franz Mesmer, a German doctor, claimed that he had the ability to show animal magnetism, which refers to an invisible liquid that flows between humans, animals, plants, and inanimate objects. Mesmer claimed that this liquid could be controlled to have an effect on people’s behavior.

This claim spurred interest in hypnosis, and thanks to research done in the 20th and 21st centuries, specialists now know that hypnosis can be used to promote better health and well-being. When hypnosis is used for this purpose, it is known as hypnotherapy.

How Does Hypnotherapy Work?

Hypnotherapy makes use of hypnosis wherein it can regulate a person’s conscious awareness, and use that to overcome natural and physiological patterns, perceptions, and behaviors. Research has shown that people who go into a hypnotic trance demonstrate higher levels of activity in their prefrontal cortex, parietal networks, and anterior cingulate cortex. These areas of the brain are responsible for several functions, like processing emotions, learning a new task, memory, and perception.

When a person undergoes hypnotherapy, the therapist is able to control the person’s selective attention. Then the therapist can induce agnosia, a state where the person’s brain can perceive external stimulus but cannot recognize it. It is also possible to use hypnosis to alter a person’s visuospatial processing ability. Hypnotherapy can also get rid of false memories or bring back repressed and forgotten memories.

It is the ability of hypnosis to be able to alter a person’s perception is what makes hypnotherapy so valuable. It can help people overcome negative habits that adversely affect their health and well-being or to alleviate symptoms of certain medical conditions.

With the help of hypnotherapy, therapists have been able to help people suffering from emotional trauma, anxiety, and sleep disorders, including insomnia. It is also effective in helping people manage chronic and acute pain, and quit smoking.

If you are sold on hypnotherapy, or wish to know more about how it can help you, contact Dr. Eva A. Malanowski – an expert hypnotherapist who can help treat various traumas and addictions holistically. Contact Dr. Eva at 303-242-7824 to schedule an appointment today.