Hypnosis is considered as one of the safest alternatives to medication for treating anxiety-related conditions. It has also been perceived that hypnosis is a highly non-addictive, cost-effective and rapid treatment which is not only used for surgical purposes and pain related uses but it has also been extremely useful for treating grave illnesses, diseases, and disorders such as cancer and nausea (Hammond, 2010). There are other countless benefits of hypnosis such as less or no side-effects, faster recovery time, shorter length to stay and lower anxiety. Keeping all these factors in mind, this particular research will discuss and deliberate on different benefits of hypnosis in detail.
There are numerous benefits which have caused healthcare specialists to adopt hypnosis in the process of treating complex and chronic cases. It is also important to ponder upon the fact that hypnosis is an inexpensive and cost-effective treatment. Whereby other medical treatments are shockingly costly, and many individuals are unable to afford it. So, unfavorable economic factor has also created a climate for promoting hypnosis which is known as a rapid treatment modality.
Anxiety and Stress Management
According to a report generated through meta-analysis, it has been confirmed that therapy supplemented by hypnosis can substantially help in enhancing the outcome of therapy when Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is compared with conditions such as phobia, hypertension, obesity, anxiety, insomnia, and pain. Those who received cognitive behaviourally oriented hypnosis had 70% greater and positive impact in comparison to those who had not received hypnotic treatment (Hammond, 2010).
Stress Associated with Test Anxiety and Immune Function
Countless studies have been conducted so as to examine the effects of hypnotic treatments on the immune functions. Every student in their lifetime encounters stress of exams and test anxiety. So, a number of students were called and assigned to either choose Hawthorne control group discussion of two 50 minutes sessions or to select self-hypnosis training group of two 50 minutes each.
After the sessions were completed, all the students were tested to evaluate the anxiety score, and the outcomes were surprising (Hammond, 2010). Those students who were part of self-hypnosis training session were observed to have significantly low anxiety during midterm exams as well as final examination, and they also performed well in both midterm and a final examination. On the other hand, Hawthorne control group’s participants were comparatively high on anxiety score while their examination results were also not impressive.
Tension Headaches and Migraines
In view of many experts, hypnosis has a positive influence on chronic tension headaches. For instance, a single-blind study conducted by experts confirmed that when hypnosis is compared with a wait-list control condition, fewer headaches and lower anxiety was observed (Hammond, 2010). Besides, self-hypnosis training and autogenic training efficacy were also investigated. According to the examination, both of these training was highly effective which helped in reducing the level of a headache and anxiety among individuals.
Controlling Anxiety Associated with Medical Procedures
Several recent studies have demonstrated that hypnotic treatments can help control the level of anxiety, especially when associated with a medical procedure. For instance, hypnosis was associated with acupuncture which led to decreased anxiety. While acupuncture needles were in the place for treating chronic pain in children, 20 minutes of hypnosis during that period was intervened resulting in great improvement in pain and decline in anticipatory anxiety. It is encouraged to teach non-pharmacologic interventions such as self-hypnosis for the purpose of relaxation and for intravenous sedation throughout radiological procedures (Hammond, 2010).
Hypnosis for Surgical Anxiety
Experts suggest that most of the patients who anticipate surgery encounter fear of not waking up or anesthesia after the surgery (Hammond, 2010). This often generates anxiety and tension within the patients. Nonetheless, pre-operative hypnotic guided images can help reduce pain and anxiety.
Anxiety in Cancer Patients
It is obvious that whenever a person comes to know that he or she has been diagnosed with a grave illness known as cancer, level of anxiety logically increases which can eventually create more problems for the patient. Patients who use self-hypnosis had fewer anxiety attacks with less negative states (Hammond, 2010).
Conclusion
In a few words, although hypnosis has remained underutilized for many decades in recent times, openness in the field of medicine has developed the interest of peers and professionals to use techniques related to hypnosis to treat patients. Another reason for a drastic increase in the reliance of hypnosis is that patients and healthcare experts have been dissatisfied with the medication treatment only. Additionally, through experimental literature, it has been proven that hypnosis can treat stress-related and anxiety disorder associated with dental and medical procedures, burns, surgery, irritable bowel syndrome, migraine, tension headache, and cancer.
References
Hammond, D. C. (2010). Hypnosis in the treatment of anxiety- and stress-related disorders. Expert Reviews, 263–273.
Melvin S. Marsh is a certified hypnotherapist serving Atlanta GA, Aiken SC, Augusta GA, Blairsville GA, and Cary NC. He performs hypnotherapy appointments both in person and worldwide virtually. He can be reached at www.afterhourshypnotherapy.com .
