There are many applications of hypnosis, a state of calm in which a person can employ heightened concentration to a particular problem. Medical hypnosis is used to complement traditional medicine in the management of pain. Hypnosis treatments are also thought to be beneficial in assisting weight loss, reducing anxiety and getting rid of addictions and phobias. Some therapists use clinical hypnosis, a means by which their clients may develop more positive attitudes toward their lives.
Hypnotherapy is sometimes used in medical settings to help patients control pain. It is thought to be beneficial in managing chronic pain and pain that results from serious illness. Some cancer patients find hypnosis sessions useful in dealing with the side effects of radiation and chemotherapy. Hypnosis for pain is believed to be effective because the hypnotic state lessens stress, which is linked to the perception of pain. Hypnobirthing is purported to help women manage the pain of childbirth through self-hypnosis.
Some people find hypnosis treatments useful for losing weight. A hypnosis session for weight loss may include suggestions on how to eat more healthfully and how to work exercise into a busy schedule. For hypnosis to be effective in conjunction with weight loss efforts, a person must act on those suggestions for improving one's lifestyle.
Hypnosis for addiction can be useful, but only if a person acts on the suggestions given during the hypnosis treatments and incorporates them into his or her day-to-day behavior. Some addicts are helped by hypnosis sessions, but others aren't. Addiction, whether to alcohol, drugs or tobacco, is an individual phenomenon based on many factors. Treatments, like hypnosis, that work for one person might not work for another.
Additional types of hypnosis treatments include those that help people get rid of phobias. In this kind of hypnotherapy, the hypnotist works with the person to discover the source of the phobia. When the person discovers what has caused the phobia, he or she can work with the hypnotist to desensitize himself or herself from it and create a new perceptual framework that is free from the phobia.
In clinical hypnosis, which can play a role in overall behavioral therapy, a therapist puts his or her clients into a hypnotic state in order to give them suggestions on how they may deal more constructively with fears, overcome problems and develop a greater sense of well-being. A client, while in a hypnotic state, must be able to visualize positive outcomes to difficult issues. Guided visualization, storytelling, and repetition of words and statements are all techniques that may be used in these kinds of hypnosis treatments.