“All problems in life are problem trances, and all solutions are solution trances.” - Igor Ledochowski

Introduction:

We all experience stress and anxiety at some point in our lives. Whether it’s due to a big life event or just the day-to-day grind, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed. But what do you do when stress and anxiety start to take over your life? If you’ve tried everything from deep breathing exercises to multiple therapy techniques or even medication and nothing seems to help, you might want to try clinical hypnotherapy.

Clinical hypnotherapy is a type of therapy that uses guided relaxation and positive suggestion to  help people overcome their plaguing problems, stressors or thoughts. It’s been shown to be  effective in treating a variety of issues, including stress, addiction and anxiety. In fact, clinical  hypnotherapy can even be a complementary therapy to other modalities or it can stand out on its  own.  

So how does Clinical Hypnotherapy work? 

During your session, your experience will be relaxing. You may choose to be either seated,  reclined in a chair or lying down on a comfortable lounger. Most individuals like to experience  the wonderful feeling of hypnosis with their eyes closed however should you wish to have your  eyes open, then that's fine too.  

The therapist will guide you through different exercises and visualization techniques designed to  calm your mind and body. Consider the experience as a guided journey. It’s important to note  that the mind loves visualization and imagination. This is where the powerful change takes  place.  

In short, clinical hypnotherapy involves reframing your relationship and your experience with  anxiety, stress and even the root cause. You may be asked to focus on your breath or imagine  yourself in a peaceful place to begin with. This is so that the body is calm and the mind is calm  too.  

Then, as you go deeper into relaxation, the Clinical Hypnotherapist will also give you positive  suggestions about how to cope with anxiety and look at the entire relationship you have with  stress from a different perspective. And because the brain is designed to learn quickly, positive  changes in how you feel begin to happen quickly as well. Often after the session, once you look  back at the stressful situation from a new perspective, the feelings change too. 

For example, imagine someone (Let’s call her Mary) books her appointment for overcoming  stress. Mary reveals she got engaged two weeks earlier. When she’s asked, shouldn’t this be  an exciting time in her life? She replies that being engaged was definitely exciting and that was  not the cause of the stress. Getting married is exciting. 

The stress was because Mary and everyone associated with planning, were discussing possible  options to hold the wedding. Hawaii was at the top of the list for possible locations and for many,  Hawaii is a beautiful place and most would be excited. But Mary states, "But you have to fly  there don't you!" 

In this instance, Mary has already begun to create a catastrophic movie in the mind. When  asked to describe what would happen, Mary proceeds to describe in detail how at 30,000 feet,  the engines will quit, the plane will crash into water and not everyone perishes. Yes some  people will survive, herself included but their ultimate demise will be when every remaining  survivor is eaten alive by sharks.  

Now to someone looking from the outside in, one might think that this is strange. But who are  we to judge how others are thinking and feeling?  

This is very real to Mary and it’s a catastrophic outcome that is now a horrific movie created in  the mind’s eye. It’s a debilitating movie, initially created by a thought and now is playing over  and over in a loop.  

Where hypnotherapy helps Mary is by reframing her relationship that she has with the movie  and how it makes her feel. Remember that it’s not flying that scares her but rather an ugly  picture of flying and the horror is moving closer toward her.  

In this example, a qualified Clinical Hypnotherapist can help Mary’s relationship with the  emotion attached to the thought to become smaller, less intense to the point that when she  looks back at the thought of flying to Hawaii, the root cause and stress attached to flying is  eliminated.  

Now Mary has a new perspective towards flying; one that is safe, quick and rather enjoyable  allowing fear to be replaced with excitement and curiosity.  

There are many benefits of hypnotherapy for stress and anxiety. Here are a few, 

• It’s a natural treatment with no side effects or prescriptions 

• Sessions can be done in a group setting or individually 

• Change happens relatively quickly in most cases 

• It can be a complementary therapy or solo treatment 

If you are suffering with stress and anxiety, perhaps a good option to begin to feel better quickly  is Clinical Hypnotherapy. You might be surprised at how quickly you begin to feel better now and  how quickly, moving forward, you are empowered and in control you feel.