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Hypnotherapy for anxiety

rickolasnice

rickolasnice

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Apr 19, 2007
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Anyone had any experience in getting hypnotherapy for anything?

I'm not sure I'm one of the people that hypnotism will work on but I definitely believe it works.
 
I made an initial enquiry yesterday with a hypnotherapist about my addictions, im a little skeptical myself, however, im at the point now where im willing to try most things.

I'll let you know how I get on as I may get an appointment for next week.

From what I understand, which is very little at the moment as I havent researched it much at all, is its about getting into the most relaxed state possible, now I imagine somebody with anxiety issues is going to struggle with that. Me for one.. I wonder if a diaz or two would help or it would interfere with the process/treatment? ?

Im going to be spending the day doing alot of research, then based on what I find out either do or dont book an appointment tomorrow.

The guy local to me was an addict himself and used hypnotherapy as part of his treatment.

Sorry if tgus post is all over the place, im tryinh to do about 10 things at once here..

Basically, I know nothing at the moment but should, id imagine, of had a session by next week sometime.

Ill report back. Be interesting to see if others have used it for anxiety/addiction...

SM
 
I'm sceptical about that sort of thing. Not that I've done it, but CBT is supposed to work quite well but can be a bit stressful or so I've heard.

I manage my anxiety with things like exercising (running works wonders for me) & Vitamin D seemed to make a difference. I also took Magnesium for a while but now I'm just paying more attention to my diet for Vitamins & Minerals.
 
I tried it once - you sit in a chair while the therapist uses standard methods to relax you, close your eyes, deep breaths etc, then after she thinks you are relaxed enough she says a few things designed to help your problem. I found you were spending most of the time pretending to be relaxed rather than actually gaining anything from it. It also costs a fortune - at the time I tried it I believe it was £40 an hour which was about 10 years ago. I really would recomend just getting a CD if you want to try it, it's a lot cheaper and just as effective.

Having the real therapist wasn't any more effective for me than listening to a CD.
 
Its £70 a session now Ismeme...! Im willing to give it a go though..... I think.

It cant do any harm other than put a £70 dent in my wallet. Im sure ive spent more than that on far more ridiculous things in the past.
 
Give it a go scotch - you could be one of the people who really go under the spell. I was just sat there thinking "I really need to scratch my balls" when I had about 15 minutes of the session to go!
 
Haha..

Im gonna try it. Im going to do some research, see if I can find some ways to relax myself more, as I said, maybe some diaz but I dont know if that'll interfere with whatever this witch doctor is planning on doing to my mind.

I'll see what I can dig up.
 
im pretty certain taking benzos is going to be conterproductive for a hypnotherapy session
 
I can get a few free sessions..

So hypnotherapy doesn't involve hypnosis? .. If it does it's (should be) more than just getting you in a relaxed state.. It should be about getting you relaxed and put into an extremely suggestible, sleep like state.. If you fight it it won't work.. You have to let it happen (something I'm not sure i'll be able to do)..

As far as i know GABAa agonists cause your brain to go into alpha brain wave mode.. as does meditation (and i assume hypnosis).. It could be beneficial.. especially if you are an anxious person. For me, though, it's not an option.

Although it's probably rare to get a skilled hypnotist in these kind of place..

If both scotchmist and ismene are correct - meditation would probably be a better option.

Meditation affects the physiology of the brain
http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar...a=X&ei=2lBKU_DnFqWO7QaqhoGgCw&ved=0CCwQgQMwAA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8rRzTtP7Tc

There is another TED talk about the emotional benefits of meditation and how it strengthens the part of the brain that deals with emotions but i can't find it right now.. It stands to reason that if you are a happier, less anxious / more confident person then it will be a lot easier to deal with drug addiction..
 
I did it while on benzos and it seemed very effective, but I can't judge, I was feeling pretty fine while still in the waiting room chewing on etiz.

Did it a couple of years back, my mum paid for it, thought it could help with my stimulant abuse. It didn't work.

Don't confuse meditation with hypnosis, they are two completely different things.
 
I would imagine that 'cognitive thinking errors', which are often apparent in people with anxiety would also be in existence for those with addiction problems. CBT aims to resolve these. e.g. you might think it's either all or nothing, but CBT will teach you to stop those thoughts & accept that the middle ground is acceptable.

I've no idea if CBT is used for addiction, a quick Google search suggests it can be, but I'd imagine if you get referred to a substance abuse clinic through the NHS, then you'll have free access to counselling & perhaps even CBT.

Free CBT is clearly 10x better than any paid hypnotherapy will ever be.
 
In related news, SMART Recovery uses CBT and other techniques (I vaguely recall hypnotherapy being mentioned but may be mistaken - there were some "alternative" type approaches in there though) for addiction. I've not tried their services myself but picked up the leaflet at my last visit to clinic and it sounds like an interesting alternative to what is on offer in most areas. Aside from bricks and mortar clinics they also provide online services which may be of use to people who don't have branches nearby (I've never seen or heard of them until recently but they do have branches around the country).

Personally I've not gotten along with CBT on the three occasions I've been sent for it. It's entirely possible this was down to not seeing the right practitioner for me or simply down to myself. I know it's been used with great success by a number of EADDers for anxiety in particular. Evad was a big fan of it and swore by it for his chronic anxiety issues - said it made the world of difference and surely worth a try given as it's all that's on offer from the NHS for most.
 
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