Hypnosis is sometimes considered one of those ‘dodgy’ forms of therapy. People think about what they see in the movies where you completely lose touch with your body and the therapist can have complete power over you. I’m going to see a professional Hypnotherapist to attempt to cure my Emetophobia, so my psychologist did some basic hypnosis with me to see how I would respond. Just gonna throw it out there though that not all psychologists will know how to do it. Mine is special.

So, like with medications, everyone responds differently to hypnotherapy. Some people only need one session to be completely changed. Other people may need to practise until they get the hang of it. There are some people that never respond or respond negatively, and they need to find other ways to change themselves. A lot of it is about your outlook going into it. Apparently, a lot of people go into feeling nervous and wonder what ‘being hypnotized’ feels like. I have successfully responded to hypnosis and the truth is, you feel no different. You are aware of your surroundings and can stop at any time. You are just in a very relaxed, focused state and there’s no real moment where you go boom I’m hypnotized. People may get distracted by thoughts such as ‘is this it? Am I hypnotized? How do I feel?’. You’ve almost got to go into it feeling a bit sceptical. You have to have low expectations to reach that state and keep your mind at ease.

I use hypnosis apps on my phone on a daily basis, and they help me sleep, lower anxiety and depression levels, stop procrastinating and bad habits. There is a large range of them and they have free versions if you don’t want to spend any money. They work like a charm for me and I have noticed the difference. They haven’t changed things for good but they help me cope with each day.

I can’t wait to try hypnosis with a specialist, as I think it could really change things for me. My great uncle had hypnotherapy to stop smoking and he had one session and never smoked again! I’m hoping to have the same reaction but we’ll see how we go. If you’re struggling and regular CBT and medications aren’t enough, just have a go at hypnotherapy. It could change everything for the better!

Also apologies for not posting yesterday, I got a new phone and was busy playing with it oops!

Larne