Hypnotherapy - does it work?

Hey all,

I am hoping to hear from people who have visited hypnotherapists and what your experience was.

basically I have a lot of personal issues, such as insecurities which have arisen from the breakdown of a recent long term relationship and so on and I am going through a pretty rough time right now, I was told to research hypnotherapy as an option, being quite skeptical I have found it hard to get answers from simply googling, personally I don't know anyone who has been visited a hypnotherapist and I am hoping to hear I guess some positive accounts of how you or someone you know benefited from seeing a hypnotherapist.
and I dont mean someone who was hypnotised and told to bark like a dog ( but something along the same lines as what I have raised in regards to my own problems where they were able to overcome a serious mental wakness or personal issue.
Thanks for reading.
(feel free to pm me if you prefer)

[edit on 15-2-2007 by pmexplorer]

Bump.
Anybody.........?

Originally posted by pmexplorer
Bump.
Anybody.........?

Rebump!!

C'mon. need help here folks. Anyone?

All I can tell you is that your problems can't be solved by anyone but you...maybe a therapist or somebody can talk to you in a way that HELPS you solve your own problems, but you will have to deal with them and get them sorted out on your own...

That said, I don't have any experience with "hypnotherapy", and I can tell you that almost anyone with any real knowledge or degree in medicine or a similar field will confirm that it is a waste of time and money, a scam. The "power of persuasion" can make you THINK it is helping you, just because you have someone sitting there telling you all of these things, and then you basically get the placebo effect of thinking that it helped you, and you want to go back for more, spend more money, to have someone do this. It mainly would work on those who are weak minded and easy to follow other's suggestions.

I know someone who was a heavy smoker all of her life pretty much, went and got acupuncture to quit smoking, and it was a miracle! She no longer needed to smoke after the acupuncture...at least for a while. Now she's back to the same bad habit, because the temporary effect of "suggestion" to influence her mind wore off.

[edit on 24-2-2007 by Shoktek]

Not the reply I hoped for but thanks for taking the
time to reply all the same. I know where you're coming from,
guess that's why was hoping to hear from someone who has actually
visited a hypnotherapist.

Your prayers has been answered, I've visited one and so has my sister, brother and mother.

My problems was much alike yours, at least based on your short description.. I had also been in a relationship with a girl I cared a lot about, but she was VERY controlling and when we broke up, I was pretty far down mentally, didn't have much energy and my selfconfidence was barely there at all.

I was recommended to go to one, and after a bit of thinking about it I went for it about 3 years ago. I was a bit hesitating since, well, hypnosis for me is what we read about in donald duck cartoons. Im not a person that believes in supernatural things, and I am currently studying biology at the University of Copenhagen.

The hypnotherapist turned out to be a perfectly normal ~50 year old lady with a degree in psychology and hypnosis. She was very easy on me, and explained everything before trying things out.

I would like to point out that it is VERY important that you tell the therapist everything you are thinking of, even things that you find embarassing! And it is also very important that you yourself are focused on getting your problems fixed, because otherwise it wont help! The later part I will try to explain further down..

It kinda went out like this each time I visited her: I would sit down in a very comfortable chair, than I could almost lie down in. She would then cover my lower body, especially my feet, with a carpet made from sheep-wool. This was due to the fact that the body would go into a resting-state, and thereby lowering bodytemperature, just like when you sleep. Afte assuring that I was _very_ comfortable, she would start.
She started out by asking me what kinds of problems I myself thought I was having, and then asking to them, so that she could get a better overview and get to know me a bit. Then after about an hour of conversation, she asked me to close my eyes. I was told to relax and almost try to fall asleep. She then counted down from ten, while telling me to relax.. After that, she would describe things I should do, and taking me on a kind of trip described in details.. All the trips ending in her telling me, that now I wouldn't have anymore problems with each of the things that was annyoing me. It is important to point out that she had some kind of 'basic trips' that she followed for different kinds of problems, since they were based on different things.
I also had some family problems I realised, which she also dealt with. All in all, it was VERY emotional and touching, and I even started crying at some point.
It ended with her telling me to come back, and then she counted back to ten, while I 'woke up'.
I was told that I was gonna be very tired and have no appetite the following days.

I WAS very exhausted afterwards, but also EXTREMELY hungry. It was if a major part of my stomach was missing, very strange feeling actually. She later told me that it was not normal, but hey.. The following 1-2 days I was VERY tired, and emotionally destroyed. Spend most of the time in my bed, being miserable. Then on the 3rd day, It was as if I was another person. My mood was excellent, and my energy skyrocketed. An amazing feeling I can't describe! I visited her twice after that, just to 'remove the last few missing things, and clear things up'. The experiences afterwards wasnt a major as the first time, mostly due to the fact that I was being in my lifted state.

Now I'm at the same positive point in life, as after the therapist sessions. Life is great!

Due to my extreme 'makeover', which my family had absolutely no trouble in seeing, my siblings and my mother has also went for some sessions. They have experienced changes too, for the good, although not as major as mine. It should be pointed out that all three of my relatives are on anti-depressive medicin, (Yeah, we are #ed up) but I'm pretty normal I guess.. O_o

Feel free to ask questions!

Originally posted by Thain Esh Kelch
Your prayers has been answered, I've visited one and so has my sister, brother and mother.

My problems was much alike yours, at least based on your short description.. I had also been in a relationship with a girl I cared a lot about, but she was VERY controlling and when we broke up, I was pretty far down mentally, didn't have much energy and my selfconfidence was barely there at all.

I was recommended to go to one, and after a bit of thinking about it I went for it about 3 years ago. I was a bit hesitating since, well, hypnosis for me is what we read about in donald duck cartoons. Im not a person that believes in supernatural things, and I am currently studying biology at the University of Copenhagen.

The hypnotherapist turned out to be a perfectly normal ~50 year old lady with a degree in psychology and hypnosis. She was very easy on me, and explained everything before trying things out.

I would like to point out that it is VERY important that you tell the therapist everything you are thinking of, even things that you find embarassing! And it is also very important that you yourself are focused on getting your problems fixed, because otherwise it wont help! The later part I will try to explain further down..

It kinda went out like this each time I visited her: I would sit down in a very comfortable chair, than I could almost lie down in. She would then cover my lower body, especially my feet, with a carpet made from sheep-wool. This was due to the fact that the body would go into a resting-state, and thereby lowering bodytemperature, just like when you sleep. Afte assuring that I was _very_ comfortable, she would start.
She started out by asking me what kinds of problems I myself thought I was having, and then asking to them, so that she could get a better overview and get to know me a bit. Then after about an hour of conversation, she asked me to close my eyes. I was told to relax and almost try to fall asleep. She then counted down from ten, while telling me to relax.. After that, she would describe things I should do, and taking me on a kind of trip described in details.. All the trips ending in her telling me, that now I wouldn't have anymore problems with each of the things that was annyoing me. It is important to point out that she had some kind of 'basic trips' that she followed for different kinds of problems, since they were based on different things.
I also had some family problems I realised, which she also dealt with. All in all, it was VERY emotional and touching, and I even started crying at some point.
It ended with her telling me to come back, and then she counted back to ten, while I 'woke up'.
I was told that I was gonna be very tired and have no appetite the following days.

I WAS very exhausted afterwards, but also EXTREMELY hungry. It was if a major part of my stomach was missing, very strange feeling actually. She later told me that it was not normal, but hey..

The following 1-2 days I was VERY tired, and emotionally destroyed. Spend most of the time in my bed, being miserable. Then on the 3rd day, It was as if I was another person. My mood was excellent, and my energy skyrocketed. An amazing feeling I can't describe! I visited her twice after that, just to 'remove the last few missing things, and clear things up'. The experiences afterwards wasnt a major as the first time, mostly due to the fact that I was being in my lifted state.

Now I'm at the same positive point in life, as after the therapist sessions. Life is great!

Due to my extreme 'makeover', which my family had absolutely no trouble in seeing, my siblings and my mother has also went for some sessions. They have experienced changes too, for the good, although not as major as mine. It should be pointed out that all three of my relatives are on anti-depressive medicin, (Yeah, we are #ed up) but I'm pretty normal I guess.. O_o

Feel free to ask questions!

Thank you very much. Check ur U2U's please!

Yes, It works. You can find many example of some hollywood celebrities who have overcome their problems through hypnotherapy. But sometime it also depend upon the person and therapist. Like if you have made up your mind that this thing will not work or don't focus properly then it is of no help for you. Similarly if your therapist can't understand your problem or you don't like his therapy sessions. The thing is, do proper research about your therapist before joining. Check their success rate. Ask your friends and relatives if they have taken any sessions. Or you can attend one therapy session and see for yourself if you find it useful.