Mind Your Body: Hypnotherapy for Weight Loss
Search “how to lose weight” on Google and you will get about 197,000,000 results. In this world where processed foods and sedentary behaviour are taking over, obesity has become one of our major health concerns. Not only does it make you look bad, but excess weight can also interfere with your physical and mental health. A huge body of research links obesity with a host of chronic illnesses, including heart disease, cancer and diabetes
Fortunately, there are many, many ways to lose weight. You should take note however, that not all of them really works (and works for you). Most of weight loss programmes are mere marketing hypes and don’t provide long-term solution.
What about hypnotherapy? Does hypnotherapy for weight loss really work or is it just another way to take your money.
Well, according to piling scientific research, it does work. Whilst hypnosis may be known as a classic party trick used to make people do what they’re asked to do on stage, more and more people are using this technique to train their minds and be more in control of their emotions and behaviours, particularly their eating habits.
Several studies have been conducted to examine the effectiveness of hypnotherapy in weight loss. And even though it is not considered a treatment itself, it can be used together with other treatments – such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). In a 1995 meta-analysis published in the Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, researchers Kirsch, Montgomery and Saperstein suggest that "the addition of hypnosis substantially enhanced treatment outcome”. They found that participants in the hypnosis groups seemed to perform particularly well at follow-up that they continued to lose weight after the treatment ended.
Mind over body therapy
So how does hypnotherapy help you lose weight? Hypnosis is defined a state of inner absorption and concentration – like being in a ‘trance’. When you’re under hypnosis, your attention is highly focused, and you’re more responsive to suggestions. It lies in the idea that our mind is more powerful when it is totally focused. During a hypnosis session, the therapist provides suggestions regarding behavioural changes that can help you lose weight.
Whilst hypnotherapy doesn’t directly make you lose excess fats, it targets the non-genetic causes of weight gain – particularly the thought patterns, habits and emotions – such as emotional eating, sleeplessness, stress, mood swings and depression. This is why most experts recommend hypnosis as an adjunctive therapy for a weight loss programme to be successful.
What to expect
Once you are ready to be hypnotised, the therapist will use verbal phrases and mental images to put you in a state of trance or deep meditation. This is to allow your subconscious mind to readily accept suggestions from yourself and your therapist. During hypnosis, you’ll be guided to respond to suggestions for changes and alterations in emotion or behaviour. These suggestions are designed to help you fix problems that contribute to your weight gain issues, such as eating disorder, stress and anxiety.
Overall, hypnotherapy is a great addition to your weight loss plan. It’s safe and most of all, effective. Hypnosis addresses weight loss issues that you can’t eliminate just by exercising or dieting. They include the thought patterns and emotions that trigger us to overeat, make poor food choices, stay inactive, and get less sleep and rest.
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