How Does a Hypnotherapist Treat Anxiety?
The goal of hypnotherapy is to change the negative fixed ideas that fuel anxiety by replacing them with positive, realistic coping thoughts that are imprinted into the subconscious mind. For pain and physical issues creating anxiety, such as impending surgery, suggestion hypnotherapy enables patients to release anxiety by responding positively to proposals from the therapist. Symptoms of anxiety can be addressed when the hypnotherapist teaches skills for relaxation, mental control, and behavior modification. Instant relaxation skills, for example, can help a patient cope with episodes of anxiety while they are occurring. These skills include deep breathing, refocusing attention, and thought interruption. For anxiety disorders, hypnotherapy can help uncover the root causes for the phobias so they can be brought into awareness and processed. Patients can explore experiences or negative fixed ideas that are now triggering anxiety, reprocess the memories, and reframe them to desensitize th
