Uses for Hypnosis
Hypnosis can be used in many different ways. Here we will analyze what hypnosis is capable of, and you might be surprised. Deirde Barrett of Psychology Today posits that "a growing number of studies show that hypnotherapy can treat headaches, ease the pain of childbirth, aid in quitting smoking, improve concentration and study habits, relieve minor phobias, and serve as anesthesia--all without drugs or side effects" (PT). We will analyze whether this is true or not.
But remember, hypnosis doesn't work for everyone, and it won't work in every instance.
Smoking Cessation
Hypnosis can't make just any person quit smoking, and the treatment alone can't help a person quit. He/she has to be motivated to quit, to want to, to be committed to it, and if that's the case, hypnosis has proved to be able to boost the cause (ISHOT).
Pain Reduction
Hypnosis can't cure disease, but it can certainly help alleviate pain, and there's evidence to support it. In fact, "in 1996, a panel on the National Institutes of Health found hypnosis to be effective in easing cancer pain" and since, studies "have demonstrated its effectiveness for pain related to burns... and rheumatoid arthritis and reduction of anxiety associated with surgery" (WebMd). Researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (NY) found "moderate to large pain-relieving effects from hypnosis, supporting the effectiveness of hypnotic techniques for pain management" (WebMd).
There is a growing number of future mothers that can attest to that. Hypnobirths are growing in popularity, as hypnosis helps mothers relax and can help with the extreme pain of childbird in a completely drug-free process.
Weight Loss
Much like smoking, weight loss can be achieved with motivated individuals. Using Erickson's method to help change one's behavior (to avoid overeating, or to embed commands to eat healthier) can help those in dieting. During hypnosis, a "person may also become more open to specific suggestions and goals such as reducing pain. In the post-suggestion phase, the therapist reinforces continued use of the new behavior" (WebMd).
Stress Management
WebMd says it best: "Stress and pain are intimately related. When being in pain causes stress or being stressed worsens pain, psychological therapies -- including hypnosis, meditation, and relaxation -- may help break the cycle" (WebMd). Hypnosis can help with anxiety, stress at work, and harkens back to one of the original uses of hypnosis: to help war-scared soldiers ease back into battle; and in the same way, it can help people get a leg up in the battle that is life.
Depression
Deep feelings of sadness and suffering can be alleviated, or even replaced, with an open mind. The American Journal of Hypnotherapy found that hypnosis raised self esteem, which can ward off depression (Hypnosis.ac). Dr. Michael Yapko analyzes depression treatment with hypnosis in this October 2001 article from the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis.
Drugs/Alcohol Abuse
Much like helping a person quit smoking, hypnosis can prove beneficial in recovery from addiction to drugs and alcohol. Greg Potter, writing for the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis for the ASCH, discovered that hypnosis "has begun making a comeback as a viable treatment for alcoholism and other addictions" (ASCH).
The American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis found that there is a 77% success rate in treating drug addiction and that 94% of patients with a methadone addiction don't suffer a relapse in separate studies (ASCH).
Sports Performance
Many athletes have used hypnosis to boost their performance on the field. Doctors Alex and Adam Iglesias wrote an article for the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis in January 2011 describing their studies with hypnosis on a little league team to investigate the merit the claim that hypnosis can help athletes. The Iglesias' concluded saying it had positive benefits for the team and its members (ASCH).
Mental Health
The National Academy of Sciences of the United States (PNAS) found hypnosis to reduce conflict in the brain (PNAS). A hypnotherapist may be able to help those that suffer from schizophrenia and bipolarity, for example, if the person's mind is open.
Psychosomatic Disorders
In an 1981 article for the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, J.B. Wilkinson discusses hypnotherapy's abilities to treat psychosomatic illnesses. Essentially, psychosomatic disorders evolve from the brain and mind, and since hypnosis delves into the mind of a patient, a trained hypnotherapist can find what inner thoughts or problems may be causing it, and help eradicate them.
And it goes on...
For a complete list of hypnosis uses, check ASCH's website. Clearly, hypnosis has a lot of its uses. Hell, it can even apparently get rid of hives. On HMI's website, Judy Serlo offers up testimony to the fact that after seeing a doctor and two dermatologists to no avail, after going to a hypnotist, "after the first two sessions, her hives cleared up. Now she regularly listens to a hypnosis tape and says, 'I haven't had an outbreak since'" (HMI).
If you or a loved one are suffering from any of these ailments, hypnosis is a reasonable option to explore. Just do your research, and make sure you're dealing with a legitimate hypnotist.