Hypnosis for Anxiety Disorder

If you are so stressed that you find yourself obsessing about your worries all the time, and you have frequent aches, fatigue, trembling, excessive sweating, or you find that you are constantly irritable, you may have an anxiety disorder. Hypnosis can be one of the quickest and longest lasting treatments for anxiety disorders.

Types

• Anxiety disorders may be generalized, involve panic attacks, or take more specific forms like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), social anxiety disorder (SAD) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Procedure

• Hypnotherapy for anxiety and panic often involves a search for the initiating trauma or the false belief that is driving the obsession. Sometimes realizing the cause initiates recovery. A process of desensitization may take place, which attempts to decrease the use of the nerve pathways responsible for the obsession.

Time Frame

• Treatment for anxiety disorder with hypnotherapy differs from therapist to therapist and according to the depth and complexity of the cause and the suggestibility of the client. The average is between three and six sessions, but it can be longer for the more specific forms (OCD, SAD and PTSD).

Consultation

• If you are already under the care of a physician, you should mention your intention of supplementing your care with hypnosis, and ask the doctor and hypnotist to share information about your case.

Cautions

• Make sure the hypnotist is someone with whom you feel comfortable, and do not hesitate to find another if you need to. Exercise caution in attempting hypnosis if you have been diagnosed with epilepsy or a dissociative disorder like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.