Do You Have Stress Or Anxiety? Combine Meditation With Hypnosis
Mindful hypnotherapy – a combination of meditation or mindfulness and hypnotherapy – may be the best treatment for acute stress.
The Mindfulness is a type of meditation that involves focusing on awareness of the present moment. Its benefits are enormous, but not all people are capable of practicing with the necessary perseverance.
Researcher Gary Elkins, director of the Mind-Body Laboratory at Baylor University, has created a method that uses brief sessions of hypnosis to achieve the effects of mindfulness. These sessions include guided imagery, relaxation, and suggestions aimed at reducing symptoms of acute stress and anxiety.
“Combining mindfulness and hypnotherapy in a single session is a novel intervention that may be equal to or better than existing [anti-stress] treatments, with the advantage of being more effective over time, less daunting, and easier to use “, said. “This could be a valuable option for treating anxiety and reducing stress.”
8 hours of learning for effective stress management
Dr. Elkins points out that mindfulness is an effective treatment for reducing stress and anxiety, but its learning requires at least eight weekly sessions of two hours each, plus a retreat of eight or more hours. In total, 24 hours. Instead, “mindful hypnotherapy” can be easily learned in 8 hours and could be widely disseminated as a new and innovative mind-body therapy, says Dr. Elkins.
The study, which has been published in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, was conducted with 42 people who suffered from a high level of stress. Half (21 people) participated in an 8-week, one-hour session that included hypnosis and suggestions for reaching a state of mindfulness.
The participants also received 20-minute audio recordings to perform self-hypnosis at home on a daily basis. The other half of the group received no treatment and was used as a control.
In the weekly sessions, the patients were offered indications to promote awareness of the present moment, non-judgmental awareness of the five senses, non-judgmental awareness of thoughts and feelings, compassion for oneself and others, awareness of the personal values and the meaning of life, and the transition to the long-term practice of mindful hypnotherapy.
Great decrease in stress
At the end of the study, the patients reported a large decrease in stress level and a significant increase in mindfulness.
Most were very satisfied with the number of sessions, the ease of home practice, and the clarity of the content. The average participant practiced almost every day, and overall satisfaction with the intervention was 8.9 on a scale of 10.
In comparison, those who did not participate in the intervention reported no significant difference between the level of stress before and after the study.
Scientific reference:
Gary R. Elkins et al. Mindful Hypnotherapy to Reduce Stress and Increase Mindfulness: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis.
