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Add to FavoritesHypnosis can relieve depression, but it depends on the experience and strength of knowledge of the hypnotist and the patients willingness to participate fully. In-order to be hypnotized you have to want to be so. You also need to trust your hypnotherapist so that you can reach into your subconscious where healing can take place.
I am a hypnotherapist and wouldn't dream of taking a patient back to relieve a painful memory unless thats what they want to do and I can see a benefit coming from doing so. I would also need to feel that they can cope with the experience without being hurt or damaged.
This may relate to depression if the depression stems from a known cause which could be a painful event. In such a case the most positive way to begin to overcome such depression is not usually to keep going over the problem like a stuck record and reliving the anxiety which was produced by the event.
It is possible, instead, to help a patient tap into their own healing properties caused by chemical reactions in their brain. During certain happy memories good and helpful chemicals are released into the patients system which can help to aid their recovery.
A patient can then be taught to gain back their own personal strength and personal power by learning how to access positive emotions when they most need to, rather than negative ones.
Working in this way empowers individuals and lets them be in charge of what happens to them. This is useful as many people who are depressed have sought help from others who have meant well but who have come out as being the 'expert' while the patient ended up as the victim who needed their help.
When used wisely hypnotherapy can become a powerful tool for people who wish to reach positive emotions and to rid themselves of the pain of depression or unwanted negative thoughts.
Learn more about this author, Bridget Webber.
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No
Can depression be alleviated by hypnosis? Hypnosis is a powerful form of therapy when used in the right way, and in conjunction with proper medical intervention. However, before the question can be answered we must define what hypnosis is, and what it is used for primarily.
Hypnosis is defined as the process of placing an individual into a physical and mental state of deep relaxation - an altered state of consciousness whereby the individual can be given beneficial suggestions in such a manner that the mind is more likely to take heed. Hypnotherapy as a whole is classified as the science and usage of hypnosis to treat and allieviate various psychological conditions, however in such processes hypnosis is rarely used as a single method of treatment - the individual will still often need other medical interventions to speed up their transition and recovery.
Depression, a condition I live with like so many others, is a psychological disorder that affects not just the mind but the function of the body. Many consider depression as nothing more than feeling low, but for the majority it can be and often is much more. It affects how the body sleeps and rests, it affects an individuals attention span, their appetite, and can often make them prone to addictions that would ordinarily not be on their mind. It can affect how someone feels about themselves, others and their own perceptions of the world. Depression can be caused by many factors - it can be genetic, it can be caused by extreme stress and it can also be down to hormonal and chemical imbalances within the body that affect how their brain functions. But depression is often not the catch-all term people think - depression is an illness that often has no cure and as such sufferers tend to have to learn to deal with it for the rest of their lives.
We need to know this because depression in itself is a difficult illness to diagnose properly. There are three major types of depression as well and it can often be difficult for doctors to judge as to which state of mind a person is in. But there are physical as well as mental changes involved in the condition, for which hypnosis can offer little to no help. You cannot influence the subconscious mind, for example, to cheer up when the depression stems from a hormonal imbalance - this can often only be treated with a change of lifestyle and/or diet ,as well as medication and councilling.
Fixing a broken mind is a long and arduous progress. Hypnosis cannot directly cure or relieve depression, though it may be used in cases where a doctor believes there to be a trigger moment for their condition - and even there, the long-term answer is often regular therapy sessions whereby the individual can learn to confront their darkest fears. A mind cannot simply be fixed by telling it to mend itself - it often requires a much more intensive approach and the individual themselves must also want to help themselves. Slowly, through multiple approaches, a mind can be pieced back together - but it is something that can often take many years. Depression is debilitating, but even though it isn't easy, it can be managed and a person can recover to a reasonably normal state of mind - whatever a normal state of mind is...
This is not to say hypnosis is useless, but it is never a cure, although it does have its advantages and uses in the medicinal pantheon. But it is not a miracle cure. Words are often not enough, you cannot reverse the damage by merely telling the mind to "get better" and as powerful a tool as the subconscious mind can be - it is in itself only one part of a whole. As a result, hypnosis can play a role in the diagnosis and recognition of depression and depressive episodes but it is, in itself, not a cure for the condition. There is no easy answer or miracle cure, merely the hope that with the right medical intervention and the will of the individual that it does not have to dominate their life.
Learn more about this author, David Kamikaze.
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