More than 60 million people in the world are struggling with depression and about 11 percent suffer from a mental health disorder. About 30% of the population in the U.S. has insomnia. In Hong Kong, about half of the population suffers from sleep problems. In many countries, people feel lonely.

These issues can significantly affect not just the quality of your life but also your health. You have more control over them that you might realize. At Renewed Edge, we can help you address your stress, overcome your depression, and find new and healthier ways to cope with otherwise unmanageable symptoms and out-of-control habits.

Does hypnotherapy work? How does hypnosis work? How can hypnotherapy help? You will find all the answers about hypnosis therapy here.

The Difference between Hypnotherapy and Hypnosis

Hypnosis uses focused attention and deep relaxation to achieve a heightened state of awareness. This is a natural phenomenon that occurs when you focus intensely on a single object or topic and ignore other distractions.

People often use the terms interchangeably, but they are different. While they both refer to a state of focused awareness, there is an important distinction. You may experience hypnosis naturally any time you are highly focused, such as when you are daydreaming or engrossed in a movie, but without the therapeutic suggestions offered by a hypnotherapist, you will not necessarily experience any benefits or changes in your health or behavior.

At Renewed Edge, our hypnotherapist designs therapeutic plans to target specific issues or health concerns. This means crafting careful suggestions to guide your subconscious thinking. You will never be forced to do anything you do not want to do or made to act in ways that are uncharacteristic.

Your therapy can be completely customized according to your needs to uproot long-standing behaviors, phobias, compulsions, addictions, dependencies, or other serious problems.

Does Hypnotherapy Work?

The answer to the question “does hypnotherapy work” is a resounding yes. Many studies support the use of hypnosis and hypnotherapy for various ailments. Medical institutions list many uses for this therapy and even coined the phrase “medical hypnosis”.

The history of hypnosis shows that one of the first usage was anesthesia. Mental health specialists also started incorporating the same technique in their clinical work. In addition, many coaches who train top-level athletes incorporated self-hypnosis in their mental preparation routine.

Hypnotherapy is becoming mainstream. As a result, many people are more aware of the benefits of self-hypnosis and are improving their mental and physical health through continued practice. People who were once reliant on therapy or medication can after enough practice experience better health and more happiness.

Many celebrities also used hypnosis because it is a fast therapy, and it can provide long-term results. As for many professions, the most important thing is to choose a qualified certified hypnotherapist. The Renewed Edge Centre trains future hypnotherapists to the highest standards. It has also helped many people learn the art of self-hypnosis during the first module of the Renewed Edge hypnotherapy certification training.

How Hypnotherapy Works

The process has long been shrouded in mystery and sometimes mysticism, but science is uncovering more of its secrets everyday. Thanks to brain scans, we know that numerous brain functions are involved.

When you are in a state of focused awareness and deeply relaxed, activity in the part of your brain that is associated with motor control and cognition decreases. Meanwhile, connectivity between the parts of the brain processing and controlling what happens in the rest of your body increases. Finally, the part of your brain that is aware of your actions becomes less active.

Your brain’s activity is just a small part of the big picture, however. The real-world applications are another part, and these applications are many. Once you can tap into the state of focused awareness and bypass your conscious mind, you can begin to address the complex, deeply rooted issues that may be guiding your behavior and preventing you from moving forward in your life.

Many of our unhealthy or unwanted habits, from stress eating to smoking, are deeply entrenched in the subconscious mind, which means we must access the subconscious to remove them. By working with a hypnotherapist, you can set up new foundations for a better and happier life.

With the right support, you can rebuild your mental and behavioral framework from the ground up, creating a new mindset to support healthier habits and better behavior.

How can Hypnotherapy Help?

People often underestimate how much their physical and emotional health is affected by stress, anxiety, and worries with roots that stretch far into their past. Our bodies cannot help but be affected by our minds because the two are intimately and inextricably connected. Taking control of your stress and overcoming negative mindsets might just be the key to unlocking better health and happiness.

At your initial appointments, your hypnotherapist will spend more time learning about you and your health or behavioral concerns as well as any potential thought patterns and mindsets that are causing or contributing to the issues. You will work closely with your therapist to develop a treatment strategy to:

  • Isolate the issues
  • Develop a framework for change
  • Reframe and correct unhelpful beliefs and thought patterns
  • Reinforce new behaviors

When used alone or in conjunction with more conventional therapies, hypnosis can help you analyze underlying issues and change unhelpful behaviors or unwanted sensations.

Many people turn to a hypnotherapist to help them manage common health issues such as:

It is not magic but rather a gentle reprogramming of your brain. By separating the subconscious motivations from your actions, you can begin to create new habits in your life. You can reframe past experiences and see things from a whole new vantage point. You can even incorporate new coping skills so that you no longer have to rely on unhealthy habits or compulsions to manage stress or worry.

Key Benefits of Hypnotherapy

The subconscious uses automatic patterns to streamline our lives. In other words, by creating patterns and habits, we use less mental energy in the course of our day. We do not have to spend time thinking about and planning our various choices and behaviors. We simply do what we need to do.

Most of the time, this works well for us. We move our hands away from hot pans, step out of the path of a speeding vehicle, and cover our coughs without wasting precious moments that could potentially put us at greater risk. Unhealthy habits can be just as deeply ingrained, which is why you might drink excessively when stressed or reach for unhealthy foods when depressed.

Working with a hypnotherapist can help you overcome these damaging behaviors and unhealthy habits through targeted subconscious suggestions.

The therapeutic technique is particularly beneficial for:

By changing your mindset and thought patterns, you can more easily change your behaviors. You are not constantly fighting an uphill battle against your own mind but rather gently guiding your mind towards the behaviors and choices you want to make.

What Does the Research Say about Hypnotherapy?

Although used for hundreds of years, hypnosis has only been formally recognized by modern medicine for about a century. In that time, hundreds of scientific studies have been performed to better understand the phenomenon and learn more about its benefits and uses.

Through the use of imaging technology, we know that different areas of the brain light up when experiencing this highly focused state and that it can be remarkably effective for managing a wide range of health issues.

Research shows that it can help patients prepare for surgery by reducing their pain and anxiety and can help decrease procedure time, cost, and need for medication. It can promote healthier sleep by helping you get to sleep faster, spend more time in deeper sleep, and stay asleep longer. It can help people kick bad habits such as smoking.

Perhaps one of the most important things it can do is help us manage emotions and stress. Uncontrolled stress can take a heavy toll on our physical and emotional health, decreasing immune response and leaving us more vulnerable to heart disease, diabetes, obesity, sleep disorders, and sexual dysfunction. Studies have demonstrated that the process can help reduce exam-related stress and boost performance and reduce the risk of burnout while increasing a sense of well-being.

Experts recognize that the process can help you re-examine your health and your life. As you address stress, calm anxiety, and overcome depression, you can improve your function and restore your health.


What Makes a Good Hypnotherapy Course?

Hypnosis is a natural skill, and you can learn how to conduct the therapy that leverages this focused state of awareness. The Renewed Edge Wellness Centre offers the only NGH-approved certification course in English in Hong Kong. It that consists of five modules with an additional business course for those wishing to learn the business basics.

A good hypnotherapy training should start with teaching self-hypnosis. If you cannot experience that state for yourself, you are less likely to be an effective hypnotherapist. Each module builds on the previous one. After successful completion of all modules, you can gain a certification from the largest and oldest certifying organization.

If you are a coach or counsellor wanting to add a new tool to your arsenal of transformation aids, you will gain enough knowledge to help others release stress in the first modules.

Visit Renewed Edge today to learn more about how you can harness the power of your mind for healing or to schedule an appointment with our hypnotherapist.