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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

About hypnosis

29 replies

DaviesMum · 03/10/2016 00:18

I have a long-standing psychological disorder which has proven difficult to treat over the years. My mum has offered to pay for me a hypnotherapist. AIBU to think that hypnotherapy is a load of horseshit practised by a bunch of charlatans? I know she believes it will help, but I feel I'm being railroaded into it.

OP posts:

Realhousewivesofshit · 03/10/2016 00:20

I think you have to believe it will help for it to work really like any other alternative treatment.

What does your doctor think?

AppleJac · 03/10/2016 00:30

I had hypnotherapy for weight loss and I didn't like the experience, it didn't work and left me £500 out of pocket. I think it was £65 a session.

My uncle was a heavy smoker and had hypnotherapy by a different person and had 1 session and walked out of there and never smoked again

MyGastIsFlabbered · 03/10/2016 00:31

I had hypnotherapy for my fear of spiders. Whilst I won't say I'm cured as I still don't like them, I'm much, much better than I used to be.

GrimDamnFanjo · 03/10/2016 00:31

It absolutely works providing its carried out by a certified practitioner, and in an area where hypnotherapy is successful and I say that as a non-woo.

JaceLancs · 03/10/2016 01:59

I have tried hypnotherapy 3 times with different practitioners
1st one was ok
2nd rubbish
3rd was amazing
I'm not into woo at all, but the recordings I still use a few years down the line to help me sleep, relax and generally not overthink things
Really helps my stress levels
I know mindfulness is one of the latest buzzwords, but to me good hypnotherapy is a bit like bespoke mindfulness with a personal tutor to help you get where you need to be

RonaldMcDonald · 03/10/2016 02:11

I'm with you - although I have many colleagues who have spent many many thousands of £ training in hypnotherapy
Also you can never really tell the woo from the well meaning woo

Most things can be worked out in therapy with someone properly trained and who has lots of experience in your area of need

Original poster

DaviesMum · 03/10/2016 22:54

My doctor thinks it may help, although I think she is at a loss in terms of what to do with me now. I feel my MH is enough of a strain on her without taking money off my mum as well, even if well intentioned.

OP posts:

dybil · 03/10/2016 23:04

It 'works ' if you believe in it.

I spent money on it once in desperation. Complete waste.

ollieplimsoles · 03/10/2016 23:26

I'm an avid user of self hypnosis, mainly paul McKenna, I prefer his earlier books with cds.

I used to overcome serious anxiety and a terrible threshold to stress and worry.
I also used hypnotherapy when I had my dd last year and suffered no pain at all.

I am very susceptible to hypnosis though, I enjoy just listening to the tracks and letting my mind wander.

Xenadog · 03/10/2016 23:29

It is the only thing that has worked for me with my teeth grinding and clenching. I need to have regular (once in 6 weeks or so) top ups but it is expensive. I can honestly say it changed my life as the neck and head pain I get from bruxism is truly debilitating.

GreyHare · 03/10/2016 23:34

I have seen a hypnotherapist and whilst it wasn't an instant lightbulb click of the fingers cure, it helped me to work through my issues and deal with them differently and look and approach things from another angle, it was a slow burning cure that took it's time with baby steps to deal with my issues. I have met with two hypnotherapists the first one was awful, I didn't click or feel comfy with her, the second was amazing and although I didn't 'believe' she would be able to put me under, she did and I loved it, I felt warm fuzzy and unbelievably relaxed, it was like being wrapped up in a big furry blanket.

MrsMook · 03/10/2016 23:35

My DB had a course of hypnotherapy to deal with a wasp phobia. It calmed him to the stage where his dislike of wasps is sufficiently controlled that he can walk away calmly instead of going into an immediate panicked "wasp dance" at the slightest hint of a buzz.

He was regressed back to the memory that triggered the phobia in early childhood and talked through to make it feel safe.

I've used CDs, both Paul McKenna and Natal Hypnotherapy. The natal hypnotherapy was particularly helpful in assisting me to have a calm second birth after a traumatic first birth. I played the track on loop on speakers and the MW asked me about it after, saying that it worked at keeping her calm!

FleurThomas · 04/10/2016 05:42

Hypnosis can work for some people - around her GPs often recommend it for extreme phobias. Doesn't work for me though.

katemess12 · 04/10/2016 05:45

I don't think it worked at all. Had an otherwise decent psychiatrist try it on me several times, but nothing.

When it works, it's merely a placebo effect, IMO. And the placebo effect is fine. If it works, it works.

ChickenSalad · 04/10/2016 05:48

It can work but you have to find the right hypnotherapist. If it doesn't work, it should at least be pleasant and relaxing.

redexpat · 04/10/2016 05:49

I know it's v minor n comparison to mh, but I bought a hypnosis app to stop nail biting and for the first time in 30 years I have had to cut my fingernails. The app cost £4 I think.

Seriousjockin · 04/10/2016 06:01

I had hypnotherapy for a an anxiety-induced physical condition that I had suffered with for years and it literally changed my life. And I am usually a cynical old bitch sceptical about these things. I tried it purely out of desperation, and I have no idea how it worked, but it did. It was absolutely amazing.

Totally understandable if you don't feel it's right for you, OP, but I honestly think it's worth a shot. Feel free to PM me if you want to ask any questions or want the name of the therapist I saw - she was superb, and pleasingly low on the woo scale.

BeyondReason · 04/10/2016 09:28

I am use hypnosis in my role as a therapist with real success. It isn't at all woo, although is hijacked sometimes and presented as woo. You describe a long-standing psychological disorder, not something I'd want in the hands of the woo-brigade! If you do go ahead, find a credible therapist, ask them how/if they can help. There are other tools that might be helpful and a decent therapist will help you find them.

RattieOfCatan · 04/10/2016 09:51

If you think it's horseshit it likely won't work for you TBH. I think that's part of it, believing that it may work.

In desperation I tried it for crippling anxiety related to bladder weakness in public. Within 5 or 6 sessions I went from panic attacks at the thought of a twenty minute walk from my house to the nearest toilets to managing that absolutely fine with that scenario. I could have done with more sessions really but had to relocate quickly! My practitioner was fully certified and very good despite my scepticism at first.

I'm currently practising hypnotherapy for birth and finding it very useful, DH hates anything like meditation and was hugely sceptical but he's also finding it very calming (he suffers from depression/anxiety).

RunRabbitRunRabbit · 04/10/2016 09:56

It works for me. So much so that I frequently use self-hypnosis techniques.

I am from a scientific / engineering background and I am massively cynical about all things. When you say that it is horseshit from charlatans I suspect you have hypnosis in the same bucket as homeopathy and astrology. It isn't the same.

There is real science, real brain chemistry stuff going on with hypnosis. Perhaps you should read up on it. Not the spin you get on websites, not stage hypnosis stuff, but the actual science of it from actual scientists.

I have been told that it works particularly well for me because I allow myself to properly deeply relax, which is essential. Maybe because I am capable of concentrating deeply (can study for exams for hours continuously). Maybe also because I only do it for things I genuinely want to change, so I let myself relax and take in the suggestions.

It had limited success with DH and fear of flying because he couldn't relax because he knew they were trying to make him be not afraid of flying which would result on him getting on a plane but because he was so afraid of flying he was afraid of the outcome of the hypnosis and resisted, iyswim. It still helped enough though.

Mollymissy · 03/08/2018 01:37

Has anyone tried hypotherapy as a cure to help with anxiety and panic attacks, I have an appointment on tue, just wondering anybody has

t3rr3gl35 · 03/08/2018 07:04

I've had hypnotherapy after suffering a panic attack out of the blue. I had generalised anxiety that had been restricting my enjoyment of life, although I hadn't termed it as such or even really noticed that it was happening, but the panic attack came out of the blue when I was driving and I had to pull over with hazards on.

Once the panic attack passed, I drove home and called my GP who recommended a hypnotherapist. I had around 10 sessions in total - after the first I felt as though a weight had been lifted and I've never had another panic attack. The remaining sessions were used to explore the reasons for my anxiety and find coping mechanisms. The end result was that I found the courage to leave my abusive husband and begin to live my life.

longwayoff · 03/08/2018 07:53

OP definitely give it a go. Choose your therapist carefully. It wont make you any worse and hopefully could help you.

ushuaiamonamour · 03/08/2018 08:22

I had one session with a hypnotist because of a terror of flying. When I was finally under, it was just a matter of his telling me (or my subconscious self) to breathe deeply & repeat 'I am calm, I am free, I am in control' as needed. It worked. I was still nervous on the plane but I boarded it without anxiety, tears, sense of doom.

If there's a board of reputable hynotists in your country who grant certification no doubt you could check credentials of whomever you'd be considering. I'd check all the more closely the credentials of someone calling her/himself a 'hypnotherapist' rather than simply a hypnotist.

ushuaiamonamour · 03/08/2018 08:26

Sorry, should have said 'rather than simply a hypnotist or a therapist who employs amongst other methods hypnotism'

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