Hypnotherapy handhold

[CheckingOutTheQuantocks]

I know this isn't the best place for this thread, but the Mental Health board doesn't always get a response and I'm not going to risk putting it in AIBU, so...

I'm due to start hypnotherapy today for a long-standing MH issue. I've tried many other kinds of intervention, all without success, so this is sort of my last-ditch attempt to get help. I'm very nervous about it, however, and I don't really know what to expect. I know it doesn't involve being "hypnotised" with a big pocket watch or anything like that, but I have little idea about what happens and how they put you into a trance-like state.

Has anyone had hypnotherapy and is willing to give me an idea about what the experience was like? And whether or not it worked?

I had it to stop smoking. It's nothing like tv shows. Just relaxing. Worked for over a year - i moved to a country where cigs were 25p a pack and messed it up cos one of my main motivations during the hypnotherapy was price. Had it again for anxiety, same relaxed feeling, but it was going to be a lot of sessions and I just couldn't afford it.

I did it for labour. I was sceptical but my DH is trained so I went with someone on his reccomendations. Basically I wanted to be as relaxed as possible for birth without having to resort to drugs because of my own medical conditions.

Different practitioners will take slightly different approaches but mine involved primarily breathing exercises and visualisation over 4 sessions. Really enjoyed it and both techniques to manage stress now.

Good luck op.

use both techniques*

I had hypno for giving up smoking and it worked a treat. 4th Sept 2004 I was a 40-a-day person. 5th Sept I didn't smoke, and have never touched any form of tobacco since.

MH issues though? Tough one. If it's a phobia then I could see it working well. If it's something like PTSD though then I could see that backfiring. Have you been referred by a GP or recommended?

@FuriousVexation it's actually bulimia/binge-eating disorder (it varies depending on whether or not I purge). I've tried a lot of different therapeutic approaches and I think I understand my motivations as well as I'm ever going to, but nothing has helped me to actually stop doing it. I was hoping that hypnotherapy could help me with the compulsive element of the eating and stop me from turning to food for comfort and/or blotting out other emotions. It's tricky though, because unlike with smoking or drinking, I can't just stop eating altogether, so it can't be like a "quit cigarettes" programme.

I haven't been referred, no. A friend had hypnotherapy to get over a phobia of being in a car, and said that it also cured her of an OCD-style compulsion to keep check the door multiple times before she went out, so I got the idea from her really. Unfortunately, the NHS has no interest in helping you with EDs unless you become dangerously underweight, and in fact the last time I sought help, I was advised to try Weight Watchers

@FuriousVexation could you PM me about who you saw, please? If you remember, that is. ❤