Has anyone has any success with hypnotherapy?

[Bodenbabe]

My food issues are mental ones, nothing to do with feeling hungry... was wondering about hypnotherapy but (a) am scared of it! (b) is it really likely to work? I am a very cynical/sceptical person and can imagine I'd just sit there thinking "this isn't going to work, it's just a con" and therefore it wouldn't work, if that makes sense... and how do you know you're seeing a 'proper' therapist - can you find them through your GP?

dunno but i am looking into same thing
firstly for weight loss and secondly cos i'm frightened of pregnancy and birth after having dd 18mth ago

think still need will power and from what i understand you are not 'under'
???

Am sympathetic with you on both counts, lilyrose! I begged and begged for a CS after my traumatic birth and saw a counsellor about it, so I hear where you are coming from. Nothing to lose, I guess!

Yes there was a programme on TV where they tried out lots of alternative methods of losing weight and hypnotherapy was the only one that worked.
I had hypnotherapy (from my GP who was trained in it) for severe morning sickness and it was very effective.

I was going to start a similiar thread.
I would like to have this.
I KNOW my weight problem is emotional. I've had therapy, i know what the cause is. But although I'm a lot happier and sorted, I still have a weight problem.

Would be interesting to hear from someone who did lose weight through hypnotherapy

Hello ladies.

I had hypnotherapy for weight loss at the beginning of the year just before my wedding. It has definitely helped me develop a much healthier relationship with food than I had before hand. I can't really comment on the weight loss as I fell pregnant on my honeymoon and am currently 40+4 weeks so am looking a little round! That said, I would recommend it as I feel that it has definitely helped me get over the issues that I had which caused me to emotionally eat in the first place.

Hypnosis is not anything to be worried about. It is only a state of relaxation which makes you more open to suggestion and your sub-conscious mind. You're fully conscious throughout and in control. The stage hypnosis you see on telly is nothing like hypnotherapy.

I believe that there are a couple of ways in which hypnotherapists can approach eating, one involves regression and accessing memories from early childhood that trigger your emotional eating coupled with suggestions for future behaviours. The other is just using suggestion. I did the former and found it emotionally draining but very effective in tackling my demons.

The other thing to say is that it is not a miracle cure, it still take some work that the therapist will give you to do. These were not eating in front of the telly, sitting at a table and consciously eating, becoming familiar with your body and identifying when you are full (sounds easy but after years of eating until you're stuffed it's actually an art that needs mastering) in order to stop when you've eaten enough and actually enjoying food rather than using/abusing it.

I will also add that my OH is a hypnotherapist (although not practicing at the moment) but even so I was sceptical beforehand and a little nervous about doing it. Also, it's not a cheap option for weight loss but I figured that it was an investment in my future.

hi DJ, thanks, that was helpful