As we see the first signs of spring coming, even though it is still way too cold to begin to strip off the layers of clothing, my mind is turning to the body underneath! I know that I would be healthier if I toned my muscles more and lost a few kilos that have crept up, but what is the best way to get into the mindset to do that?
If you love food, as I do, how do you regain that control – over the amount that you eat and drink and the exercise that you do? Many people struggle with this and there are no simple, easy answers. It is a matter of finding the tools and techniques that work for you, that can help you to get back on track or even to find your track in the first place.
Hypnotherapy is a tool that I have found helps me to pull back and reinstate healthy habits. Could it work for you too?
Hypnotherapy has been used to help people to change unwanted habits for decades – but does it actually work? A recent research study looked at how effective hypnosis can be to help people with obesity to lose weight. The researchers pulled together all the results from a number of smaller studies, so they could pool the results and get a better idea of the effectiveness, or not, of the hypnosis. They found that an average participant in these studies who received hypnosis lost more weight than about 94% of people in the control group. A very encouraging result.
The researchers also looked at whether hypnosis coupled with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) could have a greater impact than CBT alone. Interestingly, they found that someone receiving the two therapies together lost more weight, on average, than more than half of those who only received CBT. These researchers concluded that hypnosis can be ‘very effective’ in helping people to lose weight.
But how? Does the hypnotherapist take control of your mind and make all those enjoyable unhealthy foods taste like dust in your mouth? No – nothing like that!
People often use food for reasons other than simply satisfying hunger. For example, we use it as a reward, as emotional comfort, to fill an empty hole inside our minds, as a way to hide from other people or to decrease feelings of sadness, anger or anxiety.
Hypnotherapy is an effective way of helping people to tackle anxiety, to deal with problems of low self-esteem and self-confidence and of countering bad habits. All of these effects make it useful in tackling problems of over-eating.
Hypnotherapy can also help when it comes to beginning new, more healthy habits – such as exercise. The hardest part of a new exercise habit is that period after the beginning enthusiasm has worn off, but before it has become a proper habit. Using hypnotherapy to visualise your goals and boost your confidence is a very effective way of pushing through that tricky period and keeping going until it becomes natural for you to exercise regularly.
Of course, hypnotherapy alone isn’t going to teach you how to eat more healthily or which type of exercise is right for you – for that you need additional help! But once you know what plan you wish to follow it can help you stick to that plan, to feel much better about yourself, to find sources of comfort and solace other than food and give you tools to deal with anxiety and anger.
Give it a try and see whether it can help you…
