It's all in the science

What is the science of heartbreak? Learn how how our brains process emotional pain, mirroring physical discomfort, and the transformative power of neuroplasticity. Discover the psychological parallels between romantic loss and substance withdrawal, the impact of grief on mental health, and how hypnosis can pave the way for healing and growth.

When done correctly and responsibly, hypnosis is safer than many medications people often take to address similar concerns. There is very little evidence to suggest risks in hypnosis, and it is mostly based on clinical anecdotes.

Hypnosis is a skill your brain can use to help make changes in your behaviors, thoughts, and emotions safely and effectively. The brain decreases the monitoring and management of information coming from the senses, reduces mind-wandering, and changes its reasoning and planning strategies to fit the hypnotic suggestions given during the session.

Hypnosis can effectively reduce anxiety and stress symptoms, potentially even more effectively than other common treatments. The benefits of hypnosis apply in different contexts and are not limited to specific forms of anxiety or stress. Using hypnosis for anxiety may also help you reduce effects of stress on your body, for example by normalizing levels of stress hormones and improving sleep.

Several genes have been linked to hypnotizability. However, our genetics affect only a portion of our ability to respond to hypnotic suggestions, among various other factors. Undergoing hypnosis sessions has been linked to the activation of genetic programs related to a healthy immune response, stem cell growth, reduced inflammation, and decreased stress.

Hypnosis offers an effective way to reduce sleep symptoms; it is safer than sleep medication and has been shown to significantly improve sleep quality, reduce sleep difficulties, fatigue, and insomnia-related emotional distress, and increase deep sleep. Hypnosis is not sleep, but you can indeed sleep on it.

Hypnosis and placebo share common ground in expectancy – expecting them to lead to an effect can increase the extent of their effects. However, evidence from several studies suggests that hypnosis and placebo are separate, building on a key conceptual difference: placebo responses are based on simple expectation, while hypnosis involves learning to focus on and deliberately alter perception and physiological response.

Hypnosis is used by several top athletes and performers around the world. Hypnosis offers a variety of ways to improve performance across various skills. For example, hypnosis can help increase focus, facilitate learning, and intensify practice through visualization. Hypnosis can also reduce performance anxiety, negative thought patterns, and other potential barriers to doing your best.

Hypnosis can be very effective in reducing and maintaining weight and improves weight outcomes when added to other psychological treatments. Hypnosis can help you change behaviors that interfere with managing your weight and improve your relationship with your body, reduce inflammation, and improve your overall quality of life even if you do not lose a significant amount of weight.

Hypnosis can be an effective approach to reducing tobacco use and maintaining abstinence. Hypnosis is likely more effective than common drugs and counseling for smoking cessation and can enhance their effects when combined with those approaches. Given the effectiveness, safety, and ease of use of hypnosis, and considering the devastating health effects of smoking, we strongly recommend hypnosis for smoking reduction and cessation.

Hypnosis is one of the best drug-free treatments for pain management. Hypnosis can reduce pain sensation, and in addition it can also reduce the distress and negative emotions associated with experiencing it. At a time when there are more than 100,000 drug overdose deaths per year in the United States, two-thirds of them caused by opioids [9], hypnosis is safer than most pharmacological treatments for pain, can reduce the need for such medication, and can be more effective than common pain treatments.

Hypnotizability is our ability to experience changes in response to suggestions in hypnosis. It is impacted by psychological, biological, and social factors and can help us estimate how much a person can benefit from hypnosis. While most people score as hypnotizable, even those with low hypnotizability can benefit from hypnosis. Don’t get hung up on your score – give it a try! Whatever the outcome, your experience will enhance your ability to address and resolve problems.

Hypnosis can be very effective in reducing symptoms of depression such as negative expectations and low energy. It is likely as effective as mainstream psychological treatments for depression, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, may decrease the likelihood of relapses, and has fewer side effects than most psychiatric drugs.