Results You Can Feel

Studies confirm that hypnosis is highly effective at reducing pain in individuals with chronic pain and drastically reduces severe pain. After receiving a single 15-minute session, patients reported immediate reductions in pain similar to what one might expect from an opioid painkiller. Patients also reported a significant decrease in the perceived need for medication. In 2021, researchers completed the first comprehensive meta-analysis of the use of hypnosis for relieving clinical pain. The results showed that the average participant receiving hypnosis reduced pain by more than about 73% of control participants.

People with GI problems (irritable bowel, inflammatory bowel, ulcerative colitis, dyspepsia, Crohn's) often find relief through hypnosis. Studies show that gut-directed hypnotherapy helps reduce abdominal pain, bloating, bowel dysfunction, and improves quality of life. On average, 75% experience significant relief, and 80% continue to feel better for up to 6 years. Hypnosis is now considered a primary intervention recommended by the American Gastroenterological Association.

Hypnosis has been proven to decrease stress, reduce pain and inflammation, and decrease behaviors such as scratching, itching, and hair-pulling. Hypnosis can affect autonomic and physiological functions, including pain sensation and immune response. It has shown promising results for those who are dealing with skin problems such as acne, psoriasis, eczema, and hives. The most extensively studied skin conditions are psoriasis and warts. A 2005 review by the Mayo Clinic concluded, the use of hypnosis in dermatology supports its value for many skin conditions not believed to be under conscious control.

Hypnosis has shown to be a safe, side-effect-free way to improve troubled sleep. In a study measuring brain wave activity, researchers found that hypnosis boosts not only deep sleep quantity but also improves deep sleep quality. Study participants slept 67% more and saw their deep sleep time rise by roughly 80% after hypnosis. A 2022 study found that hypnosis significantly enhances slow-wave sleep (the deepest stage of sleep), increases hormone secretion, and profoundly affects the two major systems linking the brain with peripheral body functions, i.e., the endocrine and the autonomic nervous systems.

Hypnosis has been studied for a number of conditions, including hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms. A 2013 study found that hypnosis results in significant reductions in self-reported and physiologically measured hot flashes in postmenopausal women. Additionally, a 2015 report commissioned by the North American Menopause Society concluded that hypnosis significantly reduces hot flashes in both frequency and severity. Those who received hypnosis reported a 74% reduction in hot flash frequency and an 80% reduction in hot flash scores. This has led researchers to conclude that of all alternative approaches, hypnosis is "uniquely effective" at reducing hot flashes.

Hypnosis offers a non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical way to tap into the mind's natural ability to reduce stress before a medical procedure. In clinical trials, those who received hypnosis reported far less pain and anxiety, suffered fewer complications, and recovered faster than those who received standard care. Patients also had significantly less vomiting, nausea, and less need for painkillers. In fact, a report in The American Journal of Medicine concluded, "hypnosis improves procedural pain and emotional distress and reduces medication up to 40% — in short, if hypnosis were a drug, it would be standard of care."