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Hypnosis: an additional technique for weightloss

Hypnosis is a natural state where the subconscious (creative) mind can be accessed. Since this is where a person’s memories, beliefs, and habits are stored, having access to them means that they can also be modified for the person’s benefit. Hypnosis has been used as an alternative treatment in medical institutions to manage everything from pain to smoking to weight loss.

Generally, the hypnotic state is defined as a state of focused concentration — a condition akin to being so absorbed in a good book that the outside world seems to fade away, said Guy Montgomery, president of the Society of Psychological Hypnosis, a division of American Psychological Association. It’s during this state that patients become more open to suggestion. The idea is to access the subconscious mind to modify behavior in a positive way, which the conscious resists.

Women experience being hypnotized in different ways. While some women have the feeling of falling asleep, others remain completely conscious and aware of every word said around them. “Some will tell you that their mind went blank, others have flashbacks from childhood, “Some will feel their feet numb, and others will feel a sense of heaviness or lightness in some parts of the body or in its whole.” How the person feels while being hypnotized usually has no relation to the level of relaxation.

According to a hypno-therapist, a person becomes overweight because of a set of unhealthy habits that she cannot change consciously. A person who suffers from being overweight simply has some non-useful beliefs about food andnutrition. If the client can change the set of beliefs that made her overweight in the first place, then it’s easier to change the unhealthy everyday habits that go with it.

Whether hypnosis will bring results varies from person to person as in any other treatment. Studies showing weight loss as a result of hypnosis alone are few in number and suffer from methodological problems. When combined with a behavioral weight management program, hypnosis has been shown to be an effective treatment for low to moderate amounts of weight loss.

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