In some cases, there is no visible external trigger for depression and it is thought to be caused by a neurotransmitter balance. However, in other cases depression is a natural response to something extremely difficult or traumatic—for example, a significant loss, a challenging health problem or financial hardship.
While it can be useful to try meditation, psychotherapy or some combination of both, it is also worth considering hypnotherapy as a potential treatment. Here are the major warning signs that indicate you might be suffering from depression, and the key facts you need to know about how hypnotherapy can work as a treatment.
Signs and Symptoms of Depression
Every experience of depression is unique, and a diagnosis is made on a case by case basis.
That said, there are certain symptoms commonly experienced by the bulk of depression sufferers. You may notice any combination of the following:
- Lack of enjoyment when doing previously loved activities
- Difficulty getting out of bed
- Reliance on unhealthy habits (e.g. smoking, over-eating, drinking too much or self-medicating)
- Insomnia
- Difficulty concentrating
- Exhaustion
- Tearfulness
- Irritability
- Lack of interest in interpersonal relationships
- Numbness
- Low self-esteem
- Diminishing care for personal hygiene
You should always discuss your feelings and symptoms with your doctor before assuming a diagnosis. However, once you have consulted with a medical professional and depression has been confirmed, adding hypnotherapy to your treatment plan could make all the difference to your recovery.
Five Ways Hypnotherapy Treats Depression
1. It Taps Into Your Subconscious
Traditional therapy can help you reshape subconscious beliefs, but it does so primarily by accessing your conscious thoughts—and this means accessing only an estimated 10% of the mind.
In contrast, when you willingly enter a hypnotic trance you allow your hypnotherapist to go straight to the subconscious part of your mind, where all your foundational beliefs and deeply rooted feelings are lodged.
Since it’s plausible to suppose that many of the emotions and thoughts associated with depression are in the subconscious, hypnotherapy could offer a fast-track to accessing and changing parts of the mind that would otherwise take months or years to uncover—or that may not be uncovered at all.
2. It Helps You Uncover What You Need to Let Go
If your depression was triggered by a traumatic event or a difficult loss, you may still be carrying around unresolved emotions about what happened. In fact, underneath the flatness of depression, you may feel everything from anger to guilt, fear, regret, and jealousy.
The sooner you are able to identify and release these emotions, the mentally healthier you will be—repression might feel easier, but really it just prolongs your pain and inhibits your personal development.
When you take part in a hypnotherapy program for depression, the therapist helps you to tune into this “unfinished business” from your past and facilitates a safe, powerful way of letting it go.
3. It Puts a Stop to Compulsive Thoughts
Many people struggling with depression report certain repetitive thoughts or messages that play in a constant loop.
These thoughts vary—for example, they might be telling you that you’re not good enough, that you don’t deserve love, or that you’re responsible for everything that has ever gone wrong in your life.
Using expert hypnotherapy techniques like neuro-linguistic programming and hypnotic suggestion, your hypnotherapist will lead you to replace these damaging, repetitive thoughts with different messages that help you see your life and your trauma in a more realistic light.
Removing these compulsive thoughts then leads to a reduction in compulsive actions (such as addictive behaviors and other self-destructive habits).
4. It Leads You to Positivity
After the initial work of identifying and releasing emotions associated with trauma, you can work with your hypnotherapist to develop a more positive mindset—and make sure that it lasts.
The same techniques that were used to get rid of old, damaging messages can be used to instill affirming, confidence-boosting thoughts that support a happier life.
For example, your hypnotherapist can teach you ways to reshape your self-perception, your expectations of your abilities, and your attitudes towards interpersonal relationships.
5. It Can Help Your Body
People who have used hypnotherapy as part of a treatment plan for depression often marvel at just how much this approach has not only helped their mind but also their body.
Many of the physical symptoms of depression (e.g. insomnia, low energy levels, and inexplicable aches and pains) can disappear along with negative thoughts.
Meanwhile, if you have other underlying health issues (such as tension headaches or a chronic pain disorder), you may find that the techniques that were targeted at treating depression also have a knock-on impact on your ability to cope with these other difficulties.
There is strong empirical evidence to support hypnotherapy as a pain-reduction measure.
Overcome Depression With Hypnotherapy...
If you are wanting help with your depression, hypnotherapy can be a great tool to use. Try out our self-hypnosis track today and see how much it can help you.
