‘Tis the season for family, love, gift giving, and stress. Contrary to Andy Williams hit, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, holidays are also the most stressful time of the year. There are so many different stress triggers set off by the holiday season. People experience financial pressure, work stress, time management, and with COVID there is a whole new level of stress and anxiety that we have to deal with this year. We know we cannot eradicate the stress that comes with the holidays, but we can learn how to manage it.
Mental health care is becoming more mainstream, with people having open conversations about their mental health, finally removing the stigma against mental illness. As meditation and calming aps are surfacing –I’m sure we all saw the “Calm” add pop up during the presidential debate, or at least the meme version of it—there is another mental health tool that is starting to break out into being more mainstream, self-hypnosis.
Hypnotherapy is commonplace in many different areas of the world. Christine Deschemin of Renewed Edge Hypnotherapy Centre shares that “European hospitals are increasingly using hypnosis in their operating theatres. In other parts of the world, a growing number of integrative clinics do have at least one hypnotherapist. In other parts of the world, hypnotherapy has not become yet mainstream because of the lack of education about the benefits of hypnosis.”
In the United States, the popularity of hypnotherapy is slowly expanding, and if you’re still concerned and erring on the side of caution, Deschemin says for those that are apprehensive “I would urge them to let go of all the misconceptions around hypnosis. Hypnosis is approved by doctors and mental practitioners in the world… If you are sceptical, you can listen to a hypnosis downloads app such as UpNow from the comfort and safety of your home. The secret to successful emotional regulation is practice.”
She also mentions the how people in high stress situations, such as athletes use it to help them in their sport. “Athletes have used it extensively to achieve peak performance and they can face a lot of stress… Athletes do not just deal with stress when they compete: they prepare in advance; they build their own resilience over time. And self-hypnosis can help anyone just do that.” This applies to the stressful situations we find ourselves in during the holidays, so adding hypnotherapy to your daily self-care routine is a great way to make your holiday season run smoothly.
So how does hypnotherapy work exactly? Deschemin explains “In hypnosis, a person enters a state a focused awareness that allows them to accept suggestions more readily. In that state you are less distracted by thoughts and sensations. I use the words hypnosis and self-hypnosis interchangeably because in a hypnotherapy session, the therapist helps the client re-create that natural state. Research proves that self-hypnosis can help leverage the mind-body connection to alleviate stress, anxiety and even manage pain.”
So, with the holidays upon us, we need to get ahead of the stress an anxiety they come with. Set aside 25 minutes of your day to relax and listen to a self-hypnosis audio so you can truly enjoy the season the way it is intended to be enjoyed. Invest in your family, but more importantly invest in yourself so you can put your best self forward.
Hypnotherapy is not recommended for people with serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia, and psychosis. These people require the help of a psychiatrist who may prescribe specific medications.
