Can Hypnosis Cure Social Anxiety?
- Robert Barnett C.Ht., CLC, PMP, MBA
Did you know that, in the United States alone, more than 5 million people in the United States alone suffer from social anxiety? Social anxiety, sometimes known as social phobia, can be a debilitating condition and it can make it difficult for people to go out and live their lives. Fortunately, if you have social anxiety, you might not have to deal with it forever.
Hypnotherapy for phobias may conjure up images of a shady man with a stopwatch, but hypnotherapy for panic attacks is actually more effective than you might realize. If you’ve never tried hypnosis, CT, before, you might be wondering how well it works and if it might be the right option for you.
Keep reading and learn more about hypnosis for social anxiety and how hypnotists in CT can help you.
Social anxiety can vary from person to person and some may have much worse social anxiety than others. But whatever the case, this type of anxiety focuses on the fear of being around people, talking to people, or otherwise interacting with people. Since the world is full of social situations such as work and school, social anxiety can be a crippling mental condition and it can make one’s life very uncomfortable.
Usually, social anxiety is rooted in irrational fears. The person with social anxiety might even realize that their fears are irrational but that doesn’t make them challenge any less real, as they still struggle to soothe those negative emotions and thoughts. Overthinking usually plays a big part in social anxiety.
For example, a person with this condition might try to avoid going to the grocery store (or any other public place) at all costs. The person might be afraid of having to talk to the cashier upon checking out. While this is an irrational fear, the anticipation of having to talk to the cashier or even interact with the cashier in any way can create a feeling of dread in a person with social anxiety.
The socially anxious person might worry about saying something foolish to the cashier. Because the socially anxious person already expects something bad to happen, they may not go to the grocery store at all. This sort of behavior can happen in many different scenarios such as parties, classes, family gatherings, and so on.
In some cases, the socially anxious person might have a panic attack if they are forced into a social situation that makes them too anxious. A panic attack can include symptoms such as heart palpitations, chest pain, rapid breathing, rapid heart rate, tunnel vision, chills, and sweating. Panic attacks can sometimes be so severe that the person may think that they are having a heart attack.
What Is Hypnotherapy for Phobias & Anxiety?
There are many types of hypnotherapy service options such as sports hypnosis, online hypnosis, hypnotherapy for driving anxiety, and so on.
Many people in the past have tried to discredit hypnosis, but many find it just as effective as other types of therapy. When it comes to social anxiety management, hypnotherapy should be a primary consideration, but there’s certainly no harm in trying hypnotherapy, especially if other approaches worked for you so far.
Hypnosis for social anxiety is a unique self-help modality that involves putting you into a trance. Hypnosis does not involve making you think that you are someone else and it does not force you to do things that you don’t want to do, as you might see on TV. Instead, hypnosis involves putting you into a state of calmness where you can be more focused.
This is very helpful when it comes to reflecting on your social anxiety (and any other challenges you may face) from a distance. In order to try this kind of approach, you will need to have a hypnotherapist who is trained in hypnosis guide you. Your hypnotherapist will be able to put you into a trance-like state through the repetition of certain words, phrases, and mental images.
The repetition and other guiding elements will help to calm you and allow you think more clearly. Once you and your hypnotherapist accomplish this, your hypnotist will be able to suggest certain things to you and you will be better able to reflect on those suggestions. Keep in mind that you will still be in control of your own behavior while you are under hypnosis.
One thing to keep in mind as you prepare to be hypnotized is to be in a position that is physically comfortable, especially during your first experience. It will be difficult to enter a trance-like state if you are uncomfortable and your muscles are unable to relax.
When it comes to hypnotherapy for anxiety, your hypnotherapist will be able to guide you. Your hypnotherapist should guide you in such a way that you feel comfortable and able to conquer your emotions and fears. You should keep in mind that one hypnotherapy session will not cure all of your social anxiety fears.
Instead, as with any approach, you will need several sessions before you begin to see any big improvements. However, you should notice that you are making progress with every session, including the first one. During your first session, you and your hypnotherapist will be able to discuss your challenges and goals.
For example, your goal might be to go out to a public place without being too anxious to talk to anyone. You might also aim to have fewer panic attacks when having to be involved in social situations. Some goals are harder to achieve than others, but your hypnotherapist will support you to help you reach your goals, no matter how long it might take.
When it’s time to start the hypnosis, your hypnotherapist will help guide you into a calm, trance-like state. The hypnotherapist can do this by speaking to you in a calm voice. This is also possible by evoking calming mental images.
As you focus on calm images and words, both your body and mind will start to relax. You will also become more receptive and focused once you relax and become hypnotized. Once you are in this state, your hypnotherapist will be able to suggest ways in which you can accomplish your goals.
You may even start to visualize how you will accomplish your goals. Through visualization, it will be easier to clarify your goals and accomplish them.
Hypnosis isn’t the right choice for everyone, so how do you know if it’s the right choice for you? The first thing you should know is that some people are more easily hypnotized than others. For example, if you are already doubtful of the effectiveness of hypnotherapy, you will need to address this skepticism for the trance-like state to be most useful.
This will make it more difficult for hypnosis to work for you. That’s because hypnosis is all about being open to suggestions. If you are already closing yourself off, you will be creating barriers to your change. Fortunately, we have experience dealing with such skepticism and can use other tools to help overcome those initial barriers.
This is true even if you do believe in hypnotherapy but don’t believe in your goals or your goals are poorly defined. For example, suppose that you say to yourself, “I’ll try this, but I’ll never be able to be more outgoing.” Because you are already certain that you’ll never improve, this limiting belief will need to be addressed early in the process.
It will actually be difficult for any kind of traditional therapy to work if you believe that your social anxiety will never improve. For that reason, it is best to go into the process believing that you will be able to overcome your social anxiety. Of course, your hypnotherapist will be able to help you with this.
Through hypnosis, your hypnotherapist will be able to advise you in ways in which you can improve the symptoms of your anxiety. Starting small is important. For example, saying hello to someone you don’t know is a good way to get out of your shell.
While this may bring you great anxiety, it is a very small step to start with. Once you are able to say hello to someone you don’t know, it will be easier to socialize later on, even if it still may present some challenge for you.
Read more Related Blog
Unleashing Athletic Excellence: Maximizing Sports Performance through Hypnosis
Hypnosis for Sports Anxiety: The Ultimate Guide to Reducing Anxiety for Athletes
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Seminar on managing anxiety blending hypnosis, NLP, CBT etc... |
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How to identify clear opportunities and establish goals. |
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Techniques to properly build a structure to your success. |
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Lifelong tools and methods to overcome fears, anxieties, habits. |
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Coaching techniques and tools.
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