Audio Hypnosis For Weight Loss

Hypnosis is a technique that temporarily alters your state of awareness and speaks to your subconscious mind with the goal of changing your behavior. When you have been hypnotized, your mind becomes extremely focused, making you more responsive to verbal suggestions. When used for weight loss purposes, suggestions include behavioral changes that can help you lose weight.

Identification

With the help of a hypnotherapist using repetitive audio cues and guided imagery, you become completely relaxed and open to the ideas they introduce. Self hypnosis can be achieved with audio recordings that can be listened to in a quiet setting or while falling asleep. This allows your unconscious mind to absorb and process the suggestions.

Expert Insight

According to the Mayo Clinic, hypnosis may help you lose weight when combined with proper diet and exercise, but “there isn't enough solid scientific evidence about weight-loss hypnosis to recommend for or against it.” Furthermore, Dr. David Katz, an ABC medical contributor and Yale University professor says “hypnosis is not the definitive solution to weight control or weight loss.” He recommends exercise and consulting a nutritionist.

Benefits

Hypnotherapy is a form of psychotherapy and when used for weight loss is a two-part process. First you must be aware of your unhealthy habits surrounding food and exercise. Then while in a hypnotic state, suggestions to alter those habits are made. Suggestions can apply to food, such as “chocolate no longer interests you” or “the taste of fresh vegetables makes you feel strong." Suggestions can also apply to behavior, such as “I make healthy choices every day,” or “I choose to be fit and healthy.”

Considerations

There are certain people who are highly hypnotizable, about 15 percent of the nation's population. Other folks can’t be hypnotized at all, about 10 to 15 percent, according to a study by Stanford University. The other 70 to 75 percent of the population falls somewhere in between, with varying degrees of receptiveness to the affects of hypnosis. The altered state is not like being a zombie. Instead it’s like being absorbed by a really good book, losing yourself in it and temporarily checking out from the world around you.

Warning

When you are hypnotized, you are in a vulnerable, compromised state so make sure your hypnotherapist is a credentialed health care provider. Hypnosis cannot cause you to do anything you wouldn’t do otherwise, but if you are very impressionable, someone could take advantage of you.