Who would have thought that hypnotherapy is a natural menopause treatment? Did you know that hypnotherapy could help menopausal women lower the number and intensity of hot flashes? Well, it's true! Hypnotherapy is one of the natural remedies for menopause symptoms. A recent study from Baylor University has shown that menopausal women, who specifically visualized images associated with coolness in their mind's eye during their hypnotherapy sessions, had a dramatic reduction in the number of hot flashes.
An estimated 85 percent of menopausal women experience hot flashes. Many of those women seek out medical treatments to relieve menopause symptoms. These treatments include hormonal and pharmaceutical therapies, each of which has distinct systemic disadvantages aside from any benefits. Because of this, many menopausal women seek out alternative natural remedies. While the use of herbal remedies is relatively well known, the use of hypnotherapy as an effective treatment is less widely known.
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Baylor's College of Arts and Sciences, Dr Gary Elkins has conducted several studies into hypnotherapy. He believes that the latest research suggests that the areas of the brain which are activated by imagery, may be exactly the same areas of the brain which are activated by actual perceived events. This then explains why women, who imagined a cool place while suffering hot flashes, felt cool rather than feeling the intense heat of a hot flash.
Participants in the Baylor study were 51 female breast cancer survivors, who agreed to hypnosis intervention for the treatment of their menopausal hot flashes. Prior to hypnotherapy, each participant was asked to identify their own personal preference for mental imagery to be used for the reduction of their hot flashes. Not one participant used imagery associated with warmth. All participants voluntarily showed a preference for images associated with coolness, such as cool water or waterfalls, cool mountain scenery, cool air, cool wind, snow, trees, leaves and cool forests. Interestingly, when asked to visualize images associated with warmth, unlike when visualizing cool images, the hot flashes did not decrease, even though they became relaxed.
Since menopause symptoms, like hot flashes frequently occur during the night, they can interfere with a woman's sleep pattern and even be associated with insomnia. Reducing the number and severity of hot flashes therefore could dramatically improve sleep for menopausal women so affected. Hypnotherapy which utilizes cool images has been shown to be one of the viable natural remedies for menopause, and self- hypnosis is not difficult.
However, if you have never experienced hypnosis before, it would be beneficial to attend a qualified hypnotherapist to understand the process prior to trying self-hypnosis at home. When ready for home menopause treatment using self-hypnosis, there are many hypnotherapy resources available, including audio CD's, books and tutorials.
Just remember to visualize cool images while relaxing and concentrate on your breathing. When you breathe in, for example, breathe slowly and deeply, and see yourself breathing in cool, calm, blue air and let it completely surround you. Feel its coolness touching every part of your body. Then, as you breathe out, see all stress exit your body through your fingertips. Feel and see the heat and stress float away. Next, slowly and deeply inhale again and see yourself inhaling cool, calm, blue air, as before, and continue to repeat the process. When ready to enter a deeper state of relaxation, utilize the cool images you have chosen and experience the relief.
Unlike hormonal treatments and pharmaceutical therapies for addressing menopause symptoms, hypnotherapy utilizing cool imagery does not come with harmful side effects. It is one of the natural remedies for menopause and hot flashes. So take advantage of this valuable modality and reduce the number and frequency of hot flashes with hypnotherapy. It is definitely worth a try!
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