Hypnotherapy As A Treatment for Depression – Hypnotherapy in Ely & Newmarket
In this article I’m talking about hypnotherapy as a treatment for depression. Depression, which is often experienced alongside anxiety, is one of the most common forms of mental health problems.
Recently I wrote about the evidence that supports the positive effect of exercise for helping with depression. systematic review and network meta analysis of randomised controlled trials found that exercise is an effective treatment for depression, with walking or jogging, yoga, and strength training more effective than other exercises, particularly when intense. Yoga and strength training were well tolerated compared with other treatments. Exercise appeared equally effective for people with and without other issues and with different baseline levels of depression. There’s more on that here: Exercise For Depression
Of course, even thinking about exercising, let alone finding the energy and motivation for it, may seem overwhelming whilst in the grip of depression.
Depression can be debilitating and draining. You feel low, hopeless and unhappy. You may have lost interest in things and have become more and more insular. There can be periods of being tearful, tense or frantic. Your sleeping and eating can be adversely affected. And your mind is dominated with worry, catastrophe, anxiety, how bad you feel and the pointlessness of everything. Even more frustratingly, you may know that things in your life are fine and that you really should be happy. Yet you are not and you may not know why you feel the way you do.
How your depression affects you can vary by person. Some people continue to function and, despite their thoughts and feelings, can continue with some usual activities such as work. For others, it leads to feeling unable to function in their usual way. They can be very sedentary and caught up in all the negative thinking. Some people just want to stay in bed or sleep because they can’t face the outside world and normal day to day life. You may drink or smoke more and eat unhealthily, all of which lower your mood further and can impact upon your health.
You feel low in mood, struggle to find pleasure and interest in things and life is dominated by feelings of worthlessness and worry.
You have hopefully been to see your doctor and you may have been prescribed anti-depressants. This may help a little or a lot. Yet the same depressive thinking patterns and troublesome feelings and emotions continue to lurk unabated.
Depression Hypnotherapy
I’ve helped many people to overcome their depression and start feeling better. You can change the thinking patterns that currently mean that you persistently feel low. And you can start to change how you feel for the better. You can regain a sense of purpose, confidence and inner worth. And hypnotherapy can also help you to tackle any associated exacerbating factors such as overeating, drinking, overthinking and worry. Progressively you start to feel better in yourself and that process increases and improves over time.
I’ve covered hypnotherapy for depression and other aspects of depression in these previous articles:
Exercise For Depression – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket
Using Hypnosis To Manage Rumination – Depression and Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket
How Nature Helps With Anxiety, Stress and Depression – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket
Mindfulness For Anxiety and Depression – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket
Depression and Employment: How Therapy Can Help You Find Work and Be More Productive At Work
Cognitive Hypnotherapy For Depression – How Effective Is It?
Clinical Depression and Depression Symptoms
More recently, a scoping review was published that provided a comprehensive overview of studies that explore the use of hypnotherapy as a treatment for depression (Pang, Subramaniam, Amit, Wahab and Moustafa, 2024).
Their review reported that hypnotherapy was found to be frequently used as an adjunct treatment alongside various types of psychotherapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy and that it often included techniques like hypnotic induction, ego strengthening, and self-hypnosis. The treatment duration varied from three sessions to as long as twenty weekly sessions.
Most importantly from our point of view, the majority of the studies found hypnotherapy to be effective in reducing symptoms of depression, with some studies suggesting it has superior effects to antidepressant treatment.
“The findings of the studies included in this review indicate that hypnotherapy can effectively reduce depressive symptoms, often outperforming or matching the efficacy of established treatments such as CBT and antidepressant treatment. Some studies even reported improved outcomes in areas such as overall health, vitality, sleep quality, and heart rate variability. These promising findings suggest that hypnotherapy can contribute substantially to depression treatment, either as a standalone intervention or as an adjunct to other therapeutic approaches.”
This review highlights the potential of hypnotherapy as an effective treatment for depression, something that sits very nicely alongside the positive results I often see in my clients after their hypnotherapy sessions.
Hypnotherapy as a treatment for depression can help you with managing emotional distress, interrupting negative thought patterns, boosting self-esteem and with reducing anxiety, worry and overthinking. Through your hypnotherapy sessions, and taking specific actions outside of sessions, you can reduce your depressive symptoms and boost your mood, mindset and sense of well-being.
To your health and happiness,
Dan Regan
Award Winning Hypnotherapist in Ely & Newmarket
Seeking help to overcome your depression? Book your Complimentary Hypnotherapy Strategy Session with Dan now: Appointments
Find out what four hundred plus people have said after their hypnotherapy sessions with Dan: What People Say
And check out these powerful hypnosis downloads that can start helping you feel better with a range of issues right away: Hypnosis Downloads
Reference: Pang, J.W.V., Subramaniam, P., Amit, N., Wahab, S. and Moustafa, A.A., 2024. Hypnotherapy as Treatment for Depression: A Scoping Review. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, pp.1-34.
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