Hypnosis for PTSD | How to Heal Your Mind After Traumatic Events

PTSD affects millions of people and can lead to devastating mental health issues. I believe that PTSD can be easily overcome through hypnosis.

 The aim of this article is to provide a guide for those who want to learn what hypnosis for PTSD is and how it works.

What is PTSD?

PTSD stands for post-traumatic stress disorder.

This is a mental disorder that can result from experiencing a traumatic event. This can include military combat, sexual assault, and violent attack, prolonged exposure to neglect during childhood, being taken hostage or kidnapped, and seeing blood or dead bodies.

This disorder is characterized by three types of symptoms: reliving the trauma through nightmares and flashbacks, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, and increased arousal.

PTSD causes intense fear, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. In synergy, hypnosis for anxiety can alleviate a lot of PTSD-related problems which can develop in people from all walks of life (see also ‘Hypnosis for Trauma‘).

Causes of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Can Develop After a War

In the war zones of Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places, many soldiers and even journalists and other civilians got PTSD due to events they witnessed such as attacks on both their own people or civilian life. It has become a crucial issue in our modern society that we need to understand in depth.

Sexual Assault

There are a variety of stressful events which can lead to suffering from PTSD. The most common stressors related to PTSD are sexual assault, war, the death of a loved one, and personal injury.

Sexual assault on a child is viewed as a devastating event for the victim. It is ranked among the top ten causes of PTSD as it involves the use of force resulting in physical, emotional, and mental trauma being inflicted on an individual victim.

Loss Of A Loved One

The death of a loved one is never easy but can have lasting effects on those left behind. While death is an almost certain part of life, people don’t always know how to react or cope when it happens to them. The result is tears, shock, anger and even stress disorder PTSD.

Violent Attack

Have you been the victim of a violent attack recently? You might be having PTSD symptoms. A violent attack is an assault that causes injury. The violence can be physical and also mental.

The victim doesn’t have to actually get hurt or die for it to be called an attack. There are other kinds of violent attacks that do not involve injuries, such as cyber-bullying and psychological abuse. For example, if you were bullied online or repeatedly teased by a gang of adolescent girls, it’s still considered an attack.

These attacks will trigger the victim to go into a PTSD state.

Other traumatic memories or causes of this condition include kidnapping, accidents and long exposure to emotional and physical abuse. A traumatic experience or event like this leaves the victim feeling angry, horrified, and guilty, and feeling detached from other people. This is where hypnosis for repressed memories is of great help.

a woman crying with a glass in her hand

PTSD Symptoms

Post-traumatic stress disorder involves more than just flashbacks of war or trauma. Its symptoms include anxious, fearful thoughts and feelings; mistrust; emotional numbness, irritability, and outbursts of anger.

People who have this disorder also may feel emotionally cut off from others, preoccupied with the traumatizing memory, or numb to recalling it.

Fear

People with these disorders are often afraid of certain sights, sounds, or any activity that seems to relate to associated events which may have led to the trauma.

Flashbacks

Flashbacks involve the sudden recurrence of some or all of a traumatic event, with some or all its associated feelings and sensations.

 The person might re-experience the event or memory in many different ways, sometimes as if it were happening again; sometimes as if he or she were observing it from outside. The flashbacks may be so realistic that the person momentarily believes they are actually re-living the earlier experience.

A person with PTSD can also dream about the horrifying event and their sleep is always disrupted by this. Dreams and flashbacks are symptoms of this mental condition, but so are nightmares. The dreams and nightmares are symbolic representations of the event they experienced with their mind’s way of trying to work through it.

Hypnosis To Help Forget The Traumatic Event

Hypnosis helps a person to forget the pain and trauma of their past. It assists them in transforming the experience from something that is life-threatening (or life-tottering), into something that is positive and enriching the quality of their current and future lives.

This transformation starts with a shift in perspective of the traumatic event (i.e., re-framing) and then going deeper into the traumatic event, identifying positive aspects with an emphasis on turning these into pleasurable experiences within themselves.

It Is Proven To Be Effective

The results of many clinical trials have proven that hypnotherapy is an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic stress. It also is stated to be the preferred alternative to antidepressant treatment.

Unlike stage hypnosis which aims at entertainment, hypnosis for PTSD is a natural but serious and effective treatment for those who are seeking help with PTSD, with no side effects.

How To Prepare For a Hypnotherapy Session?

Preparing for hypnotherapy sessions is key to getting the most out of your experience. You should expect an increased awareness of emotions, thoughts, and feelings alongside self-empowerment that can enhance aspects of well-being or your health.

Wear Comfortable Clothing

 Wear comfortable clothing that you can easily move or stretch in. If it is cold outside, wear warm clothing. Avoid wearing heavy jewelry in addition to perfumes or colognes. You will also need comfortable shoes for physical movement during the treatment or therapy.

Write Down All Your Symptoms of PTSD and Phobias

Before you forget, it’s important to do some prep work before your first hypnotherapy. Your next step is to write down all your PTSD symptoms, any questions or phobias you have that you’d like answered during your treatment or hypnotherapy.

You can then bring them with you on the day of your appointment and share them with your therapist in order to receive personal or customized psychotherapy.

How Hypnosis Works for PTSD Symptoms

If you are a victim of physical abuse or have the PTSD symptoms that I have discussed above, you should seek help. A therapist or hypnotherapist can help you forget all the bad memories and treat your condition of PTSD.

Book a Therapy With a Hypnotherapist

A typical first PTSD hypnotic session with most therapists may last an hour or two. The length of sessions can vary, and they may last longer, especially for patients with serious PTSD or mental conditions such as anxiety, depression, and even smoking addiction.

Since the process of hypnotherapy is focused on helping to achieve relaxation and feel comfortable, almost anything that can help you achieve that state of mind is fair game for most therapists to suggest as part of the treatment of hypnotherapy.

The hypnotherapist or professional may use different techniques to induce a hypnotic state. Typically these techniques include relaxation, guided imagery, and focused attention on an object, sound or phrase.

You Will Learn To Calm Your Mind

Hypnotherapy will teach you to create a safe place in your imagination to which you can retreat when you are distressing or suffering. You’ll learn to calm your mind, slowing your breathing while imagining yourself lying on an ocean beach, hearing the waves gently lapping against the shore.

You’ll begin relaxing every muscle in your body, gaining self-control as you focus all of your attention on the cleansing and healing power of salt water, which will wash away all negative feelings and soften your heart toward yourself. The ocean here is a technique or imagery tool used in most medical therapies or hypnotherapy like this.

Find a Qualified Therapist

There are many people that try to work with hypnotherapists but end up not finding a qualified therapist for hypnosis. Also, some unqualified professionals may charge you extra money without helping you in your situation.

When choosing a Hypnotherapist, you want to make sure that he or she has experience and is qualified to help do away with your trauma.

You need to find out how much training they have on hypnosis and ask them about their qualifications, experience, and references. You also need to look at the accessibility of the therapist – do they have any offices? Do they do house calls or Skype sessions?

Does Hypnosis Work For PTSD?

Yes, it does. There is ample evidence to show that hypnosis is effective for treating PTSD based on decades of studies. What’s more, it is natural.

 It is highly effective in curing various kinds of fears and phobias. Hypnosis changes the brain of someone permanently so that they will not be susceptible to any kind of stress anymore.

Is EMDR Similar to Hypnosis?

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is one among many psychotherapies that work at the subconscious to treat PTSD. While similar to hypnosis, evidence indicates that EMDR is not hypnotherapy.

EMDR targets symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder by desensitizing the client’s overwhelming memories of trauma. It’s similar to hypnotherapy in that it involves guided imagery but it does not get someone into a hypnotic state.

What Are the 5 Stages of PTSD?

There is an impact stage that occurs immediately after exposure to trauma. The second one is the denial stage. The victim will try to suppress memories of what happened and some may resort to alcohol and drugs in order to numb their emotions.

The third one is the short-term recovery stage. In this stage, someone with PTSD may try to get help from a professional or friends or may try to forget what happened. At this stage, many people will start to have nightmares and flashbacks of what happened.

The fourth stage is the Long term recovery stage. At this stage, one tries to seriously seek help from professionals. With the proper treatment and right tools, PTSD can be treated. The Fifth one is getting healed completely.