Could hypnotherapy be an alternative to HRT?

As women approach and enter menopause, some begin to suffer from unwanted and uncomfortable side effects including hot flushes, night sweats, insomnia, mood swings, and lowered libido. There are a range of prescription and natural treatments on offer to help manage these symptoms. HRT is a commonly used treatment that supports the estrogenic and progesterone deficiency during menopause which causes the various changes experienced by the body.  There are also several alternative therapies such as hypnotherapy.

How can hypnotherapy help?

Hypnotherapy has been recognised as a safe and effective tool to deal with some of the unwanted menopause side effects with several well-published research studies supporting this. 

Hot flushes

Hot flushes occur when the hypothalamus (the body’s thermostat) becomes more sensitive to slight body temperature changes due to a decrease in estrogen levels. When the hypothalamus thinks the body is too hot it triggers a hot flush to attempt to cool you down. 

In clinical research, women undertaking hypnosis reported a substantial reduction in the level of hot flushes in severity and frequency of around 80% with levels continuing to fall up to 12 weeks after the sessions finished.  

Hypnotherapy works in a number of ways to reduce hot flushes.  Firstly, it ‘dials down’ the cooling response triggered by the hypothalamus before it happens whilst helping by reversing the raised heart rate, blood rushes, and sweating.

Secondly, while you are in a relaxed state, your subconscious mind is very open to learning and hypnotherapy can adjust how your brain reacts to temperatures - reducing its need to overreact by using suggestions and cooling imagery to help you manage your internal temperature control and reduce hot flashes by up to 80%.

Finally, hypnotherapy can improve your sleep which is often affected by night sweats and other symptoms during menopause.  

Sleep

Menopause is often accompanied with sleeping difficulties.  Research carried out in the US showed that a third of menopausal women slept an average of fewer than seven hours a night with nearly half reporting feeling unrested at least four days a week.  

Hypnotherapy is proven to help improve the quality and duration of sleep. It uses various techniques to aid you to be more relaxed at bedtime and give support to going back to sleep if you awake in the night, for example, due to hot flushes. It is important to focus on sleep as it can impact many areas of life including concentration, energy levels, and mood swings.

Mood swings

During menopause, some women experience raised anxiety and what could be described as mood swings.  Mood swings are usually brought about by a significant change in hormones which can then be further aggravated by poor sleep.  

Stress levels can also have an impact on the number of hot flashes you may experience leading to a vicious cycle of mood - affecting sleep and hot flushes which, in turn, are detrimental to your mood. Women who have used hypnotherapy to manage their menopause, including their hot flushes, have reported feeling calmer and less anxious which leads to an improvement in mood and feeling more in control.  

Hypnotherapy as a holistic approach 

Hypnotherapy has been shown to offer a holistic approach to the menopause. Using a suite of tools and techniques, hypnotherapy can reduce hot flushes, ease anxiety and improve your sleep. By taking control of these aspects’, hypnotherapy can improve a person’s overall psychological well-being and allow them to take control of their lives through the menopause.  

Hypnotherapy offers women a natural option to take control and reduce the symptoms of the menopause.  If you'd like to find out more about how hypnotherapy can support you through the menopause, you can message me to arrange a free consultation.