Hypnotherapy can help you cope with almost anything

I have a series of alerts with certain keywords that send me daily news items on a variety of mental health and well-being topics, including stress, anxiety, panic, anger management, positive psychology, rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT), cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and, most importantly, hypnotherapy.

So, I’m always aware of the celebrities that currently favour it as their main coping strategy (Adele and Amanda Holden to name but two) and I’m always aware of the things it is helping to alleviate, control, manage and, in some cases, cure. Lately, this has included social phobias, a fear of flying, resolving cultural identity issues, beating cancer, stage fright, insomnia and a plethora of addictions to very specific types of food (crisps, chicken nuggets, potato waffles and so on).

However, the news item that most recently caught my eye was a teaser for a Global Hypnotherapy Market Analysis Report. It’s not the first I have received. I doubt it will be the last but, they all say the same thing, namely, that hypnotherapy will be a significant growth industry for the next several years and is predicted to be worth over $80 billion by the year 2030.

The report cites a growing need for mental health care services plus a rising demand right across the board (hospitals, private clinics, private practice, face-to-face and online).

I do a little bit of well-being consultancy for the hospitality industry, and I know that many big names in the hotel and spa resort sectors have either put hypnotherapy back on their wellness menu or are thinking of adding it in the very near future because of an awareness of this demand.

Here in the UK several newspapers not so long ago reported (via another one of my news alerts) that many people, having grown fed up with the long NHS waiting lists for mental health services, were privately turning to hypnotherapy to help them whilst they waited. In some cases, the hypnotherapy was so successful, that they no longer needed the psychotherapy they were waiting so long for.

Demand for any kind of support soared during and immediately after the onset of the pandemic and its attendant lockdowns. According to an American Psychological Association Study published back in November 2022, after the pandemic, the demands for any kind of depression and anxiety treatment just kept on coming. Even now, in many places, the demand for treatment far outstrips supply. Because of this, hypnotherapists around the world have noticed an uptake in enquiries.

I’m an MSc-trained psychotherapist and one who uses a combination of REBT, positive psychology and clinical hypnotherapy to help people manage their problems and achieve their goals.

Prior to the pandemic, more people asked for REBT and positive psychology treatment than asked for hypnotherapy. However, since then most of my enquiries have been for either hypnotherapy or hypnotherapy and other modalities combined. People are wanting all the help they can get.

In times past, people used to ask me to help them with their specific anxiety issues, their definitive work-stress problems, and their unhealthy relationships with particular drinks, drugs, or food. Today. However, they are now simply asking me for ‘tools’ and ‘coping strategies.’

When I ask them what they want they want those tools and coping strategies, some say, “life,” but most say, “everything.”

Life is and always has been a never-ending series of trials and tribulations. However, it used to be a case of, “If it’s not one thing, then it’s another.” But, as more than one client of mine has put it, nowadays, it’s more like “everything all at once."

And so that’s what I use hypnotherapy for (together with tools and techniques borrowed from my other modalities). I help people deal with everything a little better than they did before they came to see me. Alongside helping them manage their anxiety disorders, their stress-management issues, and their addictions to specific types of food, I am helping them to increase both their well-being and their resilience in the face of adversity. In fact, it’s what gave me the idea for my latest book.

It’s called 'How to Cope with Almost Anything with Hypnotherapy' (Bloomsbury Publishing). It’s out now in the UK and it comes out in the US in August. It pretty much covers what I do when people ask me for tools to help them deal with their ‘everything.’

I am hoping it will see you through to at least 2030, and beyond. Because you need all the help you can get.