Can hypnotherapy help boost my teen’s self-esteem?

According to research, an overwhelming 61% of 10-17-year-old girls in the UK have low self-esteem. Worryingly, nine in 10 young women will avoid activities and opportunities if they aren’t happy with how they look. Could hypnotherapy be the answer?

We all struggle with how we perceive ourselves from time to time. Our self-esteem changes and evolves as we gain new life experiences. While it may improve over time, it can also have a negative impact on our wellbeing when we experience certain setbacks, such as bullying and repeated critical feedback.

Changing how we think and feel about ourselves can seem impossible; in our minds, we build a clear picture of who and what we are. Challenging this can feel huge; yet when we are able to face automatic negative thoughts about ourselves, we can begin to change our perception, rebuild our self-esteem, and begin building up our confidence.

Low self-esteem can negatively impact our overall sense of happiness and wellbeing. As research has shown, low confidence levels can lead to missed opportunities, avoiding activities, and feeling unable to progress across areas of our lives. Over time, poor self-esteem can lead to more serious issues, such as depression and anxiety.

We share five ways hypnotherapy can help support teens in boosting their confidence and improving their self-esteem.

If you are looking to help a child or teen learn how to overcome low self-esteem, there are a number of different things you can try. Discover more about how to help kids build their self-esteem, find out how life coaching can help improve your self-esteem according to experts, and discover how you can help teens cope with negative body image.    

How can hypnotherapy help improve self-esteem?

Hypnotherapy can help us tackle avoidant behaviours and automatic negative thoughts

Automatic negative thoughts (when our minds go straight to the worst case scenario) are often learned thanks to bad experiences. If your teen struggled with a maths test at school, their subconscious may recognise this as something to be avoided; to protect themselves, their subconcious may tell them they are bad at maths and should avoid trying, which can lead to further stress and anxiety each time they have a test coming up, creating an ongoing negative impact.

These automatic negative thoughts can follow into adulthood, affecting their confidence and potentially leading to other related issues such as tackling their finances.

A hypnotherapist can help directly ‘speak’ with their subconscious, helping alter negative thinking patterns to encourage more positive responses. This can help replace that critical voice of fear with a more encouraging, supportive message.

Hypnotherapy can help reframe your thoughts

Being in a state of hypnosis is like experiencing meditation or deep relaxation. When in this state, a hypnotherapist can use suggestion techniques to uncover and reframe negative thoughts to something more positive.

This can help them unlearn negative thoughts and bad behaviours, replacing them with more supportive ones.

Self-hypnosis can reinforce new, positive thoughts

To help boost the positive new thought patterns and behaviours learnt during hypnotherapy sessions, their hypnotherapist may teach them self-hypnosis. This can help to reinforce suggestions made during sessions, boosting and reaffirming these new ways of thinking between sessions or after a set number of sessions have been completed. Often a complementary and supportive form of self-development, this can help support and boost feelings of confidence gained during sessions.

Hypnosis can help them become more compassionate towards themselves

When someone has poor self-esteem, being kind to themselves can become difficult. Re-learning how to practice self-compassion takes time and effort. Working with a hypnotherapist can help get you back into the habit of showing yourself kindness, reminding you of the importance of dedicating time to self-care.

Hypnosis can help them develop assertiveness

Low self-esteem can lead to some people having trouble saying no. When we begin to say yes too much, or feel like we can’t say no, it can become easy to feel overwhelmed, to take on too many responsibilities or tasks, and to start feeling stressed and under-appreciated, risking burnout. Working with a hypnotherapist can help them learn how to set healthy boundaries, develop their self-esteem, and feel more confident in their decision making by helping to boost positive subconscious beliefs.

Why does hypnotherapy help?

As one hypnotherapist explains, “Having confidence and high self-esteem ought to be effortless and organic, not forced. Hypnotherapy will get to the root of what is causing you to be nervous, anxious and fearful and not have self-belief. Hypnotherapists ask thought-provoking questions to dig deeper and find out what is causing you to lack confidence.

“Many hypnotherapists use a mix of tools to install positive habits, behaviours and thoughts and unleash the potential that resides within your subconscious.”

But how long does it take to have a real impact?

“It is most effective when a programme of three to six sessions are undertaken so that you resolve the underlying subconscious cause of the lack of confidence and low self-esteem.”