Hypnosis for eating disorders

Many people across the world are dealing with some type of eating disorder or have a family member that suffers from them. Eating disorders can be extremely destructive and in some instances can be fatal. When it comes to food, technically the body can only survive a short time without proper nutrition before irreversible damage occurs. This is why most of the common eating disorders involve withholding food and nutrition in an attempt to lose weight. Whilst a healthy, regulated diet can promote weight loss, when it is done in an extreme form there can be irreversible damage to the body both physically and psychologically.

Hypnosis and treating eating disorders

Hypnosis can be an extremely useful tool for a mental health professional to use as a therapeutic treatment for a number of conditions and behaviours. Some of the more popular conditions that incorporate hypnosis and hypnotherapy as part of combined treatment are eating disorders.

As with other destructive behaviours, eating disorders are often brought on by underlying issues and anxieties that lead the individual to begin to go down the path of self-destruction. There may be an underlying mental health issue or undiagnosed autism disorder that causes the person to seek control in the only way they feel they can. Other situations in their life may be out with their power and their body is the only area they can influence. Fortunately, there are skilled doctors and therapists that know how to use hypnotherapy as the powerful tool that it is for breaking down the hidden barriers caused by fear and anxiety.  

How exactly can hypnosis be used in conjunction with other treatments for eating disorders?

Hypnosis can be an effective therapy for helping people with a number of behavioural-based destructive actions. By using hypnosis and the power of suggestion a doctor or trained therapist is able to approach a specific eating disorder by using a multi-prong approach. Many of the eating disorders are triggered by past experiences that put the individual into a compromised situation and how they deal with this is at the heart of their overall problem.

Since hypnosis has shown to be an effective treatment for behavioural related issues, a therapist will utilise the power of hypnosis to help calm the mind of the client and whilst they are relaxed in a trance-like state, the therapist will suggest alternative, more positive behaviours. This will enable the client to achieve their target weight using a more realistic, and healthy approach.   

Causes of eating disorders

Many eating disorders are caused by underlying feelings low self-esteem, inadequacies and flawed thinking. Just like with drug addiction, eating disorders are frequently thought to be caused by the patient feeling that they need to lose weight despite the fact that they are actually perfectly proportioned based on their body type and other factors.

This flawed thinking can turn into destructive behaviour when they refuse to listen to the concerned views of others who try to help and advise them. There are many other underlying causes for eating disorders and all of them should be treated as quickly as possible in order to help them achieve the best possible results for any and all treatment options.

Note: Hypnotherapy is a safe and viable method for treating eating disorders which can complement any medical intervention being employed.