Most people will have at least one area of their life where they are lacking in self-confidence. Where they struggle to achieve their goals. However, if you are finding that the areas where you lack self-confidence are affecting a significant portion of your life or it is affecting a really important area of your life, then it is likely that your self-esteem is also low.
There is evidence to suggest that hypnotherapy can help increase confidence and low self-esteem in a variety of different areas. These include building low self-esteem and confidence in people recovering from addictions and helping people with public speaking and sports performance.
Hypnotherapy will move you into a trance state where you feel more relaxed. Then while in a trance state you will be encouraged to visualise your preferred outcome. Most hypnotherapy sessions are split into two distinct parts, ‘the talky bit’ and hypnosis. The talking bit, which could be either counselling or psychotherapy, depending on the approach chosen, will help you to understand why you feel as you do and to understand what can be done about it. The length of your hypnotherapy session could vary between 30 minutes – 90 minutes. An initial consultation will generally be held prior to your hypnotherapy sessions starting. This is to agree the aims and goals of your treatment, to discuss any undesirable symptoms and to give you a guide as to the number of sessions required. This will vary from client to client and depend on what you wish to achieve.
Many people confuse low confidence with low self-esteem and although the two states are often linked, they are different. If you suffer with low confidence, it’s likely that you don’t trust yourself to complete a task/s successfully. While if you suffer with low self-esteem, then you are prone to putting yourself down and you probably don’t think much of yourself. This can lead you to be less confident than someone with higher self-esteem, yet you are probably confident in some areas of your life. Equally, if you have high self-esteem you may still lack confidence in one or two areas of your life such as public speaking or performing.
If you have low confidence in the workplace, you may struggle to put yourself forward for promotion or ask for things to be done by others. Within relationships, it may cause you to put up with less than desirable situations and feel isolated.
If you suffer from low confidence and/or low self-esteem, you probably focus on the things about yourself that you don’t like. At the same time, you might not recognise the things that other people admire about you, your strengths and abilities. Hypnotherapy can help to change your focus so that you are able to see your skills and start to love yourself for the unique and special person that you are.
Low self-esteem can show up in many aspects of life, often affecting how you think, feel, and interact with others. It may lead to challenges in relationships, limit personal growth, and harm your overall sense of well-being. Recognising these signs is a crucial step towards building a more positive self-image and improving your confidence.
Recent studies show that a significant proportion of the UK population experiences low self-esteem and confidence issues:
These findings reflect a worrying trend of declining self-esteem and confidence across various age groups in the UK.
Hypnotherapy is a very relaxing therapy and once you relax, your brain can start to see things from a different perspective. Studies have shown that low self-esteem can lead to anxiety, while hypnotherapy has been shown to help alleviate symptoms of anxiety and at the same time, improve your self-esteem. Hypnosis works by using positive language to help to improve your self-esteem, to feel more motivated and increase confidence levels.
When you are in a trance state, you will be in a state of focused attention. Different brain waves become more prevalent and you will be able to see things from a different perspective, altering your perception of your life. The change in brain waves will also make it easier for you to take on new ideas and new ways of thinking. Most hypnotherapists use an element of talking therapy these days and this supports the trance session by helping you to evaluate your current behaviour. Most importantly your therapist will help you to address the way you think about yourself.
The number of sessions you will need for low confidence and/or low self-esteem will vary from person to person. The questions that your hypnotherapist will ask to help them calculate the number of sessions you might need might include: “What do you want to achieve?” or “What is interfering with you achieving your goal?” Another factor to consider might be the level of your commitment. You might be expected to listen to an MP3 download every night or to perform some other task between sessions. You will see results much more quickly if you do the things your hypnotherapist suggests.
The cost of hypnotherapy for low confidence and/or low self-esteem can vary from one therapist to another. This will depend on your location and the qualifications and experience your hypnotherapist has. To give you a rough guide prices can vary from £40- £150 per hour.
There is evidence to suggest that hypnosis can help children to increase low confidence and/or low self-esteem in children using hypnotherapy. It is well known that children often find it much easier to go into a trance state than their adult counterparts. This is thought to be because children are more open about trying new things than many adults.
Even before lockdown many hypnotherapists were running online hypnotherapy sessions for low confidence and/or low self-esteem. The good news is that there is now evidence to support the effectiveness of online hypnotherapy sessions for a range of conditions. All you would need to take part in an online hypnotherapy session would be a laptop, tablet or smartphone, access to the internet and somewhere quiet where you can relax.
Hypnotherapy has been shown to be a very effective treatment for the stress and anxiety that often results from having low confidence and/or low self-esteem. It was also found that hypnosis was more effective when combined with a psychological element than just hypnosis alone. However, it is not allowed for any hypnotherapist to guarantee any success with the use of hypnotherapy.
You can expect to see some slight improvement after the first hypnotherapy session, particularly if listening to an MP3 download every night. However, everyone is different and much will depend on what you want to achieve and your commitment to the hypnotherapy process. However, you’ll probably need a few sessions before your peers start to notice any changes. After around 10 sessions, you should see a consistent improvement in your confidence/self-esteem, while feeling calmer and more relaxed.
As hypnotherapy is considered to be a complementary therapy in the UK, we are not allowed to publish success rates for improving confidence and/or self-esteem. Your commitment to the hypnotherapy process is also very important. If you engage with your hypnotherapist and follow their advice, such as listening to an MP3 download every night, then your treatment will be more effective than if you don’t. However, all that said, a number of research studies have shown Hypnotherapy to be effective for increasing low self-esteem and confidence that often results in stress and anxiety.
Unfortunately, you will not be able to access hypnotherapy for low confidence and/or low self-esteem through the NHS.
Start out with the basics, Search for “hypnotherapy for confidence” in Google or Bing. The results will contain a map with local hypnotherapy businesses. Start looking through their reviews either in the search engine or on their social (Facebook) pages.
The best hypnotherapists will be registered with a professional association and with organisations that are accredited by the professional standards authority. There are only two in the UK and they are the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) and the National Hypnotherapy Society.
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