When we are in a life-threatening situation, it is natural that we should keep checking our environment for signs of danger. Unfortunately, if you’ve been diagnosed with OCD, this feeling of danger is constant, making you feel extremely anxious. Your mind then encourages you to constantly check the environment for the cause of this danger.
When this happens, you check, check again and repeatedly recheck until you are imprisoned by the very behaviour that is intended to protect you. Rechecking and the emotions surrounding it is just one of the symptoms known as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD. You might even have likened the symptoms of OCD to living with an abusive friend.
Hypnotherapy will move you into a trance state where you feel more relaxed. This will allow you to let go of that feeling of danger and to start to let go of the routines you’ve been using to help you feel safe. Hypnotherapy has been shown to help alleviate the stress and anxiety that can trigger OCD and make it worse.
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 from 30 – 90 minutes. An initial consultation will generally be held prior to your hypnotherapy sessions starting. This is to agree your aims and goals for your treatment, to discuss your symptoms and to give you a guide to the number of sessions required. This will vary from client to client and depend on how severe the OCD is. As a rough guide for long term results, OCD symptoms can be relieved in 8 or more hypnotherapy sessions.
There are five main types of OCD: checking compulsions, contamination compulsions, pure obsessions (Pure ‘O’), symmetry obsessions and hoarding. If you’ve been diagnosed with OCD, you will have intrusive, obsessive thoughts and potentially compulsive behaviours. OCD is usually an exaggeration of a normal response, such as handwashing, but if you have OCD, then you cannot get it out of your mind, ever.
OCD once ranked in the top 10 most disabling illnesses by lost income and decreased quality of life. OCD is both caused by and exaggerated by stress.
The reality is that it is often your perception of what’s going on, rather than the actual events in your life, that cause stress. The more negatively you feel or think about an area of your life, the more your brain creates intrusive thoughts in an attempt to keep you safe. This creates a vicious circle that intensifies your compulsive thoughts.
Hypnotherapy can help you to reverse this by helping you to relax. Your brain will feel safer, reducing the number of intrusive negative thoughts and the need for compulsions.
There are many misconceptions about OCD, one of which is that if you are very clean and tidy then you’ll have OCD. In reality, if you have OCD your mind is able to trick you into believing that something you thought was definite might not be. You start to doubt yourself and find yourself rechecking things. For example, you might question whether you turned off your hair straighteners before leaving home. On some level, you know that you did, but you might find yourself calling home to ask someone to check for you, or even going home to check yourself. For this reason OCD is often called the Doubting Disorder.
Do you find yourself constantly worrying about dirt and germs that could cause you or someone you care about to be ill? You might feel the need to repeat certain phrases or activities over and over again to ease your anxiety. Do you think the same negative thought patterns over and over, some of which are scary or disturbing? You might worry that you will harm someone else but know you never would. Do you need to have a place for everything, where everything is symmetrical in your home or workplace? Are you compelled to repeat certain behaviours? You might struggle to let go of items that other people consider useless or of no value. If any of these feelings and behaviours are familiar to you and are affecting your quality of life, then it could be worth contacting your GP.
There are an infinite number of OCD types. It can relate to any person, situation, subject or thoughts. However, traditionally the OCD types fall into five main categories, often with some overlap across them.
No single definitive cause of OCD has been identified and there are many different theories as to why it develops. Regardless of the cause, people with OCD usually have a high incidence of stress or anxiety. This is often the trigger for OCD and can make symptoms worse. Other possible causes include:
Hypnotherapy is a very relaxing therapy and, once you relax, your body no longer feels in danger. This causes a drop in your cortisol level which is a stress hormone. This can help you to have a better night’s sleep where you wake up feeling refreshed, with more energy. It is known that stress and anxiety can trigger OCD symptoms and make them worse. Hypnotherapy has been shown to help alleviate symptoms of anxiety and stress. Using positive language during hypnosis can help you to feel more motivated and confident, and improve your self-esteem. All of these are important if you want to break free of the vicious cycle created by OCD.
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 and the way you think.
It is always important to contact your GP about your OCD symptoms before seeing a hypnotherapist. They will be able to offer you a variety of options to help you to get your symptoms under control.
The number of sessions you will need for OCD 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: “How long have you had these symptoms?” or “How severe are the symptoms?” 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 number of sessions you will need for OCD 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: “How long have you had these symptoms?” or “How severe are the symptoms?” 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.
There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to support hypnotherapy for children in alleviating OCD symptoms. However, there is a need for more research into the treatment of OCD 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 OCD. 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 works in two ways. Most hypnotherapy approaches use a blend of talking therapy plus trance. The talking element of the session will help you to look at your depression from a different perspective. You might explore your current behaviours or thought patterns that are getting in the way. The talking element might be some form of counselling, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or a solution focused approach. The aim is to help give you a better understanding of how to get better. This will then be followed by a trance session where the therapist will use hypnosis to relax you into a trance state. While in the trance state, which is a natural state of focused attention, you will be able to let go of any tension and relax fully. This allows your brain to move from flight and flight mode into a state of deep relaxation where you can change your perception of your life. When you are in a trance state the predominant brain waves change from Beta to Alpha and Theta, these allow you to change the way you think and to problem solve more effectively.
There is plenty of anecdotal evidence that suggests hypnotherapy can help reduce the symptoms of OCD. However, there is only a limited amount of research and more is needed to support its use. Hypnotherapy has been shown to be a very effective treatment for the stress and anxiety that underpins OCD. It was also found that hypnosis was more effective when combined with a psychological element than just hypnosis alone. However, it is not possible to guarantee a cure with any condition
You can expect to see some slight improvement in your sleep after the first hypnotherapy session, particularly if listening to an MP3 download every night. However, everyone is different and much will depend on the severity of your symptoms and your commitment to the hypnotherapy process. However, you’ll probably need a few sessions before your friends and family start to notice any changes. After around 10 sessions, you should see a consistent change in OCD symptoms, feeling calmer and more relaxed.
Unfortunately, you will probably be unable to access hypnotherapy for OCD through the NHS. This is despite the British Medical Association’s assertion, in their submission of evidence in 2000 to the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology, that ‘Hypnotherapy and counselling may be considered as orthodox treatments’.
Start out with the basics, Search for “hypnotherapy for ocd” 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.
Related Articles
