Hot flashes are the most common symptom of perimenopause and menopause, and if you’re reading that, you are probably experiencing them, aren’t you? Did you know that you can learn to control hot flashes with hypnosis? That you can take back control of your body? That you don’t have to anxiously check your body for signs that the overwhelming heat is going to engulf you at the worst possible moment?
Sounds crazy? Surely the hot flashes are a biological event caused by hormones and how can my brain change that? How can I possibly learn to control hot flashes with hypnosis?
The truth is that our brains are very powerful and capable of making all sorts of biological change happen in our bodies. You only need to look at research on new types of medicine to see what remarkable things our brains can change. All new medicines need to be tested against a pretend medicine called a placebo. This is because simply by believing that a medicine can help our illness, the brain can actually make improvements happen!
Hypnosis is a way of harnessing that power.
But isn’t hypnosis something weird when someone takes control of my mind?No, not at al. Hypnotherapy is a way of harnessing your brain’s natural power to enable you to achieve change and to achieve the best version of ‘you’ that there is!
Hypnosis is………
- Time for relaxation and focus on positive suggestions
- Something anyone can learn to do and become accomplished at
- Time for yourself and a step on the journey to be the best you there is
- A way to change behaviour and habits
- Completely safe
- A method of achieving change for which there is much evidence to back it up
- A skill that you can use in everyday life to manage stress
- A collaborative process between you and the therapist
Hypnosis is not……
- Something to be scared of
- A form of mind control
- A trick that will make you do things you don’t want to do
- Going to leave you ‘stuck’ in a trance
The feeling of being in hypnosis is not actually ‘sleep.’ When experiencing hypnosis, people are aware of everything that is going on around them, but it has been likened to the feeling of daydreaming when you are absorbed in your imagination and an idea.
So I Can Learn to Control Hot Flashes with Hypnosis?
So you’re still trying to figure out if I’m crazy, suggesting you can learn to controI hot flashes with hypnosis. I know, it all sounds a little hard to believe, especially since menopause and perimenopause is a time when we can feel a little bit as if our bodies are a runaway train. But you can learn to control hot flashes with hypnosis. It’s all about body temperature and the brain.
During the perimenopause, hormone changes in our body can affect the area of the brain that controls temperature. So our brain mistakenly believes our body is too hot and takes steps to reduce it by causing the body to flush, sweating, and creating all the unpleasant changes that we know from a hot flash. If we feel anxious or stressed by this, for example worrying about having a hot flash during a meeting or in a public place, then the bodily changes caused by stress just add to the problems and make the experience worse!
Research has shown that women who have hypnosis aimed at re-establishing control over the body’s temperature have fewer and also less intense hot flashes. Many even stop having them altogether! Control can be regained!
The research showed that the effect of hypnosis on reducing flashes can be as good as that of hormone treatment.
More generally, hypnosis is a well-established therapy for problems such as stress and anxiety, other symptoms that can rear their ugly heads at this time of life.
The perimenopausal time can feel as though our body has taken over, it is out of our control. And the cool thing about exploring hypnosis as a potential solution is that it is very empowering to know that you can take learn to control hot flashes with hypnosis and be in charge once more.
About Me – Why Did I Become a Hypnotherapist?
I am a trained cognitive behavioural hypnotherapist. Before becoming a hypnotherapist, I worked as a medical journalist and in PR, writing about diseases and new medicines to help doctors and the public understand advances in research. I loved my career as I am fascinated by progress in treating disease and keeping people well. Now, as a hypnotherapist, I have found a way to help people directly. As a woman who navigated her own menopause without much help and support, I want to make a difference to women going through this phase of their life, in particular.
If you’re slogging through perimenopause and dealing with unpleasantness like hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, mood swings, and all the other lovely things that come with a hormonal change, know that you can do something to help. And Hypnotherapy might be one of the things that will make a difference for you. If you’d like to know more, be sure to stay tuned for my upcoming Middle Chicks interview with Lee Brochstein.
Other resources on this topic:
The Midlife Middle and What You Can Do About It
Menopause and Migraines Can Kiss My Ass
Memory Loss and Midlife: What Was I Saying?
When you come to see me, the therapy I provide will be tailored to your specific needs and designed to enable you to develop the confidence and skills to manage your life in the future.
- Learn to Control Hot Flashes with Hypnosis - July 10, 2018
