Because of the trickery used in stage hypnosis, the idea of using hypnosis as a legitimate therapeutic tool took a long time to catch on in the West. People automatically assumed that hypnosis was fake, just like stage hypnosis was fake. But as the study of psychology grew and scientists, doctors, and behaviourists began to understand more and more the impact of the connection between the mind and the body on the physical health of a person the idea that a true hypnotic state really did exist began to fascinate the medical community.

Early studies that were done using hypnosis had mixed results, probably because the researchers were not fully trained in how to use hypnosis and how to get patients and subjects relaxed into a true hypnotic state. Once they were able to get people into real hypnotic states they were amazed at the results that were possible using nothing more than deep relaxation and the power of hypnotic suggestions.

Even after hypnosis began to be embraced by the medical community the public at large took longer to convince. Today there are still believe who believe that stage hypnosis is all hypnosis is and that if they go to a clinical hypnotherapist for treatment, they will be giving up their free will and letting someone else take control of them. Many people regard hypnosis as New Age hooey that doesn’t have any real medical value but nothing could be further from the truth. In today’s fast-paced high-stress world using hypnosis and deep relaxation is the perfect treatment for many of the illnesses that people suffer from since so many of them are caused by the high-stress lifestyles of modern people.

The medical field and the psychological field are still studying hypnosis and are finding new ways to apply hypnosis as a therapeutic tool all the time. Already hypnosis is being used to treat many common physical and psychological conditions. Hypnosis is also often used in criminal justice to trigger the memories of witnesses to crimes and to help people heal from traumatic events.

Sports are the newest field to embrace hypnosis as a therapeutic tool. Sports medicine specialists are finding that the deep relaxation techniques used in hypnosis can help athletes become more focused and help them work through pain, anxiety and other problems. Using hypnosis improves their performance and their concentration and helps them become better, more successful athletes.

So if you’ve never seriously considered using hypnosis for medical purposes or to improve your general health before isn’t it time that you took another look at hypnosis for health? There are a lot more benefits to using hypnosis to improve your health than you might be aware of. Let’s look at some of the top benefits of using hypnosis for health.