Could Hypnotherapy Put an End to Your Clinical Depression?

The effectiveness of hypnosis to treat mental disorders reaches the highest level of efficacy when it is utilized following a known trauma. While this can be a physical trauma such as sexual abuse, it also applies to long-term psychological trauma, ranging from verbal abuse to stress following an intensely unpleasant circumstance such as might be experienced by a soldier during war. Indeed, the patient suffering from depression need not necessarily be the victim of abuse, but the perpetrator. In addition, when dealing with suspected psychological trauma that has been repressed, hypnosis is often, and controversially, used to retrieve forgotten memories. One theory of depression treatment centers on the effect of releasing endorphins, the chemical that prompts, among other thing, the so-called runner's high. Endorphin release typically results in a person experiencing a heightened sense of positive emotions; in certain cases people report feeling euphoric. One method of hypnotherapy is to give a verbal suggestion to the patient that are designed to release these endorphins.