Hypnosis is not just a parlor trick or TV act − science shows it helps with anxiety, depression, pain, PTSD and sleep disorders

By David Acunzo, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia

We’ve all seen it, typically on television or on stage: A hypnotist selects a few members from the audience, and with what seems to be little more than a steely stare or a few choice words, they’re suddenly “under the spell.” Depending on what the hypnotist suggests, the participants laugh, dance and perform without inhibition.

Or perhaps you’ve experienced hypnosis another way – with a trip to a hypnotherapist for a series of sessions to help you stop smoking, lose weight, manage pain or deal with depression. This is no longer unusual; thousands of Americans have done the same thing.…

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