Is hypnotherapy useful?

[Mstislav]

I am thinking about online therapy from Anxiety UK. Does anyone have any knowledge of hypnotherapy? It may be quicker and more effective for me than CBT. I am looking for help with a severe, long-standing phobia of writing college essays.

[STEM_Dad]

I don't have any personal experience with hypnotherapy, but it's possible that it would be helpful to you.

I did find an article that discusses it as a treatment for people who have ADHD.

additudemag.com/hypnotherap...

The article mentions that there's only been a little bit of research into the effectiveness of hypnotherapy for treating ADHD, but that it was reported as being more effective than CBT (for some people, at least).

If you do try it, I would be curious to find out what your experience with it is like.

.....

(As for me, I have had reservations against trying hypnotism for most of my life... but that's more about the stage type of hypnotism. I wouldn't want somebody to hypnotize me into doing something that I would feel embarrassed about, like prancing around on a stage clucking like a chicken. 😅 ~~~ I know that's not the same as hypnotherapy.)

[Mstislav in reply to STEM_Dad]

Yes. I've avoided it in the past for the same reasons. However, the problem is causing me so much angst and I need to address it a.s.a.p as I have a time-limit for this assignment. My rational mind has tried to fix the problem unsuccessfully for years.

[STEM_Dad in reply to Mstislav]

So are you at university? If so, does the school have counseling services for students?

I worked for 10 years at a public university that I was previously a student at. It was while I was working there that I learned about the counseling center that could have helped me with test anxiety and writing anxiety.

The school also had a writing center, to provide guidance and other writing assistance (like proofreading). I'm sure that some students needed both forms of assistance.

~~~~~

Another thing that might help is to use "body-doubling". The idea is that if you are working alongside another person who is working on their own things, it's easier to get into work mode.

[Mstislav in reply to STEM_Dad]

The university does have these services but I am not allowed to access them while writing an assignment for credit. I have not tried body-doubling. I have no problem about sitting down to write or with motivation. Fear and doubt cause me to go in circles, so I never make progress.

[STEM_Dad in reply to Mstislav]

It has been years since I had to write any papers, but I've found that it's helpful if I write out a summary of what I want to say, and make a rough outline of my points. I would use these to help me stay on topic.

• I don't consider myself to be a great writer. Almost every paper that I've written for an English class got a B or B+, no matter how hard I worked on it. (The only college English class that I got an A in was taught by a TA who was a grad student in the Music program. None of my English teachers to had English degrees could ever give me meaningful feedback on how I could take a B+ paper and turn it into an A paper.)

~~~

Some people find out helpful to verbalize their thoughts when they get stuck. One method for getting unstuck that has become popular with computer programmers is called the "Rubber Duck Debugging". The programmer will explain what they are doing to debug their code to a rubber duck, pretending that the duck is a layman that they are trying to explain the problem to, and then to explain the solutions they are trying to. (I've heard of people doing the same with a stuffed animal or a picture of someone.)

I think it works because it helps people "get out of their head", to shift their focus from whatever they are stuck on to a more encompassing perspective of what they are doing.

[Mstislav in reply to STEM_Dad]

Thanks for your suggestions. I'll try the different approaches to see if any help.

[HachiMaru]

Hypnotherapy can be useful for all sorts of things, and I’d certainly recommend trying it - it won’t cause any harm. It’s not an instant, “flip the switch and you’re cured” thing however. It’s a gentle way of guiding your brain into healthier pathways, so it takes time like anything else.

but having been in exactly your shoes, for me, it wasn’t just ADHD - and I know many other people like this as well. It’s a nasty convergence of ADHD, anxiety disorder and sometimes depression. They all feed into each other and it makes a nasty cocktail.

The only thing that could be beneficial long term would be to discuss all of your symptoms with a psychiatrist who specializes in ADHD adults and can Try different combinations of medication until you find the one that eradicates the anxiety and tempers the ADHD. I’m living proof that it can be done.

Short term YES 100%, body doubling can be really useful. Also setting and writing down the plan in very tiny steps required to get to final goal of a paper written. So like not just “write outline” or “do research” that’s way too big to even consider, right? I totally get it. Instead break it into tiny chunks: “outline: key talking points for intro” “outline: first discussion point: key talking points” “outline: key talking points for transition to second talking point” etc. More mentally manageable, right? And actually write it down on paper. Don’t know why, but tangible paper lists are the golden goose for folks like us.

Don’t give up hope, and try everything you can get access to. Every person’s journey is different and will respond to solutions differently. Hope that helps, good luck!

[Mstislav in reply to HachiMaru]

Thanks very much for the encouragement. My GP has affirmed that it's worth giving hypnotherapy a try. I feel more receptive to it, somehow having confidence in it. That may help its effectiveness. It should not take too long before I can start some sessions, and I will report back towards the end of the treatment.

[emiL1234]

I'm writing here just to make sure I know what happens, I also think about doing that stuff.

[wearetryingourbest]

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