How Hypnotherapy Changes the Brain By Erin Del Toro, Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist The first time I saw a hypnotherapist, I was nervously trying it as a last resort. I’d seen some results after four years of traditional therapy, but I felt like I’d come up against a wall that was keeping me from necessary progress. About the Author Erin Del Toro is a certified Clinical Hypnotherapist for True North Mind Management. She is passionate about combining eastern and western medicine, changing the effects of trauma, and helping others unlock the power of their true potential. When she’s not reading and learning about the mind, she enjoys spending time with her daughters, training for ninja warrior competitions, and staying active in the great outdoors of Southern Utah.
In that first session, hypnotherapy surprised me by taking my trauma processing, self-awareness, and self-love to new heights. For four months, I continued hypnotherapy sessions and worked with my regular therapist to amplify my progress; then I felt like I was finished with both, at least for a time. It seemed shockingly quick, yet I felt more stable than I had been in years. I didn’t know how it worked, but at the time, I was simply happy that it did. Now as a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, I love how science-based yet soul-healing the process is.
Unwanted or negative feelings, actions, and behaviors are common effects of dominant pathways in the brain that have formed in response to some type of trauma. Traumas can be as big as sexual violence or the death of a loved one or as small as a parking lot fender bender or feeling badly about being overbearing with your child. The pathways which form from traumas are made up of neurons in the brain and are called neural pathways. The more serious the trauma, the more likely it is to create strong neural pathways quickly. When the mind processes trauma, hormones are released with the feelings happening at the time. The hormones and new neural pathways link together, making the memory of the event more vivid to the mind and more dominant in the structure of the brain and body. We usually don’t know that these unwanted neural pathways are activated, but we often do notice the negative feelings they create. Too many stress hormones in the body can become overwhelming for our systems to handle, causing anxiety, depression, physical symptoms, loss of self-esteem, PTSD, and compulsive and deviant behaviors that spill into our everyday lives. For relief, the brain must learn to change by deactivating the unpleasant neural pathways of the past. The brain’s ability to change is called neuroplasticity. Over the past twenty-five years, there have been major advancements in understanding neuroplasticity. There’s still so much to discover, but we know that our minds are primed for change and growth when we are babies and children.
As we grow to adulthood, the ability to easily change and form neural pathways begins to reduce, and only very specific and rare catalysts stimulate heightened opportunity for the brain to change. One of these is processing information in a deeper state of consciousness, and one way to get there without the use of psychedelic drugs is hypnosis. Hypnotherapy is nothing like a hypnosis show. A clinical hypnotherapist is trained to help clients enter and stay in a state of hypnosis, slowing brain waves and promoting a deep state of relaxation, hyperfocus, and neuroplasticity. With the brain open to change and with the guidance of the therapist, the person in hypnosis more easily: 1) Understands the root cause of their problems.
2) Heals from traumas and unwanted feelings, behaviors, habits, thoughts, and beliefs. 3) Subconsciously restructures the pathways that have formed incorrectly.
After a session with a clinical hypnotherapist, clients have a lot of information to process. Journaling, talking to trusted loved ones, or working your feelings through with your own therapist is highly recommended for optimal establishment of new neural pathways and to ensure the old, unwanted ones shrink and disconnect.
To learn more about hypnotherapy, visit www.truenorthmindmanagement.com. To schedule an appointment for a hypnotherapy session, call Erin at (435) 429-2560.
St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 55
