Reflections on Tranquillity © lynette sheppard
Hypnosis may be an answer to hot flashes. Without side effects or the hefty price tag of some of the new drugs.
I wish I’d thought of this when I was going through the worst of the Big M. Hot flashes seriously disrupted my life. And I believe in hypnosis for so many other things: smoking cessation, weight loss, enhanced sports performance. I believe in it so much that I became a certified hypnotherapist over thirty years ago. So why didn’t I even think of it as a help for hot flashes?
I could blame brain fog, but even once the fog cleared, hypnosis as a modality never occurred to me. Sigh.
Thankfully, others have finally considered it and it’s available now to Gen-Xers and the soon-to-be-hot Millenials.
How does it work? Well, our mind-body connection doesn’t know the difference between an imagined event and a real one. When we are guided by a therapist to a cooler, more peaceful vision our body may respond by cooling. Hot flashes happen when hormone levels drop during menopause and the hypothalamus goes wonky in its temperature-regulating function.
Turns out that hypnosis might reset the hypothalamus function in the short term. While it needs to be repeated, hypnosis is not a cure, it’s a symptom reliever.
It’s been argued that the effects of hypnosis might be simply the placebo effect. Hey, don’t knock the placebo effect. We don’t care what you call it if it works. End of story.
Here’s some good news: if you can’t go to a hypnotherapist every week, know that many therapists will record sessions so you can replay them when needed. An evidence-based digital program called Evia is available as are hypnotherapy apps like Hypnobox and Evercalm.
If you avail yourself of any of these options, get back to us with how it worked (or didn’t) for you. That’s how we get through this: women sharing wisdom with their sisters.
