How Can Hypnosis Help My Child?

Your child can learn to control his or her mind better by using their hypnotic state to be more receptive to self-suggestions or suggestions made by a therapist. Once your child achieves improved mind control, there are many potential applications for this skill.

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Your child can enhance many aspects of his or her mental abilities such as achievement in school, sports, music, art, creativity, emotional control, and spirituality. Children dealing with a medical or mental illness can learn how to cope better through self-calming, decreasing discomfort, or better yet enhancing comfort. Children can gain a better perspective and appreciate how learning to cope with an illness can strengthen them in preparation for future life challenges (Anbar, 2009).

The hypnotic state is one in which the mind shifts to a narrowed focus that reduces its usual attention to its environment and stressors. The subject of the inner focus can vary. For example, hypnosis can be achieved by imagining a favorite place; pretending to be a superhero; noticing how inhalation expands the chest, and exhalation contracts it; or relaxing the body one muscle group at a time. Once the conscious mind is engaged in the hypnotic activity, the subconscious mind is better able to incorporate change in the child.

Some brief examples may help better understand the amazing progress that can be achieved with hypnosis:

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A 13-year-old athlete with performance anxiety learned how to use hypnosis to imagine himself passing the ball with improved accuracy and scoring goals in lacrosse. After that he became the leading scorer on his team (Anbar, 2001).

A 9-year-old with cancer learned how to use hypnosis to calm herself so that she could undergo spinal taps with no sedating medicines and minimal discomfort (Richardson, 2006).

A 7-year-old who was frightened about sleeping alone overcame her fears immediately after imagining that Wonder Woman will protect her at night (Anbar & Slothower, 2006).

A 14-year-old girl who felt depressed because she could not see her friends in-person during the COVID-19 pandemic was able to improve her mood by interacting with her calming subconscious.

A 12-year-old who avoided many foods for fear of an allergic reaction learned to imagine himself well-tolerating the foods, after which his diet expanded dramatically over the next 3 months (after 7 years of a self-restricted diet.)

A 17-year-old found out that his subconscious did not have dyslexia. Once the subconscious taught his conscious how to overcome the dyslexia, this patient’s grade in English improved from a C to an A.

A 16-year-old learned to control his anxiety and virtually resolve his stuttering by hypnotically triggering a relaxation response during stressful situations.

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Empowerment

Children who learn how to help themselves with hypnosis become more confident in their abilities, and develop much improved self-esteem. As a result, such children successfully take on many challenges they might have avoided previously, and can accomplish much more in their lives.

I have had the privilege of following some of my patients over a couple of decades after they have learned about hypnosis. Many of them continue to use it throughout their lives, and it’s obvious that their approach to life is more thoughtful and calm than might be observed typically in young adulthood.

Thus, hypnosis can be used to help unlock untapped potential in your child. I believe that giving your child an opportunity to learn this skill is one of the most precious gifts you can provide.

Copyright Ran D. Anbar