There are many ‘treatments’ for women undergoing menopause and a recent report shows that hypnotherapy can be a very effective way to overcome the effects of menopause – better than acupuncture, herbal supplements and yoga. 
A panel of experts commissioned by the North American Menopause Society concluded there was solid evidence that both clinical hypnotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy were beneficial.
One study showed that women who had hypnotherapy five times a week had a dramatic reduction in the number and severity of hot flushes, the Telegraph reported.
By contrast, there was little evidence that exercise, vitamins or ‘known’ herbal remedies, gave any relief at all.
Dr Janet Carpenter, who led the expert panel for the North American Menopause Society, said: “Many women try one thing after another, and it is months before they stumble on something that truly works. This information will be critical in maximising the selection of the most effective therapies.”
The National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH) has 1800 highly trained and qualified therapists on its register across the UK who can help in these instances.
In sessions with a hypnotherapist, a menopausal woman can learn to use suggestions and simple techniques to manage their reaction to things like hot flushes.
Using similar techniques to those used in pain management, clients are taught simple methods of managing their symptoms, such as imagining a control room in their mind, where they can turn down their body thermostat to stop themselves overheating and sweating.
The NCH says hypnosis has proved successful with more than just obvious areas such as stopping smoking or stopping unwanted habits. It has also been shown to successfully treat physical issues as well.
Working with the sub conscious mind, the hypnotherapists aims to ‘re-programme’ the mind and therefore change behaviour. This is done by putting the client in a trance-like state – where the conscious mind becomes suppressed and the unconscious mind is released.
In this heightened state of awareness, the client will concentrate on the therapist’s voice and be more open to suggestion, new thoughts and changes in behaviour.
And this is where, for instance, the client can learn to imagine stepping into a cool sea or feeling a cool breeze when hot flushes strike and then be coached in self-hypnosis so that she can visualise that same body-cooling sensation when hot flushes happen again.
Figures show that less than one in 10 women seeks medical advice, with most either grinning and bearing it or resorting to alternative therapies.
And while many women might be sceptical about being hypnotised out of menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes and night sweats, it does work.
Menopause is not an illness, it’s a transition and you cannot just take a pill for it.
If you are suffering hot flushes, you can contact an NCH hypnotherapist near you by using the NCH directory. It will be worth a try.