Hypnotherapy vs Meditation
Not sure how they differ?
The answers might surprise you.
You’ll have seen lots about meditation over the last few years with apps like Headspace and Calm becoming really popular. And now here we come with a hypnotherapy app but what’s the difference and which should you choose?
Like mindful meditation, hypnotherapy lulls you into a state of relaxation and helps calm your mind and clear your head to help you get through your day in a positive, calm and stress-free way. While both disciplines are similar there are big differences that might make one work better for you than the other.
What is mindfulness meditation?
The real purpose of mindfulness is to train the skills of noticing and letting go. This is achieved by turning your awareness inwards, giving the mind a simple task like counting breaths, and then practising the ability to notice the thoughts that distract from that task before returning to it by letting those thoughts go. Mediation uses your conscious mind to help you do this.
What’s hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy on the other hand uses your unconscious mind and is much more visual and creative. The great thing about it is that there’s no pressure, we lull you into a relaxed hypnotic state and you can let the words wash over you. Once you’re in the trance state we then help to interrupt negative thought patterns replacing them with positive ones. Putting you back in control of your own behaviour. You can work on a whole range of things from reducing anxiety, feeling more confident and building better boundaries to feeling better about your body. It’s also absolutely brilliant for sleep and can help you drift off quickly. Read more about Hypnotherapy in our guide.
Why try hypnotherapy over meditation?
So they’re a few reasons why hypnotherapy can work better for some people. Firstly, if you've got a busy brain which many women do, mediation can be really hard to access. Hypnotherapy is easy to access and that’s why so many women who struggle with anxiety and stress love it.
Mediation uses the conscious mind deals in rationalisation and logic, and the subconscious mind responds more readily to imagery, metaphor, and emotion, hypnotherapy tends to work more with creative visualisations, narrative and playful imagery than mindfulness will do.
Also, because of the number of different tools that can be used in hypnotherapy recordings, you could argue that they’re more varied than guided mindfulness meditation.
However both techniques are effective, there is no doubt that mindfulness can be transformative for many. It wouldn’t be so widely practised if this weren’t the case. But there are many different ways to achieve self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-command. Our preference is for hypnotherapy over mindfulness because of the breadth of techniques it can involve; because of its potential creativity and wonder-inspiring imagery; and because of its ability to speak directly to the unconscious mind as well as the conscious. Try the app for free.
Cognitive hypnotherapy vs mindfulness meditation summary
It’s easier
It doesn’t require active concentration
Mindfulness meditation requires active concentration. Hypnotherapy works even if you aren’t completely focused as it talks to both your conscious and your unconscious mind.
There’s no long silences
Mindfulness meditation has prolonged periods of silence that some find difficult. Hypnotherapy plays a constant stream of suggestions and visualisations to keep you engaged.
It fills your mind, rather than empty it.
Hypnotherapy is less about clearing space in the mind or letting thoughts go, and more about filling the mind with positive, useful information to learn from. This information comes in the form of hypnotic suggestions, visualisations, stories and metaphors.
It helps the root cause of the problem.
Cognitive hypnotherapy uses a blend of different therapeutic styles that mean it can address mental health struggles in a more holistic way. It helps people by tackling a problem, such as insomnia, but also addresses the things that may be causing it; such as perfectionism, low self-esteem, lack of self-worth or a fixed mindset.
It can help with more things.
It can do more than making you feel calmer and less stressed. Cognitive hypnotherapy trains the mind in more positive thought patterns. It can transform mindsets in many ways such as; increasing confidence, reducing anger, improving self-belief, boosting motivation, and raising self-worth.
It uses powerful scripts
Hypnotherapy scripts are crafted to work on a specific goal. Every word and pause is deliberately designed to induce a hypnotic state and communicate with your unconscious mind.
Our scripts are never read by actors. All scripts are written and recorded by trained cognitive hypnotherapists as the delivery (the pauses, intonation and speed etc.) are as important as the words. The best way to understand the power of cognitive hypnotherapy and the benefits it can bring to your life is to just have a go. So why not try it for free?
Don’t just take our word for it. Have a read of these articles where others have tried both and explain the differences…
Are hypnotherapy apps better than meditation - Wall St Journal.
Hypnotherapy vs meditation. Which one is right? The answer might surprise you… - Organic Authority.
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