Can Hypnotherapy Treat Symptoms of ADHD?
If you’re looking for an alternative way to treat ADHD symptoms like anxiety, hyperactivity, and sleeplessness, hypnotherapy could be the answer.
There is no scientific evidence supporting hypnotherapy as a treatment for symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) like inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity.
Still, hypnosis might merit a slot in your treatment strategies, especially if you experience anxiety and sleep problems, as many others with ADHD do. Clinical studies suggest that this long-accepted therapy can be useful.
Hypnosis produces a relaxed state of heightened focus that increases receptivity to suggestions. If you have trouble turning off the computer at 10 o’clock each night, so you can get to bed, a hypnotherapist might suggest that, in the future, you will be able to do that. (Contrary to all comedians’ portrayal of hypnosis, you retain free will while you’re under, so don’t worry about involuntary chicken-squawking.)
“Hypnosis can give a person with ADHD the feeling of being in charge of his behavior,” says Anna Baumgaertel, M.D., a developmental-behavioral pediatrician with The Bridge, a clinic outside of Philadelphia.
You can find a hypnotherapist at the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis.
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