Can hypnosis help with menopause symptoms?

We know that menopause is completely normal and that many women can go through peri-menopause and menopause without the need for treatment. But knowing it is normal, doesn’t mean living with the symptoms is any easier. 25% of women may experience menopause/peri-menopausal symptoms having a detrimental impact on their lives, including from hot flushes and night sweats (Hickey, 2017). When symptoms are having an increasing negative impact on a person’s life, they may require treatment. Sleep disturbance and vaginal dryness are also some of the symptoms that some women experience during peri-menopause and menopause.

Hormone replacement therapy is an effective treatment for women experiencing these symptoms of menopause. Unfortunately, there are contraindications that prevent some women from using hormone replacement therapy even if it is their preferred treatment option. Many other women prefer to avoid/not use hormone based options. It is important to discuss the options you are interested in with your doctor including the types of evidence for how effective the treatments can be and any contraindications.

The use of hypnosis to help reduce symptoms including hot flushes, night sweats and sleep disturbance has a growing body of evidence that indicates clinical hypnotherapy can be very helpful. In fact, a 2017 overview of evidence for non-hormonal treatments for menopause symptoms identified evidence of how hypnosis can help substantially reduce the frequency (70% compared to control group) and severity of vasomotor symptoms (including hot flushes and night sweats). Importantly, no adverse side effects were identified (Hickey, 2017). The article also outlines evidence available regarding other non-hormonal therapies (including mindfulness, yoga and Chinese medicines) that are commonly used to help manage symptoms. Hypnosis demonstrated a stronger body of evidence for reducing the frequency and severity of hot flushes and night sweats.

Are you experiencing sleep loss due to night sweats? Are hot flushes starting to be more than you want to manage during the day, effecting your work or social life? Are you feeling stress or anxiety about the changes your body might be going through? Book a free 15min call with Nami Hypnotherapy to chat about our Menopause program and how hypnosis might help.

Reference:

Hickey, M., Szabo, R. A., & Hunter, M. S. (2017). Non-hormonal treatments for menopausal symptoms. BMJ : British Medical Journal (Online), 359 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j5101