Can Hypnosis help with hot flushes during menopause?

For many women, menopause can mean many unpredictable changes in their bodies, one of the most annoying and disruptive of all can be the prevalence of hot flushes. The feeling and sometimes embarrassment of imagining that they can be seen can cause much distress.

Experts at the North American Menopause Society have published a new report into the alternatives to hormone replacement therapy and the results make interesting reading.

They found that amongst the successful ways to help was Clinical Hypnosis. As they reported there are a large number of clinical trials into how effective hypnotherapy can be in helping to reduce and even end hot flushes. "There are now large randomized trials of hypnosis in which women aren't even reporting hot flashes," says Pauline Maki, a professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Illinois in Chicago. (In America they are known as Flashes rather than Flushes as we know them in the UK)

They also concluded that Cognitive behavioural therapy could also help women who were finding their lives affected. Cognitive behavioural therapy, much like hypnotherapy teaches women "to lower their stress response so the hot flashes are more tolerable," says Maki, "the more stressed we are, the worse the symptoms are."

The surprise was the things they found that were proven not to work...

Many holistic favourites were shown to have no use in easing symptoms according to their research and review of other research materials.

Things that aren't proven to ease symptoms include:

• Cooling techniques
• Exercise
• Yoga
• Paced respiration
• Relaxation
• Trigger avoidance
• Acupuncture
• Over-the-counter supplements and herbal therapies

  If you would like to ask about hypnotherapy to help you deal with any of the issues mentioned here you can contact me in confidence at [email protected] or you can call me on 07980 233160