Depression
The World Health Organisation
(WHO) recently declared depression currently the world’s fourth most
debilitating human condition (behind heart disease, cancer and
traffic accidents), and predicted that it would grow to become the
second most debilitating condition worldwide by the year 2020
(Murray & Lopez,
1997)
Doctors make a
diagnosis of clinical depression when a person suffers from a group
of symptoms for longer than two weeks. These symptoms include:-
Causes of Depression
Aside from the biological causes of
depression (which are generally treated with drugs to raise levels
of neurotransmitters), depression can occur as a result of events
that happen in a person’s life and their attitude towards them.
For example, it is common for people
to become depressed when they lose their job or experience
bereavement.
The Benefits of Hypnotherapy
While hypnotherapy cannot perform
miracles, the process of hypnosis used purely as a means of
relaxation may help some depressed people. It can also be used to
resolve traumatic memories and to seek out the roots of people’s
feelings of inadequacy. Ego- strengthening inductions can be
tailored to the needs and characteristics of the individual to make
them feel good about themselves.
Murray, C., &
Lopez, A (1997). Global mortality, disability, and the contribution
of risk factors: Global burden of disease study. Lancet, 349,
1436-42
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