More than 60% of nursing professionals experienced some degree of mental distress during the pandemic, according to Folha de São Paulo. This should not be surprising, especially since these professionals are in a constantly pressured environment, which could only worsen during a pandemic period. These pressures arise from the constant need to attend to patients under their care.

Nursing professionals deal with multiple patients simultaneously, with sporadic clinical procedures, providing quick assistance in extreme cases, especially to manage patients in pain. Due to these and other challenges, nurses can use hypnosis to cope with these pressures and enhance their assistance to patients.

In this article, we will show you how hypnosis can be used in nursing and its benefits for both professionals and their patients. So, continue reading.

The Benefits of Hypnosis for the Nursing Field

Hypnosis can assist with various patient issues. Some of them include:

• depression;
• anxiety;
• phobias;
• addictions;
• compulsions;
• obesity;
• childbirth;
• medical procedures and recovery;
• pain;
• improving studies and memory;
• and many others.

Over time, health regulatory bodies are recognizing hypnosis and its benefits, and the Federal Nursing Council (COFEN) is one of them. In this council’s resolution, hypnosis is considered a complementary tool for professional services in the field.

Therefore, you need to see how the benefits of hypnosis can be applied to both patients and professionals. Check it out below.

Benefits for Patients

Since nurses may have more frequent contact with patients of different ages and with varying levels of problems and needs, they need to assess situations and manage them within their competencies. Sometimes, nursing requires repetition and follow-up, but at other times, it’s necessary for the professional to help patients remain calm and assist in controlling anxiety, fears, and the pain they feel.

Even though there are medications and established procedures for these chaotic situations, through hypnosis, patients can experience calm, pain relief, and tranquility, even without medication.

According to the article from Modern Healthcare, hypnosis can help pre-operative patients relieve anxiety and improve intra and post-operative outcomes, potentially preventing nausea, vomiting, and pain.

This happens because hypnosis helps the patient focus their attention, depending on the patient’s cooperation and acceptance, for a more positive perception and acceptance of their situation, which helps combat dysfunctional thoughts.

Benefits for Nurses

Helping to combat dysfunctional thoughts can also be a way for hypnosis to assist nurses. According to an article from Nursing Times, hypnosis can be used to help professionals control stress, tension, and anxiety during their work routine.

With self-hypnosis techniques, nurses can maintain a calmer state of consciousness, which can help them make more assertive decisions in crisis moments. A very useful benefit of self-hypnosis for healthcare professionals is that it can be used anytime and anywhere.

Proper training equips nurses to apply the necessary suggestions, which can be facilitated through pre-recorded audio and video or by mentally repeating the learned exercises. The goal should be for the professional to perform the exercises in the way they adapt best, so they can practice or access them whenever needed.

Therefore, hypnosis is a complementary tool that highlights nurses in the job market, allowing them to practice their profession while enhancing the quality of their services and enabling them to also work as hypnotherapists.

If you’re interested in learning more about hypnosis, download our free materials!

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