“Close your eyes and relax”: the role of hypnosis in reducing anxiety, and its implications for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases

TL;DR

This paper explores how hypnosis can reduce anxiety and potentially prevent cardiovascular diseases by affecting the body's stress response.

Contribution

The paper highlights hypnosis as a novel intervention for anxiety with potential cardiovascular benefits.

Findings

Hypnosis and hypnotherapy effectively reduce anxiety and may benefit the cardiovascular system.

Reduced sympathetic activation and increased parasympathetic tone are potential mechanisms linking hypnosis to CVD prevention.

More research is needed to understand the neurophysiological effects of hypnosis on the cardiovascular system.

Abstract

Anxiety is the most common form of mental health disorder, affecting millions of people worldwide. Psychosocial interventions such as mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) have been suggested as an effective treatment in the management of general anxiety and anxiety disorders, with emerging evidence also suggesting the effectiveness of hypnosis. Moreover, anxiety has shown to be linked to the onset and development of several cardiovascular diseases (CVD), which are the leading cause of global death. In this paper, we review the current literature to examine the role that anxiety has on the onset and development of CVD and summarize the current knowledge on the role that hypnosis and hypnotherapy have in reducing anxiety, also explaining how this can impact the cardiovascular system and the prevention of CVD. Review of the evidence suggests that hypnosis and hypnotherapy are effective in treating anxiety and may positively affect the heart and the cardiovascular system, reducing sympathetic activation and increasing parasympathetic tone, potentially preventing the onset of CVD related to increased sympathetic activation. However, further studies are required to further understand how hypnosis and hypnotherapy affect the cardiovascular system through investigation of the neurophysiological components of the hypnotic state and of the mind-body relationship. Healthcare systems should embed mental health screening in patients at risk of developing CVD as part of the clinical pathway and consider the role that hypnosis and hypnotherapy may play in the management of CVD.

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