Part 8/16:
Sleep improvement: Many report better sleep with self-hypnosis, emphasizing the importance of repeated practice. The principle is that consistent activation of specific neural networks can strengthen desired mental states, akin to long-term potentiation in learning.
Phobia and trauma treatment: Hypnosis helps break the cycle of negative associations in phobias. For example, individuals avoiding situations due to fear can, through guided visualization, form new, more positive memories linked to previously distressing stimuli. Spiegel discusses a traumatic case where reprocessing a memory with hypnosis led to a restructuring of the individual's understanding, reducing debilitating fear.