Dialing Down Inflammation with Hypnosis

By Jane Pendry

DSFH, HPD; Reg CNHC, AfSFH, MNCH, ABNLP, ABH, IARTT; BA Hons (London), PGCE (Cantab)

What is inflammation? How does it impact your health? And how can hypnosis help combat it? What role might hypnosis play in tackling the damaging effects of inflammation and supporting long-term health?

Inflammation is increasingly recognised as the common thread running through so many health issues.

What is inflammation?

Inflammation is your body’s natural response to injury, infection, or harmful stimuli. Think of it as your immune system’s emergency alarm. When something harmful is detected, like bacteria, viruses, or damaged tissues, your body releases chemicals and immune cells to protect and repair itself.

This usually causes the classic signs: redness, heat, swelling, and sometimes pain.

That’s a good thing, right? Well, yes and no!

A double-edged sword

Recent research by Clare Bryant at Cambridge University highlighted that inflammation is a double-edged sword.

On one hand, inflammation is essential for fighting infection. On the other, chronic inflammation is at the root of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, Long Covid, ME/CFS, and even some mental health challenges. Bryant’s work also points to “inflammaging, or the low-grade inflammation that comes with aging, as a precursor to diseases of old age, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Mind-Body Practices Can Help

Importantly, Bryant cautions against over-reliance on anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin, which can have long-term side effects such as stomach ulcers. Instead, mind-body approaches offer a safer, non-pharmacological route. Meditation reduces overall stress levels and hypnosis works in a similar way.

Bryant explains that practices like meditation can calm inflammation. Studies have found reductions in cytokine activity, changes in immune gene expression, and improvements in other immune markers.

This naturally raises the question for hypnotherapists: if meditation is proven to influence inflammation, does hypnosis do the same?

Can Hypnosis Reduce Inflammation?

We already know hypnosis works well in areas closely tied to inflammation. Pain management is a prime example. Meta-analyses show that hypnosis can reduce pain intensity significantly, often to the point of lowering the need for medication. That’s a physiological effect, not just a psychological one.

Hypnosis also reduces stress and activates the parasympathetic nervous system, known as the “rest and digest” branch of our autonomic nervous system. Chronic stress is a major driver of inflammation.

By guiding clients into calm, resourceful states, hypnosis can indirectly help dial down those inflammatory processes.

Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy

Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy goes one step further by combining hypnotic techniques with solution-focused conversations. This allows clients to make practical lifestyle changes that further reduce inflammation, such as:

• Introducing gentle exercise routines

• Making dietary adjustments

• Supporting healthy weight management

• Improving sleep habits

These small but impactful changes complement hypnosis’ relaxation and stress-reduction effects, offering a holistic approach to tackling chronic inflammation. This is relevant for clients with conditions like ME/CFS or Long Covid, or patients where inflammation and immune dysregulation are often part of the picture.

What This Means in Practice

For hypnotherapists, this opens exciting possibilities:

• Supporting clients with inflammation-related conditions such as autoimmune flare-ups, IBS, chronic pain, Long Covid, or ME/CFS

• Offering a complementary approach that safely works alongside medical treatment

• Enhancing general wellbeing by reducing stress, improving sleep, and building resilience

A Thought to Take Away

The science is still evolving, but the direction is clear: mind-body practices have a measurable impact on inflammation.

I recently attended Jane Fox’s excellent psycho-immunology CPD course for Solutions Focused Hypnotherapists, and while it isn’t entirely surprising to me that hypnosis can help to reduce hypnosis, Clare Bryant’s research reinforces what many of us already see in practice: hypnosis can support physical health, not just mental wellbeing.

With its unique combination of focused attention, deep relaxation, and solution-focused conversations, hypnosis is ideally placed to help clients move from stress into calm by supporting the body’s natural healing processes along the way.