make crucial decisions under the influence of such experiences. If our experiences in childhood are pleasant and secure, our behaviour, thought processes and decisions take us forward in life. Many times, unhappy, insecure upbringing and experiences, especially, in our childhood, continue to hold us back from moving ahead in life. Sometimes, adverse life experiences that would cause anger, frustration, jealousy, anxiety, hatred that remain suppressed, start affecting our quality of life. Unknowingly, people start taking wrong decisions leading to a deterioration in their life quality. People with such experiences can get addicted to drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex or anything else that they fancy. Many times, people with such difficulties are referred to the psychiatric services. But many of them can also be helped with hypnotherapy.

Sometimes people develop stress and high blood pressure as a result of one or many adverse life experiences. Such people are rarely seen by psychiatrists or therapists, as, they do not exhibit clear cut psychiatric symptoms. These people may continue to get antihypertensive medication for the rest of their lives. On other occasions some people develop Irritable Bowel Syndrome without knowing that their strict upbringing might be playing a role in their illnesses. They may continue to attend medical services for a long, long time.

These cases benefit more from hypnotherapy than medication. Other conditions that benefit from hypnotherapy are skin disorders, asthma, migraine, nocturnal enuresis, anxiety, panic & phobic disorders of all kinds, post traumatic stress disorder, bereavement, some depressive conditions, alcohol and drug abuse, habit disorders, sleep disorders, sexual disorders, relationship difficulties, stammering and stuttering.

Hypnotherapy got approval from American Psychiatric Association 40 years ago. There are more than 10,000 practising hypnotherapist in the US. In Europe, at this moment, there is limited control over the quality of service hypnotherapists are providing. One of the reasons is that very few of the practitioners come from the field of medicine. Medical practitioners, who use hypnosis, have seen a reduction in their drug bill; with an improvement in the self esteem of their patients. These doctors do realise that some medical solutions are available without prescribing medication.

Pradeep K Chadha is a psychiatrist, who has also trained in hypnosis. He has developed innovative methods to treat mental health conditions with meditation and imagery. He is the author of The Stress Barrier-Nature's Way To Overcoming Stress. He is based in Dublin, Ireland. His website address is :http://www.drpkchadha.com