Hypnotic relaxation therapy improves sexual health in moderate to severe hot flashes, according to Baylor University research presented and applauded at this year’s meeting of the American Psychological Association. The research emphasizes sexual comfort, satisfaction and pleasure and offers hypnosis as an effective alternative to hormone replacement therapy, which carries risks of a number of complications, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Gary Elkins, director of the lab that conducted the study and a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University, and his colleagues randomly assigned 187 women to receive five times a week hypnotherapy or counseling a psychologist. Hormonal imbalance during and after menopause is a condition that can greatly disrupt sex life, causing mainly: hot flashes, night sweats, weight gain, vaginal dryness, discomfort and pain. Hot flashes alone are enough to destroy a woman’s intimacy with her partner – even the heat of physical intimacy can trigger a hot flash. After the end of the five-week experiment, as well as in the check-up carried out 12 weeks later, both groups reported positive results on almost all paragraphs: better sleep quality, less discomfort during sexual intercourse, greater desire to intimate contact, reduced stress, less frequency of hot flashes and increased self-esteem. NEWS_MORE_BOX But the greatest success was achieved among the ladies assigned to sessions of therapeutic and relaxation hypnosis – more than 85% of them reported significant improvements in all criteria on which they had complaints and expressed a desire to continue their sessions, even after the end of the experiment. For many women with hormonal problems or breast cancer survivors, hormone replacement therapy is not an option for controlling menopausal symptoms, and the specific techniques of relaxation hypnosis can save not only their sex life, but also their relationship with their partner in general. .