Hypnotherapy for Health Anxiety in Adelaide

Signs your body worry has turned into a habit

• A sore head quickly turns into the worst possible reason in your mind.
• You prod, feel or look at the same spot many times a day.
• Late at night you search a symptom and end up reading about rare diseases.
• Good news from the doctor helps for a day or two, then the doubt creeps back.
• Your family is tired of reassuring you, and you’re tired of asking.

If some of these sound like you, you’re in good hands here. Please keep seeing your GP as usual. I explain how the two work together below.

Why one more test rarely settles the worry

A 2013 review by Rolfe and Burton pooled 14 trials and 3,828 patients at low risk. Tests did little to calm their illness worry. That’s why a clear result feels good, then fades.

It’s a loop, not a weakness. You notice a feeling and read it as a sign of something serious. Fear makes you notice it more. Checking or asking gives quick relief, and that relief trains your brain to check again.

You’re far from alone. A 2013 study by Sunderland, Newby and Andrews found about 5.7% of Australians meet the criteria at some point in life. It often sits alongside depression or other worries.

How a clinical hypnotherapist eases the checking loop

My work targets the automatic parts of the loop: the jolt when you notice a feeling, and the pull to check. In hypnosis you’re relaxed and focused, yet awake and in control. It’s a little like mindfulness, with a guide.

We practise noticing a sensation and letting it drift past, without the scary story. Suggestion and imagery speak to the subconscious mind, the part that reacts before you think. NLP helps quieten the inner voice asking “what if it’s serious?” Time Line Therapy can loosen feelings tied to old worries.

If the loop began with a real scare, like a hard hospital stay, I may use Rewind. You picture the memory at a distance, like a film, then run it backwards, with no need to share details. If there’s a deeper trauma or PTSD, we work alongside your GP or psychologist, and counselling may need to come first.

I tailor these hypnotherapy techniques to your own triggers. You’ll also learn self-hypnosis and simple breathwork for when the urge to search shows up. One thing I’ve noticed over fourteen years: people often feel relief just naming the loop out loud. The aim is to help you take control of the worry, alongside your medical care.

Health anxiety hypnotherapy in Adelaide: by video or in person

Most of my sessions happen by video, on Google Meet. If you live in Adelaide, SA, and would rather meet in person, we can arrange that.

1. 1Book your free call

   A free consultation, fifteen minutes on the phone. You tell me what’s been happening, and I tell you straight if I think I can help. You can also ask me anything about hypnosis, like what it feels like or whether you stay in control.

2. 2Your first session: your plan

   We map the loop: which worries come up most, what you do when they hit, and what life would feel like with less checking. You leave with a plan, usually 6 to 12 sessions, and we start the hypnotic work that same day.

3. 3Follow-up sessions, spaced to suit you

   Each one is a short chat, then hypnosis in a chair, eyes closed. For online sessions you need a quiet room, a steady connection and headphones. If the video drops, I ring you back. You take a recording home, plus a simple self-hypnosis routine.

Still weighing it up? Ring-back within 24 hours, at a time you pick. Fifteen minutes, and you can ask me anything.

Or call 0427 218 092

What the research says about hypnosis for health anxiety

Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is the evidence-based option for health anxiety. A clinical psychologist or counsellor can offer it, and your GP can refer you. My sessions can integrate with that care as a calm, practical partner, not a swap for it.

Is hypnotherapy for health anxiety safe?

For most adults, yes. No medicine is involved, and you stay aware the whole time. The downsides are mild: you might feel sleepy or a little emotional for a short while afterwards.

The bigger risk would be using hypnotherapy in place of a check-up. So here is my rule. A new or changing physical symptom always goes to your GP first. Hypnotherapy never replaces medical tests. If you live with chronic pain or an ongoing condition, your doctor stays in charge of it.

Please keep seeing your GP or psychologist while we work. A collaborative approach with your therapist works well. If you live with psychosis, or a serious mental illness without support yet, start with your GP. If you’re in crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or 000 in an emergency.

What health anxiety hypnotherapy costs in Adelaide: $1,500 to $3,000

Your first step is a 90-minute session for $300. In it we build your treatment plan together, and you hear the full cost before you commit to anything.

Who you’ll be working with

Ernest McLeod

Clinical hypnotherapist, Adelaide and online

Hi, I’m Ernest McLeod, Adelaide’s Hypno Coach since 2012 and a clinical hypnotherapist for fourteen years, based in South Australia. Before this I spent twenty years writing software, so I like plain answers and practical steps.

Fellow, Australian Society of Clinical Hypnotherapists (ASCH) · Certified NLP Practitioner · Time Line Therapy® Practitioner · Trainer: AHA-approved CPD courses

What I’m not: hypnotherapy is not a registered health profession here. So I’m not AHPRA-registered, and I’m not a psychologist. My memberships are voluntary. I also teach other hypnotherapists. The Australian Hypnotherapists’ Association has approved my smoking, vaping and gambling cessation courses for professional development (CPD).

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