Hypnosis is well known for its effectiveness in treating many things such as weight loss, smoking, stress, IBS, phobias, etc. It is also very effective at treating motion sickness. In this article, we will discuss how motion sickness works and how hypnotherapy can help liberate you from this unpleasant condition.

How motion sickness works

Motion sickness is largely caused by confusion between what the eyes see and what the ears detect, and ultimately what the brain perceives. The balancing mechanisms responsible for this are found in the ear. They are quite sensitive and can detect the motion of a journey in most types of vehicles, including all the little bumps and all the twists and turns because of the “g force” that is exerted upon us.

This motion-detecting mechanism found in the ears then sends these signals to the brain, which are often interpreted as the body being in motion. The eyes when looking around the vehicle will also send a message to the brain. This message is sometimes interpreted as the body being still, since a lot of what we can see is inside the vehicle, and not moving. These two very conflicting messages can then cause nausea and even actual sickness.

Therefore, motion sickness happens because the brain realizes that it has a problem with its perception. It knows that something is wrong if it is receiving two very different messages. Some bacterial or viral diseases can also play with our perceptions, like when we have the flu for example. The mind, in an attempt to protect the body, may trigger nausea in an attempt to expel any bugs from the system. This results in the traveler feeling sick.

How motion sickness can be prevented

Sometimes people can help themselves avoid getting motion sickness by looking out, forward, at the front of the vehicle. This helps the brain to see what the situation really is, and that you are actually moving, which will hopefully correlate with the information that the ears are sending.

But we know that we are traveling and moving on a conscious level anyway, regardless of whether we look out at the front or not, so what is the problem?

Consciously we know that we are sitting still on a moving object. The confusion lies in the subconscious part of the brain. The subconscious part does not always know exactly what is happening, even if the conscious part of our mind does. The subconscious part of the brain is very powerful. It controls all of our automatic functions, such as sweating, blushing, and breathing, and is responsible for our intuition. However, it can sometimes become confused when unnatural things are happening to us, as it does not understand words or concepts like our conscious mind does. This is where hypnosis can help alleviate this mismatch naturally and effectively, without the need for any drugs that have side effects.

How hypnotherapy treats motion sickness

We know that in order to align the mismatch and prevent the motion sickness than can occur for many people, it comes down to changing the way the mind interprets the information it receives when in a moving vehicle. This is where a hypnotic trance basically turns down the conscious part of the mind in order to communicate more effectively with the subconscious part. This is the part of our mind that controls the automatic functions of our body (like being sick!), and also our drives, our habits, and desires. A good clinical hypnotherapist can talk to a subjects’ subconscious mind and persuade it to make needed changes. This applies to much more than just motion sickness. Hypnosis can help many areas of our health and wellness, like eating a more balanced diet, or quitting smoking.

In the case of motion sickness, a clinical hypnotherapist can communicate with the unconscious part of the mind and inform it as to what is actually happening when you are in a moving vehicle. If you can effectively communicate this to the subconscious mind, then there is no longer any confusion when you are traveling. All you need to do is tell the subconscious part of the mind that when you are in a vehicle you are actually moving, and the ears detect motion, despite what it may interpret from the eyes.

When there is no confusion, there is no need for the body to trigger feelings of nausea, as it will know that there is no bacterial infection in the body that is causing perception problems. In fact there will no longer be any perception problems, since the subconscious mind will now know what is going on. With a well informed subconscious mind, you can now travel in comfort without the need for a sick bag!

Other articles by Jon Rhodes

What is the Difference Between Hypnosis and Meditation?

How Hypnotherapy Can Help With Your Health and Wellness

About the Author

Jon Rhodes is a clinical hypnotherapist from the UK and a former professional musician. He became qualified as a clinical hypnotherapist from the London College Of Clinical Hypnotherapy. Today, he runs the popular site HypnoBusters online and has created a collection of hypnotherapy sessions that are FREE for you to try, which can be accessed here: Free Hypnosis Downloads.