Effects of app delivered self hypnosis on stress management

Stress and stress-related chronic illness are increasing worldwide while mental health care access remains limited. Recent neurophysiological advances support the effectiveness and safety of hypnosis for stress management. In this retrospective observational study, we studied app-delivered hypnosis in 84,395 users across 282,893 stress reduction sessions. Users rated pre- and post-session stress on a 10-point Likert Scale. Data analysis utilized Linear Mixed Effects (LME) models to accommodate repeated measures and missing data. Effects of session type, user hypnotizability, age, sex, and membership were assessed. Pre-to-post stress reduction occurred consistently in each of the first 10 sessions (Cohen's d values ranging from -0.71 to -0.78), demonstrating significant improvement in stress management. Across the first 10 sessions, greater stress reduction was observed with interactive and regular-length sessions, higher hypnotizability, older age groups, and paying members. Findings provide evidence that disseminable digital formulations of hypnosis contribute meaningfully to stress reduction.