--- title: Can hypnosis ease anxiety, stress and low mood in women with PMS? description: Yes, in this small trial women who had hypnosis sessions ended up with lower depression, anxiety and stress scores than women who had no treatment, but the st url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/effect-of-hypnosis-on-psychological-distress-in-female-university-students-with-2025/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Can hypnosis ease anxiety, stress and low mood in women with PMS? Randomised trial, 2025 # Can hypnosis ease anxiety, stress and low mood in women with PMS? Yes, in this small trial women who had hypnosis sessions ended up with lower depression, anxiety and stress scores than women who had no treatment, but the study was small and not blinded. Moderate study design 60 female university students with PMS in Kermanshah, Iran. ## What they did 60 female university students with premenstrual syndrome living in dorms in Kermanshah, Iran, were randomly split into two equal groups. One group had three weekly 60-minute hypnosis sessions; the other group had no intervention. Depression, anxiety and stress were measured with a questionnaire (DASS-21) before treatment and again three months after the last session. ## What they found After treatment, the hypnosis group had lower scores than the control group: depression 3.40 vs 7.40 (difference -4.000, p<0.0001), anxiety 2.67 vs 4.40 (difference -1.733, p=0.004), and stress 4.63 vs 9.30 (difference -4.667, p<0.0001). No side effects were seen. ## What it means for you Hypnosis may help lower psychological distress linked to PMS, but only 30 women were in each group, participants and researchers knew who got the treatment, and the authors themselves say a bigger study is needed before being sure. -4.000 depression score difference -1.733 anxiety score difference -4.667 stress score difference ## About the study Original title Effect of hypnosis on psychological distress in female university students with premenstrual syndrome Authors Heydarpour S, Heydarpour F, Dehghan F et al. Journal Discover mental health Year 2025 Study design Randomised trial Participants 30 What was tested Three weekly 60-minute group hypnosis sessions, compared with no intervention. Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1007/s44192-025-00355-7](https://doi.org/10.1007/s44192-025-00355-7) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Survey study, 2026 What dietary, lifestyle, and psychological factors are associated with PMS in young women? Survey study, 2026 Does exercise help college women with period problems and mental health? Cohort study, 2025 What causes migraine in female college students who have PMS? Survey study, 2025 Is PMS connected to mental health problems and lifestyle choices? Randomised trial, 2024 Can stress inoculation training reduce anxiety, depression, and stress in students with PMS? Randomised trial, 2024 Do positive psychology and physical activity help PMS symptoms? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗