The most common reason people come to see me is anxiety. Anxiety can show up in many different ways, and bruxism — teeth grinding or jaw clenching — is just one of them.
For many people, bruxism happens during sleep, often without any awareness. You may grind your teeth repeatedly through the night, disrupting your sleep and leaving you feeling tense, tired or more anxious the following day. Over time it can lead to tooth wear, jaw discomfort and other physical symptoms. It isn’t simply a “bad habit” — it is often your nervous system responding to stress.
Statistics suggest that over 10 million adults in the UK are affected, and around 20% of children grind their teeth at night. Research also indicates that as many as half — and possibly far more — of adults will experience bruxism at some point in their lives. It is more common than many people realise.
Bruxism does not always involve obvious grinding. It can also be a persistent tightening of the jaw muscles. This tension may contribute to headaches, earache, neck and shoulder discomfort, or strain in the jaw joint itself. Dentists often provide mouth guards to protect the teeth, which can be helpful, but this does not address the underlying cause — which is frequently linked to stress and anxiety.
During sleep, when the soft tissues of the mouth and throat relax, breathing can sometimes become disrupted. Teeth grinding can, in some cases, be the body’s attempt to reopen the airway and restore normal breathing. It is a physical response to an underlying imbalance in the nervous system.
This is where hypnotherapy can help.
Teeth grinding does not happen because you consciously decide to do it. Simply telling yourself to “stop” rarely works, because the behaviour is driven by the subconscious mind — the part responsible for automatic patterns and stress responses. Hypnotherapy works at that deeper level.
By calming the nervous system and reducing the underlying anxiety, we help your mind and body learn a more balanced, settled way of responding. As anxiety reduces, the need for tension and grinding often reduces too.
You will also learn simple self-hypnosis and mindfulness techniques that you can use between sessions. These help reinforce the calm state we create together and support better sleep, greater emotional control, and a more relaxed approach to daily life.