New Findings Link Brief Self-Hypnosis Training to Lower Anxiety Among Thesis Writers

Luqmanasari, E., & Darmayanti, R. (2026). Modified self-hypnosis mentoring to reduce thesis-related anxiety among final-year students. Journal of Community Engagement in Health, 9(2), 376–382. https://doi.org/10.30994/jceh.v9i2.843

Introduction

For many undergraduates, the thesis is the most stressful stretch of their degree. It demands independence, time management, and critical thinking that regular coursework rarely requires. The authors list familiar triggers: pressure to graduate on time, trouble finding literature, and difficulty scheduling meetings with advisors. Students at STIKES Karya Husada Kediri, a health sciences college in Indonesia, also face a national competency exam at the same time. In preliminary interviews, they described insomnia, poor concentration, dread before advisor meetings, and procrastination. Luqmanasari and Darmayanti (2026) tested whether a brief, self-administered self-hypnosis program could ease that burden.

Methods

The researchers screened students with the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and purposively enrolled 30 final-year students with elevated anxiety. Most were women (73%) aged 21 to 22 (63%), and 70% had been working on their thesis for one to two semesters. Through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on practice, participants first learned about academic stress and anxiety. They then learned a “modified” self-hypnosis technique that combined deep breathing, visualizing a successful thesis defense, and positive emotional anchoring. They practiced twice daily for two weeks, on waking and before sleep, logging each session in a digital logbook. They then retook the anxiety scale, and scores were compared with a Wilcoxon signed-rank test. There was no comparison group.

Results

Anxiety scores fell substantially, but the design cannot show that the technique caused the drop. Mean scores declined from 28.43 to 16.10 (Z = −4.782, p < .001). Before the program, 60% of participants reported moderate anxiety and 26.7% severe. Afterward, no one scored in the severe range and only 13.3% in the moderate range. Forty percent scored in the normal range and 46.7% in the mild range. Participants reported more confidence and clearer thinking during revisions.

Discussion

The authors argue that thesis stress keeps students in a fight-or-flight state, and that self-hypnosis counters it by calming the nervous system and lowering cortisol. They measured neither. They also describe the results as proof of effectiveness, which the design cannot support. Because students were selected for high anxiety, some decline was likely regardless of the program, a pattern known as regression to the mean. Time and the attention of the program itself may also have helped. The paper reports no logbook adherence data and omits the technique’s actual steps, making replication difficult.

Implications for Mentoring Programs

Thesis advising is a mentoring relationship, and anxiety often shapes it. Since advisor access is itself a stressor, predictable meeting schedules may relieve some pressure on their own. Brief self-regulation tools are cheap and easy to offer alongside advising. Mentors should present them as a supplement, refer students with severe symptoms to counseling, and use comparison groups when judging whether such tools work.

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