Hypnotherapy will not work unless you really want it to!
Does that sound like the ultimate cop out? A therapy which will only work if you desperately want it to? Putting the blame for failure on the sufferer rather than the therapist? Even I used to think – what am I doing then? The person is just making it work by themselves.
But, in the case of hypnotherapy, it is very true – and for a good reason.
PTSD-type symptoms are created by the body, mainly for protection. The body uses symptoms like anxiety, hyper-vigilance, OCD, panic attacks, or agoraphobia to stop sufferers doing things which it may deem risky or dangerous, or put them in a situation which would be uncomfortable or upset them.
This wall of defensive symptoms is therefore in place for a very good reason, and the body is not inclined to dismantle them. The body understands that you don’t WANT to feel any of the above, but it believes you NEED to.
It may also think you need to drink alcohol, or use substances, or eat too much, to calm you, so it makes you do that too. It may even make you self harm, cutting yourself to let the pressure out of your body which you feel inside.
Even if you are railing against it all, saying, ‘I don’t want to drink, I don’t want to take drugs, I don’t want to be scared or anxious, I don’t want to hurt myself,’ the body just shrugs and tells you you NEED to.
So how do you send the strongest message possible to your body to tell it it NEEDS to relieve these symptoms?
Well, this is why rockbottom is such a good place to start hypnotherapy and have it work, fast. And why coping mechanisms can be disadvantageous to anyone suffering crippling symptoms.
Your message to your body cannot be ambiguous.
If you start hypnotherapy with the mindset that you want to put an end to your symptoms, but that you CAN handle them – even if that is just bravado from you – your body is listening to that and thinking, ‘There you go, she can handle the symptoms in place to protect her. It’s not that bad.’ And it will fight you to keep all those emotions and actions. The body likes the status quo it has created, even if you don’t, and it thinks it knows you better than you do.
But if you arrive at hypnotherapy saying, ‘I can’t go on. I can’t live like this. My life is a disaster, and I am losing everything. I want to die,’ your body is immediately paying attention. It realizes it has gone too far. You are talking about suicide!! Or may even have tried suicide already. If you die, the body dies and it doesn’t want that. So, admitting to yourself how desperate you are is not weakness. Where hypnotherapy is concerned, It is expedient. Then the body knows it can’t go on ladling these troublesome emotions on you because you may well crack.
The body is far more disposed to releasing some of the symptoms, and may even eliminate them altogether, if you are willing to take the time to find out where they are coming from in the first place. That is the purpose of CatchPTSD hypnotherapy – to find the root cause of everything you are feeling, so it can be understood and defused. Permanently.
Never doubt this is serious. This is a hostage negotiation. One half of you wants to hold you prisoner. For a REASON. The other half wants to escape. Just like in hostage negotiations, the hostage taker wants to be listened to and understood, and then release is possible. If the hostage refuses to listen, the hostage taker is not disposed to set them free.
I liken hypnotherapy to couple’s counselling. How many of us, in a relationship, do not take the other person’s upset seriously until they are walking away. Hypnotherapy for PTSD is the same thing.
So before starting hypnotherapy, decide how bad your situation is, and acknowledge it. The hypnotherapist can’t get anywhere if you don’t think it is really necessary. Then it is two against one.
I will ask people how much they need to get better. If they say they would like to, but they can manage, I will tell them to come back when they can’t manage. The person has to convince their own body, not me, or it just won’t stop.
All CatchPTSD hypnotherapists know this. If you need help, desperately, contact us, and we will work with you to take back control of your body – and your life.
CATCH 