Many clients ask, can PTSD erase upsetting memories. My answer is no. Hypnotherapy does not erase memory. Hypnotherapy is about uncovering information, which has been hidden by the body for any reason, not burying it. So, it does the opposite really. But there is a caveat. Bear with me as I explain.
The body can repress memory for ANY reason, if it thinks it would be expedient for its ‘human’. However, the troublesome memory is only hidden from the mind. The body remembers everything!
This can lead to an awful situation where the person is being triggered by something, but has no idea what. It might be a colour, a smell, or a sound, or an event similar to what happened in some way, which might send someone into anxiety, depression, hypervigilence etc, with no context. This is PTSD.
What hypnotherapy does for people with PTSD is put them into a very relaxed state, even if they can’t imagine they could ever relax again – they do – and then the hypnotherapist asks the body to explain to the person why they are reacting the way they are – what happened, when? The person will see, or hear, something in a dreamlike state, which either explains it in full, or starts the process of revelation.
As soon as the person understands it, the symptoms stop, for the sole reason that the symptoms were trying to get a message across to the person anyway, anyhow. But now the message is delivered, so it can stop the symptoms. It is that simple.
The memories which you have in your mind NOW – which you may feel you just want erased – are not actually the root cause of your problem. They are pointing towards the cause. Something about that memory reminds your body of an event that happened before. You are constantly thinking about it because the body wants you to. It is saying, “Look, remember that? That is like the thing I haven’t let you remember, but I want you to remember, but I am scared what happens when you do remember, so I am not sure if I should show you. Instead I am making you think of this one, in the hope you will get the link.’ The poor person, is left thinking, ‘What the…..Just tell me.’
What hypnotherapy does is go around that worry of the conscious mind, of what will happen if you know. Hypnotherapy takes you straight into your subconscious mind, where the information is, and allows you to see it, clearly. Often the information your body thought would be too scary to show you is not the worst thing you have ever encountered; it is just the first time you were shocked, scared or furious.
Hypnotherapy essentially allows the body to tell you, in a safe environment. When THAT memory is brought into the conscious state, everything is known, and it allows you to understand why you have acted and reacted the way you have, maybe for your entire life. It has been a pattern in your life. Just understanding the reason is enough to break the EMOTIONAL link to the new, and the existing, memory. So, the memories are still there. THEY ARE NOT ERASED. But neither your body, nor your mind, react the same way anymore. Those memories just get absorbed into your life history, like a lesson along the way, but not something that defines you now.
So, in that sense, even without erasing the upsetting memories, it helps you live with them; move past them. There is no negative emotional reaction to it in you anymore.
If you are worried about what you might discover, don’t be. Your body already knows! And the only way to alleviate it is for the mind to understand it too. Symptoms are defused by insight!
If there is something you would like to understand, about you, do browse CatchPTSD.com and see which therapist resonates with you. We are here to help!
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