HYPNOSIS FOR PTSD

Learn how hypnosis removes PTSD and other anxiety triggers and develop a sense of calm, trust, and control. Then, join Wendy for a customized, professional one-on-one hypnotherapy session that aims to eliminate post-traumatic triggers quickly.

Trauma is a nightmare to deal with, especially when things from our past that harmed or hurt us come to the surface. We often don’t realize how much our minds have been affected. This buildup of tension nearly always accumulates and leads to symptoms such as feeling clammy, nervous or even experiencing gripping fear.

But you don’t need to live like this. Learning hypnosis tools and methods may change the way you process the memories of your previous life experiences. Become free by releasing the things that used to trigger you and have kept you feeling stuck all these years.

In our society, we often reward people who are aggressive and pushy which can lead to feelings of inadequacy in individuals who may feel more passive and less assertive than others around them. Hypnotherapy training helps in post trauma removal so you don’t rely on anger as a way to get what you want or need from life.

Hypnotherapy, often known as hypnosis, is a kind of solution-oriented therapy that uses a person’s conscious and subconscious minds to induce emotional and behavioral change. It has been shown to be useful in the treatment of anxiety, stress, phobias, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A normal hypnosis session lasts anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes.

A course of therapy for a disorder like PTSD might range from two or three weekly sessions to several sessions spread out over several weeks or months.

Hypnotherapy is mainly based on a mental model that encompasses both conscious and subconscious features.

These two areas of the mind serve distinct roles and collaborate to assist humans in navigating daily life. The principles of these two types of minds serve as a valuable paradigm to assist individuals in eliciting the beneficial changes they want.

The conscious mind is analogous to a laser pointer. It is very concentrated on whatever it is paying attention to at the time. This may include a wide range of experiences such as sights, sounds, ideas, actions, and tasks. The conscious mind, like a laser pointer, has limited bandwidth. In general, a person can only be consciously aware of a few things at once.

Meanwhile, the sense organs continue to receive and analyze millions of pieces of information. The subconscious mind stores and manages this knowledge.

All of our memories, beliefs, behavioral behaviors, and prior learnings are stored in the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind is in charge of things like understanding how to tie one’s shoes, ride a bicycle, and speak a foreign language. In the case of PTSD, the memory of a terrible experience might get “stuck” in the subconscious. This might lead to negative emotions anytime a person is reminded of the initial trauma by external stimuli.

The hypnotherapist can assist the client in resolving painful memories and experiences that have become troublesome while under hypnosis when the subconscious mind is more active and accessible. Adverse emotions and behaviors may be reprogrammed into more positive ones through relaxation, guided imagery, positive hypnotic suggestions, and other techniques.

Because PTSD is so closely linked to subconscious phenomena, hypnotherapy may be a useful treatment for persons suffering from the aftereffects of a traumatic event.

People suffering from PTSD may have a broad variety of symptoms, ranging from mild to severe. In any event, symptoms might last months or even years after the initial traumatic incident. This may have a significant impact on one’s quality of life while also leading to greater rates of addiction and, in some circumstances, suicide.

PTSD symptoms include the following:

• Unwanted or upsetting recollections of the terrible occurrence
• Mood swings and negative thoughts
• Feelings of despondency
• Anxiety attacks
• Maintaining tight connections is difficult.
• Disruptions in sleep
• Excessive irritability or violent conduct
• Hypervigilance
• Suicidal ideation or behavior

The majority of individuals will be subjected to a traumatic incident at some time in their life. The “fight, flight, freeze” reaction is the brain’s natural response to a hazardous or life-threatening circumstance. During a crisis, the amygdala sends a signal to the hypothalamus, causing it to produce stress hormones, which drive the sympathetic nervous system to respond correctly. When the threat is gone, the brain ceases to produce stress hormones and resumes normal functioning.

However, in PTSD, a person has been unable to digest the traumatic experience, and the brain’s normal function has been altered. When events remind a person of the initial trauma to happen in the future, the fight, flight, or freeze response may be aroused needlessly. Hypnotherapy, with its focus on physical and mental relaxation, may be a particularly successful treatment for PTSD.

The therapist will assist a person through gradual attention to each region of the body in order to develop adequate relaxation to enter the hypnotic trance state. This practice of mental and physical relaxation has the potential to be a natural cure to many of the symptoms of PTSD. When symptoms are less severe, it is simpler to begin significant therapy work.

PTSD symptoms are often triggered by non-threatening situations. Many war veterans, for example, have acute sensitivities to the sound of pyrotechnics or backfiring motor vehicles. When in a calm state of hypnosis, it is generally simpler to recognize typical triggers that may have gone missing earlier.

While in trance, a person may clearly picture being exposed to triggering events and safely rehearse more acceptable replies. The degree of the unfavorable responses decreases with repeated tries until the stimulus is no longer triggering.

Aside from these strategies, many hypnotherapists will provide other self-management skills to cope with PTSD symptoms when they arise in the future. These may include self-hypnosis instructions, deep breathing exercises, and self-guided relaxation meditations.

When a person seeks hypnotherapy treatment for the first time, PTSD is not necessarily the presenting condition. PTSD is often connected with co-occurring illnesses such as depression, panic attacks, sleep difficulties, poor self-esteem, and addiction.

Traumatic recollections are prevalent when these concerns are addressed while under hypnosis. A qualified hypnotherapist will be able to identify the connection between these memories and the problematic habits and symptoms. The therapist will then help the individual towards a healthy resolution using a number of strategies.

Memory regression, reframing/restructuring memories, and anchoring resource states are some hypnotherapeutic approaches.

This kind of experience might involve vivid memories of the incident as well as the person’s emotional state at the moment. The therapist will set up the settings for “dual awareness” in order to keep the individual calm and secure. This is accomplished by simply telling the individual during the procedure that, although the memory seems to be very vivid, they are truly in the current moment and not in danger. This enables the individual to engage with the memory therapeutically rather than suppressing or dissociating from it.

When a traumatic memory is exposed during regression, fear responses might start to change. One method is to reframe and reorganize the traumatic memory, enabling the individual to bring fresh resources to the original incident.

For example, when recalling a memory, the therapist might urge the individual to remind oneself that their initial reaction was acceptable at the time but is no longer relevant. It is also beneficial to be reminded that, regardless of what occurred, the individual has survived the traumatic incident and is no longer in danger.

It is also possible to use guided imagery to have the individual repeat the event with resources and talents that they did not have at the time of the trauma. A person who was abused as a kid, for example, might picture being there as an adult to protect and assist the youngster. The initial trauma reactions may be neutralized by experiencing the memories in a new, powerful manner.

After making some headway in reframing the old emotional/behavioral reactions to traumatic triggers, new triggers (also known as “anchors”) may be set to assist the individual manage with PTSD symptoms in the future.

First, while under hypnosis, the subject will be requested to develop an empowered resource state, such as feeling secure, competent, or in charge. This condition should be experienced as thoroughly as possible. Once a strong enough sensation has been developed, the individual is advised to build an anchor for the feeling, such as touching the forefinger and thumb together. This successfully links the emotional state to a physical sensation.

It is then feasible for a person to re-experience the resource condition in the future by using the anchor.

Hypnotherapy training strengthens empathy and compassion by strengthening the neural pathways that control these feelings. This in turn makes it easier to recognize the needs of others around you which reduces conflict and improves relationships.

Hypnotherapy can help people suffering from chronic pain or illness get their lives back faster so they don’t have to deal with anger issues related to a slow recovery or limited mobility.   

Hypnotherapy for PTSD also employs a series of physical exercises to facilitate mental wellness caused by traumatic episodes. People who are more proactive tend to be less prone to explosive outbursts because they’re able to maintain a heightened level of awareness while being active which keeps anger in check. By focusing on specific skills, active people can optimize performance levels while reducing unpleasant emotions caused by PTSD.