Well I can confirm that hypnotherapy does in fact work.
Two sessions and I'm no longer afraid of needles. Had my blood tests at the weekend and had zero anxiety or even hesitation. I can't tell you how much of a relief it is.
I'm honestly quite surprised, I thought it was all mumbo jumbo. I didn't actually expect it to work. How funny.
I find this EXTREMELY surprising. Do you mind telling us how you got the idea or any explanation on how it works?
My best guess is that the power of suggestion (from one person onto another) is very effective if one person believes the other is right.
Sincerely,
The Vault Dweller
Of course it's all the power of suggestion and mind tricks. I realize there is no magic spell that they put me under, I knew that from the start.
I'd gotten the idea when discussing needle phobia with a friend, she said that her older sister had a similar fear but had gone to hypnotherapy and was no longer afraid of them at all.
The first 40 minutes of the session was spent discussing the phobia and my life with the hypnotist as you would in a normal therapy session, then she asked me to lie back on a chair and close my eyes. She asked me to think of a place where I have been relaxed or at peace, perhaps a comforting childhood memory. It was then that she said "You can feel the weight of your hands and feet" or something to that effect, and I sort of did. For a minute or two I thought this wasn't going to work and that it was all bullshit, but then she said something that freaked me out a little. You know when you have your eyes closed for long enough, and you start to see little streaks and dots of light dance around? Well I was seeing blue ones, and she said "Focus on those blue lights" and it was at that point I went under. My eyes began to flutter up and down, but I had no control over it, I felt like I couldn't move my arms or legs. The best way to describe the feeling of being in a trance is comparing it to when you're woken up very early in the morning by your alarm, and you're sort of streaming in and out of conciousness, dropping into sleep and back out again. It was like a feeling of that for a full hour. The whole time she was speaking to me, but I didn't hear most of it, which she said was normal and actually the intention.
Afterwards I came up with a theory as to how she managed to get the "blue lights" thing correct. My theory was that her room was filled with lots of very deliberately placed bright red objects, there was a large red curtain draped behind her seat as well as a chair with a stack of bright red pillows. I imagine this triggers some sort of reflex in the brain that made me see the opposite colour? I'm not sure, but that was my theory.
It was a very interesting experience, and whether it was all crap or not, it worked for me. That's all that matters I guess.
