Habit Cough, or psychogenic cough or cough tic, is a rather unknown condition for most of us. It affects children and adolescents, but rarely affects adults. It can persist for years without intervention. Hypnotherapy has proven successful in the treatment of habit cough ninety percent of the time within a few sessions.
The continuing condition has no identifiable physical cause. The onset is often connected with a cold, the flu, or a respiratory infection. Sometimes, clients have asthma which may be a contributor to the condition. In very rare cases, the cough may originate with exercise or eating.
Studies reveal an interesting circumstance that is most revealing as to the psychological nature of the condition. Sometimes the actual physical illness associated with the beginning of the cough occurs when the child is experiencing emotional stressors. For example, some children develop the cough when a parent suffers from a serious illness, marital problems, serious mental conditions, or death.
The cough is often loud and harsh, occurring as often as several times a minute. Interestingly, it only happens when children are awake, not while they sleep, which also points to the automatic, subconscious, psychological nature of the condition. Something in the Middle Mind programming is instinctively, uncontrollably, triggering the urge to cough.
The persistent cough can lead to physical irritation and fatigue. The continuation of the cough can not only cause a child embarrassment, but it can also interfere with classroom work and other childhood activities. Of course, anxiety sets in if the cough is particularly interfering, which serves only to reinforce the habit. Cough suppressants and other medications are totally ineffective in treating the condition.
The hypnotherapist will seek to comfort the child and create confidence for the child in the hypnosis-based therapy. The goal is to use the Middle Mind’s amazing abilities to reset itself. Using suggestions as the raw material of recovery, the hypnotherapist will provide the child with avoidance/distraction tools to suppress the cough. These tools will combine with additional processes that allow the child to retain conscious control of the behavior. In time, the new, improved non-coughing behavior will simply become second nature to the child, and the coughing issue will end.
Hypnosis-based therapy is a proven fast, safe, and highly recommended treatment option for children and their parents. Do not delay if this habit is affecting your family!