Hypnotherapy has proven valuable for treating the myriad of symptoms that can affect those suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD). Once associated primarily with soldiers returning from war, this disorder is now recognized in conjunction with a variety of experiences. The origin of the problem begins with the experiencing or the witnessing of a traumatic event or events. Like a soldier in war or a child suffering from sexual abuse by an adult, the trauma may be a continuing series of events, lasting from days to years. The trauma may also come through all too common events that life brings, such as auto accidents, other serious injuries, or criminal attacks.
Some may experience a sense of recovery from any of these events, but a condition is labeled PTSD only if the symptoms last for more than a few months and begin to interfere with normal daily functions. Some of the typical symptoms include flashbacks of the traumatizing event(s), nightmares, anxiety (and all of its accompanying manifestations), and excessive thinking about the causative event(s).
Hypnotherapy can treat PTSD by working with the Middle Mind, the subconscious seat of the problem. A PTSD sufferer is continuously exposed to the traumatic events as the Middle Mind continuously re-plays those events, seemingly in an uncontrollable fashion. Therapy using hypnosis is critical to reaching those behaviors and altering them.
PTSD will intrude on other behavior and relationships, as well. This “cross contamination” takes place outside the conscious, rational mind, and once again, seems permanent, not subject to a willed, conscious change. Hypnotherapy offers techniques to get past these mental blocks in order to effectively rewire the brain’s responses to the trauma.
As symptoms continue, clients with PTSD often seek relief that allows them to avoid the pain of the symptoms. This avoidance can take the form of addictive behavior as sufferers try to self-medicate to numb the pain. Many of those with PTSD turn to alcohol or drugs to avoid the pain. Others may turn to self-harm, and when the pain seems overwhelming, they may even attempt suicide. Increasing suicide rates nationwide are connected with PTSD who have lost hope in finding any relief.
The strain of dealing with the PTSD symptoms can result in physical and mental problems, in addition to the emotional ones. Many of these issues may simply be latent situations interfering little, if at all, with life. The stress and anxiety of the PTSD aggravate pre-existing conditions, adding to the sufferers’ overall problems.
In hypnotherapy, treatment is tailored to the individual, specifically dealing with the person’s personal manifestation of PTSD. The therapy will explore and dissociate the event(s) in order to reach a point in which the primary event may be addressed, but without the emotional responses and attendant symptoms. A sufferer may need to “let loose” his or her emotions so that he or she may reach a type of closure or resolution. A therapist will help a sufferer to be de-sensitized to the situation. These clients will need ego-strengthening, the recall and reestablishment of their dominant strengths they inherently possess, as they work to restore themselves to a more normal functioning state. Hypnotherapy will also offer proven measures to help sufferers control behaviors that have led to addictive activities, self-harm, relationship issues, and health issues, both mental and physical.
With the incredibly broad range of symptoms of PTSD, hypnotherapy and its broad arsenal of behavior-changing weapons offers unique assistance for the suffering individual.