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THE RAPID TREATMENT OF FEAR, PANIC ANDPHOBIA DISORDERS USING
HYPNOANALYSIS ...WITH ILLUSTRATIVE CASE HISTORY SUMMARIES.
INTRODUCTIONAn estimated 20 million Americans suffer
from phobias. "What schizophrenia was to the1960's, what
depression and burnout were tothe 1970's, phobias are to the
1980's," accord-ing to Newsweek, April 23, 1986. This articlewill
discuss, phobias since they are a timelysubject, Phobic Dirsorders,
particularlyagorophobia, social phobia, simple phobia andthe panic
disorder of anxiety neuroses.
Medical Hypnoanalysis can uncover theunconscious forces that are
responsible for aparticular symptom complex. Once theunderlying
root cause - the Initial Sensitiz-ing Event - and the Symptom
ProducingEvent have been identified and resolved, theperson is then
free to give up his or her par-ticular symptoms and reactions.
Case histories are included. These willdescribe the patient's
symptomatology, theobject of the fear (phobic stimulus), and
willdemonstrate the necessity of a careful, detailedand complete
history - in the patient's ownwords. Specific hypnoanalytical
techniquesinclude Word Association Test, Dreamanalysis and Age
Regression. The casehistories demonstrate the removal of the
highlycharged emotional negative beliefs that wereresponsible for
the problem. They alsodemonstrate the usage of positive,
healingsuggestions utilized to achieve the therapygoals, mutually
established by the patient andthe hypnoanalyst. The importance of
making
resistance in giving up the phobia can beexpected.
The PHOBIC DISORDERS are sub-divided into three types:
Agoraphobia, SocialPhobia, and Simple Phobia. Simple Phobia isthe
most common Phobic Disorder in thegeneral population. Agoraphobia
is the mostcommon among people seeking treatment. Itis the most
severe and pervasive of all. It canexist with or without panic
attacks.I. AGORAPHOBIA has as its essentialfeature, a marked fear
of being alone; it mayinclude the fear of being in public
placeswhere escape might be difficult or where helpwould not be
available in case of suddenincapacitation. The most common
situationsagoraphobics avoid are ones that involve beingin crowds
like on a busy street or in a crowdedstore, being in tunnels, on
elevators, onbridges, or on public transportation. Veryoften, the
patients will insist that a trustedfamily member or friend
accompany themwhenever they leave home. Because the fearsor
avoidance behavior dominate theindividual's life, normal activities
becomeincreasingly restricted.
When Panic Attacks accompany theAgoraphobia, the individual
developsanticipatory fear of having such an attack, andbecomes
reluctant or refuses to enter a varietyof situations that are
associated with theseattacks. Agoraphobia generally has its onsetin
the late teens or early 20's, and it is morefrequently seen in
women.
The term "Agoraphobia" was coined in1871 by a German
psychologist, Dr. C.Westphal. He used the term to describe
apeculiar syndrome he observed in some of hispatients. From the
roots, "Agora," meaningmarket place, or a place of assembly,
and"Phobia," meaning dread.
Avoidance is the benchmark of phobias,
a correct subconscious diagnosis cannot beover-emphasized, since
this is the basis forsuccessful treatment.
In most cases of this type, less than 15sessions are necessary
to complete therapy.
PHOBIC DISORDERSThe essential feature of a phobic disorder
is a persistent and irrational fear of a specificobject,
activity, or situation that results in acompelling desire to avoid
it (the phobicstimulus). The phobia is a special variety ofthe
anxiety reaction. The person knows thatwhat he or she fears is
silly, but feelspowerless to do anything about it and cannothelp
himself. The root of the fear is in theperson's subconscious mind.
It originatesduring an emotional turmoil and results fromunresolved
problems and conflicts; these findtheir way to the consciousness,
creating theclinical symptomatology. The value of thephobia to the
person is the comfort resultingfrom denial or concealment of the
real internalfear and danger.
In summary, some external threat("reality") is feared, and
therefore must beavoided. The fear itself is beyond
voluntarycontrol and cannot logically be explained bythe person.
The person seeks professional helpwhen the symptoms become
incapacitatingand grossly interfere with his/her life. In
mostcases, while the person expresses a sinceredesire to get rid of
the problem, marked
and elaborate habit patterns are developed toavoid the stimulus
situation. This avoidancein turn, produces feeling of hopelessness
andhelplessness.ll. SOCIAL PHOBIA has, as its essentialfeature, a
persistent, irrational fear of, andcompelling desire to avoid,
situations ofexposure to the scrutiny of others that mightlead to
humiliation or embarassment.Therefore, the person attempts to avoid
suchsituations, and this avoidance becomes asignificant source of
distress. Social phobiasusually occur singularly. Examples would
be:fears of public speaking, performing in public,using public
lavatories, eating in public, andwriting in the presence of others.
This disorderoften begins in late childhood or
earlyadolescence.III. SIMPLE PHOBIA is a persistent,irrational fear
of, and compelling desire toavoid an object or a situation. These
are oftenreferred to as "specific" phobias. Thesephobics rarely
seek treatment unless there isa specific need to confront the
situation.
Most commonly, the Simple Phobiasinvolve animals, particularly
dogs, cats,snakes, birds, insects, and mice. The simplePhobia is
usually the easiest to treat and hasthe best prognosis.
PANIC DISORDER(of ANXIETY NEUROSIS)
The essential features involve recurrentpanic or anxiety
attacks. These may occurunpredictably, in certain situations,
e.g.,driving a car, flying, or being in water. In theDSM-III, the
diagnostic criteria for panicattacks require at least four of the
followingsymptoms during each attack:(1) dyspnea, (2) palpitations,
(3) chest pain ordiscomfort, (4) choking or smothering sensa-
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tions, (5) dizziness, vertigo, or unsteadyfeelings, (6) feelings
of unreality,(7) paraesthesias (tingling in hands or feet),(8) hot
and cold. flashes, (9) sweating,(10) faintness, (11) trembling or
shaking,(12) fear of dying, going trazy, or doingsomething
uncontrolled during an attack.
Attacks usually last a few minutes; rarelyan hour or more. A
common complication ofthis disorder is the development of
anticipatoryfear of helplessness or of loss of control duringa
panic attack; the individual may then becomereluctant to be alone
or to go into publicplaces. The individual may develop
varyingdegrees of nervousness and apprehensionbetween attacks. The
problem usually beginsin late adolescence or early adult life, but
mayalso start in mid-adult life. It is seldomincapacitating unless
the disorder is unusuallysevere and complicated by Agoraphobia.
Itoccurs more frequently in women.
mSTORY TAKING IS OFUTMOST IMPORTANCE
To illustrate the importaQ,ce of taking acareful and complete
history, the presentingcomplaint "fear of flying", can exemplify
theprocedure;
When people present with the problem,fear of flying, it is
crucial to obtain theirhistory in their own words and to record
itverbatim, including notations of bod;language and how the words
are said, as wellas notations on pauses and hesitations . . .
andwhat the person does Naf say. At theappropriate time, ask the
following question:"WHERE IS YOUR FEAR THEGREATESTI" The answer
will often help thehypnoanalyst arrive at the correct
diagnosis.
In the FEAR OF FLYING, there are fivepossible areas for the
person to be fearful.
DECEMBER, 1986
1.) ANTICIPATION OF A JOURNEY.Generally, the person has
previously movedaway and is expecting to move away from asecure
situation to an insecure one, or thatperson may expect something
terrible willhappen while flying away. This causes the
fearresponse, and, in these cases, the fear startssoon after the
person begins to think of makingarrangements for a trip. 2.) ON
ENTERINGAN AIRPLANE (or any other enclosure).This is really a
"claustrophobic" reaction, andthe "danger" the person fears is that
of beingtrapped inside an enclosed place. Often theInitial
Sensitizing Event of this problem goesback to birth or even a
pre-birth experience.The response to hormones, such as
adrenalin,secreted during the birth experience, is similarto the
response a person may experience whenentering an airplane. The fear
of flying phobicusually remains reasonably calm until nearingthe
gate of the terminal. 3.) ON TAKINGOFF. This is often a fear of
"taking off'literally! It can be a fear of leaving home,leaving a
marriage, or "running away." Oncethe underlying "real fear" is
identified andresolved, the person is "free" to travel withoutthe
fear of leaving and not returning. Thereturn flight is usually not
nearly as traumaticfor this person. 4.) HIGH ALTITUDE.During this
possible area of fear, the personmay remain fairly calm and relaxed
until theairplane is already up in the air, and then heor she
begins to have a fear reaction. This isNaf the fear of flying, but
a fear of heights.Very often the root cause of this fear is
fromearly childhood when the person was "taught"to be afraid of
heights or of falling from them.Such "learning experiences" would
includebeing tossed in the air as an infant, a scareyamusement park
ride, being on the roof of atall building, and very often, the
birthexperience itself. - especially when the
obstetrician held the infant upside down andslapped his bottom,
resulting in the InitialSensitizing Event. 5.) ON LANDING. Thisarea
of fear actually constitutes the true fearof flying. And a person
with this true fear offlying rarely seeks help because he or she
justWON'T fly! This is usually secondary to aprevious experience
with an actual plane crash- either involving themselves or a friend
orrelative. It is Naf a fear of flying as muchas a fear of
crashing! During the past 6 years,I have had a number of patients
because of thefatal crash of a commercial jet liner in aresidential
neighborhood while on the finallanding approach into the San Diego
airportin 1980: All aboard were killed as were manypeople in their
homes. The crash became theSymptom Producing Event. These
patientshad flown before, but were now afraid to flyand sought
professional help.
As with all fears, the fear of flying has aroot cause, i.e. an
underlying subconsciousstimulus. This root cause is WHAT IS INTHE
MIND OF THE PERSON AT THETIME WHEN THE ORIGINAL INCIDENTOCCURED. It
is the VOLTAGE of theEMafIONALLY LOADED NEGATIVESUGGESTION THAT WAS
ACCEPfED.The problem is Naf later, as it is rememberedfrequently
with the emotion repressed out ofawareness. The problem is a fear
stimulus thatbrings up the MEMORY with the reverberat-ing emotion
that produces the fear and panic.It is the FEAR ITSELF that is the
problem... not the object or situation that is produc-ing the fear.
Treatment can only be successfulwhen age regression is used to go
back to theInitial Sensitizing Event and SymptomProducing Event.
Each subsequent event thatproduces the same fear response is a
SymptomIntensifying Event.
CASE HISTORIESIn each of the following illustrative case
histories, the conscious diagnosis is given atthe beginning, and
the subconscious diagnosisis given in the text and discussion. Only
themost pertinent information is given here, andthe reader needs to
be aware that a completehistory, lasting as long as 11/2 hours, is
takenon each patient. Only the more relevanthypnoanalytical
material is presented here asa case summary.
CASE #1AGORAPHOBIA with PANIC ATTACKS
PANIC DISORDER - Fear of Driving
Elaine is a 37 year old married woman.When I asked her "WHAT IS
YOURPROBLEM?" she answered, "I can't drivealone. If I am alone, it
is not a pleasantexperience for me. It's a problem for 7 years.It
all started when I was driving on anInterstate Highway in San Diego
with my 8year old daughter. I thought I would pass outand had to
pull over and stop the car. I sat onthe curb. The police had to get
someone toget me and drive my car home. My familyphysician gave me
pills to take, but I couldonly take a 'child's dose' of it. I am in
a prisonand have lost my independence. I feelimpending doom all the
time. I am alwaysprepared, on guard, and feel that somethingawful
will happen to me or to someone else."
When asked: WHAT WOULD YOU DOIF YOU WERE CURED? she stated: "I'd
beable to drive alone."PERTINENT HISTORY: Her parentsdivorced when
she was 3 years old. Her fatherwas an alcoholic and was killed in
anautomobile accident 3 years ago. Elaine's birthwas uneventful
except that her mother had todrive herself to the hospital because
her father
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was out getting drunk.Elaine also reported "a neighbor boy,
18
years old, was killed before my very eyeswhile driving a farm
tractor in circles. He wasfooling around to entertain me. I was 8
yearsold at the time." f
Also, "when I was 16, while on a hikingtrip with other kids,
there was a set of twinswho wanted to go swimming. I didn't want
togo swimming so they went alone. And theydrowned!"THERAPY GOAL:
,"Help me to overcome
;1" the fears I have of being alone. I don't know
II, . ~~i~uA~~~~~liI~u~IT~~~~elP you.""I!II
ImmatureI am stuck at theemotional age ofI will be well when I
can get rid of this prisonMy problem goesback to The age of 8
The patient had NO DREAM&. An ageregression, using the
calendar technique wasgiven, suggesting that she go back to the
rootcause of her problem. She readily regressed backto the age of 8
and saw herself on her neighbor'sfarm watching the 18 year old
neighbor boy"showing off' on his tractor.
She began to abreact with a lot of emotionand related the
following: "He is fooling around,making me laugh. He is so happy.
He is gettingmarried tomorrow. He is so funny driving histractor in
circles and making it bounce and tipfrom side to side. All of a
sudden it tips overand he is caught underneath. He is smashed. Heis
crushed underneath it. I don't know what'swrong. I grab him and
kiss him. Everyonecomes and says 'leave him alone! He's
dead!'(NOTE: She subconsciously connects alone withdead.) It's all
MY fault! If we weren't alonemaybe he wouldn't be dead. His fiancee
blamed
DECEMBER, 1986
me for it. She was never the same again. I wantto say I am
sorry. No one talks about it. Maybethey are angry with me and it IS
my fault. Iwished he'd get up and be alive. I wish it
neverhappened!"
When I asked her: "HOW COULD YOUMAKE IT NEVER HAVE HAPPENED?"
shereplied: "I could turn back the clock to the daybefore and
pretend that it never happened. That'swhat I did! to avoid the
guilt of being responsiblefor his death. I'm nothing more than an 8
yearold . . . THAT'S MY PROBLEM! I removedher guilty feelings
explaining that she did notkill him. There was no intent. It was a
veryunfortunate accident but certainly not her fault.I said to her
it is now safe to mature beyond thatage and that incident.AGE
REGRESSION TO 7 YEARS AGO TOTHE SYMPTOM PRODUCING EVENT:Immediately
following this regression, she wastaken forward to the Symptom
Producing Event,and she said: "I am driving with my 8 year
olddaughter. I swerve to avoid hitting another carthat is changing
lanes in front of me, and it feelslike my car is going to tip over.
Suppose I DIE?Just like the neighbor boy did. My daughter is8 years
old, just like I was. I feel the samefeelings as I did when I was
in his yard. AfterI pull over and I am sitting on the curb I
amafraid. I feel like I was then, sitting and watchingeveryone
trying to help him. As I watched thetraffic going by, it's like
watching him drivingthe tractor, and I am getting more frightened
andpanickey."DISCUSSION: The DIAGNOSIS is PONCEDE LEON SYNDROME.
This woman remain-ed subconsciously, a child, in order to
avoidhaving to deal with the guilt she felt over theneighbor's
untimely death. By staying 8 yearsold emotionally, the incident
never has tohappen, and she does not have to encounter theemotional
pain of it.
Being alone represented impending doom,disaster or death for her
or for someone else.This was further brought out by the
twins'drowning - they were alone. And her father'sdeath occured
when he was driving alone.These latter incidents are all
SymptomIntensifying Events.
Eight year old children are not old enoughto drive; neither are
they old enough to betraveling alone ... hence Elaine's need to
havesomeone with her when she leaves the house.Once these
subconscious beliefs wereexposed, resolved and neutralized, Elaine
wasable to resume normal driving by herselfwithout panic or
fear.
So many Initial Sensitizing Eventsoriginate with the birth
process. In Elaine'scase, an age regression back to birth
wasindicated by her history. She, however, stoppedtherapy after the
fifth session, reporting thatshe was perfectly fine, and no longer
neededany additional sessions. A one year follow upconfirmed she is
symptom-free and remainscured of her problem.
CASE #2
AGORAPHOBIA with PANIC ATTACKS
Mary is a 32 year old, 5 month pregnantwoman. She is married to
a Navy officer.Mary was referred by her obstetrician andcame to the
office accompanied by herhusband.
When I asked her: WHAT IS YOURPROBLEM? She stated: "I am falling
apartat the seams. It all started with a fear ofdriving. I just
don't like to be alone. I panicand go to pieces. My husband has to
be withme or I cannot go anywhere. It all startedabout a year ago
just before moving from myhome state of Ohio to San Diego. I'm
afraid
I will have a heart attack and die if I am alone.There will be
no one there to help me. I can'tbe out of my security zone of
safety. My chestgets tight, my heart beats fast, I can't breathe.I
feel like I am a WALKING ZOMBIE. I haveno energy. I sleep like the
dead. I am a 'down'person all of the time. I feel like I am in a
holeand I don't even want to dig myself out of it.
My husband can't go and do things that heenjoys, like camping,
because of me. I amterrified of death and heights, too, I've
beenvery depressed for about 2 years. I can't goanywhere without
him. Luckily, his Navyduties involve work that can only be done
onland. He would never get orders for sea duty."
When I asked her: WHAT IS THEWORST THING THAT EVER HAPPENEDill
YOU? She said: "When I turned 16 andrealized that I was an ugly
duckling and thatI was stuck with ME. Oh, my grandfather,
myfavorite, died on my sweet sixteen birthday.He had leukemia."
When I asked Mary WHY DID YOU GETMARRIED? She responded: "I was
ready tohave someone around for security to be withme that I could
trust. And no one else askedme and I was afraid that no one else
wouldeither."
When asked to describe her husband, shesaid: '~Trustworthy and
dependable."
On the question: WHAT WOULD YOUDO IF CURED OF THIS PROBLEM?
Sheresponded: "I'd drive home to my home statewhere I belong!"FIRST
AGE REGRESSION: Withappropriate suggestions, she was able toregress
back in time to the age of 4 andreported: "I was the oldest of 5
children.When my sister was born, she was really cute.I was the
ugly duckling and lost it all. WhenI was younger, I was cute, too,
and I got ALLof the attention."
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The subconscious diagnosis of the Poncede Leon Syndrome was made
and explainedto her at this point. She fully agreed that manyof her
ways of thinking and behaving werevery immature. She began a
maturing processfollowing her analysis. IAGE REGRESSION TO BIRTH:
Shereported the following: "I was premature. Myweight was about 3
pounds. I thought I wasgoing to die. I needed constant attention
andI could not be left alone even a minute, evenafter I got home. I
had a specialized doctortaking care of me, and because of him
Isurvived."
Since she belived she was not going tosurvive her birth, she had
accepted a deathsuggestion, and the subconscious diagnosis ofthe
Walking Zombie Syndrome was explainedto her. She realized that she
had been "dead-like" all of her life, and this helped herunderstand
the origins of so many of herdifficulties in living. What "saved"
her life,according to her own belief system', was thatsomeone was
available and she was not leftalone. For her then being left
.•alone, equateswith the fear of dying and that's what shefeared
the most.AN AGE REGRESSION TO ANOTHERDEATH EXPERIENCE: She related:
"I am5 years old. We are living in Europe. Myfather is a Navy
chief. Mother got very ill withpneumonia and had a collap~ed lung.
Theywill not let me see her. I was left alone a lot.I was afraid
she would die. I wanted to die,too, so I wouldn't have to be left
alone. Theytake her away to a hospital and I thought sheand I would
die."HER SECOND AGE REGRESSION TOBIRTH: "They keep poking me to see
if I willmove - to see if I am still alive. It hurts! Leaveme
alone. I'd rather be dead. I woke up withpain and they keep hurting
me when they poke
me. I've been angry all of my life that Isurvived."
"When I got pregnant, I was worried thatmy baby would die. When
the baby is born,I won't be alone. But, I don't want to bedependent
on the baby for my survival."DISCUSSION: Through multiple
ageregressions, subs conscious diagnoses ofWalking Zombie Syndrome,
Ponce de LeonSyndrome, Birth Anoxia Syndrome andIdentity Problem
were made. These negativelycharged complexes were resolved over
acourse of therapy of 24 sessions. Thepresenting symptomatology was
that of thetypical agoraphobia/panic attack victim. Theunderlying
root causes of her difficulties werehowever from varied traumatic
experiences ofthe past, the most poignant one equating beingalone
with death. Subsequent to the abovetreatment, Mary had a relaxed
uneventful andnormal delivery. In addition to the resolutionof her
subconscious conflicts, she also hadreceived suggestions to prepare
her for thedelivery. She was taught to visualize herpregnancy and
the childbirth as a natural, easy,normal process. She became quite
proficientin self-hypnosis and hypnoanalgesia. Shereturned for
further therapy about 6 weekspost-partum. She complained of
havingdifficulty taking care of her baby. She felt thatshe was
unable to "bond" with her baby boyand actually felt resentful of
his presence inthe family, since he took all of the attentionaway
from herself. . . just like when her sisterwas born when she was 4
years old. Her babyhad colic, seemed nervous, was fussy most ofthe
time, and was not sleeping very well.
In our hypnoanalytic work together, it wasdiscovered that she
actually had wished thebaby dead. She felt extremely guilty
aboutthis. Mary was unable to share these thoughtswith her husband
or anyone else. She felt very
"left out" and would become very angry withher husband for
paying more attention to thebaby than to herself. She was angry at
the babyfor being so cute and getting all of the attentionand love.
Several sessions were needed to helpher resolve the underlying
causes of herinability to love herself, and to further resolveher
Love-Identity Problem. Once Mary wasmore able to accept and love
herself, she wasable to change her negative self-destructiveways of
thinking and behavior patterns. Shelearned to share her love with
her baby andher husband, and others in the world. Eventhe baby
calmed down and is doing muchbetter.
After a few more sessions she started tocome to the office by
herself, leaving the babyat home with a baby sitter. Therapy
wascompleted in 42 sessions over a period of 10months.
PANIC DISORDERHenry is a 24 year old college graduate,
manager of a convenience store. At the timeof his consultation
visit he was engaged to bemarried in five months.
When asked: WHAT IS YOURPROBLEM? He stated: "It's a neurosis
I'mhaving. Started during college classes. It leftwhen I left the
classroom. I always sat nearthe door. I thought it would stop when
Igraduated. Waves of fear go through my body.I'd get nauseous. I
graduated one year ago andI am the manager of a store I worked at
forseveral years. I become overwhelmed by fear.Attacks of flight or
fight. My body fills withnervous tension. I feel overwhelmed. My
neckgets stiff and painful and I get fears of fainting.I was
referred by a customer with a similar
problem that you cured in 5 session." (SeeCase #1)PERTINENT
HISTORY: Henry was rearedas, and still is a practicing Catholic. He
isabsolutely terrified of the prospect of themarriage ceremony and
fears he might havean attack in front of all these people.
Hismother had a massive stroke 4 years ago anddied after being in a
coma for 7 days. Hestated: "I had to decide with my father to
'pullthe plug' and let her die. I still dream of heras not being
dead - still alive." Henry's parentswere going through a divorce at
the time ofhis mother's cerebral hemorrhage.
When he was 18years old, his friend Jackhad a nervous breakdown
and was hospitaliz-ed. He said: "I helped him through it by
beingsupportive. Afterwards, Jack developedagoraphobia and he still
suffers from it."WORD ASSOCIATION TEST:
ProblemFearPleaseI need most
MeLifeHelp me LordTo get my life backtogether again
I thought I died When mother diedPunishment FearMy punishment is
My neurosis of
fearMother's deathWhen mother died
My burdenIt all startedAll would be OKif not forTo resolve
myproblem, I'dhave to remove My fear of resolv-
ing itI can let go of whatis eating me up ininside
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AGE REGRESSION TO MOTHER'SSTROKE AND DEATH: "She is my rock,my
support, she is my best friend! My survivalis threatened. What will
I do without her? Thedoctors need MY - I meaI}OUR permissionto turn
off the machines. She was in a comafor 7 days and had brain death
for sure. I donot want to let her go. (Henry' starts cryingand
sobbing) . . . I KILLED HER! IMURDERED HER! I AM GUILTY OF
HERDEATH!"THERAPEUTIC SUGGESTIONS: Thenegative suggestion that he
caused her deathwas removed. He then was able to accept theidea
that God gave her death and that he, thepatient, did not kill her.
Therapeuticsuggestions included: "Her body may be dead,but the
person who was your mother, the soul,the energy, the personality
that lived withinher body - that part of her - is still very
muchalive within the hearts and memories ofeveryone who knew her.
Let her: body go, andkeep her memory alive."
Henry also came to realize that if he wereguilty of her death,
he would somehow, at apsychological level, have to DENY her
deathand thus keep her alive. Otherwise he'd haveto be executed as
a murderer. He was takenthrough the entire death experience,
thefuneral and the burial in order to facilitate hismore complete
acceptance of her death so thathe then could mourn and do the
necessarygrief work.
Because he had judged himself guilty forher death, he had to
punish himself. When his18 year old friend, Jack, developed the
panicand fears following his nervous breakdown,the worst punishment
Henry could come upwith for himself was similar kinds of panic
andfear Jack had. Henry took on the symptomsand some of the
behavior patterns of his friendas being the BEST punishment for
himself.
His panic symptoms served a doublefunction for Henry's psychic
economy. Theynot only served as self-punishment, they alsoproved to
him that he was indeed alive!DISCUSSION: While his
presentingcomplaint was fear and panic reactions, hisSubconscious
Diagnosis included both (1) Aproblem of Guilt and Self-punishment,
and(2) Spiritual Walking Zombie Syndrome. Hishypnoanalysis was
completed in elevensessions. He is now happily married and freeof
symptoms. Anytime he experiences a slightfear coming on, he is now
able to quickly useself-hypnosis to relax himself completely
andremove the negative thoughts that triggeredthat response. I am
glad to report that Henry'swedding went well.
AGORAPHOBIA with PANIC ATTACKSEllen is a 31 year old housewife,
mother
of three. Her husband accompanies her to theoffice on every
visit.When asked: WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?She stated: "I have what is
called agoraphobia,I can't be alone. I want to be free to go.
Ithappens in a store, if I am driving alone, orin a shopping
center. I am always OK ifsomeone is with me - but not a child. All
ofthe symptoms stop after I get out or leave thesituation."
Her symptoms of the panic attack includ-ed: shortness of breath,
inside trembling,panic and fear, a dry nervous cough, and
nasalcongestion and drainage. When asked howlong she had the
problem, she reported: "Thefirst time was when I was 14 in a
departmentstore, when I smelled the odor of new clothes.And there
were two episodes before. At 8, Ifainted in the doctor's office
when I was
treated there for bleeding, the evening aftermy tonsillectomy.
And at age 12 when Ipanicked and fainted in the Catholic Churchon a
very hot, muggy day. It's always worsewhen it's hot and stuffy and
I cannot breathe."When asked: WHAT WOULD YOU DO IFYOU WERE CURED?
She said: ''I'd be ableto go to places and be alone!"PERTINENT
HISTORY: Ellen had an over-protective mother who always warned her
ofwhat Nar to do, for fear she might get hurt.As a child, she was
not allowed to goanywhere without her mother or someone elsebeing
with her at all times to watch her.
When asked what her THERAPY GOALwas, she responded: "Take away
my fear; giveme a positive outlook, and be able to handleany
situation and be alone."WORD ASSOCIATION TEST:
MotherProblemFearThere must be
Being alonemeans
Smell of newclothesWhen I panic-ed in the store
Dry, nervouscough
If I let goTo resolve myproblem
Nasal conges-tion
FearFearDrivingA way to be rid of thisand be free
Having to rely onmyself
I needed room to getout; it was hot
A reminder that I canstill breatheI'm afraid I'll die
I must remove thereason for my fear
DREAM: Ellen brought in the followingdream on her visit after
her Word AssociationTest: "I was on the balcony, waving at
peoplebelow, and then we were filtering through adoorway. It was
the feeling of being in church,but the man at the podium was
telling jokesand stories. The people were bored and notlistening. A
large table was reserved for myfamily. I couldn't decide where to
sit - on theend or the side. I remember myself as a childwhen we
came in, but became an adult afterI sat down. The chair became a
sofa whichcould recline, like a sofa sleeper. I had aconversation
with a little girl regarding the useof the mattress, but said it
was too old and tornand didn't have a plastic cover on it. The
lastthing I remember was trying to get comfor-table and situated,
and I couldn't."DREAM ANALYSIS: At first she thought thechurch
scene had to do with some guilt feel-ings, but she realized it was
that hot andmuggy day and fainting that was the problem.(She did
have guilt conflicts, but as it turnedout in further analysis, they
had very little todo with the panic and fears.) I proceeded withage
regressing her back to the age of 12 andthe fainting incident in
the church.AGE REGRESSION: "It's hot and sticky. Iam 12 years old,
and am in church with mymother. I can feel the other people's
heavybreathing. I am standing, and it gets hotter.I start getting
weak, faint, and can't breathe.I faint and black out. Mother is
scolding mefor fooling around and tells me to 'stop it.' Ibreathe
heavier (she abreacts as in a panicattack) and I pass out. I lose
consciousnessand fall down. Mother yells at me andeveryone stopped
singing to see what's goingon."
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FEELING REMIND YOU OF? She began totalk like a little child,
crying, "Mommy,
. i Mommy, let me out." I asked her: What isI happening? and she
said: "I am locked in a
car, the windows are shut, ll}ommy left mealone in the car. I am
scared. A man looksin the window at me and scares me. It's hotand
stuffy and I can't breathe. I want to getout, but I can't because
mommy will punishme. She went into a store for just a minuteand I
have to wait in the car . . ."
I told her to go to' another time she felt thesame feelings, and
she responded: "We are inthe doctor's office. I am bleeding. I had
mytonsils out that day. I'm coughing up lots ofblood. I'm choking
and can't breathe. Hisoffice smells . . . like the hospital . .
.mediciney. He opens my mouth and putssomething in it so I can't
close it. I am reallyscared now. I am crying and choking. He
putssomething down my throat and gags me. Ittastes awful ... I
choke some more. He saidto stop crying and hold my breath for
aminute. I can't. I just breathe faster and faster."(Patient
abreacts and hyperv~ntilates)
I told her to go back to the tonsillectomyand she screams: "That
mask! That mask!They are going to suffocate me. I can'tbreathe. The
smell is awful. I'm choking. Ifight them. I am gonna die. They are
goingto put me to sleep and they tell me I am a badgirl for not
cooperating. The.y hold me down.I hold my breath and then I pass
out ... I'mdead." (At this point a reference was made tothe idea
that being put to sleep reminded herof a nightime prayer she always
had to say:"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lordmy soul to
keep, if I should die before I wake. . . etc.") Her death
suggestion was removedat this point, and the Walking ZombieSyndrome
was explained to her. Since thepatient remained very emotional, I
continued
and asked her to go back to the incident at theage of 14 in the
department store.
She immediately began to abreact, saying,:"The smell hurts my
throat. We are going intothe store and I start choking on something
Ismell. New clothes?" When I questioned herfurther to determine
what the odor was, sherealized it was a strong-smelling detergent
ofsome sort - like ammonia - that was used towash the floor or
windows near the entranceof the store. She was going to the store
to buynew school clothes.
After she had become aware of thesesympathetic emotional
reverberations, I askedher to reject the fear and panic associated
withall of these experiences. She now understoodhow it was the
memory of the originalemotion that was being "remembered"
and"relived" each time she found herself insimilar circumstances.
With this understand-ing, she could perceive how the inability
tobreathe, to start choking (the "dry, nervouscough") and the nasal
drainage, was a self-protection against traumas similar to those
thathad scared her in earlier situations. Followingthat session,
she related feeling a tremendoussense of relief, and now the
terrified feelingswere gone. She said she was now looking for-ward
to a life without the panic and fear.
On the next visit, three days later, sherelated to me that she
had gone, alone, to alarge shopping center and department store,and
"FORGaf" to get afraid. She didn'trealize it until she was standing
in line waitingto pay for her purchases. She just felt goodat
having done this without her old fearpatterns.AGE REGRESSION ro THE
INITIALSENSmZING EVENT: She went back to herbirth experience, she
experienced greatdifficulty getting through the birth canal,
with
oxygen deprivation due to compression of thetangled umbilical
cord between her body andthe wall of the birth canal. She
experiencedtremendous fear that she would die fromsuffocation, and
it was at that moment in hertreatment that she began to cough and
choke.When I asked her: "what is happening?" Shestated: "I can't
breathe and they are puttingsomething down my throat to make
mebreathe. I have a lot of mucus in my throatand they are sucking
it out. I am gagging.Finally, I do breathe and then they take
meaway from mother and put me in a box witha plastic lid on it. (At
this point, I remindedher of the mattress and plastic cover in
herdream). I am all alone in this glass cage. Andit's warm and
stuffy. I can't get comfortablebecause I cannot breathe. Then they
give mesome air, (Oxygen was pumped in) and I canbreathe OK. I fall
asleep and the next thingI know, mother is holding me, trying to
breastfeed me. She smothers me with her breast soI can't breathe."
She makes reference to thefact that mother always "smothered" her
bybeing over-protective.DISCUSSION: The subconscious diagnosisis
Birth Anoxia Syndrome because sheexperienced oxygen deprivation
during thebirth process. The fear associated with thebirth process
was intensified with thesmothering feelings she experienced
duringbreast feeding as well as from mother's"smothering and
over-protective nature," andagain when she was left inside the car.
It wasfurther intensified with the tonsillectomy whenshe could not
breathe. Again, she could notget her breath in the church where it
was hotand muggy, and then finally, in the store,feeling smothered
by the chemical odors. Allof these experiences were associated and
thecommon emotional reverberations weredesensitized.
Earlier, she reported how she would alwayspanic when going into
and being in a situa-tion, and how she would then feel safe
andasymptomatic AFTER SHE GETS OUT. Thisrefers to the Birth Anoxia
Syndrome, and itserves in her case as the Initial SensitizingEvent.
The problem here with this syndromeis the MEMORY of the emotion
itself; thatis, how a video camera would record it or howthe mother
or the attending physician saw thesituation is actually beside the
point. What isto the point is what the patient experiencedand her
emotionally charged memory of thatexperience. The cure - to "get
out" - involvedthe release of and the neutralization of
anxietyvoltage along with a replacement of negativeself-talk with
positive cognitions and imagery.
A six month follow-up revealed that sheis doing very well, is
able to go wherever shewants to with minimal difficulty, and that
shecontinues to be "in control."
PANIC DISORDER
George is a 35 year old professional actor.When asked WHAT IS
YOUR PROBLEM hestated: "I am having a classical fear responseto
having reconstructive surgery on my nose.A great deal of fear and
apprehension. Theright airway is obstructed due to an injuryfrom
when I was a child. And also,cosmetically, I want my nose put back
in it'snormal position. There is also some cartilageimbedded in my
upper lip. I could FORCE ITTHROUGH or BITE THE BULLET, butthere
must be a more civilized way to deal withthis instead of forcing it
through.
I don't remember what really happened.My mother, father and
sister all have conflic-ting stories. Whatever it was, it was a
severe
-
lnJury to my face and nose. Very, verytraumatic. I was 2-3 years
old, playing, andsomehow got severe cuts on my face and nose.Has
something to do with gardening with myfather. I went into shock and
almost died from
Jthe blood loss. Apparently, my nose wasalmost cut off, and they
had to sew it back on.My parents drove me to the hospital,
45minutes away. I am not afraid of anything, it'sjust not my
temperament. Only if it concernsmy nose and face. I have an
unconsciousresponse to fear and there is no logic to
itwhatsoever.
My acting agent said to have the surgerydone because it will
enhance my career. Threeyears ago, I was in the hospital to have
thisdone and 2:00 a.m. the night before thesurgery I had the
classical autonomic/sympa-thetic reaction of fear of the surgery. I
signedmyself out. I BACKED OUT OF IT.
Doctor, it's Nor the procedure . . . it'shaving my nose plugged!
I can't stand that. Ihave great anxiety when I get a cold and
mynose is stuffed up. I also have some suppressedanger and I get a
physio~ogical reaction to it,and when I do, MY FACE BLISTERS
UPwithin an hour or two."
When I asked him: "WHAT IS THEWORST THING THAT EVER HAPPENEDm
YOU?" he said: "I grew up in a veryrough neighborhood and was
forced to be asurvivor. I had to act tOlJghreal fast to survivethe
other kids on the street.
I said: "TELL ME ABOUT YOURBIRTH" (His body language at this
pointincluded: picking at the ear, touching thethroat and then
grabbing his throat, chokingand clasping his hands over the
umbilicalarea). He said, "Mother was told the babywould not live
because of a fibrous growth.(Was this fibrous growth uterine
fibroids ofmother or some fibrous growth on the child?
I never found out which - either from thehistory or subconscious
analysis). She wasprepared for the death of the child - ME! Itwas a
very traumatic birth with an extendedlabor. Maybe I was a breech. I
don't reallyknow. Mother was hospitalized for 10 daysafter I was
born."
I asked him: "WAS ANYONE'S DEATHA PROBLEM m YOU?" and he said:
"yes,my grandmother's when I was 5 or 6 years old.My father was
hysterical at the funeral. Therewas an 'extended wake' for several
weeks, withfrequent visits to her grave for years. At thefuneral he
picked me up to see her and saygood-bye. He shoved my face into her
deadface!"
When I asked him: "WHAT IS YOURTHERAPY GOAL?" he stated:
"Deconditionthe fear response to . . . the nose thing.Whatever the
hell it is. "Smells' like aclassically conditioned fear.
Pavlovian?"
He brought in the following DREAM:"Left hand side. Cover the
face. Someonepulled something off my face. I woke up veryanxious
and fearful. I woke up in a sweat."AGE REGRESSION m THE
CHILDHOODINCIDENT:
"Father is trimming the bushes. I'm 2years old. Summer-time,
very hot. I am play-ing on the fence and our neighbor is there
andhe has a bucket of minnows for fishing andI want to see them. I
fall off the fence into thisstuff. It hurts. My foot gets caught in
themand I can't get away. The neighbor man isupset and yelling at
me. I fell into his prizedrose bushes. I get scared and try to get
awayand I FORCE MY FACE into the bushes toget away. He's coming
after me and tries toget me.
He calls my father and now I am reallycaught in the thorns. My
face and foot are
caught. I tore my face and it's bleeding all overthe place.
Father gets me out and holds meclose, too close, I can't breathe.
He's squeez-ing me against his chest. I'm bleeding andchoking.
Father says: 'He's gonna die, Oh, myGod. Get a rag to put over his
face.' They puta rag over my face. I can't breathe. I must bedying.
I can't say anything. I go unconscious.I must be dead. I hear
someone say, you'vekilled him!"
He continued: "Father drives me to thehospital, which is 45
minutes away. Mymother is holding me with a rag over my face.She is
yelling at my father. 'He's gonna die,he's gonna die.' At the
hospital, the doctorsays: 'Oh, God, he'll lose it. There is a
bighole there where his nose is supposed to be."(When asked, "WHAT
DOES THE 'IT'REFER m?" He responded. "IT means thatI lost the
ability to breathe and I'd die."
"They stuff something into my nose. Theyinject it; it hurts. I
can't breathe again. Theyanesthetize me; I feel I am dying again.
WhenI wake up my face is all numb. Everyone isin white. I must be
in heaven. (He is in theoperating room and awakens as they
arepreparing for surgery). I can't breathe. Thereis something in my
throat. I try to breathe andI can't. (Patient was intubated with
anendotracheal tube for anesthesia). Someoneelse is breathing for
me. I pass out again, asI hear the doctor say: 'do something
quick,he's waking up.' They give me moreanesthetic. Then later I
wake up again. I'm ina bed. I am tied down and I cannot move.Mother
hugs me and smothers me. 1'111 think-ing, I don't want anyone to
ever mess with myface again, or I'll die for sure."
The following revelations were made bythe patient during this
age regression: "I donot trust anyone, and especially to have
thembreathe for me. THAT'S WHAT I'M
AFRAID OF ... someone else breathing forme! Like the
anestheologist in surgery! I amalways watching myself breathing -
my chestmoving, in a mirror, etc. I often make a sortof noise when
I try to breathe through mynose. And I sniff a lot. It's proof.
that I amalive. I have to see or hear myself breathing.
I am walking through life - like an actorplaying a role on the
stage of life. I am atechnical actor. I cannot show any emotion.My
teachers and directors say so. I feel likeI've been dead all of
these years. Now it allmakes sense to me!"DISCCUSSION: The
subconscious diagnosisof Walking Zombie syndrome was made
andexplained to the patient; he agreed 100% withit. He realized
that he had come to think ofhimself as dead several times during
theincident at age 2. In hypnotherapy he wasassured that he was
free to be alive and didnot have to be afraid of anyone doing
anythingto his face or nose, and he did not have to beafraid of the
anesthesia since he could trustthe expertise of the
anesthesiologist and feelsafe while "someone else breathed for
him."He was FREE to decide whether or not Hewanted to have the
surgery; but he coulddecide without fear.
He had a completely successful surgery 6weeks after completing
his therapy. Heexperienced no anxiety or fears with the
entireprocedure. He had excellent results bothphysiologically and
cosmetically. The surgeontold him afterwards how he had been one
ofthe most cooperative and relaxed patients hehad treated.
Some months after the surgery, and follow-ing this hypnotherapy,
I received a letter fromhim. The following is a excerpt from
it:
". . . I want to express my deepest apprecia-tion for the
therapeutic help you gave me.
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Because of the hypnoanalysis andhypnotherapy, I was able to
overcome andresolve a longstanding fear of surgery. Yourcompetent
and gentle approach allowed me toundergo the necessary surgery
without anxietythat I had avoided for yead. I commend
yourtherapeutic techniques and scholarly dedica-tion to this most
important field of MedicalHypnoanalysis .
PANIC DISORDERJoe is a 26 year old married man. No
children. When asked: WHAT IS YOURPROBLEM? He stated: "Fear of
throwing,catching and hitting a baseball, since I was hitin the
face by a pitched ball thrown by apitcher who I taught how to throw
a curve ball.I play in a minor league now, and my team-mates are
getting fed up with me. I'll pull awayand miss too many pitches. I
strjke out a lot.I miss pop flies, or let the ball go through
melike on grounders. I make too many errors.I turn my face away for
fear,.I'll get hit. I alsohave a fear of scuba diving, even though
Idecided to take a scuba diving course andpassed it. I get nauseous
thinking about goingdiving unless I am with a trained
instructor.
Several years ago I was in the United StatesAir Force being
trained as a navigation officer.I wanted to be a pilot which was
why Ienlisted. However, since I was not acceptedfor pilot training,
I was able to get discharged,since those were the terms of my
enlistment.I have an opportunity to rejoin the UnitedStates Air
Force and be in flight training. Yousee, I just recently got my
pilot's license, butI am afraid to fly alone. I can only fly witha
trained pilot with me in case something goeswrong. I had no problem
with the navigator's
training since there was always a pilot flyingthe airplane. I
get the same tightness in mychest and nauseous feeling as with
scubadiving".
"And I had asthma since childhood, whichended the day my father
died. I was 16. Hedrowned at the beach ... in my arms. I triedto do
CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation)and failed. He barfed, inhaled
it into his lungsand suffocated. If I had known CPR orsomeone
trained had been there, he'd probablystill be alive today. But I
hated my father andwas happy when he died. He was mean to me.Too
strict. I had wished him dead for years.I didn't even want to go to
the beach that day,but he made me go."
After suggesting he would have a signifi-cant dream, he brought
in the followingDREAM:
"I was showing some guys how to playbaseball and pitch, but it
was from a stairwellinto a grass area, and the ball kept
fallingshort."DREAM INTERPRETATION: "I can't makeit in life; I'm
always falling short in reachingmy goals." Patient went on to
relate how he'dget a tight feeling in his stomach and chest
andstart to wheeze. When he did, his father wouldalways feel sorry
for him and leave him alonewhen he began to wheeze. Patient had
tosuppress his anger and choke back the feel-ings toward his father
whom he hated. Therewere many trips to the doctor and
emergencyrooms, and his father would always leave himalone when he
was sick. He realized how theasthma was indeed a "suppressed cry
forhelp." One time he wanted to hit his father,and at that moment
an image of Jesus appearedwho said "NO!" It's a sin to hit your
father!"This incident happened just three monthsbefore his father
drowned.AGE REGRESSION: Patient when to 6th
grade when he was playing baseball and hisfather was nearby
watching. "I was the leader,I was the best of them all and they
knew it.I would spend time teaching the other kidshow to throw, to
catch and to hit better. Fathersaid, 'You're always making a fool
of yourselfby showing others how to throw and hit.' I gotmad at
him. I thought being a leader wouldimpress him, and instead he
resented it."
I told him to take that feeling and go toanother time and he
reported: "About Phyears ago I was teaching this guy how to pitcha
curve ball. He did throw a good one and ithit me in the face. I
felt like a fool, stupid ...just like father had said. I've had
problemsplaying ball ever since."AGE REGRESSION 1D FATHER'S
DEATH:"My younger brother was having trouble inthe water and my
father went in to rescue him.He saved him, but my father got caught
in thecurrent. Eventually someone was able to getto him and pull
him out. He had swalloweda lot of water. He was unconscious when
theygot him to the beach. I was in the car whileall of this was
going on. I was mad becauseI did not want to go to the beach to
begin with.I heard all the commotion and went down tothe beach to
see what was going on. I realiz-ed, "It's my Dad." My first thought
wasFREEDOM AT LAST! It was like a ton ofbricks and been lifted off
my back. God gaveme my wish!
"But my second thought was: I can't lethim die. It would be my
fault because I wishedit. I really do love him even though I don't
likehim. I just hate the way he is, and what hedoes to me. I try to
do CPR on him, but I don'treally know what I'm doing. I fail to
save him.It's my fault. I'm a murderer, and I have topunish myself.
I've been doing that by notletting myself succeed in life. But the
best partwas that all of the anger and asthma was gone
immediately."DISCUSSION: Joe's therapy was
completed in 9 sessions. Once the underlyingcauses of his fears
were resolved, he was ableagain to be the star of his minor
leaguebaseball team, he also has been able to scubadive without
anxiety. He applied for and hasbeen accepted back into the USAF
andscheduled for flight training. Joe is able to flyalone now.
SIMPLE PHOBIA - Fear of BirdsRose is a 16 year old female,
who
successfully, had undergone hypnoanalysis andhypnotherapy at the
age of 11at my office toimprove her skill and ability in show
horseriding competition.
When asked: "WHAT IS THEPROBLEM?" she stated: "I have an
amazingfear of birds. I don't remember when it started,but it was
when I was very little. It's NOT afear of being attacked. I break
out in a sweatand panic. If a pigeon crosses my path I haveto avoid
it. I cannot sit outside and eat, go toa park or a zoo. I am going
to school inEurope, and there are a lot of birds, so Icannot travel
and sight-see because of it. If Isee a bird that is caged, I'm OK.
It's wildbirds. It's a problem when a bird flies towardsme. I
remember having a dream 6f seeing deadbirds."FIRST AGE REGRESSION:
"I am 5 yearsold, and at a farm, where I am learning to ridehorses.
There are some ducks following me,they are chasing me. They don't
want methere, and they scare me. I am afraid they willhurt me. I
want to pet them, and they peckat me. The riding teacher comes over
to meand says 'Don't go near the ducks, they may
-
HURT YOU! or you could HURT THEM!"SECOND AGE REGRESSION: (2nd
officevisit): "I am about 7-8 years old and drivingin a car with
mother. It was raining heavilyand it was dark. Something hit the
windshieldvery hard and scared me., Afterwards mymother said it was
some kind of bird. It tookme a long time to get over the
shock!"
"Mother went on explaining whatprobably happened to reassure me.
She saidthat the bird got hurt by the car and is probablydead. I
feel GUILTY! It's my fault. It wascoming at me and got hurt and
killed. THAT'SIT! That's my problem! I'm afraid that the birdwill
get hurt flying toward me. It's not MYsafety I am concerned about,
it's the bird'ssafety . . . we would both get injured. I'msmart to
stay away from the birds. The birdscan't think. I avoid birds to
protect them."
When asked to go to any other event thatwas important for the
complete understandingand resolution of this problem, she
immediate-ly age regressed back to the age of 4 andstated: "I lost
my first animal then. I had abird in a cage. I had come home from a
carride with my father, and my-mother told methat the bird had
died! I cried. I felt guilty.It was my fault. The bird had been
left in adraft and died. It was "OUT IN THE AIR"and died, and it
was my fault."DISCUSSION: This analysis and therapytook only 5
sessions to complete. Four weekslater I received a letter from her
telling methat she had gone on an "outdoor survivalcamping/mountain
climbing/canoeing trip" inEngland, and suffered no panic or
fearconcerning birds whatsoever. She related thatshe had no further
out of control feelings thatbirds in their natural setting has
always givenher.
FEAR OF FLYINGHelen is a 35 year old married woman,
who has two children.When asked WHAT IS YOUR ROBLEM?
She stated: "A fear of flying. Where do I start?I am frightened
thinking what if the planecrashes? What about my children if I die?
Ihate the turbulence. I fly with my husband onbusiness a lot, every
couple of months at leastaround California or the United States. I
panicand watch out the window to relax."
I asked her WHEN WAS YOUR FIRSTFLIGHT? And she said: "The day my
fatherdied! We were supposed to fly from New Yorkto Florida for a
vacation in December. I was4 years old. He had a sudden massive
heartattack at the age of TI. I was daddy's little girl!The fears
have become worse in the pastseveral years now that we have
kids."
She brought in the following dream: "Weare getting ready to go
to the beach to havefun. Our whole family is packing things
andfood. Everyone is happy and excited."AGE REGRESSING TO FATHER'S
DEATH:"We were to meet daddy at the airport, buthe never arrived.
We were getting ready to geton the plane when mommie got a call to
returnhome, and when we got there we are tolddaddy is dead! He went
to work that day andhad the heart attack at work and was rushedto
the hospital and died."WHEN ASKED HOW THIS AFFECTEDHER, she
answered: "I felt like my life wasover, too. I don't want daddy to
die." And withappropriate questioning, she was able torealize that
what she had done was to turnback the clock of time to the day
before herfather's death, and pretended that it never hadhappened.
Her dream confirmed this and her
realization is clear when she stated: "I stayeda little 4 year
old girl to keep my daddy alive.I denied his death."WHEN ASKED WHAT
SHE LEARNEDFROM THIS EXPERIENCE WHEN SHEWAS 4 YEARS OLD she
responded with:"Don't go on a trip, or somebody close to youdies!
I'm always afraid someone will die whenI am on an
airplane."DISCUSSION: The death of her father, coin-ciding with
being at the airport, waiting forhim to meet the family for a trip,
is the InitialSensitizing Event. The Symptom ProducingEvent is the
birth of each of her two childrenand the subsequent flights after
her pregnan-cies. The subconscious problem underlyingthe Panic
Disorder of the fear of flying is, ofcourse, the Ponce de Leon
Syndrome. Sheremained a little girl in her mind in order todeny her
father's untimely death. If she doesnot go forward in time, it
never has to happen.She admitted to many immature behaviors
thatalso improved after her subconscious age hadbeen brought up to
her chronological age.Total therapy time: 9 sessions.
SUMMARYThe use of Medical Hypnoanalytical
techniques have been explained and illustratedin the treatment
of fear, panic and phobicdisorders. These methods can bring about
arapid identification and resolution of theunderlying (subconscious
or unconscious)disorder, which is the true "root" cause of
theproblem. In some of the cases presented,while the presenting
symptom is similar, theunderlying subconscious cause is
uniquelydifferent and individual for each person.
Research and clinical observations inmodern hypnoanalysis have
shown, that panicattacks provoked by situations or objectscausing
intense fear are reverberations ofemotions from forgotten events.
These eventswere frightening things that the patient hasexperienced
in the past, usually in childhood,and has forgotten or suppressed.
Thesetraumatic incidents often occur during thepenatal, natal and
post-natal times in a person'slife.
One can consider the patient to be suffer-ing from a conditioned
reflex. Modernhypnoanalysis and hypnotherapy can rapidlydiscover
the cause of the problem. In orderto establish a cure the
"conditioned reflex"must be broken and the patient "recondition-ed"
by repeated correct association of ideas.
A phobia is a special form of an anxietyreaction. The patient
knows what he or shefears is silly, but feels powerless to do
anythingabout. The root cause of the fear is in thepatient's
subconscious mind. It originates inan emotional turmoil from
unresolvedproblems and conflicts that find-their-wayconsciousness,
creating the symptoms. Thevalue of the phobia to the patient is the
denialor concealment of the internal or original fear.The external
subject or situation is feared andmust be avoided.
The patient seeks professional help whenthe symptoms become
incapacitating andinterfere with his life.
Fear is a normal emotion that steers usaway from situations that
are dangerous. Fearis normal and necessary for survival for
allspecies. The patient with a panic or phobicdisorder is afraid
when there is no real danger.The extreme fear of a particular
object,activity or situation cannot be explainedlogically by the
patient. The real problem isthat the patient is AFRAID OF A
MEMORY.
-
In hypnosis the patient can let go of the fearof that memory
since it represents an event,that has ALREADY HAPPENED. The
sug-gestion they need is: "The past is past andwhat you have
suffered belongs to the past.
IIt does not trouble you anymore, you haveforgotten all your
suffering and even if youremember it, it will not distress you." It
isTHE MEMORY that is the real problem. Theobject of the fear, the
phobic stimulus, triggersthe MEMORY of the original fear and
pro-duces the panic/fear/anxiety attack.
By neutralizing the original emotionaltrauma and by removing the
negative beliefsassociated with it, the patient is free NOT tohave
to react to the phobic stimulus. In thisway the memory and the
associated condition-ed reflex become inactivated.
Insight alone is not sufficient it requiresafter realization a
thorough re-education and
proper reinforcement.Other treatment modalities, such as
cognitive therapy, behavior modifica-tion/desensitization, etc.
while they may beeffective in learning how to better "cope" withthe
problem, generally take much longer.
CONCLUSION:Medical Hypnoanalysis demonstrates its
effectiveness, in diagnosis, and treatment ofthe fear and
anxiety of panic and phobicdisorders. More people can be helped in
lesstime by a professional therapist who incorpor-ates these
clinically proven techniques in hisor her practice. The feelings of
hopelessnessand helplessness can be converted into feelingsof
well-being, security and self-confidence.The patient can be freed
to enjoy life withoutfear.
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