Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is an increasingly common diagnosis that people across all walks of life are dealing with daily. The use of hypnosis for trauma counseling has become more popular in psychotherapy because of its proven effectiveness in treatment for PTSD.
There are many different ways that trauma can occur and each affects us differently. In order to better understand the many symptoms that are known to be associated with PTSD and how hypnotherapy can help, we have separated them into five categories below.
If you are experiencing symptoms of PTSD, consider the benefits of using hypnosis for trauma. Contact Morgan Center For Counseling and Wellbeing to schedule an appointment with a therapist in Boca Raton experienced in treating trauma with hypnotherapy.
How Hypnotherapy Can Help PTSD Sufferers
Exposure
Exposure is the category associated with people who experience a traumatic event or have a history of ongoing traumatic events that cause alterations in the way they perceive the world around them. Due to the nature of how trauma affects the brain and body, these people perceive that the trauma is continuously happening to them presently.
Though hypnosis for trauma does not rid the brain of the past, it can allow the brain to address the event again in such a way that it re-processes how the information is stored. This enables the person to shed any negative beliefs or conclusions and find release, even transformation.
Intrusion
Intrusion is the category dealing with recurring nightmares, flashbacks, tormenting memories, or automatic reactions to certain cues caused by trauma. This troublesome array of symptoms can impact daily life and is often associated with feeling as if a person has no control over their mind or body.
One method of hypnosis for trauma is known as ego-strengthening. This permits the person to develop a strengthened connection to the strongest parts of themselves so that they again feel in control.
Avoidance
Sometimes people who experience trauma will purposefully avoid specific people, places, or things in order to avoid associated feelings. This can also be done through substance abuse and, ultimately, can leave people feeling numb or a lack of connection.
Hypnotherapy often uses forms of regression to help people relive experiences, but now with the tools and resources to deal with them. The person processes the trauma differently and is no longer hostage to their painful past.
Alteration
Living through a traumatic experience changes us in countless ways, many of which lead to altering how we view ourselves or the world around us. Alteration relates to this experience and can often be expressed in phrases such as “I’m a bad person”, “I deserved it”, or “The world is evil”.
Hypnotherapy allows someone to access their subconscious in ways that can reverse negative beliefs. An example of how hypnosis for trauma can help is by replacing negative illusions of self with positive ones (“I am a good person”, “I am worthy of love”).
Arousal
Trauma can also lead to changes in our behavior and physical functions. After experiencing a traumatic experience, people might develop symptoms such as hypervigilance, difficulty sleeping, chronic shock, or somatic and non-somatic illnesses.
Hypnotherapists often encourage clients to move freely during their sessions, acting out the reflexes they wish they could have done during the initial trauma. These actions can often lead to tremendous results as people unfreeze themselves and begin living life free the learned reactions.
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