Hypnotherapy often deals with working through a negative state in order to reach a positive state. But it is not essential to work through pain, depending upon the reason for your visit. Experiencing an emotional reaction is called an abreaction. Some therapists deliberately elicit an abreaction as part of the therapy. I do not. If it happens I deal with it, but I don’t aim to make you experience an abreaction. My intention for you is to experience a peaceful mind. Coming to hypnotherapy DOES NOT MEAN that you HAVE TO cry, but if you do, it’s really OK. I’ve seen it all before.
The fear of crying in session however can hold you back from moving through the block that holds you in your current state of emotional pain. Holding back the tears in such a case will only hold things up. If you cry in session, just let it pass. I see around 30 per cent of my clients shed a tear and sometimes that’s all it is, a single tear.
Men often feel that they are not supposed to cry, and sometimes clients, male or female, will cry even if they don’t understand why. That’s OK too. Crying is a form of release. We don’t always need to know why. Male clients will often say with surprise, “Oh I’m getting emotional!”
“Yes”, I say, “we are human beings and emotion is part of us. Let me know when you’re ready to move on”. Then we continue.
What if I Have an Abreaction and I Can’t Stop?
On rare occasion I have had clients with trauma who cry uncontrollably during a hypnosis abreaction. So if a client has a severe abreaction there are ways to manage it. Essentially I will guide you to move away from the pain, or to release the pain, or to transform the pain, depending upon your situation.
During timeline therapy for example when you are exploring your timeline and something upsetting triggers an abreaction, I will direct you to (imagine) to move higher and further away from the event. This is classic NLP – the way that you perceive something affects the way you feel about it. You will cease the abreaction when you are far enough away from the cause.
If you are resolving a trauma and you experience an abreaction, I will often direct you to direct the pain out a doorway or a window – there are parameters around this but that’s the general idea. You will stop the abreaction when the pain has left the body this way.
We can also transform this pain using the metaphor white light or other other devices in order to heal the origin of the pain, and to allow you to feel safe. Once you feel safe, the pain subsides.
Essentially you will stop crying, with the appropriate guidance. Sometimes too it is important that acknowledge that there is a role for releasing pain in therapy, but as said, I never specifically induce this reaction.
So acceptance is the key – trust, and let whatever happens, happen. You are in good hands. Horizons Clinical Hypnotherapy Sunshine Coast