Has Hypnotherapy made things worse or better for you?

[Luna_Moth]

I’m thinking of taking this type of therapy if nothing else works. I’ve read that it helps with blockages and with dissociation. I think my main concern is that of getting false memories. My goal isn’t to retrieve memories but to heal from whatever trauma I have buried inside. I’ve had PTSD pretty much all my life and have blocked out a lot of things. I’m wondering if this has helped anyone with similar issues.

 

[Friday]

Hypnotherapy is not someone ANYONE with a grasp of hypnotherapy will do on someone dealing with trauma.

Hollywood loooooves it, as it advances the plot, as do charlatans out to make a buck & f*ck you & your life… but even seriously narcissistic bordering on psychopathic practitioners don’t touch people with real trauma with a ten foot pole. The truly psychopathic & f*ck you, do.

Hypnotherapy is a reeeaaally bad idea, if your trauma is real, not imagined.

 

[Luna_Moth]

Hypnotherapy is not someone ANYONE with a grasp of hypnotherapy will do on someone dealing with trauma.

Hollywood loooooves it, as it advances the plot, as do charlatans out to make a buck & f*ck you & your life… but even seriously narcissistic bordering on psychopathic practitioners don’t touch people with real trauma with a ten foot pole. The truly psychopathic & f*ck you, do.

Hypnotherapy is a reeeaaally bad idea, if your trauma is real, not imagined.

I’ve read the DSM 5 and books on trauma, and they mention Hypnotherapy as a modality.

Hypnotherapy is not someone ANYONE with a grasp of hypnotherapy will do on someone dealing with trauma.

Hollywood loooooves it, as it advances the plot, as do charlatans out to make a buck & f*ck you & your life… but even seriously narcissistic bordering on psychopathic practitioners don’t touch people with real trauma with a ten foot pole. The truly psychopathic & f*ck you, do.

Hypnotherapy is a reeeaaally bad idea, if your trauma is real, not imagined.

I was wondering this because I’ve read EMDR can be very disorienting. I want to know if this has been disorienting for people as well.

 

[LeiaFlower]

From what I’ve read and talked with my neuropsych, psych professors, and some therapists, hypnosis is not how it was glamorized in the 80s as you also mentioned. Have you talked with therapists in your area? Usually the ones who specialize in can give a better glimpse into symptoms and reactions their clients experienced. Since hypnosis has a controversial lens to it, it’s better to talk to professionals about it. EMDR usually works on memories that aren’t repressed and in my experience I was told that dissociation and EMDR do not pair well together.

 

[Charbella]

You do understand that EMDR isn’t disorienting because of the modality, right? It’s disorienting because of the trauma you’re trying to reprocess. People with little trauma don’t find it disorienting because the reprocessing isn’t so sole sucking.

 

[Sideways]

I’ve read that it helps with blockages and with dissociation.

What is a ‘blockage’?

It can help with dissociation IF the dissociation is stress-related and the use of hypnotherapy is purely for stress relief. I’ve used it very effectively to manage stress and improve sleep.

I think my main concern is that of getting false memories.

Yep. You’re more likely to create false memories under hypnosis. Like @Friday mentioned, it’s unethical to use hypnotherapy for trauma, and the idea that it helps uncover ‘hidden memories’ has been disproven so many times over that reputable, licensed hypnotherapists wil not go there.

Managing stress, quitting smoking, overcoming phobias, breaking bad habits? Go for it. Healing trauma? Absolutely not.

 

[Luna_Moth]

From what I’ve read and talked with my neuropsych, psych professors, and some therapists, hypnosis is not how it was glamorized in the 80s as you also mentioned. Have you talked with therapists in your area? Usually the ones who specialize in can give a better glimpse into symptoms and reactions their clients experienced. Since hypnosis has a controversial lens to it, it’s better to talk to professionals about it. EMDR usually works on memories that aren’t repressed and in my experience I was told that dissociation and EMDR do not pair well together.

That’s why I’m wondering if EMDR will work for me because I have C-PTSD and a rare dissociative disorder.

I have tried EMI, which has faster results and is more gentle on the brain. However the therapist I was seeing told me I wasn’t ready because I kept finding ways to sabotage things. I think it was my subconscious side of my brain that is too afraid to face anything.

 

[Charbella]

rare dissociative disorder.

What rare dissociative disorder?

 

[Luna_Moth]

What rare dissociative disorder?

DPDR

 

[Luna_Moth]

What is a ‘blockage’?

Well when I was triggered one time and had a 10 cm cyst on my fallopian tube, I fell into a deep meditation by focusing solely on my breathing to try and calm me down from my pain and anxiety. Instead it backfired on me because I started having bodily flashbacks and emotional flashbacks. It got so bad that I began to regress.

I’m wondering if I accidentally did some sort of hypnosis on myself, but I can’t really tell because I’ve never gone through it before. I didn’t get anything visual in terms of traumatic memory, but my body did.

I feel like, despite going through that hell, I was closer to figuring out what has been going on with me all these years.

When I went through residential, I became stabilized again, but now I feel like I’m back to square one despite having knowledge of where my symptoms are coming from.

This all came to light before I even was diagnosed with C-PTSD. I was really scared and didn’t know what was going on. I knew in my gut though that something traumatic must have happened, so I sought out a therapist who specializes in trauma.

It can help with dissociation IF the dissociation is stress-related and the use of hypnotherapy is purely for stress relief. I’ve used it very effectively to manage stress and improve sleep.

I suffer from insomnia and stress is kind of a given if you have PTSD. Maybe I should look into it for that reason.

Yep. You’re more likely to create false memories under hypnosis. Like @Friday mentioned, it’s unethical to use hypnotherapy for trauma, and the idea that it helps uncover ‘hidden memories’ has been disproven so many times over that reputable, licensed hypnotherapists wil not go there.

Managing stress, quitting smoking, overcoming phobias, breaking bad habits? Go for it. Healing trauma? Absolutely not.

I find it odd then that a book like the DSM-5 would recommend it, but not EMDR. My friend has a copy because she’s studying to be a LCSW and I read through it several times.

 

[parrotthepolly]

DPDR

It's the most common one compared to other dissociative disorders if I'm not mistaken?

There are signs of it in PTSD, MPD now known as DID and OSDD so it may not have a separate diagnoses tho.

 

[Luna_Moth]

It's the most common one compared to other dissociative disorders if I'm not mistaken?

There are signs of it in PTSD, MPD now known as DID and OSDD so it may not have a separate diagnoses

Sorry, I meant it’s rare for children to be diagnosed with it. I had it since I was 3 or 4 so basically my whole life, but it went undetected and I was misdiagnosed with ADD at the time for being “lost in the clouds” as if that wasn’t a good clue. It wasn’t until I was 28 that I received the correct diagnosis.