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.

 

[Sideways]

Instead it backfired on me because I started having bodily flashbacks and emotional flashbacks. It got so bad that I began to regress.

Got you.

It takes a lot of non-trauma specialist Ts by surprise how easily folks with ptsd can get triggered by certain grounding and mindfulness techniques. Any technique that brings (calm) awareness to the body, even controlled breathing exercises, can (and often are) a trigger. Trauma-specialists tend to be very careful about relaxation strategies for that reason.

Not a reason to avoid them, because being able to switch on your SNS is incredibly helpful. But to go about it safely, with an awareness that this is a potential outcome if it goes wrong, and to stop if that happens. There are trauma-sensitive and trauma—focused versions of meditation and yoga around that can help with this.

Maybe I should look into it for that reason.

Nah. Go for other strategies first. Definitely I’d recommend trauma-focused yoga for sleep, or speaking to your doctor. And cardio is still the number-one strategy for managing stress in a whole range of mental illnesses, including ptsd (and it’s pretty damn amazing for normalising sleep!).

The person I did hypnosis with was a friend before they were my hypnotist. They had a very solid understanding of what the objectives were, what to steer well clear of, the unique issues around doing hypnosis with someone with a dissociative disorder (I have DID), and they had clear boundaries that they stuck to like my life depended on it.

Personally? I wouldn’t have otherwise gone anywhere near hypnosis. With my pathology, there’s way too much damage that can be done unintentionally, and too many solid alternatives.

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.

The current DSM doesn’t recommend hypnosis for ptsd or dissociative disorders (although there are some other disorders where it does recommend hypnosis).

Gold standard treatments recommended for ptsd recommended by the current DSM include prolonged exposure therapy, EMDR and CBT (including various specific forms of CBT).

 

[Dark.Green.Feathers]

I have a dissociative disorder, my therapist uses aspects/resources of EMDR with me. One day we may do actual EMDR. For me it’s been helping, in the small doses we do it, in combination with her main modalities. She’s gentle with me, she knows and respects the power EMDR can have, and is careful not to speed things up too much with it and flood me. EMDR can help process stuff you don’t remember, it’s eased up some stuff I don’t remember but am emotionally associated with. I think the danger is lowering dissociative barriers too quickly, but my T seems very aware of guarding against that. Hence why I don’t do it on my own.

Any modality of processing trauma will be disorienting and unpleasant. Because it’s reprocessing trauma. Trauma therapy in general isn’t linear, or fun to go through. It will suck bad at various points. Taking stuff out of their boxes in the middle of the hallway and putting them away properly… yuck. It’s rewarding, because it feels better later, but that doesn’t mean it will be nice.
Sometimes it’s surprisingly OK, as we chip away at it, and I feel lighter after sessions, but other times it takes a while for me to be able to feel the improvements and understand why I see and like my therapist, anyway.

Hypnotherapy is infamously bad for trauma survivors.

 

[Escalon]

I’m wondering if this has helped anyone with similar issues.

I've experienced hypnotherapy before was aware I had 'clinical' trauma or disassociation. It has set my life and goals back over 10 years. 10 year of my life that I cannot and will not get back. I am still working to climb out of the carnage it has caused.

My advice? Do not engage.
There are other trauma modalities that members on this thread have mentioned.

The brain is very complex and wiring of everyone's brains is a bit different.
The trigger did not engage the part of my brain the man thought it would, and instead activated another. This mistake has hurt more people than just me. I was managing enough problems at that time and really did not need more.

It's not worth it.

 

[Friday]

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.

I’m literally looking at both my own copy, and searching the digital by keyword online, and not finding hypnosis recommended for ANY trauma & stressors disorder (including PTSD).

CPT
PE
EMDR
TF-CBT

Are the 4 modalities recommended as Tier 1 treatments in the DSM5, for PTSD, that I have.

In ‘The Science & Practice of PTSD Vol 2’ (700p, rather than a page and a half, of DSM5) has hypnotherapy discussed in more detail, as a controversial adjunct therapy, and Vol 3 (again, apx 700p) almost -but not quite- repudiates it. There’s a meditation crossover / argument. As meditation useful, hypnosis deeply problematic, but definitions between the 2 disagree.

BOTH vol2 & vol3 of Science & Practice list EMDR as a Tier1 treatment.

As does my, and the online version, of the DSM5. And DSMIV.

If your friends book says nothing about EMDR? I really question the publication date of the book. The DSM has existed for decades. What has existed in its pages between DSMIII, DSMIV, DSM5… are often 180 degrees different. You’re certain you had the DSM5 & not DSMIV, or DSMIII? When students are buying $500- $1,000 textbooks? They often go “back” a version or three, to the $50-$200 book, and crazy highlighted / torn out pages / serious,u degraded even less expensive book. I ALWAYS buy used textbooks. I’ve found volumes from the 1970s sold as volumes from 2010, because of a “misplaced” sticker. $850 vs $10. Significant upsell. You’re absolutely sure it’s the same DSM5 I’m reading, and not a DSM-90’s, 80’s, 50’s etc. DSM? Yes. Version? Ahhhhhhh?

 

[Luna_Moth]

If your friends book says nothing about EMDR? I really question the publication date of the book.

I would have to look at the date of the publication. I’ll let you know once I look into the book again.

 

[Mach123]

I’d try it but I’ve never been successfully hypnotized at least not that I know of. I was watching a stage hypnotist on YouTube young guy can’t remember the name. Part of his thing is self help, self hypnosis. I say do anything if it’ll help or even if you suspect it will. Everyone is different. If you don’t like it or it seems to be having the opposite effect stop doing it.

 

[Luna_Moth]

I’d try it but I’ve never been successfully hypnotized at least not that I know of. I was watching a stage hypnotist on YouTube young guy can’t remember the name. Part of his thing is self help, self hypnosis. I say do anything if it’ll help or even if you suspect it will. Everyone is different. If you don’t like it or it seems to be having the opposite effect stop doing it.

I’ve read everyone’s feedback and am now thinking of using it to help with my binge eating disorder since I heard that it can help with that.

 

[shimmerz]

I was gifted an incredible fear of clowns as my hypnotherapist changed the visual of an aspect of my trauma into a clown who protected us. Any time someone mentioned the word clown around me I would lose my mind - stutter, etc. If I saw one - oh boy. That really was bad. These people really need to know what they are doing.