Fear of medical treatment

R had a challenging entry into the world resulting in many invasive medical procedures and a full bone marrow transplant aged 7.  On-going physiological conditions have meant that regular treatments continue to be a necessity.  One of these is related to the need for regular flushing of the ears but for R, anything being put inside the ear is unbearable, resulting in R needing to be held down and the treatment taking a long time and traumatic for all.

R’s Mum contacted me to see what we could do to help her relax and explore whether self hypnosis could make these treatments endurable for R.

Due to them living overseas, all sessions were undertaken over zoom.

How many sessions did it take?

With younger children (R was 11) finding the triggers is important, whilst also creating anchors for them to use.  One of R’s triggers was talking about her ears, so we referred to them as ‘milkshakes’ and changed the anxiety into something funny as we decided which flavour we were working with that day!  Her anchors were around some cuddly toys, using heightened awareness of sensations in her hands to create the sense of control and safety.

In the first session we used a technique of dissociation – taking her mind to a place where she felt safe and she could see herself in the treatment room but not associate with it.  Over a total of 4 therapeutic sessions, we continued to overlap sessions with treatments. To support R, we also created a personalised recording that she could listen to on the way to her treatments which also helped her to relax.

The result

The following was received by R’s Mum:

Thank you so so much. She was like a different child. It went really well and best of all her ears feel really nice now, she says, so she’ll look forward to the next one!

Thank you for everything- really. Words aren’t enough.”

 

And from R herself (albeit a little edited!!)….

THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Today went brilliantly, I listened to the special video you made me on the way there and in the waiting room. When I went in, mum practically had to push me in because I was so sleepy. And luckily there was only Dr Dani and Mum with me so that helped a bit more. Then Dr Dani started and it was very easy and I had one ear phone in the other ear, still listening to my special recording.

Then we hoovered out the first ( her description of the treatment) and I was able to stay still!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for helping me get to this point Caroline, you have helped me soooo much.”

 

Hypnotherapy cannot only help overcome previous traumas but also help you face challenges in the future that cannot be avoided.  For more information, please do get in touch.

Rachael had had an accident at work leaving her in extreme back pain resulting in her losing her job.  She had gone from living a busy life as a single Mum to being in constant pain, living off benefits and having a very restricted life.  In her words, she had “no joy” in her life which had led to a suicide attempt.

Going back further into her life, there were other factors such as successive controlling and abusive relationships, various medical conditions, and a tendency to always putting herself and her needs secondary to everyone else’s.

Rachael was recommended to me by her partner, so we were able to get a swift start as her awareness of how I worked was already in place and after the first experience of hypnosis, she could feel a change in the levels of pain in her back.  Her aim was to be able to throw away the crutches she was using.

After two sessions, she walked into the house without crutches – she was not quite ready to throw them just yet but was confident enough to walk short distances without them.

In total we had 4 sessions spread out over nearly 3 months.  On our follow up call a month after her last session, she reported that she was now “able to walk upright without my crutches and am off my pain medication.  When I am in pain, I can relax and use my mind to help control it.”

Whilst this was a great result, the increase in her self esteem was for me, more significant.  “I am able to vocalise my thoughts.  I have stopped being all things to everyone and am now my true self.”

I now have the confidence and strength to look to go back to work and hopefully enjoy a job I really want to do.” (Rachael was waiting to hear if she has been accepted to train as a phlebotomist).

Working with Rachael helped her use her mind to not only heal her body but also to create a mental strength to create a life of her choice.

“I have no doubt that Caroline saved my life as I was in such a dark place.”

If you can relate to any elements of Rachael’s story, please get in touch