Archive for the ‘Trauma’ Category

If you call and ask me if I do past-life regression hypnosis, I am going to ask you to call someone else.

So here I am in the third session with Michael,  a vet who completed four tours: one in Afghanistan and three in Iraq.

To say he has PTSD is not really strong enough. I want you to understand that he has SERIOUS POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER.

I want to warn you not to threaten him. I have written down a list of his triggers and I promise you, I will not forget any of them while in his presence.

He is sweet and thoughtful and not someone you want to provoke. He tells me about the civilian guy who put a gun in his face and asked for his wallet. Yes, Michael was on crutches, but his body momentarily forgot the shrapnel lodged in his spinal cord. The guy with the gun went down, hard.

He tells me things, horrific things, the kind of things I very intentionally never watch in movies.  And yet, I find that I can listen to what he has experienced and I don’t wince or want to jump from my chair. I am almost as neutral as I would be by the news that you put a banana down the garbage disposal.

Woven between his tales is a tired soldier’s search for his own humanity. How do you reconcile acts of war with who you are?

He ruminates,  “Am I the big soft bear who like to save people or am I Rambo with ice in my guts?”

Healers tell stories and for no reason that I am consciously aware of I find myself telling him about my dear friend Camille’s husband. She says that although he has lived in Seattle for twenty years, he can get lost coming home. When they go somewhere together,to protect their marriage, she drives. And yet, when they visited Rome, this same husband had a GPS in his head. She would be studying a map and he simply seemed to know the lay of the land.

As I tell Michael this story, I feel a chill down my spine. I recognize this as words that have come out of my mouth for reasons I don’t understand and they have landed like a truth that needed to breathe. His relief is palatable. And then some force opens my mouth again, and I say, “Maybe you were a soldier in another life time.”

Michael comes to his appointments prepared. His mind is spilling out torturous thoughts and memories. He will sometimes stop and say, “I know I just laid a lot on you.”

I am not surprised, but he is, when he says,

“The first time I was in a situation where all hell broke loose, I remember looking over and seeing my squadron leader frozen. Shots and soldiers are all around me. It is real mayhem and I am barking commands. I didn’t even know what they meant until years later when I heard them in the movie. I had no rank. I was new and yet, I had an almost 360 degree sense of who was where and who was an immediate threat and who was not.  They were doing what I said. It was the first time I had the feeling I wasn’t driving, and how was it that I knew those things? But I did. So yes, I absolutely know I have been a soldier before.”

Micheal’s PTSD responds phenomenally well to EFT, Emotional Freedom Technique. After three sessions he is sleeping better. A reoccurring nightmare is gone. And he can tell a few of his worst experiences without feeling the adrenalin coursing through his body.  And his reaction to loud sounds has dramatically lessened.

I am grateful for Michael for coming into my world and for teaching me things I didn’t know about war, and myself.

I look forward to sharing more as I venture down this path.

Enjoy your long weekend,
Lisa

She glided into my office, like a warm, soft breeze.

She has a big job organizing events, lots of events, and she also has an exceptionally cool demeanor. The kind of person you would happily hand over your “to do” list to and then just not worry.

Underneath her exceptional poise, she was having panic attacks at inopportune times, and having trouble staying asleep at night.

The attacks subsided after her first session. She listened to her recordings at night and was pleased with the positive change in sleeping patterns.

Things were going better, much better, and then she had a panic attack while watching TV.  WHAT?

Her Mom had mental breakdown and been hospitalized when my client was in grade school.

She doesn’t consciously remember much, but she did remember watching TV to pass the time after school, waiting for her Dad to come home.

We brainstormed about what that precious little girl was going through as we did EFT and then followed it up with some powerfully mind-shifting hypnosis.

That was last year. She is still sleeping well and the outside cool demeanor remains true on the inside too.

The combination of EFT and hypnosis is incredibly effective.

Did you know that you can work with me on SKYPE?

E mail me at Lisa @ Lisa Crunick .com  no spaces, and set up a free twenty-minute, no pressure consultation.

EFT and Hypnosis for Releasing Trauma

Let me give you some examples, and you can come up with your own reasons to call me.

A client came back in, because after successfully losing bothersome middle-age weight, she was again struggling to stay out of the cookie jar.  With a little probing, I discovered that her young adult-child had been in a serious car accident. Delving into the cookies often happened when he was out.

We flattened the traumatic memory from the accident, and her fear of what could happen when he wasn’t home. Her inner cookie monster disappeared.

Another woman came in because she was afraid of elevators and flying. She could force herself to do both, but not without extreme anxiety.

I discovered that once upon a time she received a phone call that changed everything about her life, and THEN she boarded a plane for a two hour flight. We flattened (in one session) every emotional aspect of this memory. She was pleasantly surprised that she was immediately able to ride in an elevator, and fly, without fear.

A young man came in looking for relief from anxiety headaches. All medical reasons had been ruled out. As a small child he and his brother and mother escaped their country. We spent a whole session on a train trip he had little conscious memory of, and his headaches immediately decreased.

Last year I got a call from a young woman who was driving her distraught roommate, who had just found out her boyfriend had committed suicide, home to be with her family. I did not know the girl and I did not know any of the circumstances.

In crises we are in an altered state and words take on increased meaning. I talked her through some EFT tapping points while saying these words, “Even though something horribly confusing has just happened, I will recover and feel better than I do right now very soon.” Over the phone I heard deep sighs (always a good sign in this kind of work!).

The woman driving called me later to say that the difference between her roommate before and after the call was remarkable.

We are taught to suck it up, and just get over it. That can be useful, but our bodies, our minds, our cells, do remember, and sucking it up can suck!

I love to help you get to the bottom of it!  Be well. Take care of yourself!

Thank you to www.freeartisticphotos.com for the photo

Sorry I could not resist that headline.

Did you happen to see the dreamy Australian Olympian, Steve Hooker, win the Gold Medal in pole vaulting?I didn't either. Below is a link for you to check out some incredible photographs of pole vaulting.This is not a sissy sport.

Apparently this Seth was throwing tantrums a few years back because he could not make himself do what he wanted to do, which was jump. He had been injured and was afraid. Who can't relate to that?

Hooker told the Australian daily, “ I was in a miserable bad mood. Your whole life, it really brings it down when it’s really what you want to do and you can’t do it just because it’s not clicking in your brain. A lot of people’s careers end with this sort of thing but I just really worked hard. I tried a million different things to try and get around it.”

What finally did it……. hypnosis. And as I read the various interviews, I was fascinated but how he repeatedly describes relaxing and being in the moment.

He says,   “One of the big changes I have made, is that I don’t think about consequences of missing or clearing. I didn’t think about the interviews I would have to do if I missed and came fifth in the Olympics, none of that stuff.”

Of his big night he says, “I was pushing too hard on the runway and I just  really needed to let it go,” he says. “My whole focus at the moment is  about relaxing. I jump much better when I relax. But I wasn’t that  relaxed at the start of the competition.”

Going from throwing tantrums to relaxing into the moment is clearly changing your mind.  We can thank Steve Hooker for giving us a great example of how it can be done.

I have successfully worked with many athletes.

My first experience  was when Alex, a dear friend of ours, asked me to help her get over her fear of high jumping.  She and my daughter braved the track field their Freshman year, and while my daughter took to the High Jump immediately, Alex was afraid, but did not want to be left behind. I worked with her for about twenty minutes.

And to her credit, not only was she jumping the next day, she went on to set the school record in High Jump as a Freshman.  This got me into a bit of trouble with my daughter, but all was forgiven when she went on to Place at state (yes, she had a little hypnotic help).

Most kids access their imagination quickly and can often make changes very quickly.

For instance,this past week I worked with an adorable young girl who was afraid to fall asleep.  EFT is a fun effective way to help kids get over fears and together we sang, "I am going to wipe (her particular scary image) right out of my head…. one.. two…… three… four.. five..and then with the flair of a girl who knew all about Hermine in Harry Potter she said, "Disappear".  Pure magic.

I can not personally speak for her method because I am asleep before I can think about it. However, when I do the little routine:sing "I am going to wipe (chosen message) out of head. One..two..three..four…five…Disappear.  My mood improves immeasurably.

And on that note, you have a fine day.

For the IAAF story on Steve Hooker Pole Vaulting and pictures:

Quote: To surrender is the most noble thing you can do. It is not an act of defeat, but rather an openness to the unknown. T.O.