Article...
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Article
originally featured in the Birmingham News, Thursday
8th September 2005 |
YOU
ARE FEELING SLEEPY
by
Rupi Gohlar
(Article
originally featured in the Birmingham News, 2005)
HYPNOSIS
has not been portrayed in the best light in recent years.
Paul McKenna used it to make a laughing stock of his audience, "making" them
cluck around his studio like chickens for example - and
all in the name of entertainment.
Even
Big Brother got in on the act this summer as contestants
pretended to be under the influence of a hypnotist who
could make them do whatever he wanted with the shriek of
a whistle.
It
was no wonder then that I was a bit apprehensive when I
arrived at Ann Smith's Bodymind clinic in Moseley hoping
for some help with my sleeping.
With
Diplomas in clinical hypnosis and psychotherapy, she was
more than fully qualified to undertake the session, and
it was reassuring to know she was accredited to the British
Hypnotherapy Association.
As
well as her professional capabilities, Ann was warm and
motherly and put me at ease quickly.
She
poured us a glass of water each and explained that you
can't just "do" a hypnosis session at the drop
of a hat.
"People
generally come to a hypnotist as a last resort - we are
not the first practitioners that come to mind when patients
have health or psychological problems," she tells
me.
"But
we are effective and once we find the root of the issue,
it is pretty much a guarantee that hypnosis will be successful."
Clients
come to her for help in treating a range of problems from
arthritis, back problems, and phobias.
"One
of the cases that I'm most proud of is a young boy who
had lost one of his eyes.
"The
doctors had given him a glass replacement but he just could
not, no matter how hard he tried, place it into the socket
or take it out. And he would not let anyone else touch
it either.
"His
father brought him here and after five or six sessions,
he had no problems with it whatsoever." she added.
I
went to Ann with a sporadic sleeping pattern, having no
problem dozing off but waking up three or four times a
night and finally getting out of bed more sleepy than when
I had retired.
Although
this was making my life hell, Ann reckoned it was quite
a simple problem to overcome and it would not take
more than one session.
So
with high hopes and minor reservations, I ended up sitting
in a comfy arm chair in a cosy, well-lit room ready for
the session.
Ann
conducted a thorough medical and personal questionnaire
to get a full picture of my life and after the probing,
we decided that a family bereavement had been the trigger
point for the sleep disruption.
She
began with a series of relaxation exercises and asked me
to imagine that I was walking down steps alongside a cliff
to a beach below. By the time I got to the bottom I was
entirely relaxed and under hypnosis.
Ann
said a number of affirmations to let my mind believe that
sleeping was the easiest thing ever and before I knew it
she was asking me to open my eyes.
I
felt nothing significantly different straight away but
since then, I have to admit, that I only wake up once a
night and sometimes not even that.
Ann
was right to be so confident about hypnosis and whether
it is a last resort or not, it should certainly be considered
as an alternative treatment.
For
more information call 0121 449 6669.
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