Posts Tagged ‘Mike’

Author : Craig Landry

Hypnotherapy for depression: A case presentation

Names and circumstances have been changed for confidentiality

Mike is a forty-eight year old divorced man living with his twenty-two year old son He is self-employed as a "Fix-it Handyman" doing small construction projects He says he is seeking hypnotherapy for depression He reveals a long history of depression, in particular as winter approaches He is depressed now, describing himself as lethargic, hopeless, anxious and afraid

"I come home after work, drink a couple of beers and lie down on the sofa until the next morning " He has been in and out of psychotherapy and is aware of SAD, seasonal affective disorder Therapy has helped for a while, but the depression always returns He states that he goes into a "coping mode," sleeping a lot and waiting for the winter to pass Last winter he felt suicidal He is not suicidal now, but is in fear that he will spiral into an even deeper depression

Mike sits on the royal blue sofa in my home office I lead him into a progressive full body relaxation exercise and have him find a safe and relaxed place using visual imagery Once there I ask him to recreate these depressed feelings, reminding him that they will dissipate once this process is completed I then ask him "how would he like to feel differently? And how can he counteract these feelings of fear and lethargy?"

He says the biggest component of his fear and sadness is "darkness "

"What about the darkness, how do you feel being in the dark?" I ask

"The darkness, the nighttime scares the shit out of me " he replies

"What is the scary part?" I ask

"I don’t know I just shut down and become immobile "

"Mike, I want you to go on a flight of fantasy Using your imagination, how could you be different, instead of fearful and immobile? What could you do to change this way of being? Remember anything is possible "

" I need to bring light into darkness I need to somehow have energy in the darkness I need to do things, turn lights on, and learn how to embrace the darkness I need to find peace in the night "

"How could you do that?"

" By late afternoon I need a ‘bridge’ to help remind me to stay ‘conscious’ into the darkness of night "

"What would that bridge be?"

"I need to invoke my creativity to help cope with darkness "

"What would that look like?"

"I need to somehow re-define darkness "

He includes the following words in re-defining darkness; whimsical, special, safe, empowering, confidence, silly and joy

I ask Mike to open his eyes and we collaborate on creating a hypnosis script of suggestions to be spoken to him while in hypnosis We use Mike’s wording in describing how he would literally counteract and be with his depression in new ways Self care techniques are a significant part of this process

As we do this, Mike’s energy shifts into a more positive state He says he is feeling "more hopeful already," just by participating in the process I guide Mike into a progressive relaxation induction and speak these suggestions aloud A CD copy of these suggestions is given to Mike with encouragement to listen daily for a month In essence this device is for Mike to "re-imagine" himself in a new way Mike says he can relate to this "rehearsing," as he participated in track and field in high school and his coach had him visualize "running with ease "

A week later, in our next session, Mike reports feeling better He has listened to the CD a couple of times and is feeling more conscious about how to turn things around

"However, It’s still in me," he says, "this feeling of dread and anxiety The night, the darkness remains uncomfortable "

We decide to participate in a process of regression Going back into time, to a memory of when and how these feelings were initiated We begin with an induction of relaxation and visual imagery Using ideomotor (finger) signals, Mike indicates "yes" he is OK with visiting a memory and is willing to experience his emotions once he is experiencing the memory

In this relaxed state, I ask Mike to "visualize" going back in time to a memory when he was feeling these states of fear, anxiety and lethargy A memory surfaces and he begins to describe it

"I am six or seven years old I am in our garage It’s dark Mr Hansen, a neighbor down the road who helps out on the farm sometimes is with me I am afraid of him " I ask Mike what was else is happening

"It’s hard to tell Mr Hansen is puttering with tools by the wall and I just want to get the hell out of here " he says

"What are you feeling in your body?" I ask

"I feel tense, sad and afraid " I ask Mike to bring in his adult self, this mature father and good person that he is into the memory

"OK, I am there," he says

"What does adult Mike want to tell child-Mike?"

"I am hugging him," Mike says, "I’m comforting him, telling him that I will take care of him and take him out of here He does not have to ever feel this way ever again "

"That’s great," I say "Would you also tell him that you will take care of him for the rest of his life?" Mike proceeds to repeat my words Mike begins crying as he says this

"This feels so good," Mike said

"What about Child-Mike, what does he feel like saying? Become him and see what he wants to say or do " Mike is quiet for a minute

"I am calling in my dragon to help me Mr Henson is a strange man I am putting a shield of protection around me It’s shaped like an egg "

"OK, good job, you are doing really well, keep breathing Is there anything else that you or child-Mike want to do or say?"

"No "

"Does this feel complete?"

"Yes "

Mike’s face appears quite tense

"Mike, what are you feeling in your body?"

"My stomach is in knots "

"OK " I hold a pillow near Mike’s chest "Mike raise your hands and feel this pillow Now push on this pillow as hard as you can and push that knot right out of your stomach, through your arms into the pillow Push! Push!

I am on the opposite end pushing back on the pillow giving Mike resistance

"Good job! How does the knot feel in your stomach, from one to five, one being almost gone?"

"It’s below one," he says

"Good, keep breathing Slowly let the image of the memory fade away

I then make hypnotic suggestions to Mike including messages of safety, self-care and nurturing child-Mike when feelings of fear and sadness came over him I guide Mike to an alert state and ended the session

In discussion afterwards, Mike says he does not really know what Mr Hansen has done, if anything But he knows all the intense feelings associated with Mr Henson are real (has definitely felt all these intense feelings associated with Mr Henson and being in a dark environment with him )

Postscript

One year later, I see Mike in a social situation and he tells me that he feels much better and no longer experiences this depression associated with nighttime darkness Mike continues to work full time and has added his first employee He is dating after a very long hiatus

Craig Landry is a Certified Addiction Specialist and Certified Hypnotherapist in Private Practice in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has twenty years experience counseling in substance abuse.

http://www.craiglandryhypnosis.com