Can You Release Traumatic Memories With Hypnotherapy?
Nowadays, it seems like the trauma is almost in everyone’s life one way or another. Some traumatic events from childhood still affect us as we get older. Undeniably, as a society, we are now more open than ever to talk about trauma. But just because we hear it more often, this shouldn’t minimize trauma’s negative effects on the human mind and body. Traumatizing events and emotions actually change the way we process information and our perspective towards almost everything. As we go through the emotions, it may feel like life will never be the same and every day is a different struggle.
Psychotherapy is a must in these conditions. Meanwhile, hypnotherapy offers successful therapeutic results with healing from trauma and memories that are attached to trauma.
Hypnosis can help with relief from traumatic memories and emotions
First, let’s take a look at why we get stuck with traumatizing memories. There is a reason why we remember traumatic events clearly in certain cases and why we block them from our memory in some others.
In a research study from the University of California, Irvine, scientists found that “emotionally arousing events triggered amygdala, an almond-shaped part of the brain known to be involved in emotional learning and memory”. When the amygdala is activated, we tend to remember the event and the emotions that were triggered by the event more clearly. It’s almost like encoding the event and the memories with the triggered emotions.
On the other hand, there is mounting evidence that traumatic events are coded differently in the mind than everyday events. According to the Department of Justice of Canada, the effect of fear, threat, or states of intense stress on memory can result in intensified memory recollection, or it can result in fragmented or impaired memories.
So, either way, there may be struggles with the haunting memories of a traumatizing event or frustration with not being able to remember what’s holding you back from moving forward in life. Recurring dreams or unexplained fears may follow. If you remember the traumatizing event clearly, you may be filled with emotions such as fear, resentment, anger, guilt, or sadness. On the other hand, if you don’t remember what happened, you may be facing intense fears, lack of confidence, or depression without being able to pinpoint where these come from.
This is where hypnosis comes into play. Regardless of remembering the event or not, you can change the way you view your life and emotions without having to face the memories. Your subconscious emotions are processed and healed during hypnosis which is usually a very delicate, step-by-step process.
When you remember the event, you are re-traumatized by the same emotions over and over again. When these emotions and memories are processed successfully with hypnosis, they simply turn into a memory in the subconscious mind, just like any other event without traumatizing over and over again.
If you cannot remember what took place, the people, or the actions, there is no need to dig and forcefully retrieve memories as human memory may not be very accurate especially when it comes to trauma. However, during hypnosis, we can work with releasing the emotions that are felt at the moment while changing the direction of the person’s mind subconsciously towards desires and goals rather than being stagnant and stuck in the past.
Healing trauma doesn’t mean forgetting what happened
Often people hold on to trauma because of anger and resentment they feel towards the person involved. They may also unconsciously hold on to the event so they don’t forget the results and protect themselves from the same event happening in the future. However, healing and releasing trauma doesn’t mean that we forget what happened.
An important part of healing trauma and releasing traumatic memories is forgiving what happened. When we don’t forgive, we hold anger and resentment within. Joyce Meyer has a quote that summarizes this well: “Harboring unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping your enemy will die”. Anger and resentment can only hurt you. Instead, when you forgive what happened, you take the power back from trauma.
Hypnotherapy is very helpful to learn about forgiveness and process it unconsciously. When forgiveness takes place, triggering emotions are released as well such as anger, resentment, and/or shame. With hypnosis, when we let go, the release happens on a deeper level; triggers, memories, and people are released from the subconscious mind.
Hypnosis and the effects of trauma can be similar
This may sound strange but hypnosis and the effects of trauma can result in similar perspective, emotion, and belief modifications.
A research study that was conducted by D. Spiegel and E. Cardena to understand the use of hypnosis for PTSD concluded that hypnosis can be a beneficial treatment for PTSD because of the similarities between traumatic response and hypnosis. They noted, “Trauma produces a sudden discontinuity in the cognitive and emotional experience that persists even when the trauma is over.”. This can result in similar symptoms as hypnosis such as amnesia, intense reliving of the event, numbing to stimuli, or hypersensitivity.
Interestingly, the same research study found that Vietnam veterans who suffer from PTSD have higher hypnotizability rates than standard results; pointing that hypnosis and trauma can produce similar mental states.
Let’s think of what hypnosis is again. Hypnosis is a state of physical relaxation to the point where the body may feel numb, tingly, heavy, light, or maybe even nothing at all. It’s also a state of mental calmness, deep focus, and clarity in which senses are heightened as well as a state of imagery that can result in intense emotional experience. Sounds familiar?
In a way, when someone goes through a traumatic experience, with hypnosis, it’s possible to meet them in a similar mental state that they are already in. Therefore hypnosis can enable the person to process more effectively and take them out of the “stuck” feeling.
All in all…
All in all, processing trauma is not an easy process. The starting point should always be with a licensed mental health professional. With that guidance, progress with hypnotherapy becomes more powerful. Unfortunately, trauma can become debilitating at times and healing may feel more uncomfortable than the trauma itself! But remember, we are not what happens to us. We can make choices; choices that will end with strength, self-discovery, and resilience. What are you choosing for yourself?