It came about by accident. We were chatting and she wanted me to practice hypnosis on her. She is already preconditioned and knows that hypnosis is very relaxing, and she wanted that feeling. She told me that she felt so much anxiety every time her baby cried and she felt like it was making her grouchy and impatient at her other child and her husband, etc. She said her first baby was a joy and never cried. She felt rejected by her baby and annoyed by him.
I told her that we could use hypnotherapy to reprogram some of her unconscious anxiety. So, as soon as he went down for a nap, I went over to her house. Since she was already used to hypnosis, and was severely sleep deprived, she was about the most hyper-suggestible person I have ever seen; she went into the hypnotic sleep state in about 30 seconds. Once there, I used some empowering, happy imagery and helped her mind create some anchors to trigger the same peaceful calm feelings when she was conscious.
She came out feeling happy, but I didn't find out just how well it worked until later. She called me the next day and told me that she had her best day as a mother the day before and that they were having a great day again. She also told me that she had been sleeping better.
A few days later, I went to her house to pick something up and spent few minutes hanging out with her and her awake baby, who was not crying. Something was different about him. He looked like a different child.
"Yeah. He doesn't cry anymore," she said.
Interesting.
I am not taking any credit for doing anything to the baby, but I could totally sense that the frequency my friend was putting out was much different than the one she had been previously sending. She was so calm and peaceful and happy, and the baby was picking up on it. I saw her again today and it's totally amazing. She's got this fantastic smile that feels unforced now, and a magnetism that she didn't used to have.
I am amazed at all the things that hypnotherapy can help women with. I initially went into the program thinking that I wanted to help moms and babies, both with birth and working through fears and other issues, but I never thought of crying anxiety. I guess because it didn't happen to me.
Next she wants me to help her like housework--another thing I wouldn't have thought of. I can't wait to see what else mothers need and want. I'm making a list. If you could reprogram your subconscious behavior in one area, big or small, what would it be? I can't wait to hear your thoughts.
I would love to reduce the anxiety I feel when my very spirited child behaves an independent and contrary way.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly enough, she was colicky as an infant and I feel that my reaction to her crying tainted our relationship.
She's very different from my other children and I'd love her to be more relaxed as well.
As you know, I'm pretty sure I'm sending out a frequency that tells my babies to wake up often in the night. Some part of me needs them to need me frequently so I can reassure them that they can trust me, that I won't leave them EVER.
ReplyDeleteI am more than willing to wake up and give that reassurance, but I think it's more about me than them, and I think if I could stop putting out that frequency, we'd probably sleep better. So I'd love to reprogram my own need to be needed all night long.
So so interesting! I was talking to a friend of mine about being nervous my second baby will be harder than my first--that she'll cry more and such. This friend said she thinks that a lot of babies are super fussy because of their mothers. The mothers are stressed out and want everything perfect and when its not that way they get overwhelmed, etc. This energy then contributes to the baby being more upset more often. I had never thought of it that way.
ReplyDeleteNow I don't want to offend anyone out there who had a particularly colicky baby, but I think its worth taking a look at ourselves to see how we can help create a more peaceful atmosphere for our babies. I'm so inspired by this story and now much your friend changed and her baby responded.
And I would LOVE a little "you will like cleaning the house" hypnosis! My husband was joking around that he needs some "writing your dissertation will be easy and fast" hypnosis. :-)
I seriously can't wait until you practice your hypnosis on me.
ReplyDeleteHmm. Katrina, tell your husband that test anxiety is a big practice area for hypnotherapists, and I'm sure dissertation motivation is similar... He could already write out that mantra every night before he goes to bed.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, babies are not the only ones to pick up frequencies. Husbands, ex-husbands, co-workers, friends, people in stores--we often tell them how to treat us but the frequency send out.
That is not to say that random things don't happen... but it's interesting to see what does start to shift when we do.
I would love to ENJOY cooking and want to spend time doing it, feel confident about my cooking abilities, etc. This is an area I feel I don't do well in (obviously)
ReplyDeleteI have texture issues with a lot of foods -- mostly vegetables, which means I don't eat very well. I can eat most of them if they are in really tiny pieces and blended into other foods, but no chunks. No salad. This is something I'd really love to change. In fact, since reading your post about mantras, I've been telling myself that I like vegetables while attempted to meditate. :)
ReplyDeleteHmm. So you don't like them raw or cooked? This is definitely something that can be fixed. I actually did some conscious work using an NLP technique to help a couple of people I know. One didn't want to like French cheese so much and wanted to like Oranges more. The other wanted to like chips and salsa less and wanted to like shrimp more. Immediately afterward both of of them were not interested in the one and hungry for the other. I'll see if I can get it to you... But for now, I love the mantra! Keep meditating.
ReplyDelete