I received a call from the wife of a gentleman who has been hospitalized for seven months. His issue appeared lung-related. He had difficulty breathing and catching his breath because the lung lining became inflamed.
Thankfully that problem has been resolved. Now, however, he suffers severe panic attacks. The hospital only wants to sedate him with anti-anxiety medication.
It turned out his respiratory therapist is the mother of a 12-year-old girl who has been seeing me. The therapist recommended my services to the patient. We set up an appointment via video.
I have clients all over the USA and other countries whom I see on a regular basis via video. As long as I can see and hear a client, he or she can be hypnotized just as effectively as an in-person client.
This was not a hard case to resolve, at least from a hypno-therapeautic perspective. In The gentleman was frightened of everything happening in his body. Twinge or ache anywhere, he immediately grows agitated. He panics.
Not surprising considering he has had several near-death experiences, leaving him fretting. Additionally, there is his diet, not overly rich in protein. The hospital was feeding him carbohydrates to provide short-lived energy bursts that he needed.
His body had become accustomed to high fluctuations in his blood sugar levels. When the level was high, he was fine.
When his sugar level dropped, he turned irritable, even angry. Accelerated breathing increased heart rate, causing profuse sweating. His brain was not receiving the appropriate amounts of sugar, leading to these problems.
Root of the Problem
If the brain is not receiving what it needs to survive, it will find a way to create it. In this case the brain creates a perceived f-e-a-r (False Experience Appearing Real). This perceived feeling brings on adrenaline that breaks down to cortisol and then sugar. Once the brain gets the sugar it wants, it calms. The panic is gone.
Unfortunately if the blood sugar level has not been raised by eating protein, the starved brain will recreate the anxiety to gain more sugar, further depleting the body’s already low sugar levels.
The resolution was twofold. Eat small amounts of protein every 2 to 2 ½ hours, stabilizing the blood sugar levels. So we can eliminate that as a cause. Second is desensitization to the panic and anxiety.
The client has trained his subconscious to react to his panic and anxiety the same way each time. With his blood sugar level stabilizing, he is still reacting subconsciously to what he has trained his subconscious to do.
Hypnosis is effective in resolving this, presenting a new behavior to the subconscious. As the conscious mind is only 10 percent and the subconscious is 90 percent of the brain power we use, for change to be effective it should want to be in the subconscious. A contrasting image of no longer being anxious is presented to the subconscious. After just a few sessions, panic and anxiety were gone. Released from the hospital medication-free, my client is breathing well today. No panic or anxiety.
To obtain changes we want, we must create the change within the subconscious that does not know bad from good. Our conscious minds right and wrong. Once the subconscious learns to no longer react to the perceived fear, the problem is settled.
Do not hesitate to contact me by telephone, 310.204.3321, or by email at nickpollak@hypnotherapy4you.net. See my website at www.hypnotherapy4you.net
