My first visit to Patricia

Fifteen years ago, my aunt visited a hypnotherapist to help her cope with my uncle’s sudden death. I distinctly remember that my mother was nothing short of horrified and discussed her extreme concern with anyone who would listen. The general consensus was that this hypnotherapist would exploit my poor vulnerable aunt and
leave her irrevocably damaged.

Aged 12, I was, understandably, intrigued and examined my aunt’s behaviour closely. I was fully expecting her convulse at any given trigger as was feared. I would throw random adjectives at her to see if I got an involuntary response. I didn’t. Nor did her bereavement evaporate over night. What she did do was slowly begin to adjust to her new life and function healthily again.

This progress was absolutely nothing to do with the dangerous, charlatan therapist, according to my mother, but rather the natural healing process. I wasn’t so sure and grew up confused and curious about the whole matter. This curiosity nagged at me from time to time and so I acquired a fair bit of information from books, magazines and from other people. In fact, I now believe that my mother wasn’t entirely wrong. My aunt clearly had improved through the natural healing process and her hypnotherapist had most probably accelerated this healing.

Hypnotherapy is far more widely accepted and practised fifteen years on and is less synonymous with the
‘hypno-circus’ spectacles that repelled my mother. You know, the astage shows that were more about ritual
humiliation than any kind of ‘treatment’. I learnt that it is a deeply relaxing and positive experience in which
you are never out of your own control. It can help release deep-seated behavioural responses such a smoking and anxiety by tuning in to the root causes of such behaviour. It was all starting to make a lot more sense.

A month ago I made an initial appointment or ‘consultation’ with a respected and recommended hypnotherapist, Patricia Holden. Initially I visited Patricia to chat with her about hypnosis. I explained to her about my long held curiosity but as we chatted it became clear that curiosity alone was not the only reason I had chosen to make the appointment. I had been feeling very stressed and this was affecting my sleep, eating and mood and what I desperately wanted was to unravel the stress and so I would feel more in tune.

I felt at ease with Patricia and a strong feeling that I could trust her. In fact, much of what we discussed hadn’t properly occurred to me prior to the consultation. We set up an appointment for a relaxation session for the following week. I felt slightly unsure of what would actually happen, whether it would work but the overriding feeling was of impatience to get started .

The appointment was booked for late afternoon and I remember feeling quite drained and tired as I arrived as it had been a fraught day. I took off my shoes and sat in a lovely squidgy chair with a blanket draped over me. Patricia asked me to close my eyes and relax, concentrating on breathing deeply. At this stage, I remember feeling as if I was tucked up in bed and about to drop off to sleep.

The session was based around positive visualizations and my mind seemed to drift ,and then all of a sudden I was acutely aware of what was going on and what Patricia was saying. I imagined myself In a beautiful garden and on a warm beach and was aware of a smile creeping onto my face from time to time. However, what I didn’t feel was self-conscious. Patricia’s voice almost sounded as if it was from a radio or television rather than as a person in the room with me.

Patricia asked me to think of something that I wanted to improve on and see this sentence up in lights. When I had done this, I was to raise my index finger slightly. I imagined that up in lights was the sentence ‘ I live a
healthy life’.

Coming out of the trance was quite peculiar. Patricia’s voice became quicker and stronger and she spoke of energy coming up from my feet and through my body. I was then asked to; open my eyes which I did naturally. At first I felt a little bit disorientated as if I had had a short nap and the room suddenly felt very different. Patricia was sat in a chair a few feet away and we started chatting about how I felt.

Patricia advised me to be restful for a while after the session so as to let my brain make sense of what had
happened. I felt quite energized at first but still a bit dreamy and I floated around some shops for a while and had a cup of tea. Later on that evening my brain felt like it had really had a good workout, as if I had been
revising non-stop for a difficult exam. I couldn’t really understand how I felt so drained as I felt it was Patricia
who had done all the work. That night, for the first time in ages I slept like a log and awoke feeling far calmer
and rested than normal.

It has been four days since the session and I have certainly noticed the difference. Don’t get me wrong, I am
not the picture of serenity, but I have found that I am making far more positive choices for my health such as
choosing a nice cup of Earl Gray tea over my usual double espresso. In fact, the thought of coffee reminds me
of battery acid, which is quite strange. So far my sleep patterns are much better and I make time each eveningfor a lavender bath. I have bought myself some new books to read and CD’s that make me feel happy, all of which I had previously not managed time for.

My expectations of the session were quite straightforward. I wanted to satisfy my curiosity of hypnotherapy and start to get my health and stress levels in greater balance. I do feel that I am actively taking charge of my health by making small positive changes. It also keeps surprising me that I seem to know instinctively which changes to make. Very strange. But without hesitation I would recommend that anyone try it … even my mother.