Image Credit: Mindsight (Photobucket)
This is part two of my "How I Beat Severe Insomnia" series. Part one discussed how I reset my circadian rhythms with light box treatments in the morning and blue blocker glasses after seven p.m. This system retrains my brain to produce sleep hormones at night instead of during the day. I now wake up well rested and no longer suffer debilitating daytime fatigue. Even so, some nights my brain just cannot find its off switch.
Enter hypnotherapy.
I chose Rebecca Geracitano for her impressive hypnotherapy credentials. Since hypnosis is unregulated anyone can take a weekend course and put a shingle on the door. Not Rebecca. She has a master's degree in Transformative Theories and Practice from Atlantic University. She is also a certified hypnotherapist with The National Association of Transpersonal Hypnotherapists. And it didn't hurt that she came highly recommended by my doctor.
We had one meeting in Rebecca's office. She made a CD of the session, which I converted to MP3 for my phone. I listen to it at night as I drift off to sleep.
Rebecca does not work from generic, one-size-fits-all hypnosis scripts. Each session is tailored specifically to the needs of individual clients. Prior to our appointment she took detailed notes about my specific sleep issues. We discussed my history of night terrors and sleep paralysis. I also detailed my tendency to fall asleep only to jolt awake a few hours later, unable to drift off again until the wee hours of the morning. Then she carefully researched what physiologically happens in the brain when a person experiences such things and converted it to positive suggestion.
My custom-made hypnosis script focuses on relaxing the autonomic nervous system and the pituitary-adrenal axis, slowing down and soothing the neurotransmitters. It also has me visualize light and various colors while moving through my brain, which totally knocks me out. I'm usually fast asleep before the MP3 of our twenty-nine minutes session is finished. And if I wake up in the middle of night and can't seem to fall back asleep just five minutes of this on my ears will do it.
Rebecca sees clients in her office, by phone, or on Skype. She makes CDs of her sessions so clients can reinforce their hypnotic suggestions as often as they'd like.
---------------------
*This is not a sponsored post.
*This post discusses my experience with hypnotherapy. It is not intended as medical advice.
Resources:
Rebecca Geracitano's Website
Web MD on Hypnosis
Mayo Clinic on Hypnosis
Related Post:
How I Beat Severe Insomnia with Light Box Therapy and Blue Blocker Glasses (Part 1)
Blog Hops:
This post is linked to Natural Living Momma, From the Farm Blog Hop, and Frugally Sustainable.
Tags: Insomnia, Hypnosis, Hypnotherapy, Rebecca Geracitano
I've always envied people who sleep easily. Their brains must be cleaner, the floorboards of the skull well swept, all the little monsters closed up in a steamer trunk at the foot of the bed.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dominicknight.co.uk/
I've envy them too, Maxx. For me the perfect night's sleep is part science and part art. It can never be taken for granted. So much goes into it. Trying to figure out how in a few days I will be able to use my light box in the morning and still get myself ready for work and my son off to school. But it's all worth it because I am getting results. 85% better. Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteExcellent article. The blog is useful and more informatics. I think all searchers like this kind of article. Thanks for blog admin who write these useful article. If anyone want to search more Please visit this site, weight loss hypnotherapy
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete