The Edinburgh Reporter’s Mike Smith is a qualified hypnotherapist. In the latest of a regular series of articles, Mike offers some hope to those people who have a fear of needles.
I was making small conversation with someone the other day (I like to think of myself as a sociable kind of chap) and she mentioned she had just made an appointment with her dentist for the following day as her back teeth were ‘giving her a bit of jib’. Although I had never met this person before, I could tell from her manner she was clearly petrified at this prospect. She offered the fact ‘she was terrified of needles’ by way of confirming this fact.
This was an open door for me to go through and tell her about my profession as a hypnotherapist. I explained to her how hypnosis could perhaps help her deep-rooted fear of needles.
‘W’ was unsure of when her phobia begun but she remembered feeling anxious as a child, around the age of 10, when she went to visit the school dentist. ‘W’ agreed to come to see me to ascertain what hypnotherapy could do for her. After the initial consultation, when I discovered more about what made her relax, I explained that the aim would be to discover the origin of her fear.
She explained she was the child of a one parent family and her mother could not afford to have her treated by a private dentist. Therefore, she went to the school dentist – a free alternative but, as most people are aware, there’s no such thing as a free lunch (or free filling) While the school dentist usually did an efficient job, his methods were somewhat lacking in patient care (this was the early 1970s after all) The needles he used to free her mouth were of the humongous variety (her words, not mine) and the memory of the piercing pain she felt remained with her until now.
After being taken into a deeply relaxed state, I began to discuss ‘W’’s past with her. She told me more about what happened with the school dentist in more detail.
I asked her if the experience she had of going to a private dentist now, forty years later, was the same. She said it wasn’t, the treatment she received was first class. She said she felt at ease once her mouth was frozen and her present dentist was professional and caring. I asked her if the process of getting the injection was the same as it was four decades ago. She replied it wasn’t and that her dentist today was very gentle; in fact when she closed her eyes when the injection was being given she barely felt a thing.
Despite her dentist of today being professional, it was clear ‘W’s subconscious mind remained steadfast in the early 1970s. She still associated the very idea of going to the dentist with large needles and pain, even though this was no longer the case.
Through bespoke scripts, tailored to ‘W’s personal circumstances, I was able to help ‘W’ think differently about going to the dentist. In fact, I helped ‘W’ think differently about injections in general. She was due a blood test at her doctor a few days after her first session with me. When I asked her how she got on at her next session with me, she told me she didn’t feel anxious at all.
When ‘W’ went for her next dental appointment, I asked her how she felt. She said that, this time, she wasn’t anxious at all before going and while waiting in the dental surgery she was no longer trembling with fear. Her approach about her visits to the dentist had changed and it no longer dominated her life by creating a state of high anxiety. While she wasn’t quite at the stage of looking forward to going to the dentist – who does? – her feelings of anxiety had reduced substantially.
If you are suffering from a fear that you believe might stem from a bad memory, then hypnotherapy is a great way of recalling that memory and allowing you to rid yourself of it.
Contact me today on 0752 1353 787 (24 hours)
Email: mike.smith@mgs-hypnotherapy-services.co.uk
Website: www.mgs-hypnotherapy-services.co.uk
Why not take advantage of a FREE, no-obligation consultation?
Mike Smith Hyp CS
Mind Generating Success
14-18 Hill Street
Edinburgh
EH2 3JZ
Author of The Team for Me - 50 Years of Following Hearts. Runs Mind Generating Success, a successful therapy practice in Edinburgh. Contact me if you want rid of any unwanted habits. Twitter @Mike1874
