(This blog was originally posted on June 6, 2014)
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| Image courtesy of Microsoft |
Some people
become very traumatized by their experiences in a war or while fighting a war, Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D. observed. “Any time a
person goes into an extremely stressful situation, you start to anticipate the
stress or danger,” he said. Even though soldiers receive specific combat
skills, their survival depends on their ability to fight and kill as well as to
deal with the horrors that they have experienced or witnessed on the
battlefield: i.e., the fight/flight/freeze response.
Dr. Kappas
warned that whenever a person represses the stress and emotions (e.g., fear,
sadness, anger) experienced during combat, he or she is vulnerable to suffering
“post-war depression” or, as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Diagnostics and Statistics Manual IV defines PTSD
as an extremely complex disorder that includes psychological as well as
physical symptoms of distress. These include: insomnia, bad dreams or
flashbacks of the war experience, explosive anger, survivor’s guilt and
difficulties integrating with or back into society. Job performance at work may
and personal relationships with the spouse/lover, friends and family may also
be negatively affected. Even if the stress is repressed when the traumatic
event occurs, eventually these symptoms surface and must be dealt with, he
warned. “Some guys 20 years out of the Service are fine and then suddenly
break,” the late hypnotherapist warned. “After you survive in the military/war,
if it’s the only thing you know, it can be a shock to face the real world,” Dr.
Kappas said. Treatment for PTSD entails desensitizing the client to the stress
of war and reintegrating the person back into his or her “old” life, including
relationships and work.
On January 1,
2013, I earned a certification to use hypnosis to help people who are
experiencing PTSD to reduce stress and symptoms in order to improve their
quality of life. I use hypnosis, relaxation/breathing and therapeutic guided-imagery
techniques to teach these clients how to manage stress. I also employ cognitive
behavioral-therapy techniques and exposure therapy to help the person separate
(un-pair) the association between triggers of fear about the previous traumatic
event and what is going on in their current environment. Because PTSD is such a
complex disorder, I require a referral* from both a licensed medical doctor and
a licensed psychotherapist for me to provide hypnotherapy as a
complementary therapy to alleviate, manage and control these symptoms.
I
would like to thank each of the men and women who have risked and continue to
risk their lives—and those who have sacrificed their lives—to protect and
defend our country. I will not forget you.
*California law allows access by California
residents to complementary and alternative health care practitioners who are
not providing services that require medical training and credentials. The
purpose of a program of hypnotherapy is for vocational and avocational
self-improvement (Business and Professions Code 2908) and as an alternative or complementary treatment
to healing arts services licensed by the state. A hypnotherapist is not a licensed
physician or psychologist, and hypnotherapy services are not licensed by the
state of California. Services are non-diagnostic and do not include the
practice of medicine, neither should they be considered as a substitute for
licensed medical or psychological services or procedures.
Sara
R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern
California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation
Institute in
2005. In July 2019 she was voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita,
California. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
