Jenks Hypnosis and Training Center, LLC

805 N. Fir, Jenks, OK 74037    (918) 298-6884
Located in Jenks, America, near the heart of south Tulsa

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Why Does Regression Work?

I guess the first question should be WHAT, exactly, is regression? In its most simplistic form, I guess you could call it Time Travel. In regression, you are moving back in time experiencing past events. You're kidding right? You're going to make me a kid again? Well, yes and no.

Let me back up and start at the beginning. Each of us has three distinct parts from which we operate. Everything we do comes from one of these three parts. There is the Parent - the part that keeps the rest of us in line and tells us what we should and shouldn't do. It is where we get our values. There is the Adult - the part that is responsible for our daily lives, goes to work and earns the paycheck. Then there is the Child - the free-spirited, uninhibited part of us that most frequently gets us in trouble. All of our emotions (the laughter, spontaneous actions, fun, etc.) stem from the Child within us. But all of our negative emotions come from the Child as well. Our anger, frustration, fear, lack of confidence, lack of self esteem. All emotion resides in the Child.

Often, when we have a problem or have trouble dealing with an issue, it may be because our Child doesn't know how to handle it, or because the Child was never allowed to handle it. For example - the stutter of an adult could be caused by the Child who was not allowed to speak or who was ridiculed when he spoke. So the adult stutters. Fear of heights, spiders, snakes etc. is usually caused by the Child as well. (Remember it isn't the snake or the spider or the height he fears but the FEAR OF THE FEELING he gets when he sees a snake, spider or is in a high place.) Even such life events like overeating can be caused by a Child without control.

So - we Time Travel. I had a client recently who had issues with anger. (Hmmm, a common problem in my office.) His hobby was his passion and he practiced every day. But when a practice session didn't go right, he vented his anger on whoever was closest. (Everyone but himself - after all, it wasn't HIS fault practice went poorly!) In trance, I asked him to recall a recent event where this feeling was present. He allowed the feeling to get overwhelming and he followed it back to the very first time he felt it. The session when something like this:

Therapist: Are you inside or outside? Client: Inside. T: Is this a new feeling or does it feel familiar? C: new. T: How old are you? C: 5. T: What is happening here? C: Daddy is hitting Mommie. Mommie leaves. T: And? C: I'm scared. T: What are you afraid of? C: I'm afraid she won't come back. I'm afraid it's my fault. (Notice that the responses are in present tense. This is not spoken of as a memory but the reliving of an event.)

T: As the older wiser adult, go back to this child. Tell him everything he needs to know. (This is where it gets easy for me. My responsibility here is to be quiet!) When C indicates he is finished, I instruct him to tell his younger self that he, the older, wiser adult will always be there to protect him; to listen to him; to understand him. Then we place the child in a safe place so he will never be fearful again. Where he can enjoy just being a little boy.

Now - What just happened here? Well, what just happened is why regression works. When traumatic events happen, children often feel threatened. Even if the event doesn't seem particularly traumatic to the adult. Because the child is a child, he isn't always listened to. He doesn't always feel safe expressing his feelings. Or his feelings are looked at as silly. During a regression, the child within is recognized. His feelings are acknowledged and validated. The adult listens and what the child says is accepted.

When the child can give voice to his feelings, when those feelings are validated and accepted, when the child is made to feel safe again - BINGO. The problems the adult had begin to disappear.

There is another point here as well. What the child says, doesn't have to make sense! Feelings are neither right or wrong, they just are. Why the child channeled his fear of Mommie leaving into anger, I don't know. I don't need to know or to understand.

I know. I know. This all sounds a little goofy. (Ok, so it sounds a whole lot goofy!) But I have seen this process work time after time after time - for all sorts of problems. Feelings of panic. Fear of flying. Fear of the dark. Feelings of anxiety. The loss of security because of rape, molestation or other trauma. For phantom pain. The list goes on and on.

So, why does regression work? Well, the answer is - I don't know. But, I do know that it does work. When the issues of the child are taken care of, the problem for the adult goes away. And from my point of view, that's what is was all about.