How Hypnosis Allowed Me to Give Blood

Being able to give blood is such an amazing gift that I can now do thanks to overcoming my fear of needles with hypnotherapy.

Giving blood is such a quick and easy process and saves lives. Despite this fact, in the past I have been unable to even contemplate doing it. Not because I had an illness or travel regularly that prevented me from doing so but because I had a phobia of needles, also known as Trypanophobia. Just the thought of having an injection or giving blood made me break out in a sweat and feel anxious.

As far back as I can remember, I have been scared of needles. I remember standing in line at secondary school waiting to have an injection and the closer I got to the front of the queue the more wound up I became about the whole experience until eventually I had a panic attack. As I got older I thought this would improve but in fact it just got worse. Instead of acting in an adult way when faced with an injection or blood test, I would be reduced to a child-like gibbering wreck. Needle phobias are quite common but that wasn’t really a comfort to me. I resigned myself to the fact that this was how it would be for me, never thinking that my experience with needles could change in some way.

Then at the beginning of 2010, I decided to embark on a career change and started training to be a Clinical Hypnotherapist at The Clifton Practice in Bristol. About three months in to the course, I learnt about the fear response and phobias. It was kind of an enlightenment moment for me as it was at this time I realised why I reacted the way I did and that this could be changed allowing me to act in a more rational, calm, and adult-like way when I’m having an injection or blood test. It was a great relief for me. On one of the training days, I was grouped with two fellow students to practice the very effective fast phobia cure or rewind technique. We worked on each others fears which included a fear of heights, a fear of being sick and my fear of needles and we all went away feeling much calmer about our respective fears.

Six months later I got to test it out! I was due to go in to hospital for an operation on my foot and as with all operations, I was required to go for a pre-op assessment to check my health and during this appointment I had to have a blood sample taken. Instead of resisting, crying, panicking and having to lie down in case I fainted, I just sat there calmly and even watched the nurse draw blood from my arm with no anxiety at all. I was so proud of myself and very impressed with the result. My needle phobia was cured!

Getting rid of this phobia opened up the opportunity for me to give blood, something I could never have done before. So I went online and registered my interest to donate blood.

Upon arriving at the local donation centre, I was greeted by one of the nurses and taken through a quick medical questionnaire, had a quick pin prick test to check if I was anaemic and then hopped on the couch for the donation. I felt that the needle was just a minor inconvenience when compared to saving a life. The actual blood donation part only lasted 5-10 minutes and then I was escorted to the refreshment area where I was given a cup of coffee and some biscuits. I felt extremely chuffed with myself afterwards, knowing that my blood is going to someone in great need of it. I’m looking forward to my next visit in January!

I completed my Hypnotherapy training at the beginning of 2011 and I now help other people combat their fears, among other things, using Hypnosis. There are so many people out there with phobias of spiders, heights, and confined spaces, to name a few, and they no longer have to be limited by them any more. Hypnotherapy helped me overcome my phobia and it can do the same for you.

Find out more on how hypnotherapy can help you overcome your fears and phobias.

Hypnotherapy Provides Support for Asthma Sufferers by Helping to Reduce Anxiety

A Hypnotherapy Association is marking Asthma Awareness Week (9-15th May 2011) by highlighting how the therapy can help clients cope with the condition by reducing their levels of anxiety.

According to Asthma UK, a charity dedicated to improving the health and well-being of people whose lives are affected by asthma, 5.4 million people in the UK are currently receiving treatment for asthma: 1.1 million children (1 in 11) and 4.3 million adults (1 in 12).

There is an inter-relationship between anxiety and asthma – for some people, anxiety can be a trigger for asthma, for others it is the asthma itself which causes anxiety. After all, there are few things more frightening than struggling to breathe. The link between anxiety and asthma can lead to an unhelpful cycle of cause and effect which can be difficult to break.

In fact some of the symptoms of a panic attack (hyperventilation) and asthma overlap making it difficult to distinguish between the two. In some cases, a panic attack can actually lead to an asthma attack in someone who already suffers with asthma.

It’s not just asthma patients who are affected by anxiety – parents, partners and other carers can become anxious if the condition appears to be poorly managed.

Hypnotherapy combines psychotherapy (a talking therapy) with hypnosis and can provide clients with effective coping mechanisms aimed at reducing their anxiety generally. Used in conjunction with a patient’s prescribed medication and treatment regimes, hypnotherapy can help clients deal better with life’s stresses, thus minimising the anxiety which could precipitate an asthma attack.

There is a large body of research on the effective use of self-hypnosis, guided imagery, hypnosis and relaxation in asthma in adults and children. A review of research into hypnosis and asthma carried out in 2000 highlighted that studies conducted up to that date consistently demonstrated an effect of hypnosis with asthma. Although more research is needed, the studies showed that its efficacy is enhanced in subjects who are more “susceptible”, where the practitioner is experienced, when it is administered over several sessions, and when it is reinforced by patient self-hypnosis. Children in particular appear to respond well to hypnosis as a tool for improving asthma symptoms.

Hypnotherapy helps to reduce anxiety by assisting clients to visualise their preferred future, i.e. a future in which they are coping better with the problem that is causing them stress. This helps clients to regain a sense of perspective and breaks the cycle of anxiety-asthma-anxiety. The therapy encourages positive thinking by helping clients to focus on solutions to problems, rather than dwelling on the problems themselves.

The Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapists (AfSFH) has been established to promote the benefits of the Solution Focused approach to improving mental well-being so that the public are more aware of this valuable resource.

I am a member of the AfSFH and I am very enthusiastic about the efficacy of the approach. “Clients are often relieved to learn that we will not be dwelling on their problems or on how bad things are. They soon get the hang of thinking in a more positive way – describing how they want things to be, rather than how they don’t them to be. It sounds simple, but in fact it is an amazingly powerful technique”.

I am a Clinical Hypnotherapist practising at The Harbourside Practice in Bristol. Call 07851 307 062 to book your FREE initial consultation. For more information on Sarah Mortimer Hypnotherapy, visit www.bristolhypnotherapy.co.uk.

To find out more about the new association, visit www.afsfh.com

For more information about Asthma Awareness Week, visit www.asthma.org.uk.

Research:- Ewer and Stewart, 1996; Hackman, Stern, and Gershwin, 2000; Maher-Loughna, Macdonald, et al, 1962
- Anbar, 2001; Anbar, 2002; Castes, Hagel, et al, 1999; Kohen, Olness, et al, 1984
- Hypnosis and asthma: a critical review, Hackman RM, Stern JS, Gershwin ME, 2000