Hypnosis - Removing Emotions and Fake news

By Amanda Owles  BEd (Hons) QTS, MA, MEd, Grad Dip P&C, Dip P,T PDCH

Let us be honest with each other straight away; fake news is all around us and well-being, therapy and in this case hypnotherapy, is not immune to it. So, with hypnotherapy, ‘removing emotions’ is often banded about as bad, scary and then tagged with the idea that someone - usually looking like a very mad scientist with spinning eyes - is going to do ‘anything they want’ to you!! As with most cases of fake news, it starts with a thread of truth… removing ALL emotions, yes, would be dangerous to and for anyone. Yet, releasing stuck emotions and working on the intensity of specific emotions and specific events associated with them, is not.

In fact it is life changing.

If we think about it for a moment, our emotions are there to serve us; to protect us. We have emotions early in our lives and slowly through childhood and life experiences, small or big, life-changing or very mundane; most of us learn what they are individually and how they surface. While many think they are innate and hardwired into our brains from inherited life experiences there is no doubt that, year on year, especially those in recent times it feels as if our emotions are on constant spinning plates as we try to figure out our busy 24/7 lives. The world often tells us we can and should, achieve ‘balance’ and shows us lots of ‘evidence’ of those that apparently have. Is it any wonder more and more people, globally, are finding their emotions overwhelming and in need of solutions. So how do we know if our emotions are in need of support and can be ‘released’ with a Professional? 

There are those, perhaps yourself, who have a general understanding of and handle on, their emotions. For example, many of us can choose to watch a sad film knowing it will make us cry, to release that tension or sadness and then we seem to ‘feel’ better. Some scream into a pillow. Some go to comedy shows and laugh. Release is achieved and the emotion is still there within them but not spilling over anymore. Yet for many this is not working like it used to and for even more it never did. So, it comes down to each of us, and in some cases those close to us, having an honest conversation with ourselves. Is the emotion overwhelming? Holding you back from functioning in your daily life - personal or in the workplace? Is the emotion in one area and associated with a particular type of event? Can you pinpoint a moment where these emotions became heightened and caused you a new level of concern?

As any good therapist will tell you there are, of course, people in the world who maybe experiencing a mental disorder and need medical interventions and therapies. This is true and all therapists have a duty of care to investigate this aspect including clients going for physical health check-ups, specific assessments etc. 

We are assuming, here, that all of this has been completed and the client is ‘healthy’ physically and psychologically ready to work on their emotions. In this case, no matter child or adult, a hypnotherapist can facilitate the client in understanding events within their life that have given rise to specific emotions and so support the client to release them. Via the sessions you can physically see your client release the ‘weight’ of their emotion; many speak of “feeling lighter” in the following days. 

Hypnotherapy works exceptionally well in releasing those stuck emotions as it enables work in the subconscious mind. Our conscious mind is logical whereas our subconscious mind holds on to unacceptable and often unpleasant matter. Our subconscious could be considered as a ‘data storage point’ or computer hard drive. This, therefore, means any experiences and our reactions to them are stored here. This works well if it was a good experience as our systems, conscious or unconscious, say go for it ‘you enjoyed this last time and it was good for you, you came to no harm’. But our subconscious is always out to protect us to the point if we have a reaction to something and it was not pleasant, for example a food, a particular actor on television or a subject in the news, it recalls this for us and sends us messages physically or mentally to prevent us from doing that again. This can be in the form of a strong emotion. These can then ‘chain’ over time and result in feelings of overwhelming emotion, as just one example. 

There is no doubt we need emotions for our own well-being individually to know what we do and do not want and need. We need others to have them too and, in doing so, we build relationships and societies on our spinning ball of rock and water. 

However, we do not need to be ‘stuck’. We do not need to be on that hamster-wheel repeating emotions, behaviours and habits not being able to seemingly gain an understanding of and release from them. A hypnotherapist is only able to facilitate change because it is what you need and want. So, while there may be some out there that do look like a stereotypical image of our “mad scientist”, many do not. We are approachable and do have many skills to support you and offer you that version of you that you always wanted and known it is in you, somewhere. 

Why not let yourself be that - now?

Amanda Owles  BEd (Hons) QTS, MA, MEd, Grad Dip P&C, Dip P,T PDCH
Psychotherapist and Hypnotherapist based in Singapore

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