Karen Brown
Fun in therapy! :-)
Welcome to blog number 2! This is so much fun being able to write my own thoughts on Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy.
I work with many people who experience an array of different difficulties and problems in life. I acknowledge their pain and struggles and often experience a similar feeling of those the client describes. As an empathic therapist, how could I not; however, somewhere between that pain and suffering, we often find something to laugh about. Now, I do not mean that I reel off jokes to those I am privaledged to work with, and whom walk in the door deeply troubled or distressed and I make light of it.
One lady I worked with entered the room clearly quite low in mood and considering returning to old destructive behaviours. We utilised a technique where she could fast forward a point in the future, see how she wanted it to be, feel what she wanted to feel, hear the sounds of those around her, imagining fully the scene in her mind and then we worked back through each step along the way of what she considered she can do to achieve her goal, including what happens next upon achieving her goal. Her whole body and demeanour began to lift , her head was held higher and we had a lot of fun going through the steps, even a lttle jigging in the room. There was also a lot of humour on both sides whilst doing this.
Towards the end of the session, I checked out what she was noticing and she reported she felt great, happier and more energised. Wow! She had done the change works, not me and even congratulated herself on doing it!
At the next session, she reported that throughout the next week she had already started a couple of those things she said she could do, had seen the people she said she was going to see, was not procrastinating over things and ultimately, found herself smiling so much more throughout the week, even the thought of the session brought a smile! How fabulous is that!
The Link Between Laughter and Mental Health
Laughter can dissolve distressing situations:
Physiologically, you cannot feel anxious, angry or sad when you’re laughing.
Laughter helps you relax and re-charge your systems:
It reduces stress and increases energy, enabling you to stay focused and potentially accomplich more.
Humour Shifts Perspective:
This allows us to take a step back from the situation and helps us to see or view things in a more realistic light or less threatening light. Psychological distance is created when we can adopt a humorous perspective, which can help us avoid feeling overwhelmed.
Just before I finish this particular blog, please ask yourself the question: What’s the funniest thing that happened to you TODAY, THIS WEEK, IN YOUR LIFE? And simply notice what you notice about yourself as you do this now!
More on laughter and the benefits of it can be found at
http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/laughter.htm
Makes for some interesting and fun reading!
Karen Brown
Clinical Hypnotherapist; Psychotherapist/Counsellor; Neuro-Linguist