Every day you become better and better at overcoming any difficulties, and you feel more confident in any situation, I was saying these words once again while Lina was sitting with her eyes closed and observing the liberation of her body after her spinal cord had been straightened.
You feel that you have everything you need to sleep and eat well and to enjoy your life!
I want to keep this feeling, Lina said.
Its a natural reaction, I replied. You suffered a mishap when you were at an impressionable age, and back then you didnt have the knowledge to react to it adequately. Your body didnt know what to do and made a strain to save itself but now everything is different. Now you have grown up, you have more knowledge, and that is why you know how to maintain your balance. More than that, you know that self-regulation is a reality. If you are feeling better know, it means that you can feel like this all the time. If you have managed to restore your peace of mind right now, then it means you will be able to maintain it in the future.
That was what we achieved in this episode of our work.
Of course, that is not all. In order to fix the result, Lina had to learn to understand her genetic habit and build, and the basics of self-regulation in case of emergency. Lina has to respect herself: she is an individual endowed with a unique life! All this work required additional time and effort. Nevertheless, the action of setting herself free from the smoke of erroneous knowledge and levelling out her psycho-energetic profile played an important role in restoring Linas health. Now she has come to a new level of maturity.
And heres another case from my practice. It shows that even an everyday situation can trigger a phobia.
A case from practice. Mother-in-law in my chest
I love my wife and kids but I am not happy
Dima is 28 years old. For more than three years he has been suffering from vegetovascular dystonia, with sympathoadrenal episodes and panic attacks. In this case panic attacks manifested in the heartbeat, as shortness of breath, sweaty palms, cold sweat, and excessive urination.
He came to our appointment with his wife. She must have decided to come to support Dima.
Dima told me that he had undergone treatment at the clinic of neuroses; he was prescribed Relanium, which seems to help him but only for a short period of time.
He also visited a psychic who was trying to remove the jinx. This treatment seemed to have distracted Dima from his anxiety for some time. Apart from that, he visited another doctor who determined that it was nervous system disturbance on the left side. This visit also seemed to give some temporary improvement, but soon everything went back to its usual state.
Dima doesnt go out much as he is afraid he might feel unwell. My job is OK but sometimes I cant stand it because of my condition. I love my child, but I cannot pay as much attention to him as I would like, he said with a sad voice.
Dimas wife treats him well. You can see it from the expression on her face, the way she looks at him no matter what he says, also she has a sense of comfort that one could notice in her posture.
I didnt notice anything
Do you have any idea what is going on? I asked the couple.
We do, they answer together but then Dima takes the initiative. There was an incident several years ago, and this is when it all started. I was on my way to pick up my wife and son at my sister-in-laws. I was feeling happy, looking forward to meeting them. Before I went into the flat, my sister-in-law said: Something has happened to your parents. It felt as if hot water was being poured on me. There was a sinking feeling that then left my body through my feet. I started asking what had happened. It turned out my mother-in-law had a bad dream about my parents and she always claims her dreams come true!
I felt really worried, Dima continues. I tried calling my parents (they used to live in Uzbekistan back then) but I couldnt get through. Only 24 hours later I finally reached them, and I asked them cautiously how they were doing. They said everything was OK. I kept asking and found out that indeed there had been a small accident: my dads car got hit from behind but the damage was minimal and with no injuries. I calmed down but then one week later I had the first anxiety attack that scared me so much
A woman in my chest
We begin exploring the sensations. Dima points to the pressure in his chest.
What is that feeling? I ask.
A woman is sitting there Dima replies.
Who is it?
My mother-in-law, he sounds absolutely sure about it. It was her who started it when the breakdown happened, he sounds annoyed.
Then it turned out that the mother-in-law wasnt the only reason. Dima seems to have the same reaction to any situation when the circumstances are pressuring him: he suffers, says nothing, and it makes him angry. He would really like to tell some of them to get lost, but he has to stop himself. When I was a child, I could openly say what I didnt like and have it my own way, but now I cannot do it anymore. Dima removed his mother-in-law and others from his chest and resolved to expressing his discontent in a civilized way. The knowledge of how he could react differently moved down to his body. It was as if his soul suddenly matured. For some time Dima became busy with his work and family, and we lost touch.
Bargain till the end and pay in full
Several years later I was standing in the street hailing a cab when suddenly a car stopped and from inside a smiling face was looking back at me. This man offered to give me a lift and called me by my name. As soon as I got into the car I realized it was Dima. I feel great, he said happily, I havent needed a doctors help since then. We talked about this and that. When we got to my destination I got my wallet out.
No, no, theres no need to! Dima protested.
Do you remember how you were telling me about your grandfather words: Bargain till the end and pay in full? Please take the money; youve earned it.
Dima didnt protest any more. He had paid me for my work and hadnt tried to bargain. Dimas story has a lot of typical details like It felt as if hot water was being poured on me, the sensation went through my body and left it through my feet, my chest feels tight. The logic of affect gives you information on how it can be treated. If theres a tight feeling in the chest, you should release this tension. If there were sensations passing through your body, then they will leave through your body as well. In any case there must be a reverse process. The images one experiences can be very different. As we have just seen, you can even experience your mother-in-law sitting on your chest.
A case from practice. A sniper
Finally, in this section I would like to cite the most illustrative example. This is a story of a sniper, Yuri. He was summoned for a compulsory military service and spent 10 months in combat in a war zone. He was 24 when he sought medical attention. His condition could be defined as a post-traumatic stress disorder.
Fig. 10. Fear and anger: a square head with big round eyes; a rounded body.
Booze doesnt help
After the discharge Yuri started having nightmares; he could barely sleep at night and then during the day he was irritated up to the point of starting a fight. In an attempt to get rid of this curse, he was drinking heavily. When he found out about the renewal of hostilities, his nightmares came back, and this time they had a mix of war and everyday life in them. Then there was another round of insomnia, and then it was alcohols turn again. His final binge lasted for four days after that, he began psychotherapy.
The soul is alive
When we started talking I understood that drinking had already done some damage to Yuri. His facial expression seemed distorted. However, one could see that his soul was alive. Yuri really wanted to get better. He is an emotional person, short and plump. His speech is fast and rambling as if he is in a hurry.
At first Yuri performed our standard test and drew a person. In the drawing you can find a typical manifestation: there is a mixture of rage (a round body and a square head) and fear (round eyes) in a person who is longing for comfort (short arms and legs of triangular forms with vertex points attached to the body).
According to the drawing, one can conclude that the body is the zone of energetic overflow and some tension.
You will need your strength
The age of a person in the picture is 24, which corresponds to the age of the patient. I asked my usual questions:
What feelings are connected with this age?
Nightmares, Yuri responded immediately.
Where are these sensations located? I continued. Are they in your head, in your chest, in your stomach or anywhere else? You can close your eyes.
I feel worried in my soul, the patient said pointing to his chest. Just like when youre on a swing, you catch your breath, and your hands start shaking.
What do you feel in your chest? Is it something heavy or light?
Its heaviness.
How heavy is it?
It weighs a lot.
Is it gas, liquid or solid? I asked.
Its liquid. Its crushing me.
How much liquid is there?
About three gallons.
It must have taken a lot of time to gather that much liquid. Yuri agreed with me.
Are you planning on gathering more of this liquid or is it time to stop?
No, thats enough, the patient responded.
Then I asked my final question:
How much of your energy does it take away from you?
50%.
Would you need this energy?
Of course! Yuri replied. His eyes were still closed. His internal work was still in progress.
Observe where your sensations are going.
To my arms, Yuri said. They are getting hot
And then we start observing how drawing attention to these sensations reveals what happened and how this can lead to the needed corrective changes.
Once the evaluation was formed, we can renew the state.
Stepping into a hot bath on a cold winter day
I continued work at this therapeutic stage:
Try to guide the feeling of calmness deeper into your body.
It feels like stepping into a hot bath on a cold winter day.
Where are your sensations right now?
I was trying to focus the attention of the patient to his internal processes.
My legs are filling in, Yuri said after a long pause, which was the evidence that he had been observing. Theres a light feeling, as if everything is coming out.
How much of it has already left your body?
A lot.
What is left in your chest instead of that previous sensation?
A pebble, an egg.
I asked him to show where exactly that pebble was. He pointed to the chest between the nipples, a little bit lower.
The fact that it is the sensation in the chest points to anxiety that has been there for a long time.
Worry usually takes up the forehead, anxiety goes straight to the chest, and fear is in the stomach.
The cold is going away
Observe what is happening next, I continued.
The pebble is melting, and the sensations are moving down. They are filling half of my stomach.
What is left instead of that pebble?
Jelly, Yuri said. Again it feels like stepping into a bath. Its all going away in a very pleasant way.
How is it leaving you?
It feels like cold coming out of me, the patient said.
Some time passes.
Thats it! he said with a sigh. It feels like theres nothing left.
Let yourself see how you can live your days and nights when you are calm and free.
Fig. 11. Psychological deterioration and the consequences of alcohol involvement.
Visible signs of the former psychological deterioration (limbs drawn as triangles) and the consequences of alcohol involvement (a head with some elements drawn into it). However, a round head and a rectangular body signal the improvement of the psychological state of the patient with subsequent relaxation.
A normal head
Having completed this part of work, Yuri made another drawing. This time it had a rectangular body and a round head, which is more consistent with a better psychological state.
I scheduled follow-up sessions within the next four weeks. However, the patient didnt need any additional work with his war-time emotions. After the first session Yuri noted that everything fell back into place. His sleep had improved, and during the day Yuri had become calmer. I started introducing the idea that there was no need in spoiling Yuris current calmer state with alcohol:
Theres no need for that. Every cell is filled with sobriety and tranquillity.
I was saying these words and saw Yuris positive response.
Our follow-up sessions confirmed both normal sleeping patterns and good mood. In a month Yuri said he had some alcohol at his friends funeral but not much.
Our work consisted of three stages. Long-term anxiety and anger were concentrated in the chest of the patient. This tension was spreading with warmth and leaving the body as coldness. This coldness must have been absorbed by the skin, and that is why it was leaving the body in the same way, then the tension successfully evaporated.