There are a number of effective treatments for depression. As a Cognitive Hypnotherapist I know that there is no single treatment that works for everybody which I why I have many treatment options for my clients with depression (and anxiety). I trained in Integral Eye Movement Therapy (IEMT) over five years ago and nothing in my arsenal has been more useful in helping clients quickly and easily recover from this debilitating condition.
By treatment, I do mean treatment. I don’t consider anti-depressants to be a treatment.
When they work, all they tend to do is allow a little comfort within the
shrinking world of the depressive. Anti-depressants temporarily cover the
symptoms, they don’t address the causes of
the depression, they don’t teach the client to
make the necessary adjustments to their lives to make a full recovery.
So how does Depression start? We aren’t born depressed, we’re born inquisitive, excited and energetic. Life and parenting
teaches us where to set boundaries on our behaviour by teaching us what
behaviour is likely to be painful, unproductive or outside of our skill set.
Sometimes the boundaries are appropriate (not touching a hot stove) sometimes
they are over-cautious and for many people they often fail to update as our age
and competences increase.
The GUILT that we feel about the way we
broke-up with out first love, makes us feel unworthy or incapable of being in a
loving relationship. After that turbulent flight, the PANIC that we feel about
flying makes the idea of a foreign holiday too painful to consider. Being
bullied at school filled us with RAGE, the same uncontrollable RAGE that now
emerges when somebody cuts us off whilst driving, so now even driving is
unsafe. At each stage some behaviour which could add to the quality of our life
becomes a cause of pain and our assessment of our own competence is challenged
so that we no longer feel capable of meeting the regular challenges of life.
Integral Eye Movement Therapy (IEMT) works by
removing the support structures of depression, but undoing the hold of these
poorly learnt life lessons. IEMT is one of several ‘Eye Movement’ therapies, such as EMDR
and EMI which are becoming common in therapeutic circles. IEMT fits well within
the Cognitive Hypnotherapy treatment methodology and is the only one that
incorporates the ‘Three Pillars of
Depression’ model. The Three Pillar
Model separates emotions into PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE based emotions. Painful
memories from the past (Guilt, Shame, Regret, etc) makes us worry about how we
will respond to events in the future (Panic, Anxiety, Worry, etc.) which tends
to create distress leading to loss of control in the present moment (Rage,
Anger, etc), which leads to incidents that make us feel Guilt, Shame, Remorse – and so the cycle continues. Depression and
anxiety are often diagnosed separately by doctors and, on the face of it, they
seem at opposite ends of the diagnostic spectrum but in my experience, they
nearly always appear together in my clients.
The good news is that by treating the Guilt,
Shame, Regret, etc. or the Rage, Anger, etc. we remove that pillar from the
vicious cycle and start to restore freedom of movement for the client, which
restores behaviours they can enjoy and builds their self-esteem. In most cases
the client won’t know about this
emotional conditioning until it is brought out in the therapy session. Whilst
some memories are fresh, clients are often surprised about how some earlier and
often long-forgotten memories have created a wave of havoc throughout their
lives.
IEMT
is a great way of treating these learnt emotional responses. We look for an
emotional memory associated with one of the stand out emotions (e.g. Guilt) and
by holding that memory in mind whilst the eyes are moved in certain precise
ways, it quickly disrupts the memory. Within a few minutes a very painful
memory can be reduced to something my client is totally indifferent about and
this change does not reverse back over time. It doesn’t always work but nearly always!
This might not be the only treatment offered
but as each painful emotional experience is treated, the freedom is restored,
the anticipation of the future becomes brighter and more engaging. The
depression and the anxiety just don’t work the way they used to. I use IAPT questionnaires which are
widely used to assess levels of depression and anxiety. By talking with the
client and using these measures in every session it becomes clear how effective
the treatment has been and typically a three-four week treatment is enough to
restore the client to health. After each treatment, the client will know that
something is different, they don’t need to worry that ‘something will shift after four weeks’ their internal experience is different from
the start. Some clients need more help or a different treatment and that’s easily established from early on in the
treatments.
Many people that struggle with depression and
anxiety struggle for years or decades and feel their condition is hopeless.
Unfortunately NHS mental health treatment are very hit and miss and the
standard treatment of using medication won’t change the behaviours or emotional conditioning that lies at
the heart of these conditions.
If you have any questions about IEMT
treatments, please get in touch at simon@freedomhypnosis.co.uk.
Simon.
