Excerpt from Amazing Children by Doris Rapp, M. D., related to hypnotherapy.
The referenced Hynotherapist in this excerpt is Robert J. O’Connor, CHt., President Emeritus, Arizona Society for Professional Hypnosis, www.wholeheartedenterprises.com.
Hypnotherapy
I would be remiss if I did not list hypnotherapy. I personally thought it was impossible that true allergies could be solely related to deep-seated emotional issues, especially when the suggestion or evidence of allergies dated way back to the period before the baby was born. Sure, there were always secondary psychological problems if you had allergies that limited normal living, but for it to be the basis in even young children was not something I could accept.
I was astounded when I referred the following young child who had problems and extensive evidence of classical food, pollen, mold, and dust allergies and violent behavior to be treated in this manner. I found it almost possible to believe that the patient described below could eat foods to which he was unquestionably sensitive by both the history and allergy tests, within an hour after his first hypnotherapy treatment.
Four-Year-Old Michael
Family History Of Allergy: Both Parents And Siblings Had Typical Allergies
Fetal History: His mother was warned by all her husband and many relatives that she was taking a terrible chance to have this infant because she had been so extremely ill when she had her previous pregnancy.
During the pregnancy he kicked and hiccuped so often and so hard that she was actually bruised from the inside and it even hurt to walk. He was much too active in the uterus. Throughout the pregnancy she craved and drank as much milk as possible so she would have a healthy baby. Later on she realized it caused her to have abdominal complaints.
Interpretation as environmental allergist:
His history strongly suggests a milk sensitive mother and very milk allergic fetus.
Interpretation as Hypnotherapist:
Often I believe the question is not to what, but to whom is a person allergic. It would be interesting to do a follow-up to discover the mother’s emotional state and attitude toward having another child, and also, her wish to mother (nurture) another sibling so soon after having given birth to her previous one.
Infant History: She breast-fed Michael and continued to drink an excessive amount of milk in spite of the abdominal complaints it caused. He had to be nursed every 90 minutes and barely slept. He refused regular milk formulas. He rarely slept over two or three hours. He had severe colic until she stopped breastfeeding at 13 months. Then he refused milk but eagerly drank apple juice. He had the classical ear infections starting at the age of 3 months.
Interpretation as allergist:
Classical milk or other food sensitive infant. Apple will most probably be an obvious allergy problem later on.
Interpretation by Hypnotherapist:
As in the previous response in order to best understand the nature of the condition (allergies), I believe it would be beneficial to address and unfold those issues concerning the mother and child.
During that first year of life, he also had abnormally red cheeks, dark eye circles, abdominal complaints and acted as if he had a headache. He walked at 8 months, which is very early and suggested that hyperactivity would be a problem later on. He would never lie quietly but had to be held and walked constantly, and even then was not content or happy. He clung to his mother, cried and rubbed his nose all the time. When eggs were given to him for the first time, he developed hives. By one year of age, he had been seen by an allergist who diagnosed asthma and a definite milk and egg allergy.
Interpretation as allergist:
Baby has obvious physical clues of allergy affecting face, intestines, brain, nose, disposition, skin, and lungs. Suggestion of possible early ADHD. Egg unquestionably a problem.
Interpretation by Hypnotherapist:
Please refer to the above responses. By eighteen months of age, he was coughing, whining, crying, screaming, hyperactive, and having one temper tantrum after another. It was obvious that certain foods caused these types of responses. He would seem all right and then suddenly, for no reason, bite his brother. One time he bit his brothers back so badly that it became infected. His mother wondered if the monthly pesticide spraying was contributing to his behavior problems.
Interpretation by environmental allergist:
ADD and aggression had begun. Asthma probably present, and emotional unhappiness definitely evident. Chemicals need to be watched carefully if used in house or when lawn sprays used nearby.
Interpretation by Hypnotherapist:
Please refer to the previous answers.
On one occasion, at age 3 years he drank apple juice and ate some cheese nachos. This appears to cause him to scream. He threw himself on the ground and refused to stand up. He developed glassy eyes, would not respond normally to requests and acted as if he was in a daze. He was totally out of control for about 15 minutes. Then his eyes became normal and he could not recall what he had done. His mother was in tears.
Interpretation by environmental allergist:
Apple now a definite problem, as well as possibly corn and all forms of dairy. Classical allergic response with glassy eyes and no recall of aggression
Interpretation of Hypnotherapist:
As the emotional and psychological issues become more complex with age, so do the allergies.
A well-qualified environmental medical specialist who found that he was sensitive to milk, apple, and yeast saw him. Michael was placed on an allergy extract treatments, a diet and his home was made more allergy-free and environmentally safe. He was started on nutrients. He improved greatly in every way, but only for 14 days. Then he relapsed again and had wetting accidents during both the day and night, headaches, asthma, a runny nose, eczema, poor sleep, aggression, red cheeks, dark eyes circles and glassy eyes. He had as many as seven, short violent but very intense episodes a day and on one weekend, he had about 20. He was biting, hitting, pinching and kicking. He had wiggly legs and red cheeks. He was hyperactive but exhausted. His mother was desperate and again in tears.
Final comments by environmental allergist:
There was no doubt in my mind that if she returned and had more food and other allergy testing, he would again improve. With continued avoidance of known problem items, diet, nutrition, environmental control and allergy extract therapy, there was little doubt in my in my mind that this youngster would respond well and quickly. He was so typical of the many patients that I thought I knew exactly what was needed to help him. Further testing had already been scheduled but because of the recurrence of symptoms and the cost of testing, his mother was most reluctant to return. I told her quite candidly that there might be another way but that I personally strongly doubted it would help. She might want to try hypnotherapy.
(*Footnote from Chapter 11.*) She had seen Robert O’Connor, a Certified Hypnotherapist, (Telephone:) 602 593 4006. Phoenix, AZ, www.wholeheartedenterprises.com.
You cannot believe my astonishment when she called immediately after the first one-hour visit to say that he had eaten junk food without any difficulty. Six weeks later was continuing to remain excellent and living a normal life without any allergy restrictions. Even his chronic, daily bed-wetting, so often caused by milk and apple juice, had subsided.
There are surely constant streams of newer approaches to medical problems. We must keep an open mind providing the therapy suggested is beneficial and not harmful or unsafe in any way. Physicians learn from their successes and especially from their failures. I had to learn that hypnotherapy and chiropractic techniques, such as TBM and NET, could relieve allergies, as well or better than the helpful methods I knew so well. I don’t believe that all violent children will respond well to any one method of therapy but it is encouraging to know that there are numerous choices, other than drugs, which appear to help and give hope to both violent children and their parents.
Final comments by Hypnotherapist:
My valuable experience in thirty-plus years as a practicing Hypnotherapist has led me to conclude that we must employ a new paradigm for evaluating not only allergies, but also many other afflictions that affect our physical condition and our sense of health or wholeness. With this child as with many others, I operate from a perspective that children, regardless of age, are right or successful in their selection of strategies. I will always honor their process and attempt to share with them a more encompassing and rewarding system.
Essentially, in order to get their needs met, children establish a set of conditions. In the case of allergies, I find that one of the primary needs is to be “special” – keeping in mind that those with allergies need “special” diets, “special” treatment, and “special” or “unique” attention. In fact, I believe this is a natural process in establishing who we are, as unique and highly individualized persons. Four-year-old Michael is the middle child, with an infant brother (eighteen months) and an older brother of six years. This situation would present a difficult challenge for any sibling, let alone a four-year-old.
Upon examining this child’s strategy in light of the circumstances described above, one learns that he is receiving approximately fifteen hours per week of his mother’s very “special” attention simply by having allergies. Another factor to consider is the question I posed to Michael in his interview. I asked him if having allergies made him feel powerful and special, enabling him to successfully manipulate or control the adults in his life. His response was a grinning, “Yes, but don’t tell my mother!” I reassured him that his secret was safe with me. This strategy had successfully provided Michael with a sense of being special, unique and self-empowered.
“Michael,” I ventured, “if I can find a way to get your real needs met without having to suffer from all these allergies, would you be willing to give it a try?”
“Of course! You’ll have to ask my mother — but it’s okay with me,” he added. I shared with his mother some tried and true methods on how to care for a child, particularly, how to help Michael feel “special,” “unique,” and “self-empowered.”
At this point it is important to keep in mind the child’s true agenda, which he had revealed previously. Remember also that whenever I ask children to give me the reason their mommy or daddy is bringing them to me (or to someone else, for medical or alternative treatment) they will often respond with something similar to the following – i.e., if the treatment is successful, mommy and daddy won’t have to give me so much attention and I won’t be so much of a problem. This is most often the truth and thus, it is not supportive to the child’s overall strategy to find a solution to the problem.
The procedure itself was a simple combination of hypnosis and behavior modification. I decided to use an all-powerful figure, which in Michael’s mind was a guardian angel (who, incidentally, he named.) Then we brought up the allergies individually (twenty-nine by count) and had Michael, with the help of his angel, exchange and banish each. The exchange: those substances that had been previously debilitating now made Michael healthy, strong and smart.
I was confident that the process was successful, so I suggested to Michael and his mother that they stop at McDonald’s on the way home. The food at McDonald’s contains almost every substance to which Michael had previously shown an allergic response. I must admit, the mother thought I had taken leave of my senses. I asked her to call me when she got home, and she did — with tears of both joy and disbelief. After a full meal at McDonald’s, her child had shown no signs of his previous allergies — and he was elated to be mainstreamed with the other children in his peer group. Months have passed and all is well.
End of Quote from Amazing Children by Doris Rapp, M. D., related to hypnotherapy.