Emotional Prisoner

I have often had people, after a session, wrestle with feelings of disbelief after releasing an emotion that they have had struggled with for years.  I tell them that the most important thing that can be done after the release is to move forward.  The emotions and behaviors were created in the mind.  They are released in the mind.  And if we are not careful, we can bring the emotions and behaviors back using the mind.  

Someone who has struggled with anger, grief, fear, or any other negative emotion is effectively a prisoner in their own mind.  They have been locked up, wrists and ankles fastened with chains made of that emotion, often for years.  Sometimes unlocking those chains is as simple as finding the right key.  In hypnotherapy, this is often done by finding the source of the emotion, the initial sensitizing event or memory.  Once we do the work to turn the key and confront the emotion, the lock clicks and the chains fall off.  The prisoner is able to look forward in their life to what things will look like out of bondage.  They are often excited and can begin making plans.  

But what happens when the prisoner starts having thoughts that say “This is too good to be true”?  “This is all I’ve known.  I won’t be able to function without my chains.”  The prisoner may easily slump back down and resume their life of bondage.  Chains are easily placed back on a person behaving like they ought to be chained.  They then move through life as if the key was never turned and the chains were never removed.  

But, if the prisoner rejoices in their freedom and moves forward in life with hope, excitement, and peace, it is a lot harder to get them back in chains.  They will fight actively against the feelings that put them in chains in the first place.  They will replace that emotion with more productive ones. Now they are aware of where those chains lead, and they do not want to be that prisoner any more.  

So when a session is finished and you say to yourself that that emotion is gone, believe yourself.  If you find yourself having doubts, go back, in your mind, to the session and reaffirm to yourself what you experienced.  It is gone, the chains are loosed, and you are free to move forward without that weight pulling you down.  Any limitations in that area, going forward, are set by yourself.  You are the master of your own mind.  Do not look back with uncertainty, questioning  if you can or should be released from this burden, or if you can move forward unburdened.  You have turned the key and unlocked your chains.  Be who you want to be now that you are free from anger, fear, grief, or stress.