This subject probably includes more problems, more pain, more dysfunction, more misunderstanding and more emotional turmoil and trauma than any other. Psychosomatic is a term made from two Greek words: psyche – the mind and soma – the body. It is used to refer to matters where general medicine has reached the end of its range in attempts to cure. Perhaps it should be used a lot more but that is another discussion.

Hypnosis and hypnotherapy are thought by many, particularly in the medical profession, to be unproven and dangerous; well, think about the drugs prescribed by G.P.s. One G.P., with a dispensing business as part of the practice can get through two and a half thousand pounds worth of drugs a day. That is about two thirds of a million pounds a year; a percentage of that would make anybody wary of competition.

Everybody goes through hypnosis, on their own and quite naturally, about a thousand times a year. It is the twilight zone between being awake and being asleep. It is certainly more natural than taking drugs. Evidence shows that hypnosis has been used in healing for about thirty thousand years. It is not something new or unproven. It is not addictive, has no side effects, is not toxic and is not part of a multi-billion pound industry.

Generally, an issue will be labelled psychosomatic when the medical profession can’t or no longer can suppress the symptoms. This is because the cause is in the subconscious – giving symptoms in the body or the conscious mind. To understand how this can happen, firstly it will be helpful if you can imagine your mind as being partly the conscious and partly the subconscious. Next, try to understand that the subconscious is far, far the bigger part and everything in the subconscious is unknown to the conscious – otherwise you would be conscious of or aware of various things.

The subconscious has its job to do, running your character, your personality and running your emotions as well as much more. Your subconscious will protect you from anything that is overwhelming by bottling it up and hiding it away. This sort of thing usually happens during childhood; as a child you may not have made very mature judgements about things or may not have completely understood different things. Nonetheless, whatever something meant to you on the day it happened as a child, that is the value that it had when it was saved – the day it became part of your character, whether bottled up or open. If something with a high emotional value was bottled up, it will have had an effect on you ever since. That effect may have taken a few years to show but when it did, it is no surprise that drugs were not the answer.

So, what is the answer and how will it work? Analytical hypnotherapy works because the subconscious relaxes, as well as the body, when someone is guided into hypnosis (which is purely deep relaxation). With the subconscious relaxed and the door held open, the subconscious will unload all the stuff it has been keeping in; stuff it has been keeping in which it has no need to keep in. It will unload all of this by itself, naturally, thoroughly and safely. Among what is unloaded will be the cause of your problem – with the cause no longer present, the problem (the symptom) can no longer exist and you are free. Do you see how this works and how it is better than trying to treat the symptom, while ignoring the cause? With the cause no longer present, the problem (the symptom) can no longer exist and you are free.

Sometimes, to understand how relatively easy it can be to overcome a problem that has tormented you for years can be overwhelming. Imagine beating against the door of a prison cell – it won’t open but take the key and slip it into the lock…