Hypnotherapy & Regression Therapy
e-mail: barbara.burgess@rocketmail.com or call 01626 210330 for an appointment
Dystonia
Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder. It causes involuntary muscle contractions which lead the affected parts of the body to develop abnormal movements or postures, with or without tremor. There are differing types of Dystonia which are basically Focal Dystonia – affecting one area of the body or Generalised Dystonia – which affects the whole body. Within these there are people who suffer from more than one focal area and those whose attacks are short lived or infrequent.
Focal Dystonia usually affects people over 40, whereas children who develop it usually develop Generalised Dystonia. It can be hard to diagnose so that often people can suffer for years before diagnosis. There are estimated to be 40,000 people living with Dystonia in the UK. It’s cause is not fully understood but there seems to be a connection with an imbalance of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, in the part of the brain called the Basal Ganglia.
There is no known cure for Dystonia, but some people do seem to improve and about one person in twenty have their symptoms disappear. Treatment for Dystonia is focused on managing the disease either with drugs that relax muscles or interfere with the neurotransmitters, botulinum toxin injections in the muscles that spasm, or surgery for those who are not responding to other treatments.
Generalised Dystonia, where muscle spasms, twisting and jerking of muscles throughout the body will clearly affect the sufferers overall quality of life, but even Focal Dystonias can affect all parts of a sufferer's life. Blephoraspasm can cause the eyes to clamp tight shut without much warning, Laryngeal Dystonia can cause the voice to change, giving it a strangled quality or breathy and quiet, Oromandibular Dystonia can cause gagging when swallowing food. And all these symptoms are made worse by stress and tiredness – and of course, part of the stress is caused by the symptoms themselves and the worry about when or where they will happen, and the reactions of others to the resulting spasms.
Focal Dystonia usually affects people over 40, whereas children who develop it usually develop Generalised Dystonia. It can be hard to diagnose so that often people can suffer for years before diagnosis. There are estimated to be 40,000 people living with Dystonia in the UK. It’s cause is not fully understood but there seems to be a connection with an imbalance of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, in the part of the brain called the Basal Ganglia.
There is no known cure for Dystonia, but some people do seem to improve and about one person in twenty have their symptoms disappear. Treatment for Dystonia is focused on managing the disease either with drugs that relax muscles or interfere with the neurotransmitters, botulinum toxin injections in the muscles that spasm, or surgery for those who are not responding to other treatments.
Generalised Dystonia, where muscle spasms, twisting and jerking of muscles throughout the body will clearly affect the sufferers overall quality of life, but even Focal Dystonias can affect all parts of a sufferer's life. Blephoraspasm can cause the eyes to clamp tight shut without much warning, Laryngeal Dystonia can cause the voice to change, giving it a strangled quality or breathy and quiet, Oromandibular Dystonia can cause gagging when swallowing food. And all these symptoms are made worse by stress and tiredness – and of course, part of the stress is caused by the symptoms themselves and the worry about when or where they will happen, and the reactions of others to the resulting spasms.
Hypnotherapy & Dystonia
It has been noticed that even people with very severe symptoms can have their spasms disappear while they are involved in something. This total involvement in what they are doing is a level of trance, so trance is a useful addition to other treatments.
Hypnotherapy can help to relax the mind and body and reduce anxiety and stress, thus reducing attacks. It can help to change the way you think about other people’s reactions to the spasms which also helps to reduce the stress and anxiety. You will learn self hypnosis and relaxation techniques which can help you with ongoing management of the disease.
Hypnotherapy can help to relax the mind and body and reduce anxiety and stress, thus reducing attacks. It can help to change the way you think about other people’s reactions to the spasms which also helps to reduce the stress and anxiety. You will learn self hypnosis and relaxation techniques which can help you with ongoing management of the disease.
Regression Therapy & Dystonia
This is my story – I have suffered from Blephoraspasm for about seven years. I was diagnosed after only a few months hen luckily I had a spasm in the doctors surgery, and he knew immediately what it was (this is unusual I understand).
I was sent to a consultant and immediately started on botulinum injections, 8 every 3 months. Then 8 every 2 months. Then 12 every 2 months. I took an opportunity of redundancy. This reduced my stress levels but I was now having 16 injections every 2 months.
During my training as a Regression Therapist I was being regressed by another student. I found myself as a Romany Gypsy in WW11 Poland. I was taken to a concentration camp and experimented on, one of which seemed to be some sort of electro-convulsive treatment, where a band was put around my head, and the result, I was told afterwards, looked very much like the spasms that my face contorted into during an attack.
My Blephoraspasm has not gone completely yet, but since then, and with a bit of self hypnosis, I am having those injections every six months. For me that is a dramatic improvement – from a NHS point of view it is saving hundreds, even thousands of pounds.
I might add that until then I wasn’t aware that Romany Gypsies were put in concentration camps and gassed like the Jews.
I was sent to a consultant and immediately started on botulinum injections, 8 every 3 months. Then 8 every 2 months. Then 12 every 2 months. I took an opportunity of redundancy. This reduced my stress levels but I was now having 16 injections every 2 months.
During my training as a Regression Therapist I was being regressed by another student. I found myself as a Romany Gypsy in WW11 Poland. I was taken to a concentration camp and experimented on, one of which seemed to be some sort of electro-convulsive treatment, where a band was put around my head, and the result, I was told afterwards, looked very much like the spasms that my face contorted into during an attack.
My Blephoraspasm has not gone completely yet, but since then, and with a bit of self hypnosis, I am having those injections every six months. For me that is a dramatic improvement – from a NHS point of view it is saving hundreds, even thousands of pounds.
I might add that until then I wasn’t aware that Romany Gypsies were put in concentration camps and gassed like the Jews.
I understand what you are going through
Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.
Ovid
Ovid