I have a client coming in a couple of weeks who has outbreaks of hives. She has been to several doctors, none of whom have found a cause. She only has a breakout when she is out of the house, most of the time. Almost like Agoraphobia, except she isn’t afraid to leave the house. Any suggestions of how might be the best way to handle this? – Itchin’ for Answers
Dear Itchin for Answers,
The skin is our most direct contact with our environment. It is a physical boundary. Hives is the body’s way of responding to a perceived threat by releasing histamine. The question is – what’s triggering this response?
The doctor is saying it’s stress-induced. I would leverage the doctor’s authority to reframe what “stress” really is. Most people think of stress as coming from outside of them. Sometimes it is. But in the majority of cases, stress is a build-up on internal pressure resulting from unresolved feelings from the past.
The first thing I would ask the client is – What do YOU think is generating the stress? Don’t play a guessing game – let her do the work. If she says, “I don’t know” just respond with “I know you don’t know . . . if you DID know, what might it be?”
Remember, her subconscious mind knows what the REAL problem is. Give it a chance to speak! Often the words will just pop out of the client’s mouth while you’re conversing. So pay attention!
Back to your client . . . She only has a breakout when she is out of the house? I would find out when the symptoms first started.This will give you the Symptom Producing Event (SPE).
- Where was she when the first outbreak occurred?
- What was happening?
- What emotions were present?
The Symptom Producing Event is not the causal event (ISE).
The SPE is the event where the symptoms first came to conscious awareness. Once you have identified the SPE, you can induce hypnosis, guide the client back into that event, review what happened, and use it to bring up the emotion. This will save you session time by giving you a Bridge back to the Initial Sensitizing Event (ISE) where you can identify the internal conflict responsible for generating the symptoms.
According to German New Medicine, a skin issue reflects a “separation conflict”. The unmet need being communicated by the symptoms is either “come here” or a “go away”.
If the rash shows up on the exterior areas of the body, i.e., outside of arms, legs, it’s a need for space. This is the body’s natural “go away” response.
If it’s showing up on the inside of the arms and legs, it’s a need for intimacy. The body is saying, “come here”, “hold me”.
These are things you can watch for during the regression. Also, make note of WHO is associated with this response. Subconsciously, that person may be being held responsible for a hurt! To resolve the problem for good, that underlying grievance needs to be resolved and forgiven.
To get a complete healing:
- Identify all the aspects associated with the event. e.g., what happened, things said, things done (or not said/done)
- Identify all the thoughts and feelings associated with the person being held responsible. e.g., fear, anger, hurt
- Release all the painful perceptions, thoughts and feelings. Then, test with forgiveness.
Forgiveness is the healing.
Where there's hurt, there's always love. When a client's issue involves "somebody else", forgiveness is path to healing.
When the client can mentally look at the person who hurt them (by what they did or failed to do) and can honestly say, “I forgive you”, dramatic change will begin to occur. But this is important – if there’s the slightest hesitation, if they’re just saying the words, you’re not done. There’s still something calling for resolution.
Forgiveness is not merely words. It's the feeling that comes when the person lets go of the problem! So, be vigilant when it comes to doing the releasing work. When the issue has been completely released, forgiveness will happen very easily.
