stress contributing to food intolerance

The client I saw today was recommended by a highly reputable nutritionist who has been seeing this lady for some time.  Her physical symptoms of intolerance seem to come and go and the therapist concerned wondered if stress had something to do with this, so referred her to me.

I am used to successfully dealing with anxiety of all types and manifestations; but, the journey from the client perspective is a fascinating one.  You might imagine that what I achieve could be done by any good therapist without the hypnosis - and I wouldn't disagree with that in principle.  But when hypnosis is effective, it can really speed positive change - and it is delightful for clients to start quickly experiencing benefits. 

After just one session, this lady realised that, whilst she has 'lots in her life to be thankful for' she had been putting her life on hold and spending all her time doing things she didn't really enjoy.  She is a creative person, but realised that she was spending most of her time on chores at home, caring for her elderly father and doing business accounts for her husband.  She had a long discussion with her husband after the session and they have already resolved to get involved in some joint activities (like dance) and she will also take up some other individual pursuits.

In the second session, she talked of her perfectionist nature and her growing anxiety around travel, which she used to love.  She worries about whether she will be able to find foods on the menu she can comfortably eat (given her food intolerances).  Then she listed all the other things she finds to worry about - all of them ordinary, but she has accumulated them and turned a lot of small concerns into a large worry.  Things like making sure the cats are cared for, deciding what clothes to take, making sure she remembers to take all the tablets and 'special foods' she requires...and so on.  As we talk, she begins to come up with her own  solutions.  "I focus too much on the problems and make them look bigger".  We construct a session around the planned holiday and using the power of her mind to strengthen her immune system.

I suggest, during hypnosis, that she discovers a fresh perspective and remembers the most important aspect of today's session - the one thing that will make a real difference now.  As she opens her eyes and gets up from the couch, she tells me that she realised something really important and that she has realised this for the first time.  She tells me that she realises that she is someone of value.  Brilliant.

It's far too early to see any changes in her physical symptoms, but if this were the only thing she took from our work together, I, for one, would be delighted!