“It”

In the novel ‘It’ by Stephen King, there is a monster that lurks just
below the surface of the small town of Derry. It lives in the pipes
and sewers under the town. It comes out dressed as a clown and
attacks vulnerable children. It is only when a group of kids worked
up the courage to face the monster and see it in its true form that
they were able to defeat it.

What does this have to do with my hypnotherapy practice?

In the Balwyn specialist clinic I often see clients who present with
their own version of ‘It’.  ‘It’ is bad, ‘It’ makes them do things,
‘It’ just comes. ‘It’ can be things such as anxiety, depression,
addictive behaviours, bad habits, fears, or even low self-esteem.

From a clinical hypnotherapy perspective, this describes assigning an
external locus of control and nominalising the problem. That is, the
client often determines that the process of having the problem is
something which is outside of them, and takes on an existence of its
own. Sometimes clients even have names for their versions of ‘It’.

The Stephen King novel is instructive because it mirrors both the
client reality and the path to resolution:

•  ‘It’ lurks just below the surface and strikes the vulnerable. (When the client feels vulnerable is when their ‘It’ normally comes).
•   ‘It’ looks deceptively normal, but a close inspection reveals a monster. (The client comes to accept their ‘It’ as being a normal part of their lives, but are often scared to look at it too closely.)
•   Mustering appropriate resources and facing it shows ‘It’ for what it really is and allows it to be defeated. (Using resources and skills, including with the help of hypnosis, the problem process can be seen for what it is and it can be resolved.)

In clinical hypnotherapy clients can be connected to their resources
and assisted to face their ‘It’ in a comfortable way that brings their
own skills and experiences to resolve it.

So what is your ‘It’? Ask yourself these questions:

What is it really? What is it not? If it wasn’t ‘It’, what would it
be? What do you really know about ?It? that makes it not so scary?

If you need help to overcome your ‘It’, contact Resourced Leaders now.

Live Well,

Phil