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Insomnia is a spooky experience. When night falls, all the other apartments are pitch black, but the lights come on in your apartment and you wake up wide awake.
Never before in my life have I fallen asleep so easily. It was my first time experiencing insomnia. It started with the new coronavirus infection. There was reason to be worried. I am a heart transplant patient who is susceptible to infections. I’m also single and don’t have any family nearby. When the virus was spreading like wildfire, I couldn’t stop the chatter in my head: If you get infected, you won’t survive. Then my sister contracted the virus. She was in critical condition and I was nervous for three days and nights. By the time she rounded her corner, I was completely sleepless.
My cardiologist prescribed anti-anxiety medication for a month. “You have to sleep. Your mind needs rest,” he said. After 30 nights of good sleep, I stopped taking the medication and laid down hoping for a miracle. But sleep never came.
I consulted a remote therapist. “The pandemic is affecting everyone,” he said, and prescribed 20 more nights’ worth of tranquilizers. When I stopped taking that medication, my sleep anxiety flared up again. I started to feel something strange in my head.
I trained in self-hypnosis meditation 26 years ago and have used it when searching for answers to problems, often with surprising results. Frustrated with my condition, I decided to try it to see if it would help identify the root of the problem.
What is self-hypnosis meditation?
Sigmund Freud, the “father of modern psychology,” reasoned that emotional and psychological problems such as pain, depression, and anxiety are often hidden in a conflict between the conscious and unconscious. He used psychoanalysis to bring to consciousness what existed at an unconscious or subconscious level.
In India, long before Freud, yogis were used to penetrating the unconscious mind. They knew that it is a treasure trove of all the events, memories, and emotions of our lives. My meditation teacher, Mohan Pawar, introduced me to meditation in 1996. He taught me how to hypnotize myself and recall hurtful moments, reactions, and frustrations in my life.
Many people think of hypnosis as some kind of magic trick or sideshow. However, the National Cancer Institute defines hypnosis as “a trance-like state in which a person becomes more aware of and focused on a particular thought, emotion, image, sensation, or action.” Hypnosis is a technique commonly used to relieve pain, reduce stress, and reduce anxiety. You’ll see it offered to help people quit smoking or lose weight. It also helps patients access repressed memories and trauma.
A person under hypnosis may feel calm and relaxed. They may respond more easily to suggestions. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis because ultimately you are in control of the process. No one can hypnotize you against your wishes and you are free to come out of hypnosis.
“When you concentrate, you focus on your breathing and your mind relaxes. In that state, if you surrender to your subconscious mind and ask questions, you will receive answers,” the teacher said.
How I used self-hypnosis meditation for insomnia
I lay down in savasana (corpse pose), closed my eyes, and focused on my breathing. Immediately, I began to loosen up and relax. As I meditated deeper and deeper, I felt intense concentration for a while before entering a trance state. My mind moved into a more subtle dimension where I was no longer conscious of my physical body.
In that state, I said to myself: “You keep all my memories safe. Find out the cause of my insomnia.” There was complete silence for a moment. Time passes so quickly during meditation that you never know how long it will last. I found my mind surfing and searching, as if searching on the internet. I waited respectfully.
When the answer came, I was devastated. I distinctly heard myself say: So please stop imagining or feeling anxious that you might get infected with the new coronavirus. ” When I heard those magic words, I immediately felt a sense of relief.
I suffered for 11 years. First cancer, then chemotherapy-induced heart failure. Thanks to the transplant, I was able to take a break from that miserable life. I was scared of getting sick again. On a conscious level, I couldn’t remember when that unpleasant thought had crept into my subconscious and caused my insomnia, but my unconscious mind in meditation cleverly brought it back. When I came out of hypnosis, I was at peace. Since then, I have been able to sleep better.
Viney Kerpal is a writer and former professor based in Pune, India.
The science behind hypnosis
According to the Sleep Foundation, hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness in which people become oblivious to what’s going on around them and appear to be in a type of trance. It may look like you’re asleep, but it looks like you’re “concentrating.” During hypnosis, your brain’s function changes to make you more receptive to suggestions, but you are still in control of your decisions.
Although more research is needed, research supports hypnosis as a promising treatment for insomnia. You might think that hypnosis itself puts you to sleep. it’s not. Rather, this process helps you change the thoughts and habits that prevent you from resting. It also helps maintain better sleep habits. It can be combined with cognitive behavioral therapy and other treatments. The goal is to help you sleep better after hypnotherapy, not during it.
To begin a typical session, your hypnotherapist will walk you through the process. You will then be asked to visualize images or think relaxing thoughts while your hypnotherapist teaches you how to increase your alertness and deepen your focus. Once you enter a trance state, it will give you suggestions to deal with your insomnia. You may be advised to address your sleep anxiety or adjust your sleep schedule. When it’s time for your session to end, you’ll return to a state of full alertness.
You don’t need to rely on others to hypnotize you, as you can learn this technique yourself. Self-hypnosis with video or audio recordings may help with insomnia. A recent study focused on menopausal women found that self-hypnosis helped them sleep more deeply.
Self-guided meditation and hypnosis are generally safe, but if you have experienced trauma, these techniques may be best done with a trained hypnotherapist or if you have learned the techniques under a qualified trainer. It should be done only in –-YJ Editorial Department
