When the Laughing Began
Photograph by s0cialanimal(cc)
A slightly familiar melody was playing in the background. Maybe it was Mozart, maybe it was some lesser known composer, but the the notes were in refrain and I was now aware of them. So was my client. He was so aware of the sound that in the middle of our weight cessation session, he actually began to hum along. I continued on as though nothing abnormal was happening. Then the giggles began (his) and that was almost the end of the session. I tried to count him back up to normal consciousness (feeling wonderful) but he was laughing too hard.
This was one of the first clients, who also was a very good friend of mine. At the time it was a devastating experience for me. My mentor had told me that if a client ever started to giggle during a session, let them laugh for a few minutes then tell them to stop, which I did - and the laughing grew worse. This was awful and it has taken years for him to appreciate the hypnosis experience.
However, in some ways it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Since it was among my first out-of-the-classroom experiences, in my mind it was an ultimate horror like running a gauntlet. But I survived. I had other clients booked so I could not just fade out of doing hypnotism. I had made a commitment to give it a go. What this session did do was prepare me (well, that and a whole lot of reading) for the notion of the “abreaction.” I had not been ready for the unexpected, but now I was.
Another friend of ours came to me, one who had been influenced by my giggling friend. She too started laughing, but this time when the laughing began, I just said, “That’s fine. Laughter is helping you to release all your tension and helping you to become more comfortable, more relaxed. Soon you find yourself feeling calm and serene. Allow the laughter to help you feel this way as it fades away into something wonderful and peaceful.” At first the laughter grew (and I thought, “Oh no.”), but then it began to have halting quality to it and very soon burled away into deep breaths. The rest of the session continued on in a more expected way and she has been a non-smoker ever since.
I mention this because as I sat down to write this morning, my partner had the radio on and it was playing that same song I mentioned in the beginning of this post. I had mostly buried that memory into my subconscious as a lesson learned. But then when I heard the familiar refrain, it vividly brought back that moment. It seemed important to share it.
Tags: Abreaction
April 29th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Did you laugh, cry or both when you heard the song - did the memory come flooding back or just fleeting - when I hear a song on the radio that brings back vivid memories that I haven’t remembered in a loooong time I sometimes get a pit in my stomach - It may or may not be a bad memory but it doesn’t matter what it is I get a pit in my stomach.
April 30th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Well, honestly, I was a little more detached in this case. It actually took me a minute or two to realize why the song was familiar and then it came to me, though at the time, I did feel a bit of electricity at the moment. Does that make sense. I probably also did a lot of faster inner talking, so rather than revivifying the experience (or reliving it), I asked myself what I learned and how did the moment affect me in a positive way - hence the post.
But I do know what you mean with certain other songs. Amazing how fast we can be teenagers again, isn’t it?