Symptoms can include Feeling low, lack of self worth, tiredness, lethargy, procrastination, change in sleep pattern, feeling of pointlessness, life not worth living. In extreme cases thoughts of self harm or suicide.

Often there have been recent events that have triggered the symptoms, it may be loss of a loved one, through death, divorce or moving away, loss of status at work, not getting a promotion, children leaving home, retirement etc.

However, this is rarely the actual cause of the depression merely the trigger for its onset. As mentioned elsewhere the cause is often in early life, but has been “repressed” and , therefore, laid dormant, sometimes for many years, until it is triggered.

Hypnotherapy can help quite speedily in such cases by -

1. the client admitting there is a problem and seeking help

2. acknowledgment by the therapist that there is a problem (rather than the “pull yourself together” approach) and that it is worthy of attention.

3. regular relaxation into hypnosis during sessions and at home( using the back up programmes on CD).

4. suggestion therapy under hypnosis, often dealing with the recent triggering event

5. the use of analytical therapy to find and resolve the original event.

Success rates are high in this area of work, as the psychological mechanism at work is usually very straightforward

Hypnotism has been used to help people with problems of the mind for centuries.

Case History: One lady, a widow in her early sixties, with no living relatives was very depressed to the point where she was going to be hospitalised as unable to care for herself. A friend brought her to see me as a last resort before psychiatric hospital.

The triggering event was having a cat put to sleep, and particularly signing the form the vet required in order to carry out the procedure. Initially we had spectacular results merely by ackowledging that losing a much loved pet was like losing a member of the family and it was, therefore, reasonable to be depressed about it. Her doctor had literally told her to pull herself together, my response being well if you could you would have done so before you made an appointment to see him!

The later analysis disclosed that she had never had time to mourn for the loss of her husband, her son, her brother and her parents. There had always been someone else requiring her help.
This was particularly true when her mother died when she was young, and she had to nurse her at home, be there at her death and then take on her mother’s role in caring for the house and family.

She has changed dramatically from when I first saw her. She is now a smart lady who is getting on with enjoying a better quality of life with enthusiasm and enjoyment.