Power of Perception

(I received the request to place this on my blog by my client as long as I didn't state her name. I would NEVER offer this much information otherwise but she really felt compelled that it might help others and I of course believe in the power of stories to heal.)

I was working with a 14 year old girl a few months ago who was engaging in unhealthy activities that were putting her life in danger. I asked her why, she said - rather flippantly, why not, it doesn't matter and everyone does it.

I took her into a space within herself (using NLP and hypnotherapy) where everyone DIDN'T do it. I asked her to look at how she would feel engaging in those behaviors if NO ONE ELSE DID. I watched her sit before me, horrified. She said watching herself do that showed her what she was actually doing and changed her way of seeing it. When I asked her if she could see herself engaging in those behaviors again, she said she couldn't even imagine it. It made her feel sick to think about it. She said she didn't even realize she was doing it, that it had been like she was watching someone else during those times.

Since that session, we have worked on developing her sense of self and she has let me know how becoming herself has changed her life. She also tells me stories of what her old friends are doing now and how she can't believe she ever did those things. She struggles at times with the difference, and she said one of the most dramatic changes has been that she feels like when someone says her name now, she actually hear's the call and responds whereas before, she really didn't hear it.