One of the top medical issues people come to me with is claustrophobia in an MRI scanner. Being clamped on a trolley and moved into a tube which bangs loudly in your ears can be a very distressing experience for some people.
If you’ve had a bad experience and the thought of having to go through that procedure again sends you into a spin, then I can help.
Using techniques such as the rewind and learning self-hypnosis to help visualise your next scan can help reduce the anxiety considerably. Mindfulness exercises are particularly helpful when waiting at the hospital.
You will need at least 4 – 6 weeks for the effects of the hypnotherapy and the learning of the tools to take hold. So please allow yourself for that time.
If you haven’t received an appointment yet, then I suggest waiting until you do before booking the hypnotherapy appointment.
MRI Claustrophobia case study
A friend of Sarah recommended me because she had overcome her fear of MRI some time ago. Her last experience of a scan had left her traumatised, and she’d already cancelled two appointments. Her health was a major worry, and this was cramming her stress bucket unnecessarily.
The other problem lay in timing. Being placed on a list whereby if someone cancelled, they expected her to drop everything and come along for the scan. This terrified her as she couldn’t prepare herself for it.
Over 6 weeks, I helped her scramble the trauma using the Rewind technique. I helped her relax by giving her my MP3 and teaching her mindfulness exercises to practice.
During the hypnotherapy, I allowed her to build her confidence in being able to cope with anything at brief notice. Her sleep improved because she wasn’t worrying about it continually.
The latter sessions focused on self-hypnosis and visualising herself entering the MRI scanner. I also encouraged her to get used to tight spaces gradually. She tried out small toilets, cupboards and even sliding under a spare bed. Each time, the space becoming smaller.
Finally, she could meet her consultant and have her scan. She felt nervous, but got through the experience with no panic.
What clients say:
Penny completely understood my fears and adjusted the sessions when I told her that certain tasks she had tried to get me to do, I really struggled with. Needless to say, I managed to get through the MRI and I was actually quite relaxed about it. Don’t think I could have done it without my sessions with Penny.