Yesterday I celebrated my birthday. In the past, I have taken this day and week for a vacation. This year was different, I worked. I am grateful. I was blessed with cards, gifts, well wishes and love. However, the best gift of all is a story I wish to share.
This story began for me only a little over one week ago. My phone rang at the office and it was a mother, concerned for her young son. This child had not eaten anything solid in several years without gagging and vomiting. He had been through many different tests and doctors. Nothing physical could be found. Mom had taken him for eating therapy, it was torment for both of them. She had been referred to me by a colleague who doesn’t work with children. She wanted to know could I, would I help?
As my background was working with children long before I became a hypnotist, I have worked with children in my practice. Usually, this involves working with parents and their inner child as well. I agreed to meet with the child and the parents to determine if I could help. Mom agreed to make a long drive to my office and set aside several hours.
This young man was delightful, articulate and engaging. Mom was nervous. I spent time with each of them, together and apart. I gave mom some insights into early childhood issues. Something that is important for all parents to understand is that in a world that seems large and somewhat out of a young child’s control there are three things that can be controlled. They are:
1. Whether or not one sleeps.
2. Whether or not one poops.
3. Whether or not one eats.
We know which stand this young man had taken. We (he and I) never discussed his eating. After allowing him to tell me so many stories, I was able to spin the facts into a story all his own. A story of a magical rock that helped a young man with his same name have super powers of healing bellies. We never discussed his eating. I used a form of hypnosis known as conversational hypnosis, involving techniques of neuro-linguistic programming. Young children are so receptive to this format.
We discovered we have the same birthday. So, we decided our next visit would be one week later, on our birthday, to celebrate! He walked in smiling and anxious to share his new toy. We greeted each other with enthusiastic Happy Birthdays! He got busy with some coloring I asked him to do for me, I spoke with mom. She seemed very happy to share the news.
On the way home from my office the previous week, this young man’s belly told him he was hungry. She handed him a snack as she drove on a busy road in heavy traffic. He began to get “the look” that began the gagging and eventual vomiting. This is where things changed. He asked for his magic rock and held it to his “belly”. For the first time, she said, the gagging stopped and he was fine. He had been successful the rest of the week and took his magic rock everywhere!
We covered a few more ideas and then he and I played together. He had actually been happy to pull into the parking lot at Miss Debbie’s! He left with us wishing one another a happy birthday again. I was happy/sad to see him pull out of Miss Debbie’s parking lot. What a gift that child is.
