Nail-biting can be a symptom of anxiety or simply a nervous habit. When it is a nervous habit, the subject is usually not aware that he is doing it. He may bite his nails when absorbed in a movie, a book, a conversation, or his own thoughts; but when it is brought to his at- tention, he can stop without any signs of upset or anxiety.
If the nail-biting is a sign of anxiety, the individual becomes tense and upset when it is brought to his attention. The anxiety is usually caused by a situation he feels incapable of handling, such as, exams in school, a new job, or problems in a relationship. When nail-biting is caused by anxiety, a replacement must be used. The replace- ment may simply be the awareness of the rewards of overcoming the nail-biting, or it may have to be a definite material replacement. Since a nail-biter is usually nervous, a more paternal induction, such as, the arm-raising test, should be used. The only disadvan- tage of the arm-raising test, in this case, is that the nails are exposed; and if the subject becomes too self-conscious about them, it will slow down the induction. A good induction that avoids this problem is the direct stare induction with a paternal patter.
Generalized suggestion to eliminate nail-biting should include re- laxation; loss of tensions, anxieties and pressures, and increased confidence and motivation to quit. It is usually very effective to have the subject visualize or imagine long, clean, attractive fingernails. Sometimes, however, the rewards of longer, clean nails are not a strong enough motivation to act as a replacement. If the subject be- gins to abreact to this suggestion, it is an indication that a stronger replacement is necessary.
If this occurs, you must take the symptomatic approach and give your client the option of a material replacement, such as, a manicure set, a nail clipper, or other incentives that will promote awareness of the nails and give him something to do in place of biting his nails. A new hobby that requires the use of the fingers or fingernails is a good replacement.
If the symptomatic approach does not work, the cause must be sought out. Probably, the most common cause is sibling resentment or a reaction to parental restrictions as a child, which has turned into a self-perpetuating form of gratification or fixation. Regression can be used to locate the cause, and can then be followed by circle ther- apy to neutralize the cause.
Insomnia
Sleeping is a habit. Insomnia, or the inability to sleep through the night, can be caused by many things. Quite often, insomnia is at- tributed to the intake of coffee or tea; hunger pains; noises; a too hot, cold, or stuffy atmosphere, etc. Belief in these causes makes them real to some people, and can actually cause insomnia. How- ever, an inability to sleep is usually caused by an overactive mind, trying to deal with present-day problems, tensions, anxieties, and pains. Just the anticipation of an exciting event that is to take place the following day, will often keep a person from sleeping the night before. But this occasional insomnia is no need for concern because it will cease by itself, once the anticipated event has been actual- ized. However, in cases where insomnia stems from emotional prob- lems, the emotional problems must be removed before sound sleep can be achieved. Fears of the past, a fear of loss of control, or a fear of death can also cause insomnia.
Often, the individual suffering from insomnia will make the usual, but unsuccessful attempts to overcome counting sheep, drinking warm milk, reading, exercising, vacationing, etc. These are tempo- rary solutions, at best. However, insomnia is one of the easiest of all hypnotic therapies, especially when it stems from tensions or over-activity of the mind. After a hypnotic session, and without any suggestions whatsoever regarding his problem, the subject will usu-
ally sleep very soundly and deeply that night because of the total bodily relaxation he experienced.
Of course, direct suggestions can also be given that the subject will sleep quickly, soundly, and deeply throughout the entire night; and when he awakens in the morning, he will be alert and active, with a feeling of well-being. A post-hypnotic suggestion should be given that, each time the subject places himself in a position to sleep and begins a count from 100 backwards to zero, long before he reaches zero, his mind will drift into a very calm state, and his sub- conscious mind will draw him into the sleep state.
Some appropriate suggestions that can be given consciously, as well as subconsciously, are:
– Concentrate on relaxing daily.
– Eliminate the thought of sleeping or not sleeping. – Pick one comfortable position and stay there until sleep
comes, since moving about in bed stimulates insomnia. – Avoid unnatural aids for sleep.
– Practice relaxing in the presence of noises or pain.
The purpose of these suggestions is to make the subject aware of how to replace old conditions and habits with new and positive ones.
Stuttering
Generally speaking, a person who stutters is a highly suggestible individual. Stuttering can be caused in such a highly suggestible person by many things, including insecurity, fear of speaking in front of a classroom as a child, domineering and overwhelming parents, identification with others who stutter, rebellion against rigid author- ity, or simply faltering because of bad pronunciation of words.
The symptomatic approach is the most effective way to work on stuttering with hypnosis. A general patter of suggestions would be:
You are relaxed. Tensions, pressures, and fears are gone. You are calm and confident, and you cannot stut-
ter or feel hesitation in your voice. Your brain and your speaking voice are in perfect harmony and timing. You speak slowly and deliberately, and even if you try now, you cannot stutter; the more you try, the more impossi- ble it becomes to stutter.
Next, tell the subject to open his eyes without awakening. Allow him to speak to you for a few minutes. As a rule, a stutterer cannot stutter while in hypnosis. This inability to stutter can be used to cre- ate an identification with a new natural state of speaking clearly. If he is able to speak without stuttering, suggest that he again close his eyes and go deeper. Begin to speak with rhythm and strong con- viction, confidence, and command:
Now you have just proven to yourself that stuttering is impossible … because you are relaxed. This relaxation becomes a permanent habit with you, and each and every day, you begin to speak slowly, deliberately, and confidently. You now know that the fear of stuttering is gone, and this new habit becomes very prominent in your mind. You strongly desire to talk effectively, slowly, and rhythmically, and when you talk this way, you are ac- tually thinking out every word and sentence that comes out of your mouth.
When the subject is in the waking state, have him concentrate on your forehead, or some other point of fascination, while he talks to you. When he does this, his attention is directed away from his stut- tering. The more he concentrates on, and becomes consciously aware of, his problem, the more he will tend to stutter; the more he concentrates on something else, the less the tendency to stutter.
A client who stutters may be encouraged to sing or to memorize a speech, since both of these foster development of rhythmic vo- calization. It is not advisable to teach a stutterer self-hypnosis, how- ever, because of his high suggestibility, and regression should be used very sparingly, if at all. Of course, always stress the impor- tance of not stuttering, and discuss the many ways in which the client’s life will improve, when he speaks freely and without hesita- tion.
A stutterer should be seen about two times a week for approxi-
mately fifteen sessions so that he receives sufficient reinforce- ment to make permanent his new confidence in his ability to speak properly.