Phobias, Disappointments and Grief: A Fast Remedy

I continued work at this therapeutic stage:

“Try to guide the feeling of calmness deeper into your body.”

“It feels like stepping into a hot bath on a cold winter day.”

“Where are your sensations right now?”

I was trying to focus the attention of the patient to his internal processes.

“My legs are filling in,” Yuri said after a long pause, which was the evidence that he had been observing. “There’s a light feeling, as if everything is coming out.”

“How much of it has already left your body?”

“A lot.”

“What is left in your chest instead of that previous sensation?”

“A pebble, an egg.”

I asked him to show where exactly that pebble was. He pointed to the chest between the nipples, a little bit lower.

The fact that it is the sensation in the chest points to anxiety that has been there for a long time.

Worry usually takes up the forehead, anxiety goes straight to the chest, and fear is in the stomach.

The cold is going away

“Observe what is happening next,” I continued.

“The pebble is melting, and the sensations are moving down. They are filling half of my stomach.”

“What is left instead of that pebble?”

“Jelly,” Yuri said. “Again it feels like stepping into a bath. It’s all going away in a very pleasant way.”

“How is it leaving you?”

“It feels like cold coming out of me,” the patient said.

Some time passes.

“That’s it!” – he said with a sigh. “It feels like there’s nothing left.”

“Let yourself see how you can live your days and nights when you are calm and free.”

Fig. 11. Psychological deterioration and the consequences of alcohol involvement.

Visible signs of the former psychological deterioration (limbs drawn as triangles) and the consequences of alcohol involvement (a head with some elements drawn into it). However, a round head and a rectangular body signal the improvement of the psychological state of the patient with subsequent relaxation.

A normal head

Having completed this part of work, Yuri made another drawing. This time it had a rectangular body and a round head, which is more consistent with a better psychological state.

I scheduled follow-up sessions within the next four weeks. However, the patient didn’t need any additional work with his war-time emotions. After the first session Yuri noted that everything fell back into place. His sleep had improved, and during the day Yuri had become calmer. I started introducing the idea that there was no need in spoiling Yuri’s current calmer state with alcohol:

“There’s no need for that. Every cell is filled with sobriety and tranquillity.”

I was saying these words and saw Yuri’s positive response.

Our follow-up sessions confirmed both normal sleeping patterns and good mood. In a month Yuri said he had some alcohol at his friend’s funeral but not much.

Our work consisted of three stages. Long-term anxiety and anger were concentrated in the chest of the patient. This tension was spreading with warmth and leaving the body as coldness. This coldness must have been absorbed by the skin, and that is why it was leaving the body in the same way, then the tension successfully “evaporated”.