General considerations on regression

The regression technique is a procedure that aims to make a person reactivate memories from their past, which still goes through many obstacles to be popularized. The main one of these obstacles is the non-recognition of the spirit as an autonomous entity that governs the physical body.

Besides science there are other barriers that prevent the use of regression as a healing therapy for many ailments, the most important being religious and philosophical beliefs. However, despite the divergences, regression exists, it is possible to practice it safely, and with time it will overcome objections, like all new knowledge.

The important thing to understand is that clinical memory regression is different from past life therapy, which is a spiritual approach that requires belief in reincarnations. A fact of interest is that many times in a clinical session the memory of past lives occurs. With the reading of this article you will understand these concepts.

Regression and regressive hypnosis

Regression is the act of going back in time through memory, while regressive hypnosis is one of the means to achieve regression. It is a technique that promotes the healing of various disorders of psychic order, which were caused by traumas of past situations. See the details in the next blocks.

What is regression

It is a fact accepted by the medical-scientific community that shows major life events of negative character. They can leave painful memories that will manifest later through psychic disorders such as insomnia, phobias of various kinds, tremors and others.

Thus, regression aims to access the facts of the past that cause problems in the present. Regression can be achieved through hypnosis and meditation, but in some cases dreams are also a form of spontaneous regression.

What is regressive hypnosis

Hypnosis is a scientific method officialized by the World Health Organization (WHO) that has several purposes in the medical field. It can be used as a process to anesthetize patients, for example. The use of hypnosis as a method to access memory was called regressive hypnosis.

Thus, the regressive hypnosis is a process of guidance and suggestions in people induced to a deep relaxation, with the purpose of discovering traumas that may be generating psychic disorders. A solution to problems whose causes were not found by traditional methods.

The subconscious

The subconscious is one of the parts of the mind that psychoanalysis has divided into two. Thus, the mind would be formed by the conscious and the subconscious, the subconscious being the part that keeps the information that, although it is important, gets left behind during life.

Therefore, it is in the subconscience that anxieties, fears and other situations that people don't like to remember all the time are stored. However, this information can rise to the conscious mind in the form of psychic problems, being necessary to access the subconscience to solve them.

The nature of memory

Memory is a brain function that still holds many secrets for science. The brain has already been mapped to discover the most possible memory locations, but the functioning, the way information is stored and processed is still a great challenge.

The physical memory space in the brain is the hippocampus, and all the time new information is being stored, or information already stored is being accessed. In addition, the brain can use forgetting as part of a defense system.

The history of regression

The past life regression is as old as the spirits living on earth, according to Buddhist and Hindu traditions. The shamans of indigenous tribes also know it and achieve the trance through psychoactive plants. In Egypt, papyruses were also found that made mention of regression techniques.

In the west and already in the present time, names like Denys Kelsey and his wife Joan Grant, who was clairvoyant, are considered pioneers. Other names like Joe Keeton, Morris Netherton and Edith Fiore published their regression works as forms of therapy for various types of disorders.

Is there a difference between hypnosis and regression?

The two concepts in their basic meanings are quite different, because while hypnosis is a set of techniques that may or may not be used for therapeutic purposes, regression does not always need to be done through hypnosis. Thus, hypnosis is one of the means to achieve regression, but not the only one.

The possible events during a hypnotic regression resemble those achieved in regression by other means, such as meditation, for example, and this circumstance favors the perception that hypnosis and regression could have the same meaning.

Who can perform regression and the risks of therapy

Memory regression, hypnotically or not, is a process that can bring traumatic situations to surface, including past lives, which discourages its use in people with heart disability, for example. Continue reading to understand the risks of this procedure.

How to make an autoregression?

Regression for therapeutic purposes should always be performed by a highly qualified professional, who has the necessary experience in conducting the procedure. Inducing relaxation through dialogue or hypnosis requires the mastery of specific techniques.

Moreover, the result of a regression can bring unexpected facts that can momentarily disturb the person, and a companion at that moment is very important to take him/her out of the regression process. Therefore, memory regression is not a procedure recommended to be performed alone, even though it is possible, since it contains some risks.

Can anyone do regression therapy?

The process of hypnosis regression therapy requires that the patient believe in the potential of the therapy to cure his problem, and be willing to undergo the treatment willingly, because without these conditions he will not achieve the relaxation necessary for the success of the therapy.

Besides that, regression can cause a very strong emotional state, depending on the memories that are accessed. Therefore, special care is needed with people with heart conditions, pregnant women, and the elderly in general. Outside of these conditions, there is no impediment for the use of therapy.

What are the risks of regression therapy?

Regression therapy is already widely used to treat psychic problems in which other methods have failed. The risks inherent to this procedure are connected with the strong memories that may come to consciousness, since not even the patient knows what they will be.

These memories can cause the worsening of an already existing heart defect, so the patient's conditions should be functional before the session. Moreover, there may be an emotional disturbance upon return to full consciousness, and the professional needs to intervene by calming the patient.

The steps in the regression procedure

A regression which aims to achieve satisfactory results requires certain care, both before, during and after the session. The results achieved can be achieved by different paths which you will see as you continue reading.

The patient's interview or anamnesis

A regressive therapy session requires a previous knowledge of the patient's personal and family life, achieved through an efficient anamnesis. This data is necessary so that the professional can recognize people or facts that may arise during the session.

In addition, this information can be used to prepare questions that will be addressed during the course of the procedure. The questions and answers follow one another until a memory point is found that may be the cause of the problem.

The regression itself

The technique consists of inducing the patient into a state of deep relaxation through methods such as visualizations and specific dialogues. The relaxation will alter the patient's state of consciousness, but will not render him unconscious, since he needs to interact with the professional.

The professional will guide the whole process, directing it according to the patient's reactions. In this sense, the professional will deepen or leave aside the questions, until the memories that may have initiated the problem, which is the goal of the therapy, are accessed.

Regression with visual experiences

The regression can take different paths, since there is no way to know what kind of memories will be accessed during the process. Besides that, the effect is very strong, as if the person was living the moment again, therefore it is not just a vague memory.

So, depending on the patient the memory can occur with quick flashes or through very clear and objective images, but without other signs like sounds or aromas. In this case, the regression was able to obtain only visual experiences.

Regression with synesthetic experiences

Synesthesia is a condition in which a person obtains a secondary effect by having a sense stimulated. Thus, an object may appear in a situation in which the patient smells it, for example. Another very common example is seeing the person and smelling their perfume.

During a regressive therapy session, synesthesia can occur in several ways, and sounds frequently appear with or without an image. This is because what generated the trauma may have been the deafening noise of thunder, and not the vision of a storm, for example.

Regression with intuitive experiences

The regression process can also take a different course in which the facts are remembered, but the patient does not see or hear anything. The regression takes place through intuition, without the use of any of the five senses of material perception.

It is a curious state that reveals the complexity of the human mind, and demands the attention of the professional to notice some distortion in the patient's narrative. Although there is no visualization or sound, the sensations of the memory are revived in the memory and manifest in the body during the session.

Regression with mixed experiences

Regression where visual, sound, or experiences involving senses other than intuition occur is the most desirable, and is known as regression with mixed experiences. It is a successfully performed regression in which memories emerge rich in detail.

The richness of details of the relived memories is manifested in the sensations felt by the patient, making it easier to identify which memory affects him more intensely. Based on these sensations, the professional can concentrate the focus of the session on a more specific situation.

The analysis of the information obtained

The analysis of the information that was obtained in the session is of fundamental importance, because it is what will reveal if the objective was reached or not. Based on this information, as well as on the reactions presented by the patient, the professional will be able to suggest the need or not for other sessions.

After the end of the session itself, comes the conclusion phase and verification of results. If the trauma has been identified, the professional will guide the patient to see the situation from a different point of view, thus eliminating the cause of the problem. If not, one or more sessions may be necessary.

The benefits of regression

Memory regression is a technique with proven efficiency for the solution of many psychological disorders such as fears and phobias apparently unjustified. The evoked memories can also facilitate the change of unhealthy habits. See details in the next blocks.

Overcoming fears, phobias and traumas

The development of studies of the mind can already guarantee that many psychological disturbances do not have a physical cause, but an effect of an impact situation that generated a trauma. The great problem for psychoanalysis is to identify a specific memory that can be the cause, among so many stored in the memory.

Thus, with regression therapy it is possible to review the memories one by one, and the patient will show by his sensations when remembering, which one is the cause of the evil that afflicts him. And it is important to emphasize that once the trauma is overcome, the problem is definitely solved.

Help in changing habits

It is common to observe in adults some persistent manias, or unpleasant habits and even harmful to health. These habits may have their origin in past situations, which marked the person's mind in a deep way, since he is aware of the need to change, makes attempts in this direction, but fails.

With regression therapy it is possible to identify exactly why a person bites their nails until they bleed, for example. The objective is to make the patient stop the habit by knowing the cause that generated it. The technique can help even in cases of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

The immediate and long-term results

Treatment through regression therapy is usually very quick, varying according to the severity of the problem and the number of sessions that will be necessary. Many times, a single session is enough to locate the memory that triggers the disorder.

Besides, the patient himself usually affirms his improvement after remembering the fact that affected him since the past. It is as if the simple fact of remembering already took the weight of the negative situation that bothered him. Thus, the result besides being fast has effect for an indefinite time, because once the cause is eliminated there is no reason for the problem to return.

Promotes cleansing and overcoming negative memories

The main objective of a treatment through memory regression is to rescue a specific event, which generated a trauma associated to this fact. However, during the session other relevant facts may also emerge, which although not traumatizing can generate some discomfort.

Therefore, regression therapy, besides solving the main problem, can promote a cleaning of negative memories stored in the subconscious. This factor can make the patient become a lighter person, extroverted and well with life, characteristics that he didn't show before the treatment.

Why do the regression procedure?

The human body is subject to physical and psychic problems, the second type being the most complex to solve because it affects the mind, whose functioning is still a mystery to science. Thus, psychic disturbances are usually solved with the use of medications, which can generate even bigger problems.

Just the fact that no drugs are needed in its realization is already a super reason to opt for regression. However, there are other important factors such as the speed of the process, the cost, and some flashes of self-knowledge that can be acquired in regression sessions.

Thus, the treatment of many psychological disorders is already being done through regression, and the trend is that others will also come to this path. For that, it is only necessary that people lose the fear of facing their fears.