Living so close to the motorway and a major A road, the sound of sirens are an everyday part of life. As I sat working recently, I heard a siren, which only just barely made my conscious awareness. the second one made me look up to see if I could tell where they were heading, mere curiousity now, almost a casual observer to events that were completely disconnected from me, that were happening out there, in the world beyond my immediate neighbourhood.
It was only as I notice the next siren, the 4th, 5th and 6th siren did a cold finger of dread worm its way up from my unconscious, through my body, and into my chest. I felt a clutch of fear grab at my heart, and I turned cold, as I strained to hear which direction they were headed in.
My immediate thoughts were to place all my loved ones, and friends or family, to think whether they would be on the roads or not, but it did not detract from that gut wrenching emotion that weighed heavy all the way into my chest....and only as the sirens ceased did I sense the feelings begin to subside.
This reaction, almost an abreaction, to those numerous sirens, harks back to an event barely 2 years ago when my youngest was involved in a car accident. It was close to home, and on that occasion I never heard the sirens...I was asleep. I was woken with a call and that was the beginning of my own personal nightmare, that brought death very close to my door.
Whilst the outcome for my family was a miraculous one, I can instantly be transported back to the events of that night, just by hearing multiple sirens, feeling my insides squeezed together as I imagine the potential carnage those paramedics, police and fire crews must face.
In the world of therapy, this is what is known as a Significant Emotional Event (SEE) and is an example of an extreme form, but demonstrates just how easily, we are able to experience very strong emotions from the past as though we were back there, right now.
Phobia's are a typical type of SEE that people experience, and the beauty of Cognitive Hypnotherapy is that the emotional content can almost be neutralised so that it no longer causes us such an issue. For many people, the time will come when they need to let go of the reactions that cause so much anxiety and stress for the body. By doing so they could find that things could be much calmer and more relaxed than they would have once believed.
Whilst I have had some help with this, I am happy to be reminded just how lucky we all were that awful night. But
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