Ruth’s Anxiety

 “I couldn’t quite believe it! I tested it out. I walked home – Ambulance sirens didn’t bother me, busy traffic was on the road, and I on the pavement – no reaction. We went into a busy restaurant – no reaction – amazing!”

Ruth volunteered to work on stage with June K Spencer (co developer of Inner RePatterning™) at a Inner RePatterning™ training in London. Prior to the demonstration Ruth had been experiencing high levels of anxiety mixed with bouts of “drifting in and out of consciousness”.

Before I share Ruth’s story, in the most part in her own words, let’s briefly explain Inner RePatterning™.

Inner RePatterning™ – A Mindful, Energetic Approach Developed From EFT

• Inner RePatterning™ is a very simple technique. It was developed from EFT and inspired by the work of Eckhart Tolle.  It also uses the power of setting intentions. Inner RePatterning™ could be described as a mindful approach to therapy.

About Inner RePatterning™

• Does not require a person to understand or analyse “the problem”.
• Uses only one tapping point: the thymus point.
• Does not use the terminology, “Even though….”. It is much more informal.
• Minimises any discomfort the person may have working on issues by creating a dissociation at the beginning of the process. Many people clear “problems” without feeling any discomfort.
• Does not require finding the right words to tune into the problem.
• Works in the “now”, in that you do not have to talk about or find past events related to the current problem. Past events may emerge during the process; however we do not go into them.
• When people have complex problems they may have parts of themselves that resist healing. Inner RePatterning™ can deal with multiple parts at one and the same time.
• Like EFT, it can be used as a self help approach.
• Inner RePatterning™ has been used on a broad range of issues including autism, anger management, obsessive compulsive disorder, fear, phobias, social phobia, PTSD and weight issues to name a few.

Ruth’s Story

At age 12, Ruth had “escaped being knifed by cunning, but another person got knifed instead and ended up in a wheelchair permanently”. Many years (2002) later Ruth’s doctor described her as suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

By 2003 her issues were so severe that she was self-harming and was treated as an emergency case. Although her doctors wanted to keep her in hospital, they decided to release her because of her claustrophobia. Instead they prescribed Venlafaxine for severe depression. “Later on it became evident that something like hallucinations were occurring, leading to continuing self-harm incidents, so Trifluroperazine 1mg up to 4 times daily was prescribed”.

In 2005 Ruth began psychotherapy. “Various historical incidents were discussed and a psychotherapist summed up by saying, ‘ it sounds like you are describing a war zone, school was a war zone for you’. This was clarifying and in my mind confirmed the PTSD connection. This had been incidental from age 11.”

By the time of the Inner RePatterning™ training in London in April 2011, Ruth had been taking Venlafaxine and Trifluroperazine medication continuously for eight years.

“On leaving Devon for London I had forgotten to bring my Venlafaxine and Trifluroperazine tablets. Thankfully, I was able to go to an out-of-hours service and obtain temporary prescription. The chemist didn’t have the Trifluroperazine. Already by this time I was 2 doses down on Trifluroperazine and to find the chemist, I had a churning stomach and was flinching from traffic in London and ducking behind my (supportive) cousin, going flat against walls as Taxis dived in and out between double-decker buses weaving between like a frenetic dance (like they do in London).

I was now dreading this training course. How would I survive in a London Hotel, with all these people I didn’t know? Will I understand what anyone is saying? How can I cope? I can pretend, but will I learn anything? Will I understand? Will I show myself up? Will I be stupid? Will I have to leave and expose myself as inadequate? All these questions raced through me, over and over”. 

At the training

The result of all of this was that at the training, “I felt I had been drifting in and out of consciousness learning all day, (with a tendency to fall asleep or at least close eyes, and absorb through a distancing, on the first day. At the end of the first day, June was asking for a volunteer to demonstrate an issue to find resolution. I volunteered”.

June led me through the process, slowly and attentively, publicly to the group. I am not sure of the time it took, but maybe 25 – 40 minutes. I felt guilty taking up so much workshop time.  However, we reached a point, where no new ‘stuff/images’ were appearing. This is the signal to close the process”.

It was obvious that Ruth was feeling very different at the end of the session. It was a very gentle session.

Ruth’s Feedback

“I felt calm, upright, confident, and unafraid – all negative physical sensations had ceased. I couldn’t quite believe it! I tested it out. I walked home – Ambulance sirens didn’t bother me, busy traffic was on the road, and I on the pavement – no reaction. We went into a busy restaurant – no reaction – amazing! I was at ease talking. The oppressive London heat was OK – all so different to the night before. Next day, still no Trifluroperazine – a good day at the workshop – colleagues commented that my facial tension had gone, I was carrying myself differently. I was at ease and engaged. Paddington Station was just a busy place, not an obstacle to endure. The journey home and my 1 hour drive at the other end, I did without falling asleep. Usually I had had to pull over and take 20 minute naps to remain safe on the road at least once, sometimes twice even with the Trifluroperazine”.

The demonstration was on the 4^th of April, on the 25^th of May, Ruth made the decision to ask that Trifluroperazine be removed from her repeat prescription as she hadn’t needed it since the workshop.  [Editor’s note: Ruth made this decision on her own. At no point was it suggested to her to stop her medication. Medication decisions should always be made between a client and her physician.]

I have, for the most part, used Ruth’s own words to describe her experiences and history.

All the best,

Tania

Tania A Prince, EFT Founding Master, ABNLP Recognised NLP Trainer, Developer of Mindfulness Based Inner RePatterning™ with June K Spencer

Please Note: This article makes no claims about whether MBIR™ would help you. People can respond differently. This article was accurate at the time it was originally published which was 2012.