The following case study is just one person's experience
of af-x® Therapy. It is provided only as
an example and you are reminded that everyone experiences
this process in his or her own unique and very individual
way.
Lisa's Story
I am 17 years old. For many years I "suffered"
from what is known as clinical depression, a diagnosis that
I received from psychiatrists and doctors. From the early
days of my problem, I was prescribed antidepressants of various
types, and have been taking them, believing that they were
"controlling" this illness.
I also suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome. (O.C.D. and C.F.S.). I remember being incredibly
angry towards those adults around me, feeling as though I
was always "pushed" by people who didn't understand me and
how I felt. How could they understand when I didn't even know
how to put things into words?
During this time, I thought about suicide on many occasions.
Life seemed to be of no use, no purpose, and I didn't want
to spend the rest of my life living in the big black hole
that I seemed to exist in. I felt lost and alone.
No one knew how to help me. Of course, many people tried to
help, but for a long while I suffered alone, thinking I was
beyond help; just willing myself to die.
On more than one occasion, I attempted to take my life, never
thinking that I could find any solutions to getting any better
than just coping from day to day taking drugs and lashing
out at everyone and everything around me.
My friends and family were desperate for my recovery. Because
of my state of depression and my frequent suicidal thoughts,
my parents often wondered whether I would live to see Christmas.
I also wondered the same thing because I couldn't see any
future for me that was any better than the hell I seemed to
be living.
Endless visits to the school counselor seemed to make no difference.
I spent many months "in therapy" with a psychiatrist. Same
outcome.
Those many years of taking anti-depressants and even alternative
natural medication resulted in no answer. In fact, things
were getting steadily worse. Quite apart from my depressive
"sickness", there was a steadily increasing pressure placed
upon me to get better. Pressure that people who had no idea
of the loneliness of "me" applied. I know that they had the
best intentions, but they didn't know themselves that they
were adding incredibly to my burden.
Then my parents heard about Ian White and his work that he
called af-x therapy. My parents had no idea of how it worked
and, quite incorrectly, translated it to me as being "hypnotherapy".
This, of course, didn't help me in my expectations and I was
opposed to the idea of seeing him right from the start.
In fact, I was very skeptical about the idea. I thought it
would be yet another case of a crazy person with crazy antics,
claiming to have all the answers. For this reason, I refused
the treatment.
After months of my family pleading for me to "give it a go",
I reluctantly agreed. In honesty, that was merely to stop
the pleading and give me an excuse to say to them, "See, this
didn't work either".
I walked into his rooms making it very obvious that I didn't
want to be there and I was only there to "shut everybody up".
Of course, I was determined to de-rail anything that he was
going to try with me. As a result of my many visits to other
counselors and therapists, I was certain that I knew how to
handle him to my own ends.
But I was very surprised at his approach. Now, in hindsight,
I would say that I was pleasantly surprised. Ian was lovely
and considerate of the fact that I had been pressured to undergo
treatment. He talked about that pressure right from the outset,
and gave the impression that he knew all about how I felt
about "everybody trying to tell me what's best for me".
He made me feel very comfortable and relaxed, and told me
basically that I was the "boss". In other words, he did not
do or say anything that I was uncomfortable with, and I was
given no reason to oppose the idea of going ahead with helping
myself out of my dilemma.
I felt that he totally understood what it was like to be a
teenager who is pressured by everything in the world from
family, to school, to peer behaviour, and to have to "bend
to" the will of those external things, and asked me to start
to please myself in my feelings rather than to please others.
He was nothing like any counselor or professional person I
had ever met.
He explained the procedures of "af-x" very clearly and carefully
so that I would not feel as though I was kept in the dark
about his method of therapy. It seemed to remove any idea
that there was any "mystery" about what he had to offer. In
fact, what he said helped me believe that I had much more
power over my self than anything that any other therapists
had said before him.
This care in the explanation helped me to relax and gain the
full benefits of the treatment. Ian explained that he did
not want me to talk unless I wanted to ask a general question
about the treatment.
He explained why it was important for me not to try to put
my problems into words.
That was a great relief, because I had been trying unsuccessfully
to put my problems into words for years. The pressure of trying
to "explain" how I felt seemed to make how I felt even worse.
My rare discussions with other teenage friends about their
experiences had led me to understand that I was not alone
when it came to trying to explain un-explainable feelings.
I had always left counselors' offices wondering whether I
had really explained things in a truthful way.
His explanation made sense in a different way, but I still
(at the time) privately thought the concept was very strange,
and wondered how I could be helped without speaking about
my problems. I now understand that he was asking me to think
for myself about my own wellbeing, rather than to go along
with the usual thinking in our society about mental and emotional
issues.
After my third session I thanked Ian for his time and patience
and walked away wondering WHEN and IF I would notice any change.
In some ways, even though I had enjoyed my time in the therapy,
I still couldn't see how it could help to "say nothing" and
"take notice of my self".
I did what Ian suggested, and tried not to analyse what we
had done in the therapy. As a matter of fact, I tended to
forget that I had gone to see him.
But, about a month later I started to feel very strong; physically
and emotionally, and I decided to stop taking medication for
my depression after discussing this with my doctor. I had
depended on that medication for such a long time that there
was a part of me that seemed to be saying, "well, I'll stop
taking it and that'll prove that I can't do without it".
But, that did not happen. I started to notice that my energy
levels were gradually rising and my desire and need for sleep
was declining. I also started to notice that I had a calmer
and less aggressive approach to negative situations. My friends,
my family and my teachers all noticed and commented on this
change.
I no longer felt a need to resolve my problems with violence,
verbal or otherwise, and for the first time in my life I felt
as though I had some personal control over my ability to be,
and stay, happy. Although I did not understand how the therapy
worked, I remember on many occasions, the things that he had
said and explained "came back to me" in those moments when
I would have become depressed, or lost my temper before.
Today, eight months after my therapy, I am still not taking
any medication, I'm attending the gym three times a week,
and I seem to not react to things as I used to do – angrily.
I receive compliments all the time on how much I have improved
in all areas of my life. At times, these comments are about
changes that I think are obvious, but sometimes I am surprised
that people have noticed some of the more gentle changes to
who I am.
I feel like I have eventually found myself, and found the
person inside that I once used to be, and found the person
that I can be.
I remember how to be happy, how to laugh, how to enjoy life
and how to care about myself and others, all without making
any effort to do so. It just seems to "be there" for me now.
I can honestly say that if I had not seen Ian White and undergone
af-x therapy, that I might not be here today. Certainly I
would not be enjoying the quality of life that I now am.
I am speaking sincerely when I say that af-x therapy turned
my life around, and I cannot even begin to explain how amazing
the changes have been. I still cannot believe that this therapy
has had the effect that it has.
Lisa
|
