Age regression is a hypnosis process used in therapy to restore a client to a younger age or different life to process forgotten experiences. It can be used to treat phobias or uncover buried memories of abuse, but success depends on a person’s susceptibility to hypnosis and vulnerability to therapist suggestions. Past life regression is controversial, with some believing it is useful and others believing it is imaginative. Age regression is not performed right away and requires follow-up counseling.
Age regression is a concept related to the ideas of hypnosis, especially as used in a therapeutic context. It is the process in hypnosis of restoring a client to a younger age, and some say sometimes a different life, in order to process experiences or material that have been forgotten by the conscious mind. There are a number of reasons why age regression might be suggested as a treatment, and there are strong arguments for and against doing so or for believing that what is remembered is really what happened.
Experienced hypnotic therapists might use age regression for several reasons. One of them is treating phobias. Understanding the origin of a phobia might be helpful in helping you conquer it, but sometimes understanding where the fear first occurred is not accessible to the conscious mind. Hypnosis is often thought to be able to access a deeper level of consciousness, where repressed memories can be found. Another reason age regression might be used is to look for buried memories of abuse, particularly if a client appears to be suffering all the hallmarks of abuse without remembering it.
In either of these circumstances, age regression may or may not be successful. First, a person must be one of those types of people who are easily hypnotized. Another thing to consider is how vulnerable a person might be to suggestions from the therapist. A therapist who believes that a client has been abused may consciously or unconsciously impart that belief to a client, and this may cause the client to produce memories that are not real.
The question of the benefits of age regression invites even more skeptics when it comes to past life regression. Many people strongly believe that this is possible and that past life memories can inform the present life. Others strongly believe that there are no past lives, and therefore what occurs in this form of hypnosis is an imaginative adventure of the client. That adventure may still be useful therapeutically, as it is a production of the mind that could be a commentary on a client’s current state of being.
Whether age regression is a scientifically based tactic or otherwise, it generally wouldn’t be something performed right away in hypnosis. Usually a person is told before it is used, except in the controversial use in treating attachment disorders in children. Most adults would know in advance to expect this.
When a person is hypnotized, the therapist would suggest that the person was of a particular age, or might ask to be taken to a specific age where a phobia or other suspected experiences might have started. It may take several sessions to gather the information of that age the therapist or client wishes to visit. In most cases, follow-up sessions would be used to discuss findings; it can be very damaging for a client to regress to trauma without proper counseling afterwards.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
