Many people come and see me who complain they are having behavioural problems. That is, the emergence of behaviours over which they perceive that they have no control.
If this is you, you may have noticed these odd behaviours yourself or other people may have reported them.
This can be very frightening, disturbing or annoying for you. In the fear you can become defensive and angry, retreating into your own subjective view of the world and may become unwilling to listen to other people as you spiral down further into that dysfunctional behaviour.
As a highly trained mental health professional I assess whether these are simple behavioural problems or if they may signal the onset of some form of psychosis or enduring mental illness.
Since I am a naturopath as well as a clinical hypnotherapist, psychotherapist, medical nutritionist, and herbalist, I take a full medical history when you come to my clinic seeking help with behavioural problems and may order blood tests so that we get a full picture of what is happening with you.
Friends and relatives, while they may be concerned, loving and able to see what is happening to you, cannot be the people to advise you and help you mentally. They are not professionals and they might be too involved to have an objective point of view. They are also likely to be untrained in helping people with personality disorders.
There may be physical reasons you are having behavioural problems and if there are, I want to find them so I can help you go forward to manage those difficulties.
Perhaps you may have glandular disorders or disease, organ disorders, early signs of brain tumours, toxic poisoning or nutritional deficiencies.
If the behavioural problems are indications of psychosis, I may work with other professionals to increase the care you need to help you.
I may, as a naturopath, prescribe some herbs and advice to change your diet and lifestyle.
I think it is always better to use natural medicine techniques to see if they will help before talking about any heavy chemical medications, which can often cause unwanted side effects.
For simple behavioural problems, such as helping people to stop nail biting, hair pulling, nervous tics, Tourette’s syndrome (swearing out loud), hypnotherapy can help eliminate those behaviours very quickly.
When those behaviours are due to emotional problems, psychotherapy and hypnotherapy can help deal with them and move you forward to a restored wellness and balanced way of living. If you have problems with violence or addictions you can be successfully treated through psychotherapy and hypnosis.
Many people are over-pathologised by clinicians which often leads to them wearing those dysfunction labels of illness all their lives.
While sometimes getting a diagnosis can be empowering so you as are able to manage your situation better and get the help you need, other times labels can be overburdening. I work with clients in a very constructive, positive, solution-focused way.
If you have a personality disorder and behavioural problems you will benefit considerably from having the kinds of supportive, professional help you need.
Book your hypnotherapy appointment with Dr Tracie O’Keefe DCH by calling 02 8021 6429.
