Vol. 74, March 2009- Let’s Stop Labeling People
There is this idea in the medical world that patients need to be labeled in order to be helped. What happens when a person is given a label? Generally speaking that person learns to believe that they have whatever that disorder or disease is labeled which in turn gives them a very good reason to not have to be responsible for them selves. They are the victim. You see, they are ill and that means that they can’t help doing or thinking the things they do. It is just the way it is. This is especially true for individuals who are given a mental health diagnosis or two or three or more. Being here in America, more often than not a medication or two will be prescribed in order to take care of the problem which keeps the pharmaceutical companies happy as well as those who are doing the prescribing since the patient then will need to see them on a regular basis. Of course there are some cases where a prescription is the wise choice where perhaps someone is suicidal, psychotic or is incapacitated in some fashion. However there are many fewer patients who fit these categories than all of the people who are now taking prescriptions because of their labels. For any of you who have been given one of these labels I am sure you were told that you would always be this way. You just needed to learn how to live with it. My next question would be: Where is the hope of ever being rid of the label in that case? You are lead to believe that you will always be SICK.
I work with all sorts of people who have been given all sorts of labels. In some cases the labels given would lead the allopathic world to believe that these people could never be a non-(put the label here). The interesting thing is that people create different thoughts and behaviors to deal with any limiting beliefs, negative emotions and losses. However in the majority of cases the person who has made the decision to shed the label is able to create healthier ways of being in the world and in so doing no longer fits the label given. In fact what I have found from my work is that if people are given the chance to be accepted for who they are and have the opportunity to shed the label by doing and thinking in a manner that would no longer support the label, amazingly enough they are healed and able to move on in their lives in a much more productive manner. What really needs to be done in most cases is to find out the cause for the destructive thought or behavior, clear it out, grieve any losses, do the forgiveness work necessary, while learning to set healthier boundaries in relationship to others. Guess what? All of a sudden the label is no longer pertinent in the majority of cases.
I had a client a few years ago who was anorexic. She had been in and out of special programs for her disorder and though she was no longer so thin she could have died, she was still acting out quite a few food rituals and allowing herself to be used and abused by the people who were close to her. She came to me because she wanted to be done with the anorexic food rituals.
The first thing that I told her was to think about the possibility of becoming a “non-anorexic” explaining that the way one accomplishes that is by doing the behaviors and having the thoughts of a “non-anorexic”. Her big brown eyes grew wide as she explained to me that all she was ever told was that she would forever have this eating disorder. I let her know that so far as I was concerned there was no one who was a God or Goddess who could tell her what she was able to achieve for herself and that she needed to think differently. It was at that moment that she learned that she had a choice. That choice was to either keep the label or let go of that label. Her choice was to let it be in the past where it belonged. As a result of our work together she was able to trace back to the very first time she felt forced to eat food she didn’t want when she was all of two years old. It was really at that moment that she decided that she could tell her parents how angry she was with them through controlling the food that would go into her body. The anorexia actually began to manifest when her mother had the client diet with her from the age of 11. By the age of 12 to 13 it had gotten out of hand and by the time she was 19 she looked in the mirror and saw her 95 pound skeleton upon her 5’ 9” frame and knew that if she continued she would die. It was at that point that she knew she needed to eat even if every time she did so it made her feel sick, though she really didn’t know why at the time. In fact she never felt good eating. By the time she came to see me she was 23 years old, and had enough of the whole deal. She was done having the anger toward her mother. She also was able to see that she was allowing her boyfriend to take advantage of her financially when in fact his parents were taking care of all his expenses as she was paying all her own bills which needed to be stopped. Most of she needed to learn how to love herself once again. Because the truth of the matter is that the reason that people create all sorts of problems in their lives is because they have come to the conclusion that they are not lovable or worthy.
What we in the hypnotic world understand is that the mind is the controller of the body and that includes neuro-transmitters. If you are unhappy or stressed the balance is gone. It is by doing the deep work of clearing out all the garbage that gets in the way that one can change the way the neuro=transmitters operate and with that many of the psychological problems that were there are no longer invading the person’s life – they are reborn into a happier healthier person – without the need for any label, and certainly without the need for medication. The client who I have written about wrote a very long and detailed testimonial telling her story in her own words on this website which you can find under: Carolyn S. New Haven.
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About Suzanne
Suzanne Kellner-Zinck founded Dawning Visions Hypnosis in 2002, She has become an innovator in the use of hypnotism and neuro-linguistic programming in the areas of obsessive compulsive disorders such as: eating disorders, sexual addiction and substance abuse as well as working with those with anxiety and mood disorders.
Her clients have come to work with her from across the United States and as far away as Africa to help them to finally be freed from these emotional issues that once ruled their lives. Today she is in the process of bringing her work to many more in the form of ebooks and other downloadable formats.
She is a member of American Holistic Medical Association and the American College for Advancement in Medicine.
Prior to founding Dawning Visions Hypnosis, Kellner-Zinck worked within vendor programs for the mentally ill working to help them to live up to their fullest potential. Many of her previous clients were able to move out on their own and find fulfilling work.
Kellner-Zinck is a Certified Trainer of Hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic programing through Tad James Company, Inc. and a Master Hypnotist and Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming through Advanced Neuro Dynamics. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education and political studies from Curry College.
Dawning Visions Hypnosis is teaching people that they can indeed leave their unwanted behaviors behind as they move forward to living fulfilling and joy filled lives.