Spiral Swirl took in a deep breath before she spoke again.
“Okay Stacy. My voice is going to help guide you through a series of exercises to overcome your anxiety and nervousness, so I need you listen very carefully to what I say. Understand?”
“Yes.” Stacy replied in her hypnotically-sound tone of voice.
“Now then, I want you to picture in your mind that you’re standing in the middle of an open field and that there’s a pond right in front of you. Can you see it Stacy?”
“Yes I can.” The girl muttered while picturing the setting Spiral was weaving in her head.
“Good. Now, approach the edge of the pond and imagine that it is a time window of past memories and experiences you’ve been through. Throughout this session I will be asking you to think back on certain memories and when I do, you will see each one play out in the water’s reflection and that no matter what, nothing on the other side of the mirror pond can hurt you in any way. Do you understand?"
“Yes.” Stacy replied.
“Okay then. Let’s start things off with where and when you began to experience your first time acting nervous around others. I want you to think back to the first time you felt it happen and as you see what’s playing out in the pond’s reflection, describe to me the events unfolding before you.”
In Stacy’s mind, the pond began to ripple until a flashback drew into focus. As the girl watched what was happening, she said, “I see myself at the park, sitting down at a table and coloring a picture of ponies. A group of kids are playing in the distance and I begin to approach them. I’m about to ask if I can join them when I hear one of them say how ponies are childish and I immediately grow nervous. One of the kids sees me and asks me if I want to join them. I’m conflicted about whether or not to play with them, but since I went up to them and they already asked, I decide to participate. I’m having a fun time with them, but then we begin talking about interests and what we enjoy. I grow nervous about telling them about my love of ponies and tell them I like what they like. After we’re done talking, I head back to the table and grab all my stuff. I then hide it from all the other kids and head to my mom.”
“Hmm…” Spiral hummed audibly while rubbing a hoof under her chin. “From what you just described to me, it sounds like you grow nervous around other people because you fear that they’ll reject or belittle you for what you personally take an interest in. Would you say that is correct Stacy?”
“Yes.” The spellbound girl answered.
“Then listen very closely to what my voice tells you. Because I want you to picture in that same reflection instead of someone who’s too afraid to speak her mind, it’s someone who has invincible confidence within herself and her abilities. And as you picture yourself as such, you feel your own confidence growing. Confidence in what you enjoy. Your sense of self-belief, is becoming steadily stronger. Stronger than it was before and will only continue to grow stronger as you grow up. With your newfound level of sureness, you will find yourself far less concerned about how children and others judge you based on your tastes and preference. And while there are those in the world who would ridicule and talk down to you for what you treasure and prefer, it changes nothing about who you are. Always remember, the only one capable of breaking your confidence is yourself. Can you see yourself as that person in the reflection?”
“Yes.” The girl replied as old memories in the pond’s reflection were being replaced with newer ones.
“That’s good. Whenever you feel down or unsure of yourself, you can always think of those new memories and a sense of calmness will drown out those negative emotions. Now I want you to take a deep breath in and hold it in for a few seconds. 1…2…3…4…and let it out nice and slowly. As you breathe out, you find the pond’s surface changing until it returns back to a normal image of yourself staring at it.”
Spiral gave Stacy a few moments to let her words sink into play before continuing.
“Now for the next phase of this exercise. I want you to remember when you started to develop anxiety when asking others about activities you wanted to do. Like before, explain in best detail about what you see.”
The pond in Stacy’s mind rippled once again, playing out another one of the girl’s past memories.
“I see myself on a school bus with other kids on a field trip to an amusement park. The teacher is asking all of us to vote on one ride we want to go on. Some are wanting to go on bumper cars and others on the Ferris wheel. I want to go on the Merry-Go-Round, but I’m too afraid of saying so, since no one else is choosing it. I vote on the bumper cars instead. We arrive at the amusement park and the teacher then signals us get in line to wait for the bumper cars. When we do start riding, everyone is enjoying themselves and I pretend as if I’m having fun as well as to not ruin the class’s fun. After the ride is over, we move on from the rides and head over to some tables where we eat lunch, before we head back to the bus.”
Spiral thought for a moment about the memory Stacy described to her and wanted to make sure she made the right conclusion.
“So if I understand correctly, you’re too anxious to ask others about what you want to do, because you think nobody else would enjoy taking part in it?” The unicorn doctor asked.
“Yes.”
“I see. Before we move on I have another question, and think carefully about it. Is it possible that you felt this way because of how you felt too nervous to share your interest in ponies with others?”
A few seconds passed before Stacy answered, “Yes”, confirming Spiral’s theory.
“But you have no reason to feel anxious at all, because, don’t you remember Stacy? Remember that feeling confidence you experienced earlier? You can use that confidence to overcome the anxiety you felt that day and any you might face in the future. In fact, the more you listen to my voice, the more you feel encouraged to ask other kids if they want to participate in any activities you might be interested in, without coming across as overbearing. You’re encouragement comes with another feeling, a feeling of self-esteem that can help you in any given situation. You can feel that self-esteem growing more and more as your level of confidence continues to build. In fact, you don’t even remember feeling anxious from earlier, do you? If you don’t then, surely you can see yourself as someone who’s not afraid to speak her mind when it comes to sharing opinions and ideas. Can you see yourself as that person in the reflection?”
“Yes.” Maddie’s friend answered back while seeing new memories spring into fruition on the pond’s surface.
“Very good. If you ever are in a situation where you’re not sure about what to say or have something you wish to share but are too uneasy, just think of the self-esteemed you’ve discovered within yourself and you’ll be filled with encouragement and feel ready to take part in discussions. Now then, take a nice, deep breath in and hold it in for 1…2…3…4…and let it out slow and gently. As you’re breathing out, you once again find the pond’s surface changing back to a normal reflection yourself standing over it.”
Stacy’s mind absorbed Spiral’s every word and the girl soon found herself staring at herself once again.
“There’s just one last phase before we finish up Stacy. So if you’re ready, I want you to now remember back to when you started feeling as if you didn’t deserve to be happy with the time you’ve spent with Maddie. Like always, explain in detail what you see in the pond.”
“I see myself and Maddie at my house celebrating my birthday. We both are eating cake and talking about ponies. After we finish eating, I begin to open presents. I unwrap my gift from mom, which is a book about adventure and exploration. Dad’s gift is an MP3 player. Maddie then hands me her gift. As I tear off the paper wrap, I gasp when I see it is a pony doll with makeup kit. I tell Maddie how much I love her gift and hug her for it. The party ends and Maddie leaves soon after. I start playing with the present she gave me and I start crying from how much of a good friend she has been to me.”
The hypnotic doctor was piecing together what the girl just described and how it was related to her issue.
“Would you say you feel this way, because you feel like Maddie is the only one who understands you?”
“Yes.”
Stacy’s answer tugged at Maddie’s heartstrings, causing her to hug her brother tightly. Joey did his best to comfort his sister while Spiral focused on her patient.
“Have you tried making friends with other kids besides Maddie? If no, then why not?”
“No. I’m too afraid to.”
“But you don’t have to be afraid. If you want to know why, then listen to what I’m about to tell you, as it’ll help you. Do you remember the confidence and self-esteem you discovered within yourself earlier? I want you to think back to those positive feelings. You can feel how both of them are building up within you once again, but stronger than ever. As they do, you begin to notice yourself filling up with a newborn sense of determination. A determination to make friends and break free of your shy nature. Every passing second you’re determination becomes fiercer and you forget why you didn’t want to make friends in the first place. Now then, can you see yourself as someone who’s ready to go out into the world and establish connections with new companions?
“Yes.” Stacy said viewing herself in the pond as someone who was no longer a scaredy-cat, but as a person who was willing to open up and start anew with finding other kids to have fun with.
“Excellent. If you’re ever in doubt, just think back to this moment and your determination will be just as fierce as it was before. You’re determination and that alone is enough to help you to strive in finding others to share ideas or play with. Never forget that it’s never too late to start looking for friends. Now take a deep breath in. Hold it in for 1…2…3…4…and let it out slowly. While you breathe out, you find the pond’s surface turning back to its normal state.
As ordered, the girl could see her new memory vanishing away and the reflection of herself returning.
“Now this next part is very important so listen very carefully Stacy. I want you to take a moment and let your mind play back, in order, each moment you saw of yourself with the characteristics you developed during the phases in the pond’s reflection. As you do, I want you to repeat to yourself over and over the words, ‘Confidence, self-esteem, determination.’ Each one you say only strengthens said characteristic within yourself more and more.”
Obeying the command, Stacy saw the pond rippling until the new memories from each phase played out. As she watched, she said aloud, “Confidence, self-esteem, determination, confidence, self-esteem, determination, confidence, self-esteem, determination.”
“You stop saying the words out loud now Stacy, but let them continue to bounce through your head. And as they do, you find yourself being filled with a fourth feeling. One that binds confidence, self-esteem, and determination together. Happiness. You find that whenever you think about any of the situations playing out in the pond’s reflection, a sense of happiness will drown out any negativity. Do you understand everything I’ve told you throughout this session Stacy?”
“Yes.” Stacy answered.
“I’m glad and you’ll be glad when we’re done. But right now, I want you to take a nice deep breath in and hold it for 1…2…3…4…and let it out nice and slow. As you breathe out, you slowly begin to see everything around you fading. The pond, the forest, everything until nothing else remains except the sound of my voice. Now then, in a moment, I’m going to count from one up to three and when I reach three, you will wake up from this trance feeling refreshed and well rested. Everything that we did in this session you will be able to recall at any given time and the feelings of confidence, self-esteem, determination, and happiness will stick with you whenever you want them to. Understand Stacy?”
“Yes.” Stacy replied with her mind taking in all the information.
“Then on the count of three. 1…2…3…Awaken!”