Abracadabra: A Curious Thought About the Words We Live By
23 October 2026
Sometimes the difficult experience is over, but part of you is still living as though it might happen again.
You may be safe now, yet a certain tone of voice makes your body tense. A disagreement feels more frightening than it should. You apologise before you have done anything wrong, struggle to trust your own judgement or remain alert even in moments that are meant to feel peaceful.
From the outside, these reactions can look like overthinking, sensitivity, people-pleasing or a need for control. Inside, they may feel like protection.
Perhaps there was a time when staying quiet kept the peace. Anticipating somebody’s mood helped you avoid conflict. Ignoring your needs made life easier for everyone around you. Those responses may once have made sense. The difficulty comes when an old way of staying safe begins shaping a life in which you now have more choice.
RTT and hypnotherapy for emotional healing may offer a compassionate space to explore a particular belief or pattern connected with the past. The purpose is not to erase what happened or persuade you that it did not matter. It is to help you recognise that the meaning you formed then does not have to determine how you live now.
You may understand logically that your present relationship is different, yet still expect criticism or abandonment. You may know that one mistake will not ruin everything, while your body responds as though failure carries a much greater danger.
This gap between what you know and what you feel can be confusing. It often leads to self-criticism: Why am I still reacting like this? Why can I not simply let it go?
But emotional responses do not always change because we argue with them. They may be connected to beliefs formed when you had less power, perspective or support.
A child who was repeatedly criticised might conclude, I am never good enough. Someone who lived around unpredictable moods may learn, I must watch everybody carefully. A person whose feelings were dismissed may begin believing, My needs create problems.
These are not objective truths. They are interpretations shaped by experience. Yet they can continue appearing in adult life as perfectionism, difficulty setting boundaries, fear of conflict, mistrust, guilt or the habit of putting everyone else first.
Recognising the origin of a pattern is not about blaming the past for everything. It is about understanding why the reaction exists so that shame no longer has to be part of the change.
Rapid Transformational Therapy uses hypnotherapy as part of one personalised process. During hypnosis, you enter a relaxed, focused state while remaining aware, able to speak and in control.
Before any session, we talk carefully about what you are experiencing, your current wellbeing and what you would like to feel differently. Rather than attempting to “heal all trauma,” we identify one clear, present-day pattern that falls within my professional scope.
That focus might be:
During the exploratory part of RTT, we may consider experiences and emotional meanings connected with that pattern. Memory is personal and reconstructive, so the work does not treat every recalled detail as a perfect historical record. We are listening for the conclusion you formed and asking whether it still belongs in your life today.
Perhaps the old belief says, If somebody is unhappy with me, I am unsafe. Your adult understanding may recognise something different: another person can feel disappointed, and you can remain worthy, thoughtful and entitled to your own choice.
Reframing does not excuse harmful behaviour. It does not ask you to forgive before you are ready or pretend that the experience was acceptable. It helps place responsibility where it belongs and brings present-day understanding to a belief formed under very different circumstances.
The transformational work is then created around your own language, needs and desired outcome. Afterwards, you receive a bespoke recording to listen to daily for at least 21 days, reinforcing the perspective developed during your session.
People sometimes imagine emotional healing as reaching a point where the past produces no feeling at all. That expectation can become another demand placed upon you.
Meaningful change may be quieter.
You notice a familiar reaction before it completely takes over. You take time before agreeing to something you do not want. A critical comment feels uncomfortable without becoming proof that you are inadequate. You recognise that guilt has appeared, but you do not automatically obey it.
The memory may remain. What begins to change is the authority it holds over the present.
Healing can mean remembering without returning emotionally to the person you had to be then. It can mean honouring what you survived without building your identity entirely around it. Most importantly, it can mean understanding that a protective pattern is not a permanent personality trait.
You adapted. And, with the right support, you can learn another way.
When a strong but manageable reaction appears, begin with the present rather than immediately searching the past.
Look around and notice where you are. Feel the support beneath your feet or body. Name three things you can see and two sounds you can hear. Then ask yourself:
What is happening now—and what does part of me fear it means?
Perhaps a delayed reply has become I am being abandoned. A disagreement has become I have done something wrong. Someone else’s mood has become I must fix this.
You do not need to force a positive statement. Offer yourself something believable: This feeling is familiar, but I can take time before I respond. I have choices now.
This small pause cannot resolve every painful experience. It can, however, help you recognise when the past has entered the present conversation.
RTT at LifeTherapy is not offered as a treatment for PTSD, complex PTSD, severe dissociation or an active mental health crisis. These concerns require assessment and care from appropriately qualified medical or mental health professionals. The NHS lists specialist trauma therapies, including trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy and EMDR, among the treatments that may be offered for PTSD.
Please speak with your GP or current mental health professional if you experience persistent flashbacks, trauma-related nightmares, severe avoidance, dissociation, a constant sense of danger or symptoms that significantly affect daily life. You can read the NHS guidance on PTSD and its treatment.
RTT and hypnotherapy are complementary approaches. They do not replace medical care, psychiatric support or specialist trauma therapy. During your consultation, tell me about relevant diagnoses, medication and any professional care you currently receive. If you have schizophrenia, a history of psychosis or epilepsy, speak with your GP or relevant specialist before considering hypnotherapy.
If you need urgent mental health support, contact your GP or use the NHS guidance on urgent mental health help. If you or somebody else is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to A&E.
Personalised hypnosis recordings should only be listened to while resting safely—never while driving or doing anything that requires your full attention.
Perhaps you became the easy child, the good child, the peacemaker or the person who needed nothing. Maybe you learned to read every room before you entered it and carry responsibility that never truly belonged to you.
Those adaptations may have protected something important. They deserve understanding, not humiliation.
But you are no longer limited to the conclusions you formed when your choices were smaller. You can care about others without disappearing. You can protect yourself without living permanently on alert. You can respect what happened without allowing it to cast the deciding vote over every relationship, boundary and future possibility.
Emotional healing is not the removal of your history. It is the gradual return of your life to you.
I am Mariola Mirtaleb, RTT practitioner and hypnotherapist offering personalised sessions online and in person in West London. I work with adults who want to understand and change a particular belief or emotional pattern that may be connected with a difficult past experience.
Every enquiry begins with a free consultation. This gives you space to explain what you are experiencing, ask questions and consider whether RTT hypnotherapy is suitable. If your needs fall outside my scope or specialist support should come first, I will tell you openly.
You do not have to tell your whole story at once. Sometimes change begins with one pattern, one honest conversation and the realisation that what you learned to survive is not all you are allowed to become.
Book a free discovery call now and let’s start your journey together. Your path to personal growth begins here.
