77. Obsessed

PERSON: old man.
DESCRIPTION: physical blocks and obsessions; subject brought into my office by his family; no greetings, no words, extremely short steps in his walking, mouth clenched, breathing difficult and spasmodic; no answers to my questions (replies from her wife instead); rigid and "closed" since three years; neuropsychiatric therapies useless; psychotherapy useless; refusal to go out of his home; obsessive fear to be taken away by someone.
APPROACH: brutal; "[subject suddenly crying] (give me the cure! Give me the cure!). You must find it by yourself. (Let's go home! What I'm here for? Let's go home!). [I grasped his arm, moving it up and down]. (Let's go home! Stop it! Let's go home!). Shut up, and don't pester me! [Again up and down with his very rigid arm]. Calmness is unavoidable, and you must resign, willing or not willing". After half an hour I was sweaty for my muscular efforts, and he had his arm tired but still very tense. To his wife: "you see, your husband is using since the beginning a terrific strength, I'm doing an incredible effort.. by force of this, there is no power left for his movements.. when the muscles become tired, then the body trembles, and the person thinks that he is fearful" [at that point the tension in his arm collapses with my surprise]; second session: he says 'hello', walks more rapidly, and breaths more freely; maneuver to breath through the mouth: "now, slowly, I'm about to use my fingers to hold your nose and prevent the entrance of the air.. if you don't stop my hand, in order to avoid suffocation you will have to breath from your mouth [he hesitates, but doesn't stop my hand; I hold his nose, he stays some time in apnea, then makes a giant breathing in from the mouth, and breaths through it for few moments; the usual difficulty in breathing ceases suddenly]; repetition of the procedure [this time he opens his mouth by simply menacing the gesture]; instructions to his family to train him in that way; final suggestion based on his obsessive idea of being taken away: "take your wife out of your home before she find outside another man who will take her away".
RESULT: physical tension (block) decreased from 100 to 70 after the first session, from 70 to 50 after the second session ("I'm well, more well!" [not a mistake; it is 'more well' instead of 'better']); walking outside with his wife after the third session.
UPDATE (3 months): progressive improvements and reduction of drugs.

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