Exploring emotion through hypnotherapy
Colour, the range of visible light that our eyes can see, is a profound metaphor for the complexity of your emotional landscape. From the warm hues of joy and contentment to the cool shades of sadness and fear, each emotion contributes to the intricate palette of your inner world.
There are colours beyond the visible spectrum of light and emotions that sit outside individual understanding. Humans cannot see ultraviolet or infrared light without special equipment, and due to societal conditioning, there are emotional nuances that we try to hide from our conscious awareness in the same way. Emotions that we try to shove back down or override with a smiley face.
You’ll never see black, white, or grey in the rainbow, and you may try your hardest to put some emotions neatly into the same category. However, emotions are not black, white, or grey. They are an important part of your human experience.
Like every colour on the spectrum, your feelings are valid, without them your human experience sits in black or white. Scientifically, black and white are not colours. White light contains all visible wavelengths of light, while black is the absence of light. From this perspective, black is the absence of colour, and white is the presence of all colours combined. However, without black and white, the world of colour would lose its depth, contrast, and richness. Colours would lack definition and clarity, and our understanding of visual experiences would change significantly.
Black, akin to the absence of light, symbolises the void of feeling – the depths of depression or numbness where emotions seem to vanish into darkness. On the other hand, white, like the fusion of all colours, embodies the overwhelming chaos of emotions – the swirl of conflicting feelings that cloud your judgment and leave you feeling lost in a sea of uncertainty. Just as black and white are not colours, these states sit outside emotion as extremities that cloud everyday experiences.
Societal conditioning often prompts us to conceal or suppress certain emotions, encouraging us to step into a brighter space, but indirectly sending us into the black zone. Denying the full spectrum of your emotions only perpetuates the cycle of internal conflict and disconnection. By embracing the entirety of your emotional palette, including the uncomfortable, you open yourself to a deeper understanding of yourself and the world around you.
The role of hypnotherapy in allowing you to express emotions
Hypnotherapy offers a sanctuary amidst the rainbow of emotion, providing a safe space to sit with feelings, explore their depths, and uncover their true meanings. Your hypnotherapist will hold space for you to feel your emotions. Feelings that might seem so big and so powerful, they’ll stay forever. In the therapy room, you can safely confront the feelings, learn about the shadows that lurk beneath and leave with greater self-knowledge.
Your hypnotherapist will encourage you to feel rather than fit the confines of societal conditioning that urges you to conceal or suppress certain emotions. You have the opportunity to delve into the full spectrum of your being. Unlike the absence of light represented by black or the overwhelming fusion of all colours embodied by white, hypnotherapy will help you feel empowered enough to navigate your emotional spectrum with courage and clarity.
Hypnotherapy on a journey of self-discovery will help you move out of the darkness of no emotion or the chaos of conflicting emotions towards the light of understanding and acceptance.
By embracing the entirety of your emotional palette, including the discomfort and uncertainty that accompany it, you can emerge from the shadows into a brighter, more vibrant existence.
Ultimately, therapy – whether hypnotherapy or not – will help you embrace the complexity of your emotions, and honour their validity and significance. You’ll find healing and wholeness, but also the freedom to live authentically and fully.