[I felt] intrigued and curious; open to the [hypnosis] experience.
Compulsive nail biting that had evolved into head scratch.
I was a nail biter since childhood. Bit my nails down to the skin (would bite a piece, peel the nail down to the nail bed, then bit it off which created a little hole. Then I bit from the bottom up). Super disgusting, right? Over time I got control over the compulsion (frequent manicures, self-control, etc.). During a stressful time in my life I found myself scratching my head. I wasn’t biting my nails anymore but I would have a little itch on my scalp, scratch it, get a tiny scab, scratch it off, over and over and over again. I realized that it was essentially the same habit manifesting in a new way. And it was/is an anti-social and self-destructive habit that I wanted to break. I was very receptive to hypnosis. I was very open and wanted [hypnosis] to work so I didn’t resist even though it was weird and a little scary to give up control. The experience was relaxing and invigorating. And I stopped head scratching immediately. Just lost the urge. It wasn’t like I had to “try” to control the impulse, it just wasn’t there. Amazing. This last about 4 months. (Here’s the bad part but you don’t have to talk about this in the book.) When I started to regress I called the woman I worked with and she had left Grace’s office and then Grace left Grace’s NY office. So, I didn’t go back and the habit reemerged. And that’s my story. A semi-success story.
