#1 Emotional Growth
One client, Perry, successfully improved his immune system through what he felt was emotional growth. Before attempting emotional healing, Perry believed that he was doing everything right to stay healthy, but his HIV was progressing. Perry stated, “I have a very healthy diet, I take my vitamins and all my medications like I’m supposed to, and I’m trying to do yoga to stay stress free. Why does my T-cell count keep dropping?”
Since it appeared that Perry was doing everything right physically, we discussed possible emotional conflicts, since he was looking for an answer in this area. Perry began to come to the conclusion that the reason for his continued decline in T-cells was his addiction to having anonymous sexual encounters and how he felt about them. Perry stated, “I know it’s not a good thing, but it’s like an addiction. I want to stop sleeping around, but I can’t.” Would you agree that Perry’s anonymous sexual encounters may have been a great source of distress?
I stated to Perry, “Identifying anonymous sexual encounters as a possible factor for emotional distress is only half the battle. Knowing you are addicted is only the first step in healing the underlying reasons for that addiction. Overcoming addiction can take time and effort.” Because Perry clearly wanted to begin to acknowledge and accept his feelings, I recommended he attend a Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous meeting. At Perry’s first meeting, he was more of an observer than a participant. But gradually Perry began to share his feelings with the group. Perry also began to share his experiences, distress, and his guilt.
After three months of this process, Perry stated, “My T-cell count has more than doubled!! It went from 150 to over 300! Those meetings are the only thing I’ve changed in the last three months! Can you believe it?” Subsequent tests showed that Perry’s T-cell count has now climbed to almost 400. However, Perry’s situation is not unique. A number of other HIV positive clients have experienced major improvements in T-cell counts through what they, like Perry, feel is solely through emotional growth.
Are you treating a client like Perry? Could he or she benefit from emotional growth?
For #2 Other Techniques for Emotional Healing go to HIV/AIDS Course
