Mark Twain once told a sleepwalker mischievously that sleepwalking could be cured by removing a thumbtack from the bed. Although this method is harmful and unacceptable, it conforms to the principle of psychotherapy. At present, the most direct way to treat sleepwalking is aversion therapy, but the implementation is much milder. Through etiological analysis, we already know that sleepwalking is more or less a symbolic wish compensation. Sleepwalkers are awakened from their dreams by aversion therapy, which breaks the stereotype of sleepwalkers' behavior. If this subconscious behavior fails to achieve its goal, sleepwalking will gradually disappear.
A man often pointed a gun full of ammunition at his wife when he was sleepwalking. This dangerous move disturbed his life. The treatment is simple. Let the wife sleep on the outside of the bed and the husband sleep on the inside, so that when the husband gets up and sleepwalks, he will wake his wife up. At this time, the wife immediately picked up the siren and blew it into her husband's ear. The harsh siren soon woke her husband up. After only two attempts, the patient's sleepwalking was cured.
There are two key points in using aversion therapy. One is to try to wake the therapist when the patient is sleepwalking, and the other is to interrupt the patient's sleepwalking behavior in time.
2. Spiritual catharsis
From the analysis of the previous causes, we can know that sleepwalking is caused by mental depression, so what we have to do is to relieve the depression in our hearts. In fact, finding the cause of sleepwalkers is very simple. Nine times out of ten, the sleepwalker's sleepwalking behavior represents his deepest thoughts. The husband pointed the gun at his wife and used his image to vent his inner dissatisfaction in sleepwalking. If sleepwalking is caused by the hidden contradiction between husband and wife, you can refer to the self-treatment method in the first article of this book for psychological adjustment. Relieving patients' deep depression is the key to treat sleepwalking. The wife of the above-mentioned patients must have a heart-to-heart talk with her husband and try to solve the existing contradictions and conflicts.
In fact, the incidence of sleepwalking among children is quite high, and these sleepwalking are often caused by the disappearance of relatives. Parents or children's disciplinarians should give their children more warmth, care for them, help them solve some specific problems and reduce their thoughts about their loved ones. If possible, they should let their children see their relatives as soon as possible, or make a phone call or write a letter. These methods can effectively eliminate their excessive yearning for their loved ones.