Bed Wetting

[Tranceaholic]

Hi All,

I have a new client coming to see me next week with a problem I haven't encountered before.

He a 14 yo boy who suffers from enuresis (bed wetting).

Has anyone had any experience in this area ?

Thanks for your comments

[skip]

Yes.

First assume, presuppose, the bed wetting is going to end at some point. The client certainly doesnt envision themselves bed wetting at say 18 when he is an adult or 16 when he can take on the responsibility to drive.

So then the only relevent question is when, the wetting will end.

And you can imagine that some time from now, say a couple of months, because you wouldnt expect this wetting to STOP NOW, that he will have a week of dry beds, but before that he might only have, a couple of nights in a row, and before that maybe only an occasional night. But he does know that he can have one night, at a time and then before he realizes it a week of dry beds has gone by.

AND he knows how to hold it when he is awake, and it is the same when he is asleep, and he knows when he needs to go, when he is awake, and that can be the same signal for him to wake up, and go when he is asleep.

Make the transition from stopping wetting, to HAVING DRY BEDS, and dont mention wetting again., keep all the talk centered around having dry beds and frequency of dry beds, and how to know when to wake up, if need be, to get out of bed, and go.
Remember a lot of kids wake up and go, they simply make the decision to stay in bed and go.

Then reinforce the benifits of dry beds, how proud they can be, how they can have friends over without fear of embarrassment, how they can go to other overnight functions like camp, or firends houses, or church lock-ins, and such.

skip

[TaffyE]

I'll be damned if I can remember where, but I recall an account of Erikson dealing with enuresis by talking about how the lower sphincter of the stomach knew how to allow the contents to pass through. The talk was all about other than the bladder and controlling the release of the contents
Sorry I haven't been able to find it to give more detail.

[Tranceaholic]

Yeh thanks skip, from my perspective I always expect & therefore presuppose that clients will get results & that's exactly what I tell them. I future pace their success from the moment I meet them.

And yes the focus will always be on dry beds as opposed to not bed wetting as will how confident & proud they will feel when they have dry beds & are sleeping over verses any ambarrasement that they might currently feel.

It is my view that the bed wetting is likely just a symptom & not the real or higher problem. Once we get to that we can resolve not only the bed wetting but the other associated issues that the client has.

I found out this morning that there is also a younger sibling with the same problem & that many doctors believe it to hereditary. This may point to the origin of the problem although I will be sure to keep an open mind.

Thanks TaffyE I know Erikson had many ways of persuading the subconscious.

[Unregistered]

what could be the problems causing adults (age range 24-27) to re-bed wetting again?
If you need more details on this, please ask.

[Simple Guy]

Aside from pyschogenic problems which vary, there can be a host of physical
reasons including neurological problems generated by such things as
spinal stenosis, diabetes, etc. A medical doctor should evaluate for
and treat any possible medical issues.

[Terry (existing)]

This is a problem often encoutered in children who come from a disfunctional family background, though of course it can have many other reasons also. It is always best to have a medical check before attempting hypnosis, simply because of those many reasons, which also include sleep depravation, sleep disorders, weak bladder, nerve damage etc etc......
As for adults who suffer this problem, again there can be many reasons, and a medical checkup is esential as a first step, and perhaps an inventory of sleep habits to rule out sleep apnia, leading to difficulty in waking up.

[highlandlass]

I am also about to meet a 14 year old boy suffering from bed wetting - coicidence? There aren't very many about - can you tell me if this is in Scotland?

[skip]

I suspect this occurrs in bed most often irregardless of what country they are in. :)

[Simple Guy]

Skip,

You may have modeled Groucho with your quip. It reminds me of his words from a movie. Not everyone here is old enough to know: "Last night I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I'll never know." Ah, the lighter side of eneuresis. But to digress with a little seriousness, I've found it helpful, at times, to bring a humerous reframe to clients view of their difficulties -- bedwetting, sensitively and properly handled with humor -- isn't an exception.

[JenniferB]

TaffyE...

I believe that's in "My Voice Will Go With You - The Teaching Tales of Milton H. Erikson"

Skip...

And you can imagine that some time from now, say a couple of months, because you wouldnt expect this wetting to STOP NOW, that he will have a week of dry beds, but before that he might only have, a couple of nights in a row, and before that maybe only an occasional night. But he does know that he can have one night, at a time and then before he realizes it a week of dry beds has gone by.

AND he knows how to hold it when he is awake, and it is the same when he is asleep, and he knows when he needs to go, when he is awake, and that can be the same signal for him to wake up, and go when he is asleep.
...every word has a purpose. That's truly artful. :)