Lately my tolerance levels have plummeted. I’ve been increasingly impatient and irritable. For months, I’ve had non-stop, low-level headaches that occasionally explode into a full-on migraine.

Following tests, doctors believe they’re stress-related, but I haven’t been free of them for more than a day or two at a time and as a result, I haven’t been the jolliest person to be around.

With no belief in reincarnation, I was sceptical about past life regression therapy to help this or, frankly, any problem.

But over a 30-minute chat, softly-spoken therapist Wissam Awad assured me I could view any ‘past life’ experience as a metaphor, conjured by my subconscious to take me to a healing place – a theory I found easier to swallow.

HOW IT WORKS

Wissam explained the theory that all emotions are a form of energy which can build up, causing us to overreact to small things and also lead to physical ailments. By revisiting ‘current’ and ‘past’ life events through hypnosis, we can diffuse the emotional energy amassed.

Lying on a comfy couch in a simple white room at ReCentre Health in Balham, I was instructed to take deep breaths as I visualised relaxation filling my body.

I was asked to remember an anger-inducing event and stay with the sense of rage as my subconscious took me back to a relevant scenario. My mind, though, went blank.

After visualising myself in an ‘energy cleansing waterfall’, we began again. This time, another angry memory popped up. Then, one after another, other painful memories from my childhood emerged.

Eventually a scene appeared that wasn’t a ‘current life’ memory; it looked like it was happening around 200 years ago. I was being accused of something I hadn’t done and was so distressed, I felt sick.

What linked each scenario was my frustration at not being heard. Under Wissam’s guidance I relived these events again, this time with my adult self  supporting my child self, feeling safe, empowered and listened to.

After two hours, I emerged feeling relaxed. What’s more, the headaches have stayed away.

THE COLD, HARD TRUTH

Give it a go: Revisiting unhappy episodes from the past (and maybe a past life) while in a safe environment felt surprisingly healing. If you can suspend your cynicism and are able to convey whatever pops into your mind, re-living painful experiences can be a powerful release, whether or not you consider the concept of ‘past lives’ absolute tosh.

High point: Even under hypnosis, being asked to think of myself in a ‘super cloak of positivity’ made me laugh.

Low point: Two hours with unhappy memories is a stretch.

Cost: £180 for 2½ hours

Contact: WissamBeWell.com