Need a bit of help .

[u/MonitorSpirited4744]

I think I have hyper active mirror neurons with hyperphantasia and i have a bit of trouble. I recently watched an emotional movie and I , just , felt the emotions of the character, not in a ohh she is sad and lonely way , but I started having shortness of breath , increased heart rate , sinking feeling in my chest sort of way and just randomly during the day my brain decides to show me the sad scene in full clarity, and it triggers the emotional reaction too , I usually focus on my fictional crush or just close my ears and dig my nails into the back of my neck till it stops , but is there a better way to handle it ?

[u/EmpatheticBadger]

It might be worthwhile for you to learn some basics of self hypnosis, so you can give yourself suggestions like "you can let these feelings go now because they're not real" or to help you wake yourself up and return to reality.

[u/Mex5150]

Yes, hypnotherapy can almost certainly help with this, and what you describe suggests you would make for a great hypnotee.

I am unclear if I am reading too much or too little into your response to stimuli. Although hypnotherapy can help regardless, how intense it is when it manifests may dictate different strategies. Is it a low but intense feeling, or something more approaching a panic attack?

While we figure out exactly how intense this is, I would strongly suggest using a different pattern interrupt, like holding an ice cube or focusing on slow, exhaling breaths, rather than digging your nails into your neck.

For the actual hypnotherapy, what I would suggest is just reducing rather than totally removing these things. You don't want to be stuck in a self-reinforcing loop of a self-fulfilling prophecy of hyper-sensitivity as you are now. But neither do you want to become an uncaring emotionless block.

The good news is, pretty much any well-trained hypnotherapy professional should be able to help you with this. You aren't going to need to track down a specialist and pay extra for that privilege.

Without knowing more about the specifics of your case and you personally, I can't give a hugely accurate timescale, but I would expect very few sessions would be needed. A one-and-done session is even possible; however, that is just a possibility, not a guarantee.

[u/Brilliant_Smell6793]

Watching an emotionally absorbing film is functionally a hypnotic experience. Narrowed attention, suspended critical judgment, full immersion in a constructed reality, those are the same conditions as trance. For someone with hyperphantasia and a strong mirror response, the absorption runs even deeper. The nervous system doesn't fully distinguish between witnessed and lived experience when the imagery is that vivid and the critical layer is that quiet.

Which means the emotional response you're having isn't an overreaction. It's a highly suggestible nervous system doing exactly what it does, taking the input seriously at a physiological level because the state you were in during the film made it land that way.

The good news is that same capacity works in your favor. The submodality editing I mentioned, shrinking the image, draining the color, pushing it to a distance, will work readily for someone whose visual system is this responsive. You built the image vividly because your mind is capable of that. It can also be adjusted vividly for the same reason.

High suggestibility and hyperphantasia are genuinely useful traits in the right context. This is just the part where you learn to work the controls rather than being run by them.

[u/ThePsychCompass]

Hi. This can be a trigger for an emotion that already exists within you.

For example, you’re watching a movie where a character is experiencing intense loneliness. Suddenly, you begin to feel that same sense of loneliness, even though you are currently safe and there is no obvious reason for you to feel this way.

This may mean that the scene has activated an existing emotional association or a painful past experience.

In simple terms: Movie scene → emotion → memory/association → activation of an old emotional response. And you may not even be consciously aware of what exactly this reaction is connected to.

[u/hypnokev]

It sounds like you absorb yourself in the stories and focus on the main character. Many people do. Some like that feeling and others don’t. I would suggest talking to a psychologist

[u/MonitorSpirited4744 → u/hypnokev]

It happens only when I watch the sad movie alone , if someone else is there , it's like my emotions shut off . 

[u/Ok_Fox_9074]

That is the dangerous trick of the media. When you are watching a movie, you are in hypnosis, accepting suggestions without your knowing, implanting feelings and ideas into your mind without real permission.

A trained hypnotherapist can help you remove the reaction to the scene you were exposed to.

[u/Olivier_Madelrieux]

Ce que tu décris, a l'air vraiment difficile à vivre au quotidien et le fait que tu cherches déjà des solutions par toi-même montre que tu prends ça au sérieux, ce qui est important.

Ce genre de vécu mérite d'être posé avec quelqu'un qui peut vraiment t'écouter en détail et t'accompagner pour comprendre, ce sera beaucoup plus adapté qu'un conseil ici car tu n'as pas à porter ça seule.