By Hedy Khoo

CHRISTINE had suicidal thoughts daily until she tried hypnotherapy in 2006.

Said Christine (not her real name), 29, an English language teacher: "Hypnotherapy helped me explore the reasons behind my depression which comes from repressed thoughts, emotions and memories.

"By confronting my innermost thoughts and feelings of guilt, I learned to forgive myself."

She was plunged into depression in 1997 when her flight attendant sister was killed in a plane crash.

Christine, who was close to her sister, could not overcome her loss. In 2000, when her grandfather died, her depression got worse.

She sought help from a psychiatrist and was put on medication from 2002 to 2006.

But she stopped taking the medicine after she found she didn't feel any better.

Christine, who has a Bachelor's degree in Behavioural Science with a double major in psychology and sociology from an Australian university, had originally dismissed hypnotherapy as treatment.

But after her first session, she felt a general sense of well-being and continued with it.

"It feels like a form of guided meditation. I would describe it as a cathartic experience because I learned to confront the repressed anger I still felt over my sister's death and to resolve it," said Christine, who stopped treatment in 2007.

This article was first published in The New Paper.