Rapunzel In Therapy

In this life each and every one of us experiences such emotional trauma that we either numbly endure or it changes us forever. This is my account of Rapunzel after many years of being tortured, and abused by her foster mother just because she grew up to be very beautiful.

We all know the story of Rapunzel who was born to a very lonely coupe who could not have a child. The mother craved the vegetable Campanula rapunculus aka “Rampion Bell Flower” during her pregnancy, so her husband scaled the walls to the garden of a horrible witch to gain the vegetable for her.

During one of his endeavors the wicked witch found him out and threatened to have him prosecuted. She relented as long as he promised to hand over the newborn to her. The man and his wife reluctantly gave her the child and she raised her as her own, calling her Rapunzel after the vegetable Campanula rapunculus.

However, when the witch realized how beautiful Rapunzel had grown upon her twelfth birthday she locked her into a tower in the middle of the woods. While there her hair grew several feet long and the witch used to visit her every day but she never allowed Rapunzel to leave the tower.

She would call out, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair, so that I may climb thy golden stair.”

One day as a prince from a nearby province was traveling he heard Rapunzel singing and was drawn to her voice. For days he watched the wicked witch climb up the tower on Rapunzel’s hair so he figured  he would do the same once the witch had retired to her quarters.

He too began visiting Rapunzel on a daily basis bringing her pieces of silk to be woven into her hair to be used as an escape plot. He proposed marriage to Rapunzel and wanted to help her escape however, on one of the witch’s visit she realized Rapunzel had gained some weight which indicated a pregnancy.

In anger she cut off Rapunzel’s hair thus putting the kibosh on her escape plans. The witch then used Rapunzel’s severed hair to lure the prince to the tower but once he arrived and realized it was the witch he fell into a bed of rose thorns and was blinded.

The witch then cast Rapunzel into the woods to fend for herself. For many months the prince roamed the wilderness looking for Rapunzel but was unsuccessful at finding her. One day as he was traveling he heard a familiar singing voice which reminded him of Rapunzel and they were soon reunited along with the twins she had borne for him.

Rapunzel’s tears of joy fell upon the prince’s  eyes and his eyesight was returned whereas the prince’s touch on her beautiful tresses magically made her hair grow back. They returned to his kingdom and they tried to live happily ever after.

The wicked witch had been entrapped in the very tower she had imprisoned Rapunzel because the long locks of Rapunzel’s hair had accidentally slipped from her hands when the prince had fallen.

Years later, Rapunzel ended up in therapy because she was plagued with insomnia and horrible nightmares regarding the evil witch and being separated from her parents from birth.

On a daily basis she found herself crying profusely, enduring anxiety attacks and hyperventilating whenever she thought about being detained in the tower for many years.

The witch was so jealous of her beauty she tried to emaciate her self esteem and further attempted to make her appear unappealing by cutting off all her hair. The abuse and alienation Rapunzel suffered at the hands of the diabolical witch weighed greatly on her psyche and made it difficult for her to trust the prince and live happily ever after. She was terrified he would treat her in the manner the witch had done for so long.

Rapunzel had developed serious trust issues and terrible phobias. She also had a difficult time allowing her twins to grow freely because she was afraid they too would be taken from her just like she was from her parents.

Rapunzel was treated with valium and Prozac and she made the prince promise they would move from the castle and live in a normal house which didn’t resemble an isolated tower. She wanted a house with lots of doors and windows where she could freely roam and get tons of fresh air…..