Stefanie Joanna Sowa from California made the drastic decision after a course of therapy forced her to remember disturbing memories of being sexually abused during childhood.
The 27-year-old agreed to hypnotherapy aged 23 after battling anxiety all her adult life – and wanted to know the reason why.
The sessions revealed when she was just seven she underwent hypnotherapy to help her forget being sexually abused as a child.
It was only during her second bout of therapy did she uncover a plethora of dark memories regarding the abuse.
Stefanie spiralled into depression shortly afterwards, compacted by her grandfather passing away.
She also discovered her parents had lied to her about the medication she had been taking since she was just 13 years old.
Unbeknown to Stefanie, she had actually been taking mood stabilisers for over 10 years.
Feeling she had no other option, Stefanie covered her body in lighter fluid, picked up a lighter and set herself on fire.
The flames were so fierce, her bra underwire burned through her skin.
Her sister and her sister's boyfriend watched in horror as the fire took hold, but her mother was able to extinguish the flames with a towel.
The fire had spread across her arms and chest and the last thing Stefanie remembers is her mother's soothing voice before she blacke dout.
Stefanie woke up four weeks later with 40 per cent burns and having endured 50 surgeries.
Stefanie said: "Hypnotherapy caused me to struggle with reality. I was hypnotised as a child at the age of seven to not remember violent acts of sexual abuse.
“At the age of twenty-three, I was seeing a therapist to deal with some anxiety. We decided to do hypnotherapy and ended up recovering a lot of lost memories from my childhood.
“Stunned by all of this, I stopped going into work and lost my job. Shortly after this, my grandfather died sending me into a very deep depression. He was my biggest male influence growing up.
“I became miserable and unable to concentrate in school because of the massive dose of mood stabilizers I thought I had to take.
"My grades dropped, I fell behind in school, gained weight, and would sleep seventeen-hours-a-day given the chance.
“I woke up in the ICU a month later with forty-percent of my body burned; my mum smothered the fire with a towel.
“I finally got the support I needed when I woke up in the hospital. My faith in humanity has been slowly restored by countless acts of kindness.
“It’s been a struggle with the physical pain, but my friends, family, and doctors stepped in and made the emotional part nearly painless.”
The talented make-up artists credits her doctors Dr Matthew James Reiss, who was her trauma care plastic surgeon, who performed most of her reconstructive surgery and Dr Vimal K Murphy, who saved her life after the incident.
She said: "My recovery process has been a rollercoaster of pain. As soon as one thing heals, usually before it was entirely healed, we would move onto the next,” she said.
“I’ve gone back to work multiple times before this year when I decided to just focus on healing. Giving myself time to heal was the best thing I could’ve done for myself.
“I felt very lonely in the beginning. There wasn’t much I could do except lay in bed and sleep, shower, eat, and back to bed. Cleaning my place was a task all in its own.
Now, Stefanie has built-up the confidence to share topless photos, in a bid to embrace her scars after the horrific incident.
She explained: “Time passed a lot quicker once I started getting out of the house. Tom Sky, a very talented photographer and friend of mine suggested we do a photoshoot.
“He was the only one willing to lay out at the beach with me topless. That was how I started gaining my confidence back.
“Before the burns, I lost hope in humanity. When I was in the ICU for three months I received countless cards and letters from people I’ve never met, churches in Tennessee specifically."
And Stefanie reveals the sexiest thing a woman can wear – confidence.
She said: “I went from wanting to die to fighting to live. I’ve realised that I am enough. Regardless of where I am in life and where I want to be, I’m still worthy of happiness, love, respect, and living. I can legally be topless now too.
“It gets better. If the burns are the worst thing about you, you’re doing pretty well. People care less about your looks than you probably realise.
“Confidence is the sexiest thing you can wear. Don’t let anyone tell you to cover up your scars. For every person who gets uncomfortable with you being comfortable, there are ten more who applaud you for being the change this world needs to see.
“Your body is just a vessel to carry your awesome personality. You’re just as valuable as you were before your burns, but now you’ve gained an entire community of new friends and supporters.”
How does hypnotherapy work?
According to an article in Very Well Mind, hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness and it is possible for some memories to be more easily accessible.
However, assessing whether the memories are real, or in the patient's imagination, can be difficult.
Many hypnotherapists believe even past lives can be accessed during hypnosis, but these beliefs are not supported scientifically.
Psychologist Dr Elizabeth Hartney wrote:
"Many people, both clients and therapists, believe that memory works like a video camera, recording everything that happens to us.
"They may also believe that forgotten or repressed memories can be unlocked by a technique such as hypnosis.
"In fact, many hypnotherapists go further, and believe that people can recall past lives under hypnosis.
"These beliefs are not supported by scientific fact. The nature of memory as a process of reconstruction is now well established.
"The mind is not like a video camera, it is more like a scrapbook, whereby memories are created by combining pieces of sensory experience with interpretation and fantasy."
This isn't to say that memories recovered under hypnosis are not accurate, but many believe it isn't 100 per cent reliable in determining whether some events occurred.
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