I've used the techniques you're scorning. They work for me. They don't change what happened in the past. But they can change how we're reacting in the present.

If I have one of those terrible nightmares now, I can make it change while I'm still asleep. The nightmare stops. The nightmares caused me suffering in the present and the techniques taught me how to reduce present-day suffering.

I think it's fairly common for people to resist using these techniques. They seem trite and simplistic on the surface. Some people find them insulting. But nightmares and hyperventilation and stress happen in the here and now. Why resist finding ways to deal with the here and now?

For me, it made dealing with the past less stressful.