Relax Your Ailments Away . . .

When we feel threatened by an event in the future, we often fall ill. It is a way of avoiding having to deal with the event. You may have noticed yourself feeling a headache coming on before you have to go into a difficult meeting. The greater the fear of the coming event, the more severe the symptoms can be. In extreme circumstances, such as overwhelming pain or emotional trauma, you can actually pass out - faint. When the body senses it cannot cope at all, the nervous system will make sure the body is put out of action for a while.

We are also influenced by past events. A traumatic experience, severe shock, or catastrophic event, especially (but not limited to) one or two years beforehand, together with feeling of guilt, fear, and grief, has been known to precede the occurrence of cancer or cardiovascular malady (blood pressure, heart disease, etc.). Whatever we have not emotionally come to grips with manifests itself physically and mentally until we have dealt with the problem. Depression is common in such a state of mind.

The mind can make us ill, but it can also heal. For example, a sympathetic doctor prescribes some pills that he assures you are very effective and will help you quickly. You feel better already as you leave his office because you expect to get well soon. Your mind has already initiated the healing process. Every time you take a tablet, you think, if only subconsciously, of your doctor’s words that these tablets are very effective. Many studies have shown that the placebic effect can be very powerful.

This is but one example showing how people can get better because they expect it. We all have this great power of belief in us. Whatever we think about with conviction will come true, whether it is good or bad.

Make sure you know what is going on in your conscious mind because that is the only way you can control what is going on in your subconscious mind. If you don’t run your subconscious mind, it will run you, and you may become burdened with things you don’t want.

My site on Conquering Stress provides a free video with an exercise specifically designed to relax you mentally and physically. A calm mind and body is a pre-condition for speedy recovery because when your body is relaxed, cellular tension is reduced. The reduced level of tension promotes a decrease in pain and inflammation and an acceleration of tissue regeneration. It also aids the neurons (brain and nerve cells) in releasing chemicals that fight depression, such as serotonin.

First of all, decide for yourself where your preferred place of retreat should be. Your sanctuary should be somewhere, real or imagined, where you can feel calm and relaxed. This may be a tropical island, a den in the woods, a cosy room, or a garden — it really does not matter, as long as it is simple, descriptive, and restful.

When you have done that, turn on the video and do the exercise with me. If you do it regularly, you will begin to notice a real change in your life. I really believe that.