Illness = What Emotion? Part 2

  Obesity is a need for security similar to nursing from the mother at infancy. Some neurosis is there as a trigger. Many times the subconscious has a body image that was imprinted at an early age due to sarcastic remarks made of one’s own body. Another prevalent cause is sexual abuse at an early age. The subconscious responds in this way - “If I add these layers no one will ever touch me like that again.” Also when we are born the first event that happens is that something is placed in our mouth. We go from the most secure comforted place we will ever know, our mother’s womb, to the most insecure we will ever feel, the moment of birth. At that moment they place something in our mouth, which is interpreted by the subconscious mind to relate to security. As children when we cry or are hungry, or tired, or want attention, our parents stick something in our mouth, food or a pacifier! No wonder we shove food in our mouths when we seek comfort or security later in life, think about it…
  Alcoholics and substance abuse cases always involve the feeling of worthlessness. It is the feeling of that person not being as good as everyone else. They drink or do drugs not to feel good, party or celebrate, but to feel “As good” as everyone else even if only for a little while. The label “Alcoholic” is a misunderstood label. When you here that term you generally think of the homeless bum who is urinating on himself and living in the street. This is not the typical alcoholic. Most alcoholics hold down good jobs, they exercise and have families. After work, they have a drink, then another drink with dinner.  Maybe they’ll have a glass of wine or two, maybe a beer while watching TV and a nightcap right before bed. This is the typical alcoholic pattern.
  Test anxiety. This is when you’ve studied pretty hard and you know the material for the upcoming test but when you sit down to take the exam your mind blanks out on you. This is always due to a fear of failure. I was working with a woman once for smoking cessation and had completed two really good sessions with her. She called back three days later and had not quit yet. I told her to think about why she thought she was still smoking. When she came in she said all she could come up with was that everyone was watching her to see if she would be able to quit. Her husband, her kids, and her parents, everyone at work kept asking how it was going. Then an idea hit me - maybe she feared she wouldn’t be able to quit with everyone watching her? I asked how she did with tests back in school and my suspicions were correct. She informed me that she “Blanked out” and didn’t do well most of the time. Test anxiety! So I regressed her on the fear of failure feeling and the initial event causing this was that while in eighth grade at a track meet she was pulled into an event she had never done before which turned out to be a relay race. One of the girls on the squad didn’t show up and they needed a fill-in. I corrected her feelings in this event, barely even mentioned smoking in the session, and she became an ex-smoker. Who would have thought, consciously thought that is, that test anxiety was the key for her to quit smoking? That subconscious mind is its own animal for sure.
  Ulcers & indigestion are usually fear-based experiences that have the people literally “Eating away at themselves.” IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome comes to mind. I discuss ulcers and high blood pressure a lot when trying to have people understand that emotions and feelings are directly related to physical problems. I think most people can relate to the fact that if you are always stressed out or on the go for an extended period of time then an ulcer or high blood pressure will likely be the result.
  What about binging? Binging on anything? Emotionally, binging equates to one thing. The problem the person is having is the same thing that comforts that person. It’s a vicious cycle. People binge on food, sex, alcohol, drugs, shopping, and gambling… Let’s say you’re trying to stop drinking but you mess up and drink to excess one night. The next day you feel really bad physically and emotionally, kicking yourself because you promised to lay off the booze! Well the booze is the thing that comforts you so you find yourself with a drink in hand once again and the cycle continues. Everyone tries to comfort him or herself, that’s just part of being a human being. If that comfort food or activity is hurting you it’s generally simple work to find out where it started and derail the program.
  This is a partial list of course, there are many other problems that people have but the ones listed here are the ones that I’ve seen many times. If you are interested in a more comprehensive listing of problems equating to feelings then I would suggest buying the book, “Heal Your Body” by Louise L. Hay. I have a copy in my office and many hypnotists use it as a reference to get insight into their upcoming sessions, I believe she also has a movie coming out on this topic.