Think Health, Be Healthy

For more than 40 years scientists have studied the mind-body connection and the impact thoughts have on health. Although there is no definitive proof of the exact mechanisms, there is ample evidence to suggest a clear relationship between mental health and physical health. The simple conclusion is the easiest way to be healthy is to think healthy thoughts.

Every thought has an immediate impact on biochemistry. The best example of this is stress, where a physical or social threat triggers the 'fight or flight' response. This 'protection' response floods the body with adrenaline, increases heartbeat and respiration, and depresses the immune system and other vital functions. Chronic stress is a serious national health problem and the cause of more than 80% of all visits to the doctor. Thinking positive thoughts has the opposite effect. The body moves into the safety response and enters a profound state of physical and mental relaxation. It's the safety response that leads the body toward optimal function, rejuvenation and repair.

It's easy to understand the benefit of the response to physical threats. After all, you need to quickly respond when a tiger attacks. Yet thoughts that challenge our idea of who we are or our social standing trigger the same protection response. The only difference is it's the thought, or expectation of what might happen that creates the threat.

Worries are stress thoughts in disguise. Chronic worry causes the body to stay in protection mode which depresses the immune and endocrine systems. Over time the shift is biochemistry becomes the new 'normal' resulting in a chronically stressed body. A stressed-out body makes it easier to worry. The result is a mind-body stress cycle where worried thoughts create a stressed-out body, and the stressed-out body helps create worried thoughts.

Chronic stress depresses the ability to heal and eventually results in dysfunction in one of more critical areas. Long term dysfunction may lead to further physical degeneration, symptom progression and permanent damage. For example under chronic stress, the occasional nervous stomach may increase in frequency and severity until it becomes a case of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It may be that many chronic illnesses like Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia are the direct result of the mind-body stress cycle.

So how to you break the cycle? The best way is to stop it before it starts but that's often easier said than done. Usually we don't know there's a problem until symptoms appear. When they do, the first step is to reduce the impact of stress on the body. Meditation, yoga and self-hypnosis are great ways to alleviate stress. Unlike meditation and yoga, you can learn self-hypnosis in as little as 30 minutes and with a little practice can reach a deep level of physical, mental and emotional relaxation in 10 minutes or less. De-stressing the body in this way weakens the stress cycle and enables biochemistry to being moving toward its normal healthy function.

The next step is to change the thought patterns causing stress. Without a doubt the fastest way to do this is hypnotherapy. With the guidance of a skilled hypnotherapist most people change their stressful thought patterns in just a few sessions. Not only does it clear stress triggers but when used with positive affirmations, leads to healthier thought patterns which further support the return to health.

Self-hypnosis and hypnotherapy break the mind-body stress cycle. When combined with the treatment of your medical professionals they not only reduce stress' impact on the body but they help you change the thoughts that cause stress. They're two of the best tools you can use to change the way you live your life. Hypnosis and hypnotherapy help you think healthy and be healthy.