Join Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht, author of "Beyond Disorderly Eating: The Truth About Sugar & Bingeing & How to Stop It", as she shares her professional & personal experiences in helping the millions of individuals who are eating & drinking themselves sick.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Meeting Your Unbalanced Self
Let me begin by saying that you are not your emotions, nor are you your unbalanced Self, but indeed, an unbalanced Self does exist in all of us. It's OK. You are not alone in this, no matter what others have told you. Here's the good news. The sooner you accept this part, the easier it will be to move towards balance. Notice that I didn't say "the sooner you will be in balance", because we are "emotionally fluid", moving back & forth between the two positions. As your awareness heightens, you will become more emotionally stable & be able to practice behaviors that will enhance your health & performance.
In my new book, "How Many Cookies Will It Take to Make Me Happy?", we are working inside imagery, practicing original Interactive Self-Hypnosis. The written word is similar to the spoken word & so here we are practicing "talking or reading hypnosis." There is nothing special you have to do, other than to read like you would any other book, allowing your own subconscious mind to form the images it chooses, already knowing that you are looking to make some important & perhaps life-saving Lifestyle Changes. This blog/workshop is an introduction to my book & if you are a new reader, you might like to catch up by reading some of the earlier posts. While you can read some of these on FaceBook or the PublishersMarketPlace site, you will find all of them at this link. http://beyonddisorderlyeating.blogspot.com/
The book is written as if the reader were in my office for hypnotherapy. In this instance, the focus is on Disorderly Eating, although the imagery & suggestions are applicable for all Lifestyle Change. You may wonder why this is & so let me explain. A healthy mind & body needs a balanced Self in charge. This balanced Self needs to provide high level nutrition, emotional & thought management, as well as positive-framed images to take the mind & body towards the desired goals. The body & mind know this as homeostasis. Again, this state is fluid. The balanced Self, staying in heightened awareness, observes what's going on inside the mind & body, making adjustments when needed. As the balanced Self becomes more practiced in maintaining homeostasis, the healthier the mind & body & certainly, the easier to reach the desired goals.
Being out of balance is synonymous with being "in stress." Stress can be internal or external. While it may be more difficult to manage external stress, an example being workplace or family stress, it is always possible to manage internal stress. Internal stress is how the body reacts or responds to external stress. All of this is within one's control & this is very good news because as I've already shared with you, 60-90 % of chronic diseases are caused or enhanced by internal stress.
Let's touch base with some huge internal stressors. What's interesting is that some of these stress-deliverers are actually employed as stress-releasers. These include smoking, alcohol & disorderly eating or poor delivery of nutrition. All of these are delivered by your Unbalanced Self & this is now the time to meet that part of you. In the theater of your mind, more commonly known as your thoughts or internal images, let's return to the MindBody Health Garden. You aleady have set images for this vital area. You can see or think the flower gardens that represent the many working systems of your body.
Notice that there is a path that comes from the back of the garden & now your Unbalanced Self is coming forward. Pay close attention, perhaps noticing some details about that part of you. If you like, make some written notes. I always suggest that my patients work with a journal that is specifically for Lifestyle Change & nothing else. This tells the subconscious mind that this work is very important & actually encourages the inner mind to assist with the rehabilitation. Now, as this part of yourSelf comes forward, welcome her or him. Perhaps in the past you didn't want to know this part of yourSelf, causing the Unbalanced Self to stay in hiding, guilty or ashamed of not being perfect. But that was the past & now is now. This is a part of you & a very important part. This part, like all parts, understands the problems & actually has the answers. You might wonder how this could be & if this is true, then why is the part Unbalanced. The truth is that something is missing here & that is the "leadership" of the balanced Self; the healthy Self that is in charge of taking care of your body systems. You do remember my sharing that with you when we were last in the MindBody Health Garden viewing the plants.
Let's work inside some rehabilitative imagery now. Take the Unbalanced Self gently by the arm & go over to the bench that is next to the Garden. As you do, notice that the Unbalanced Self is wearing leg braces, so that part is limping along, obviously needing your assistance. You might also notice that this part of you is child-like. It's very clear that this is not the Leadership you & so you feel compassion towards this Self. As you both sit down, go ahead & remove the leg braces. It's easy to do. You will find buckles on each brace. Just snap them open & the braces will fall away. Take a few moments & massage the legs of the Self, bringing back some healthy circulation while sharing your love for this part of yourSelf. Now help that part of you to stand up tall & to go forward with you.
There are several things that you will need from your Unbalanced Self & so this is the time to discuss these. First, you need to be aware when this part of you is present. Perhaps in the past you were on auto-pilot or sleep-walking in the unhealthy behaviors. Simply ask this Self to wake you to it's presence. Next, through the lense or frame of self-love, compassion & forgiveness, ask the Self to tell you what it needs in order to return to "balance." Find out what's missing in your Self-care. This part of you does know this & once you know, then you are in the position to swing the pedulum back to a balanced Self.
One more healing image.....notice the change in the body & mind system flowers when the Unbalaned Self transmutes or changes to the Balanced Self. If you could travel inside your body during this transformation, you would be able to observe the negative stress chemicals diminishing, while healing chemicals are being produced. This is the body returning to homeostasis.
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Copyright 2009 Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht
May not be copied or reproduced without permission of the author
Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is the author of Sugar...the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It. She is also the writer/producer of over 350 mp3/CD programs for health, disease prevention, self-development & sports performance.
http://www.hypnosis-audio.com
http://www.sugar-addiction.com
http://www.international-medical-health-writers.com