Dedication. Copyright

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1 Copyright

2 Dedication This recovery manual is dedicated to all counsellors, psychotherapists, hypnotherapists, health practitioners and many others involved in the mental health community, who are doing their very best day-in-day-out to restore emotional and mental well-being to the hearts of our communities. Copyright

3 Copyright 2016 All Rights Reserved This programme contains proprietary content and must not be duplicated, distributed, or trained from without written permission. No portion of this material may be shared or reproduced in any manner under any circumstance whatsoever without advance written permission from Wale Oladipo. For permissions requests, contact: Copyright

4 The 7-Week Generalised Anxiety & Panic Attacks Recovery Breakthrough Programme Wale Oladipo Copyright

5 Table of Contents 1. Welcome 2. What is Generalised anxiety Disorder (GAD)? 3. What is Panic Disorder? 4. Chapter 1 - Key Explanations About The 3 Crucial Elements For GAD and Panic Recovery 5. Chapter 2: The Interactions that Perpetuate Anxiety Disorders: Negative Emotions, the Subconscious mind and the Amygdala. 6. Chapter 3: How The Brain Tries To Help To Regain Some Control.In Its Own Extreme Way 7. Chapter 4: How The Brain Regulates A full Reservoir of Repressed Negative Emotions 8. Chapter 5 - How To Stop the Emotional Brain From Sending Out Anxiety Outlets 9. Chapter 6 - Harnessing The Power of Guided Imagery 10. Chapter 7: Guided Imagery Screed For Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Panic Attacks 11. Chapter 8-43 Helpful Coping Strategies As You Journey Towards Full Recovery 12. Chapter 9 - The 7 Master Steps For Anxiety Panic Recovery 13. Chapter 10: Breaking The Underlying Compulsive Habits 14. Chapter 11: Protect Your Transformation With The 6 Mind-Powers Final Note Personalised Support Your Feedback About Copyright

6 Welcome! Congratulations on your purposeful investment on your continuous professional development! Regardless of the therapy approach that you adopt, this programme is designed to be one of the most cherished tools in your therapy toolbox. The spine of the MindBody Breakthrough Recovery Programme for GAD and panic attacks is integrative, shaped by various therapy models and techniques, especially the two of the most effective psychotherapy modalities available today. This programme refines and combines, among other therapy modalities, the best of the Mind Body Connections approach made famous by Dr John E. Sarno, the author of the Mind Body Prescription, and the Internal Family System modalities by Richard Schwartz, the pioneer of the IFS therapy method. One of the ways this recovery programme is different from any other is the fact that it s been specifically tailored and tested for generalised anxiety and panic attacks. Before creating this programme, I had spent hundreds of hours treating clients using various therapy techniques and modalities while documenting the recovery rates and the longevity rates of each client. This programme is therefore the product of this personal research and observation. If you want a recovery programme that fully deals with the root-causes and then transforms them completely, this is the programme that you need. It is pure psychotherapy, meaning that it is an intensive programme that is perfect for those clients who have tried other treatment methods with little or no improvement. The MindBody Breakthrough programme guarantees a shift within the psychic elements responsible for sustaining and breeding anxiety-related disorders for your clients. The programme has been arranged in an easy-to-read-and-apply way so that you can deliver its entirety in your therapy sessions without any fuss. It is packaged as a 7-Week recovery programme as most clients prefer a well defined time frame for therapy before they commit to buying. However, you can go at your client s pace or at the best possible pace for each peculiar situation. Copyright

7 Some therapists have delivered this programme to their clients in 12 sessions at a stretch while others have been able to deliver the programme and achieve transformation a lot less than 12 sessions. In any case, you have at your disposal a structured, tested and effective programme that can take your results to a new level. You can have a credible and highly effective alternative to the therapy sessions which are solely based on spontaneity. Every part of this programme is designed to fulfil a unique role in the overall results of your therapy sessions with clients. Therefore, take your time. Read purposefully! Read for transformation; not just for assimilation. Then deliver the programme to your clients with confidence and great expectations! I wish you all the very best, Wale Oladipo P.S: This programme is written as if a therapist is directly talking to his client. This is so that an individual as well as a therapist can find the programme equally engaging and adaptive. A client using this programme as a self-help material can engage with it a lot better. Likewise, a therapist who is taking his/her client through the programme can easily get into a therapist s role as though he/she was directly addressing the client. Copyright

8 The MindBody Breakthrough Restoring Control, Inspiring Success Copyright

9 What is Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)? Generalised anxiety disorder is persistent anxiety, fear and worry that often lasts for at least six months. It is called generalised anxiety because you can experience it without the accompaniment of other notorious outlets of anxiety disorders such as panic attacks, phobias or OCD. However, this is not always the case as untreated GAD can easily develop into other forms of severe anxiety disorders. When suffering from GAD, it is common to spend a lot of time of the day worrying uncontrollably. You feel like you cannot stop your mind from obsessive worrying and anxiousness. Also, the intensity of your worry is often disproportionate to the actual probability of the feared situation becoming a reality. Common Triggers: Stressful life situation is the common trigger. This includes: Health Relationships Work-related problems Finances Unsatisfactory performance at school or in sports And other sources of emotional stress, such as rejection, disappointment, separation, loss etc. Common Symptoms: Insomnia (inability to sleep) Constant tiredness Muscle tightness Headaches High blood pressure Copyright

10 Poor concentration Confusion Feeling all tensed Back pains and other bodily pains Depression GAD is also connected to other physical symptoms such as high blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome, headaches. Generalised anxiety disorder has a strong connection with depression. A sufferer of GAD can easily get into depression and vice versa. Generalised anxiety can happen both in childhood and adulthood. In children, the trigger is often performance - be it at school or in sports. However, in adults, there are varieties of triggers as already discussed. Common Underlying Fears: Fear of not being able to cope Fear of failure Fear of losing control Fear of rejection Fear of death and disease Copyright

11 What is Panic Disorder? Panic disorder can be described as sudden episodes of intense and crippling fear, often without noticeable reasons. A full blown panic attack often lasts for about 3-10 minutes and can return in waves within a three-hour period. Common Symptoms: Sweating Shortness of breath Palpitations Shaking or trembling Abdominal distress Dizziness or faintness A feeling of unreality Chest pain fears of dying Hot and cold flashes Numbness or tingling Fear of losing control Most sufferers develop panic disorder in late adolescence or in their twenties, often before the age of twenty-five. Panic attacks have a strong link with other anxiety outlets such as agoraphobia and social anxiety. Smoking, alcohol intake, and drug abuse can intensify panic disorder with time. Copyright

12 Chapter 1 Key Explanations On the 3 Main Elements for Generalised Anxiety & Panic Attacks Recovery There are three main elements you must understand very well at the start to transform anxiety disorders. These three elements interact with each other in a complex way to produce and sustain GAD and panic attacks. The following are the three elements: Negative emotions The Subconscious mind The Amygdala Let s quickly look into each one of them as related to your anxiety. Negative Emotions Negative emotions are the unpleasant feelings generated from unpleasant life challenges or experiences. Whenever we face difficulties, adversities, rejections, abuses, losses or any other unpleasant life circumstances, negative emotions are produced. Unprocessed negative emotions are harmful to the human psyche. If negative emotions are fully processed and accepted, they will cause no harm. But if they are not adequately Copyright

13 processed and expressed, they will become repressed negative emotions which are harmful to human psychological well-being. The accumulation of unresolved negative emotions are often responsible for deep-rooted psychological disorders such as generalised anxiety disorders, panic attacks, depression and other anxiety related conditions. The stockpiles of repressed negative emotions cause more anxiety today than any other factors. Unfortunately, few people are aware of this key fact. Even many anxiety experts tend to underestimate the impacts of negative emotions within the human psyche in relations to psychosomatic conditions. This explains why many treatment plans that are available today are more or less coping mechanisms as opposed to providing long-lasting cure by tackling the root-causes of anxiety. The word emotion, is two words joined together: energy and motion (e-motion), which literally means energy-in-motion. In other words, emotions are energy in motions that must be expressed and not to be repressed. But when they do become repressed, this when the problem starts. Emotional, psychological and psychosomatic conditions become inevitable. The Most Deadly Negative Emotions There are several negative emotions which have been identified over the years. But the most deadly of all is anger. If there is constant anger in your life, consciously or subconsciously, you ve got a real killer in your system. And unless this is dealt with appropriately, you cannot separate anxiety disorders from your life. Humans are only capable of two emotions: Love and Hate. Or you can say Positive or Negative. In other words, whatever has happened to you in the past, whatever is currently going on with you in the present, and whatever is going to happen to you in the future will fall into any of these two categories of emotions; love or hate. As a result, the life experiences that you love to think and laugh about will go on to interact with your emotional brain to produce good feelings. On the other hand, those experiences that you hate to think about will also go on to interact with your emotional brain to produce bad feelings. Copyright

14 Since it is the feelings that control our joy, peace, health, wellness, happiness, and fulfilment, if you manage to produce only good feelings throughout your life, you are going to be OK, emotionally healthy and happy. Unfortunately, nobody has ever managed to produce only good feelings in their entire life-time. We are all carrying loads of bad feelings (knowingly or unknowingly), most of which are stored up below the surface of our conscious awareness. This is why we have no perfect peace, health, wellness and every other emotional virtues possible to men. But if we can get rid of as much bad feelings as possible, and then reinstate good feelings, we ll certainly restore order to our mind, soul and body. The body is naturally designed to heal itself. Perfect health and wellbeing is the natural state of the body. The reason why the body often loses its healing power to restore internal order is because of the accumulation of bad feelings that exists within our psyche. This is one of the key areas this programme intends to focus on; restoring internal ORDER. Anxiety is a proof of internal DISORDER. This is why it is called anxiety disorder. Important Well-Being Equations Now, here are some useful wellbeing equations: Think about these equations because they form an important foundational part of this programme. Thought + Emotion = Feeling Positive Thought + Positive Emotion (love) = Positive Feeling Negative Thought + Negative Emotion (Anger or hate) = Negative Feeling Repressed negative feelings = Subconscious rage Negative Thinking Pattern + Repressed Negative Emotions (rage) = Emotional Disorders (such as anxiety, panic, OCD, social anxiety, depression, just to mention a few) Copyright

15 This understanding is expected to help you narrow things down until you identify the main suspect for most of the anxiety-related disorders that we have today; repressed negative emotions! You may find it hard to believe that repressed negative emotions are largely responsible for anxiety disorders. If you can keep an open mind as you go through this programme, you will find out for yourself, especially through the personal results that you get out of this course. Repressed Negative Emotions are the Biggest Culprits The main roots of deep-seated anxiety lie in the repressed negative emotions. And until one deals with this intensively, there can be no lasting solutions for anxiety. Therapists should bear this in mind. As already mentioned, there are several coping mechanisms and distracting strategies for anxiety disorders around today. They may make people feel better for a little while by helping to keep their anxiety in check. But they cannot totally rid them of anxiety. With all the coping mechanisms in use, you can still lose control when faced with some unexpected real life situations. Can a Person Be Totally Free from Negative Emotions? It is extremely difficult to totally empty human emotions within the psyche, negative or positive. It may be possible but will prove incredibly difficult to achieve. You can make them inactive or reduce their levels in the subconscious reservoir or convert them to something different, or even channel them to different directions. But you cannot totally drain them or destroy them. The reason for this is simple and has its origin in meta-physical studies. Metaphysics proposes that everything is energy. This also includes emotions. And modern science tells us that energy can never be created nor destroyed. With that in mind, your focus is to learn: how to release the energy of the repressed negative emotions as much as possible. Copyright

16 how to refine the remaining energy of the negative emotions. how to channel them in the right directions for the benefit of yourself, clients or others in your world. Everyone requires what is called the normal level of anxiety to fully function and be productive in life. We all need some residual charged emotions that has been purified and appropriately directed to drive us to meet deadlines, develop our talents, build compassion, overcome challenges and become useful to our world. Do not get me wrong. You will have to adequately process all your hurts, disappointments, rejections and other negative emotions before their residual energy can be fit for good purposes. Otherwise, they will weaken your mind and make your body sick. Here is what I am saying: After you have processed your negative emotions, the emotional scars are still there, although they no longer pain you as they used to, because they have been processed, treated and no longer control your life negatively. But because these residual emotional scars still contain emotions, they can now be channelled positively for the good of humanity. Anger is Simply Energy Requiring Appropriate Focus In 1980, Candy Lightner saw her child killed by a drunk driver. She became broken,devastated and embittered. But after she got through the grieving process, she decided to start a movement that fights against drunk drivers. This movement is called MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). This is exactly what I am talking about. This woman used her residual negative emotions positively. She channeled her anger for a good course. Anger is simply energy requiring appropriate focus! This kind of positive channelling of anger and negative emotions is very important for our happiness and self-fulfilment as human beings. Most of us find our paths in life through the pains and hurts that we have been through in the past. Bringing one s repressed negative emotions from a critical level to a normal level is often enough to achieve full recovery from anxiety disorders, panic attacks and any others anxiety outlets that you currently have. Copyright

17 The left-over negative emotions (the normal level of anxiety or the non-dangerous emotional scars) will then be converted to a passion that you can later use to help others in the future. This passion, for example, can help you develop a positive anger towards anxiety disorder, leading to you developing a strong interest in assisting those who are still living with anxiety. Quick Summary: 1. Negative emotions are the unpleasant feelings generated from unpleasant life challenges or experiences. 2. Unprocessed negative emotions are harmful to the human psyche. 3. The accumulation of unresolved negative emotions are often responsible for deeprooted anxiety disorders. 4. Out of all the negative emotions that have been identified, anger is the most deadly. 5. Humans are only capable of two emotions: love and hate. 6. Where there are excessive repressed negative emotions, the body will fail to heal or repair itself adequately. 7. Once the repressed negative emotions are eliminated, the body regains its natural ability to restore internal order. Can a person be totally free from negative emotions? It may be possible but difficult. Why? Because: Humans are 100% emotional. Emotion is energy. Our focus is to assist others to release as much of their repressed negative emotions as possible. Bringing one s repressed negative emotions from a critical level to a normal level is often enough to achieve full recovery from anxiety disorders. Copyright

18 The Subconscious Mind Another important element for anxiety recovery is the subconscious mind. Why is it important to GAD or panic attack recovery? It is important because negative emotions are repressed in the subconscious mind, which then eventually produces anxiety as you will find out very shortly. Anxiety is grown in the mind-arena, often below the conscious level of awareness. As such, the mind must be studied and understood if we must develop sufficient selfawareness necessary for full recovery. The human mind is divided into two: The conscious and the subconscious. Your conscious mind is your intellectual, reasoning or thinking mind. It is the first layer of the mind that interacts directly with the environment. This is the mind that you use for conscious decision-making, such as the clothes you wear, the food you eat, the movie that you watch or the car you choose to buy. On the other hand, your subconscious mind is the second layer of the mind below the conscious mind. This is where the entire affairs of your life are run and influenced. It is where the human behaviours, thinking patterns, attitude and actions are decided. The subconscious mind is also referred to as your Deeper self. Focusing on the subconscious mind, let s quickly look as some of the functions of subconscious mind as related to your anxiety disorder recovery: 5 Functions of the Subconscious Mind 1. As a Life Database. Like a computer hard-drive, your subconscious mind stores all your emotions (negative and positive), including experiences, memories and habits. It holds the full database of all your life experiences, including all your disappointments, rejections, losses, failures, abuses, injustices, inferiority, fears and so on. In fact, studies show that by the age of 21, the subconscious mind will have collected more than one hundred times the contents of the Encyclopaedia Britannia. Your subconscious mind has in its memories all your customary thoughts patterns, reactions, likes, dislikes and all your habitual behavioural patterns, hidden or obvious. Copyright

19 The subconscious mind never sleeps. It is always in a perfect state of awareness even while your conscious mind is asleep. Also, Your subconscious mind is not in time. It does not operate by time. The experience it stored 20 years ago is still as fresh as if it was just recorded today. It does not differentiate or compartmentalise stored data, based on the times they occurred. Everything is kept new and active. That is why negative emotions derived from something that happened to you 20 years ago can still be generating fresh anxiety today as though it had just happened. 2. As a Protective Mechanism. Your subconscious mind works tirelessly to ensure that the beliefs that you have accepted as truth in your mind are maintained and protected from any other opposing beliefs, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. It protects your established belief system, life-philosophies or mind-set from any other contrary ideologies. For example, if you believe that you have to worry about everything in order to feel like you are in control of things, then your subconscious mind will protect that belief from any other beliefs that might want you to stop worrying. The subconscious mind somehow looks for a way to help you maintain the status quo of your beliefs (negative or positive) as long as you want. It simply does as it is told by your habitual thinking and emotions. 3. As a Regulator. The subconscious mind regulates all of the biological functions of your body, including your heart rate, lungs, kidney functions, digestion, breathing, etc. Whether you are awake or asleep, your subconscious mind works relentlessly to control all the essential functions of your body. Also, the subconscious mind is the builder of your body. It rebuilds and repairs damaged or weaken body components. It heals you. It is your natural body healer. When we allow it to do its job without the unhelpful interference of our negative thoughts, emotions or feelings (in a form of anxiety or stress), we experience peace, health and wholeness. But in the presence of too much repressed negative emotions, the subconscious mind cannot function correctly. Repressed negative emotions are the biggest saboteurs of the healing power of the subconscious. 4. As a Magnet. Your subconscious mind is like a magnet. It attracts conditions and circumstances into your life which are in agreement with your dominant thoughts, feelings, words and mental images. Your subconscious mind has an obligation to magnetise into your life that which you have embraced in your mind through your habitual thoughts. Copyright

20 In his magnificent book, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, Joseph Murphy emphatically said, When the thoughts deposited in your subconscious mind are constructive, harmonious, and peaceful, the magic power of your subconscious will respond and bring about harmonious conditions, agreeable surroundings, and the best of everything. The quality of your thought processes decides the quality of your life s inner conditions and outer circumstances. Whatever you continue to focus on, your subconscious mind will attract into your life. If you focus on your fears all the time, you will attract more fearful thoughts or situations. Likewise, if you keep thinking that your anxiety will eventually overpower you, that is what is going to be attracted to you. You can attract into your life calm, peace, health, and happiness, if only you start thinking about those positive outcomes all day long. 5. As a Mind-Set Sculptor. Your subconscious mind sculpts and chisels your mind-set into place. Your mind-set is simply a bunch of beliefs or principles that determines how you interact with the world around you. Your mind-set is responsible for your behaviours, actions and reactions to life s events, situations and challenges. The subconscious mind sculpts your mind-set programming by paying attention to your past experiences and dominant thought patterns. If there is a particular thought that you have been dwelling upon too much, there comes a time when the subconscious will permit this particular thought to be filtered through into your deeper self where it becomes part of your ingrained belief system. The subconscious simply assumes that whatever you are repeating in your mind, that is what is important to you. Therefore, it works tirelessly to make that thing to be part of your ingrained mental operating system. Once the subconscious mind carves your mindset or your belief system on its powerful internal surface, it becomes very hard to undo. If you worry all the time, for example, the subconscious will eventually make obsessive worrying to be a part of your ingrained operating command, meaning that you ve now developed a worry-habit. This is why taking control of one s thoughts is a core secret to mental health. Here is the mindset golden rule: Whatever thought you don t want to form your mindset, stop thinking about it all day long! - Wale Oladipo Copyright

21 Real Or Imagined Makes No Difference The subconscious mind never differentiates between what is good and what it is bad, or between what is real and what is imagined. Once thoughts are filtered through and become ingrained in the subconscious, they turn to attitudes of mind the seat of all our reactions and behaviours. Your outer life is only a reflection of your inner life. The only way to change your outer life is by altering your inner life, right at the subconscious level, through repetition of positive thoughts, feelings, mental pictures and words. This programme will help you do this! Quick Summary: The human mind is divided into two: The conscious and the subconscious. The conscious mind is the intellectual, reasoning or thinking mind. It is the first layer of the mind that interacts directly with the environment. The subconscious mind is the second layer of the mind below the conscious mind. It is where the human behaviours, thinking patterns, attitude and actions are decided. 5 Functions of the Subconscious Mind: 1. As a Life Database. Like a computer hard-drive, your subconscious mind stores all your emotions (negative and positive), including experiences, memories and habits. 2. As a Protective Mechanism. It protects your established belief system, lifephilosophies or mind-set from any other contrary ideologies. 3. As a Regulator. The subconscious mind regulates all of the biological functions of the body, including your heart rate, lungs, kidney functions, digestion, breathing, etc. 4. As a Magnet. It attracts conditions and circumstances into your life which are in agreement with your dominant thoughts, feelings, words and mental images. 5. As a Mind-Set Sculptor. The subconscious mind sculpts your mind-set programming by paying attention to your past experiences and dominant thought patterns. Copyright

22 The Amygdala Perhaps you ve already heard about the role the amygdala plays in the activation of your stress response. This section aims to explain some important information that are crucial to GAD and panic recovery. The human brain consists of three systems: Cortex, Limbic and Reptilian. Each of these brains has different functions. Also, all of them work very closely together. Relating to anxiety, we ll concentrate on the limbic system. This is because it is the system that is responsible for forming emotions and memories. As already pointed out, human emotion is a big suspect in our anxiety recovery investigations. Also, memories are involved, simply because they hold the records of our past negative emotions, such as anger, guilt, fear, etc,. The limbic system has four main parts: Hypothalamus, Thalamus, Hippocampus and Amygdala Hypothalamus Hypothalamus s duty is to receive information from inside the body system. If it picks up any threatening alert, it starts the stress response (the body's natural defence mechanism for dealing with danger) by informing the adrenal glands to get you additional energy to fight or fly. Thalamus The task of this part of the limbic system is to receive information from the outside of your body through your senses and passes that information to certain parts of the brain, such as the cortex or the amygdala in order for them to take relevant actions. Hippocampus Hippocampus simply records facts and data, without any emotions. It does not do emotions, only factual details. It then sends this data to your thinking brain to be analysed. Copyright

23 Amygdala The amygdala is the one in charge of strong emotions. It registers the seriousness and intensity of emotions and quickly informs the hypothalamus to start the stress response. Amygdala is like a smoke detector in your home that goes off immediately it detects a serious danger to your life and property. Quick Summary: The amygdala is a part of the brain that is responsible for emotions and memories. The human brain consists of three systems: Cortex, Limbic and Reptilian. The limbic system has four main parts: Hypothalamus, Thalamus, Hippocampus and Amygdala. Hypothalamus. Hypothalamus s duty is to receive information from inside the body system. Thalamus. Thalamus s task is to receive information from the outside of your body. Hippocampus. Hippocampus records facts and data, without any emotions. Amygdala. The amygdala registers the tone and intensity of emotions and informs the hypothalamus to start the stress response. Copyright

24 Chapter 2 The Key Emotional Interactions that Perpetuate Anxiety Disorders In this session, we ll look at the key interactions between the three psychic elements already discussed that greatly influence transformation from GAD and panic attacks: Negative Emotions, the Subconscious mind and the Amygdala. The amygdala regularly searches the subconscious contents to identify any repressed negative emotions that you find painful and may be unwilling to confront. It then registers the negative emotions that are most painful to you and that you try to avoid the most and label them as very dangerous. The next task of the amygdala is to begin to protect you from those so called very dangerous emotions. It does this by sending a red alert message to the hypothalamus to start the stress response. The stress response is the body s natural defence mechanism to protect your psyche from any negative emotions which have already been identified as very dangerous. You may recall one of the functions of the the subconscious mind as being your life s ultimate database where all your emotions, negative or positive, are stored? With that in mind, if you have a lot of negative emotions repressed in the subconscious mind, whenever the amygdala searches for the intensity of emotions, it straightaway finds those repressed emotions and then identifies them as dangerous. Then, it notifies the hypothalamus to start the stress response. Where there are excessive repressed negative emotions, it s possible for the amygdala to continuously send distress signals to the hypothalamus, leading to a complicated emotional disorder. The Psychic Consequences of Working Over-Time Copyright

25 If you ve lived with strong repressed negative emotions for at least five years or more, for example, this means that your amygdala has been working over-time for the past five years sending red alert messages to the hypothalamus almost non-stop. This explains why some anxiety disorders can be very severe. Consequently, various irregularities can happen when the limbic system has too much repressed negative emotions to constantly react to. Any part of the limbic system can start to malfunction because the amygdala has been working too hard, treating almost everything as emergency. This is a system that is meant only to work occasionally whenever a serious threat to our wellbeing is identified. The amygdala or hypothalamus or the thalamus can develop internal faults where neurones are sending confusing messages to each other. Or the neurones can start misinterpreting messages received from neurotransmitters (chemical substances that transmit messages from one brain cell to another). Internal malfunctions caused by excessive repressed negative emotions can also lead to a scenario where messages are not getting through at all to the right neurones. In this case, if a message such as calm down is being sent, it will not be received by the appropriate neurones, leading to prolonged anxious episodes. If this is not resolved quickly enough, it can get to a stage where the body s stress resistance can no longer maintain its internal balances, leading to a breakdown that can further complicates matters. Non-Stop Flight or Fight Mode People whose amygdala fires false alarms without reason feel tensed, on edge and stressed all the time. They are basically on a fight or flight mode all the time without having any physical danger to fight or fly away from. People in this category worry over every little thing. They overreact emotionally to something that is absolutely nothing. Chronic stress syndrome can also set in as a result of the failure of the body to perform homeostasis. The people in this category may not be able to cope with the normal day-today demands of life anymore, and may find it difficult to switch off their mind. These internal imbalances and malfunctions then force the brain to look for an alternative way to protect your sanity. The brain suddenly realises that you have lost control of your emotions. But the brain will do anything within its capability to ensure that you do not totally lose control of your mind. Quick Summary: Copyright

26 The amygdala searches the subconscious contents to identify the repressed negative emotions that you find very painful and are unwilling to confront. After registering the most painful negative emotions, it begins to protect you from them or from any other similar emotions. It does this by sending a red alert message to the hypothalamus to start the stress response. Where there are excessive repressed negative emotions, it s possible for the amygdala to continue to send distress signals to the hypothalamus, leading to a complicated emotional disorder. Consequently, various irregularities can happen when the limbic system has too much repressed negative emotions to constantly react to. Irregularities can include the misinterpretation of messages received from neurotransmitters, messages not getting sent, failure to perform homeostasis. These internal imbalances then forces the brain to look for an alternative way to protect your sanity. Copyright

27 Chapter 3 How the Brain Tries to Help to Regain Some Control in its Own Extreme Way If you have read my ebook, entitled, The Essential Guide To Anxiety Panic Recovery, you probably understand this concept already. If, for some reason, this is the first time you are reading about this, make sure you understand this, as it forms the strong foundations upon which your full recovery or those of your clients are to be built. How does the brain try to help out to ensure that total control of your mind is not lost to the overwhelming repressed negative emotions? Here is the explanation For the purpose of clarity, imagine the subconscious mind as a huge reservoir that stores all our past negative emotions generated from our unpleasant life experiences; such as, disappointments, rejections, losses, betrayals, failures, humiliations, etc. With this in mind, there comes a time as you journey through life when your negative emotions reservoir within the subconscious mind begins to fill up until it reaches a level where it threatens to overflow (this occurs to most people in their late teens or early twenties). Now, the last thing your brain wants is to see all the repressed negative emotions in the subconscious mind spill over to the conscious mind. Your brain has an enormous responsibility to protect your sanity. It works really hard to make sure you continue to be in your right mind. Copyright

28 Realistically, it is self-preservation on the part of your brain as it knows that if you lose your mind, it, itself, becomes useless. Without the mind, the brain is pointless, it does not matter how brilliant that brain is. This is why your brain will do anything to stop the overflow of the subconscious negative emotions from exploding to the conscious mind and overwhelming it. By the way, the brain I am referring to here is your Emotional Brain, part of the limbic system discussed in chapter one. Permit me to sometimes refer to the Emotional brain as your brain. In order for the emotional brain to stop your conscious mind being inundated by the threatening negative emotions, it creates outlets for these fuming negative emotions in the subconscious reservoir to divert into, so that they can express themselves in different forms without having to overflow and risk the danger of exploding into your conscious mind. The outlets created by your brain are the various physical symptoms of anxiety disorders that you may know about or may have experienced yourself. These disorders include: Panic Disorders Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Bipolar Disorders Social Anxiety Severe Depression Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) also known as Imagined Ugliness Syndrome Compulsive Hoarding De-personalisation De-realisation Insomnia Copyright

29 The Three types of phobias: Agoraphobia, Social Phobia, Specific Phobias. And many more All of these anxiety disorders mentioned above are simply channels or outlets of repressed negative emotions that the brain sets up so that the negative rage of the subconscious will not overflow and explode to the conscious mind. Anxiety disorders therefore are the outlets through which repressed negative emotions express themselves. Quick Summary: The subconscious mind as like a huge reservoir that stores all our life experiences, including disappointments, rejections, losses, betrayals, failures, humiliations, etc. Within the subconscious mind is a reservoir-like compartment where all the repressed negative emotions and rage are kept. There comes a time when the rage reservoir within the subconscious mind begins to fill up until it reaches a level where it threatens to overflow ( This occurs to most people in their late teens or early twenties). The last thing your brain wants is to see all the repressed negative emotions in the subconscious mind spill over to the conscious mind. As a result, the brain creates outlets for these fuming repressed negative emotions in the subconscious reservoir to divert into in order to lower the overall level of the rage reservoir. The outlets created by the brain are the various physical symptoms of anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders therefore are the outlets through which repressed negative emotions express themselves. Copyright

30 Chapter 4 How the Brain Regulates a Full Reservoir of Repressed Negative Emotions Let s use a reservoir and water to illustrate this process. The subconscious mind represents a large reservoir while water represents repressed negative emotions. Now, imagine that this reservoir is now filled up and ready to start spilling over. To explain what the brain actually does in this process, imagine that several large water pipes with dead ends are now plugged to the bottom of this full reservoir, allowing tons of gallons of water to leave the main reservoir from the base region. What do you think will happen to the overall level of the main reservoir? The level will certainly drop. Absolutely! Just like the water level of any reservoir can be lowered by simply creating multiple outlets, the overflowing level of negative emotions in the subconscious is also lowered when the brain creates other channels where some of the negative emotions can be diverted away and expressed. Although the diverted contents are not permanently drained away, they make the overall level of the main reservoir to drop, simply because extra spaces have been created, thereby reducing the danger of localised flooding. This is how the brain regulates the level of the rage reservoir within the human psyche. This is the logic behind the activities of the emotional brain. Anxiety disorders are the Copyright

31 diversion waterways through which the emotional brain controls the levels of the negative rage in the subconscious mind. Therefore GAD and panic attacks are products of the activities of the emotional brain attempting to maintain internal balances in order to help us keep our sanity. Of course, the brain does this in its own extreme way that leaves humans with horrifying consequences to endure. Quick Summary: Imagine the subconscious mind has a large reservoir and repressed negative emotions as water. As we interact with life, the reservoir gets filled up and threatens to overflow. Now, imagine that several large water pipes with dead ends are now plugged to the bottom of this full reservoir, allowing tons of gallons of water to leave the main reservoir from the base region. What do you think will happen to the overall level of the main reservoir? The level will certainly drop! Although the diverted contents are not permanently drained away, they make the overall level of the main reservoir to drop to avoid localised flooding. Anxiety disorders therefore are the diversion waterways through which the brain controls the levels of the negative rage in the subconscious. Copyright

32 Chapter 5 How to Stop the Emotional Brain From Sending Out Anxiety Outlets When you relieve your brain from its counterproductive tasks of being your personal therapist, you have positioned yourself for freedom from anxiety-related disorder. It s time you relieved your emotional brain of the task of being your personal therapist. For so long, the brain has been helping you deal with your negative emotions in its own counter-productive ways. You must now take full responsibility for processing and flushing out your own negative emotions in the subconscious reservoir. If you do this properly, the outlets (your generalised anxiety or panic attack) will stop and you ll become a free person. It is about intensified self-awareness, self-evaluation and becoming your own mental detective agent and therapist. Becoming your Own Therapist The emotional brain is never designed to single-handedly process negative emotions. It lacks the right tools to deal with them. The brain s greatest strength is to process, analyse Copyright

33 and organise truth and facts. It does a lousy job as your personal therapist, especially if you have left all your life problems for it to figure out all alone. When you relinquish the responsibility of dealing with your negative emotions to the brain, it becomes overstretched and stressed; thereby entering into a self-preservative mode to simply protect itself and yourself from being overwhelmed. This is why it generates anxiety outlets and shows some kinds of weaknesses in its functionality. You might have noticed, anxiety disorders often decrease one s ability to learn and memorise effectively. Human negative feelings can only be adequately handled by himself (his deepest Self). Our deepest self is revealed through self-awareness and our ability to take a step back and evaluate our emotional condition. This is, basically, taking charge of your own emotional destiny and healing, instead of trying to bury them all in the ground (the subconscious) while relying on the brain to figure it all out for you. The rest of this course will detail how you can stop the brain from generating more anxiety outlets. Quick Summary: What Every Client Should Bear In Mind: 1. When you relinquish the responsibility of dealing with your negative emotions to the brain, it becomes overstretched and stressed; thereby entering into a self-preservative mode to simply protect itself and yourself from being overwhelmed. 2. Once you decide to relieve your brain of its counterproductive tasks of being your personal therapist, you have positioned yourself for freedom from anxiety disorders. 3. The brain is not designed to single-handedly process negative emotions. It lacks the right tools to deal with them. 4. Human negative feelings can only be adequately handled by himself (his deepest Self). 5. Our deepest self is revealed through self-awareness and our ability to take a step back and evaluate our emotional condition. Copyright

34 6. The level of your repressed negative emotions in the subconscious reservoir can be lowered from critical level to normal level by following a certain process. 7. Your full responsibility and self-discipline is required to follow all the instructions on the programme in order to get the maximum results possible. Chapter 6 Why Generalised Anxiety and Panic Attacks Can Increase In Intensity With Time Some clients with chronic anxiety disorders may have started off experiencing symptoms of panic attacks such as rapid breathing (hyperventilating), feeling hot and sweaty, feeling sick, etc. To them, this can be referred to as their first outlet created by the brain. As time goes on, it is not uncommon that they develop other anxiety outlets such as social phobia, claustrophobia or agoraphobia. If all these extra outlets are not properly dealt with, they can lead to other serious types of phobias or even severe depression. There is a solid chance that two out of 10 people who start off with panic disorders or GAD to go on and develop other anxiety disorders such as agoraphobia or other types of generalised phobias. But the question is why do the negative emotions outlets increase? Here is a reason: While your first outlet (let s say it is panic disorder) might have been enough for the brain to maintain the so called healthy level of the subconscious negative emotions, it is unlikely that it will remain so. This is because the subconscious mind is still storing fresh negative emotions that are currently being generated as a result of your interactions with the world. This then makes your subconscious reservoir level to rise higher. Copyright

35 As long as you are alive, your negative emotions in the subconscious reservoir will keep receiving fresh negative emotions. Emotions will continue to be deposited and stored away. It is not your fault at all. It is just how it is. The rejection that you suffer today, as well as any other bad feeling and negative emotion generated as you interact with your world everyday are making your rage reservoir to rise. As a result, the brain will continue to create more outlets or intensify some of the existing outlets in order to protect your negative emotions reservoir from filling up and spill into your conscious mind. The result of this is the generation of other outlets of anxiety. Until you yourself learn how to lower your rage reservoir, your existing outlets of anxiety will continue to increase in intensity and often times in quantity. Quick Summary: The subconscious mind is still storing new negative emotions that are currently being generated as a result of your interactions with the world. This then makes your subconscious reservoir level to rise higher. As a result, the brain will continue to create more outlets or intensify some of the existing outlets, until you yourself learn how to lower your rage reservoir. Copyright

36 Chapter 7 Harnessing the Power of Guided Imagery It has proven very helpful to introduce clients early in the sessions to guided imagery so that they can begin to take advantage of its enormous power for anxiety recovery. Guided imagery is a therapy technique where the brain and the subconscious mind are reconditioned for wellbeing through images, mental pictures, metaphors and repetition. This is to unlearn the negative associations of the psyche with the old anxiety habit and its unhelpful influences. Guided imagery combines the forces of the three of the most important therapeutic tools for emotional wellbeing and behavioural changes: Imagination, dissociation and imagery. This is one of the factors that makes it special and effective. The most extraordinary relaxation effects and positive changes occur when the power of imagination is engaged alongside the powers of dissociation and imagery. These three tools help you to imagine yourself, in a state of relaxation, as though you have already possessed the feelings, attributes, conditions, behaviours and healing that you intend to physically produce. If you imagine yourself anxiety-free, and un-blend from your anxiety disorder and begin to visualise all your body muscles unwinding with all the negative emotions flushing out, your physiology will respond to your imagination and you will begin to relax and feel better. Copyright

37 Positive Imagination A Key to Inner Healing A key to the wellbeing of your mind and body is positive imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge, said Albert Einstein. Knowledge is information, but imagination is the attitude of the mind. Positive Imagination is the inner picture of the mind that accurately and vividly portrays your intended outer expectations. Words are important, but not as important as the images of your mind. You can say what you do not mean, but you cannot continue to hold a mental picture of something you do not mean in your mind. The real truth about you is not what you say to others about you. Rather it is the mental picture of yourself that you hold in your mind. It is called your self- image. You can tell others that you are confident, but if the mental picture of yourself is contrary, the reality about you is that you are not confident. This is why positive imagination delivered in state of relaxation is crucial to well-being. Everything responds to the power of imagination, whether visible or invisible. Why? This is because mental imageries are products of thoughts. We all think in pictures through our imagination which is ten times more powerful than the power of words. Mental-picture or imagination runs man s reality, simply because mental pictures are pictorial expressions of our thoughts, as well as the preview of life s coming attractions. Thought is a powerful electromagnetic field of energy moving at an unimaginable high rate of vibration. It also connects to a form of universal power that converts our thoughts to their physical equivalent. This why Emerson said Man becomes what he thinks about all day long. This should give you a clearer picture about how powerful your imagination can be. Thinking and imagining are inseparable. Thinking becomes imagination when we start to put our thoughts into pictures, which we often do anyway. Therefore, your entire life is being controlled by your imagination. Imagination and Relaxation Imagery is the special language of the subconscious mind. That is why your mental pictures are taking more seriously than your words by the subconscious mind. When in a relaxed state, your subconscious mind can be reconditioned either by direct suggestions (plain and straightforward instructions) or by indirect suggestions (imageries or metaphors). Copyright