Reverse TherapyTM
Reverse therapy is an educational process which teaches people how to eliminate symptoms by understanding and acting on 'the message of the symptom' – what Bodymind is trying to 'say' through the symptoms in order to warn, guide and protect the individual.
Reverse Therapy is based on the research carried out by Dr John Eaton since 1996 on the relationship between mind and body, and between the emotions, the brain, the nervous system and the immune system (these studies are sometimes known as PsychoNeuroImmunology). Dr Eaton then developed a series of techniques to help people recover from a variety of illnesses, including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia are triggered by the Hypothalamus overworking the Pituitary and Adrenal Glands, This is why Reverse Therapists refer to these conditions as 'HPA Disorder' – referring to the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal axis.
The reason the Hypothalamus does this is based on a conflict between Bodymind (working mostly through the Emotional Brain, or Limbic system) and Headmind (working through the thinking centres in the Frontal cortex). Bodymind notices that the person is emotionally vulnerable in some way and sends emotions of various kinds to signal that action is required. This could involve taking more time out for oneself, saying 'No' to unreasonable demands, speaking up about personal needs, or doing more things to boost enjoyment and confidence.
But when Headmind interferes with this natural cycle by coming up with worries, predictions of disaster, or thinking that attention to emotional needs is 'bad' or 'selfish' then the person becomes trapped. Bodymind notices that the person is in danger of emotional overload and so it uses the Hypothalamus to switch on an alarm response that produces the symptoms.
But then Headmind notices that symptoms are getting worse so it triggers an Anxiety response that leads the person to conclude that there is nothing they can do about the symptoms. But this only leads Bodymind to turn up the symptoms in order to signal that action is now urgently overdue....
Reverse Therapy reverses symptoms by:
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Getting the person to see that Headmind is keeping them trapped in Anxiety and Illness
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Raising the client's awareness of Bodymind and re-connecting to their emotional needs
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Understanding and acting on 'the message of the symptom'
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Engaging in activities that boost confidence and happiness
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Keeping a record of situations in which symptoms increase so that further work can be carried out on protecting the client in those situation.
Reverse Therapy also gets good results in the following conditions:
Anxiety
Depression
Auto-Immune diseases
Some Pain conditions
Gut disorders
Trauma
The approach is the same for these problems as for HPA disorder. We start by noting what life-challenges and emotions were coming up when symptoms first appeared. Then we teach the person the correct use of Headmind in order to get well – making decisions, planning for action, putting personal needs into words, and doing things. In some cases Reverse Therapists also teach the client how to switch off the 'disaster movies' Headmind uses to create anxiety. Then we help the client become more sensitive to Bodymind needs and finally we work on having them take action to satisfy those needs.
Working with Reverse Therapy takes practice and requires the client to perform their own self-healing. Once Bodymind notices that the emotion in the system is being cleared the Hypothalamus is triggered to turn down or switch off the symptoms, often for good.
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