What does it mean to be healthy? For some it’s the absence of disease, being physically fit, or being given a clean bill of health by the doctor. But our health and wellbeing is so much more than this. The way we think and perceive what goes on around us has a direct bearing on our physical and mental health.

I’ve come across so many people who were just unaware of their poor state of well-being. This lack of awareness isn’t just down to them as individuals, it comes from dismissive attitudes to our emotional well-being, especially in western cultures. We think we’re fine because we function in day to day life but, in reality, many of us can be just holding it together or in denial about how we truly feel. Unbeknown to some, they are slowly but surely building their future health problems. 

Many of us are not aware of the impact certain experiences have on our lives, in particular those experiences which result in trauma. These are often known as UDIN’s (unexpected, dramatic, isolating events, in which we have no strategy to deal with them). They can shatter the secure world we once knew, altering our belief systems, perceptions and, even how we think the world works. They can have massive implications on the way our lives unfold and our future well-being. We often underestimate the effects of trauma, relying on the established notion in medicine, that our physical and mental well-being are not connected. This notion reinforces the idea, that if you’re unwell physically or mentally, it’s some isolated chemical or biological reaction that’s happening to you that you can remedy with a prescription. Unfortunately there are very few proponents of western medicine who entertain the idea that your body may be responding to something which has impacted you on an emotional level.

Trauma, in virtually every case, is the trigger which sets off what we call illness or the disease process. When we experience trauma it doesn’t just get lodged as a memory, we feel its impact in different parts of our body. When we’re retriggered it’s often as if we’re feeling everything all over again. Trauma is stored in the body causing blockages and disrupting our flow of energy. This is why it’s important to focus on different parts of the body in order to shift blocked energy. Working on a conscious level is often ineffective in dealing with trauma as the memories and triggers are lodged on a subconscious level. We can explain to someone why they’re feeling the way they do or even prove they’re being irrational but, it doesn’t change what they’re feeling.

Very often trauma is not only mentally debilitating but can also set off a disease process in our body. These processes are remnants of our evolution, which may not have the much relevance in the context of our modern lifestyle. An organ in the body is chosen to respond to the given threat; it’s trying  to help us deal the issue at hand. For example what we call eczema is actually symptoms of this skin trying to regenerate and repair itself. We don’t notice the symptoms of eczema when it occurs because the skin gets thinner and desensitises in order to help us deal with a separation issue. Every disease process that is set off in the body has a specific trauma theme, it follows a logical pattern. Knowing these themes together with an understanding of the stages of disease(which gives us a timeline), allows us to  pinpoint the specific trauma which initiated the disease. Clearing the energy surrounding the trauma often enables the illness to complete its healing process and return us back to our normal healthy selves. Unfortunately, being healthy is no longer the norm for many people today.

Chronic disease is an example of an illness getting trapped in the disease process, where it is retriggered going round in a loop. What we call asthma for instance, is an illness where someone is caught in the repair/regeneration stage of the disease. When asthma occurs initially the bronchi expand to allow more oxygen in to help us deal with the issue. It is caused by someone experiencing multiple territorial threats such as someone invading their space or constantly having a go at them. The body interprets this as “I’m struggling to breathe in this confined or toxic situation”. The bronchi expand to allow in more air, but instead of repairing itself it keeps getting retriggered in the repair stage where the airways are constricted and excess mucus is produced.

Our state of mind and how we deal with situations in our lives not only determines or mental health but usually our susceptibility to physical diseases.  Trauma from the past or belief systems we may have developed from childhood all have a bearing on our susceptibility to trauma, and therefore, ill health. From this perspective it’s obvious why we need to clear any past and present traumas to rid ourselves of their debilitating effects and maintain our health. This also enables us live a fuller life in which we’re more in tune with our authentic selves – ridding us of the ghostly triggers of past experiences.