Inner Organization

In order to manage anxiety & panic disorder you need special mind & body tools. These include high level nutrition, heightened awareness, emotional & thought management, body sensation management & interactive self-hypnosis. Inner communicating throughout the day with your subconscious mind can assist you in releasing stress, managing emotions & thoughts ....keeping you out of the anxiety & panic cycle… Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

In order to achieve it’s important to self-organize both consciously and subconsciously. In this process you are evaluating your needs, both present and future, as well as viewing your weaknesses with the tool of detachment, allowing you to see without self-judgment, shame, blame and guilt. Here you are uncovering the obvious, as well as your hidden resources known as resilience. You are learning how to utilize these as stepping-stones for health, growth and development. Through the detachment tools you are re-examining past successful inner motivation programs, preparing them for current use.

Automatic programming is continually taking place, and so we need an “inner assistant” to help with this major work. Relax into the moment and image your subconscious mind librarian or inner coach. Both are great images and work very well here in this program, as well as in your daily life. This inner assistant will be your first line of command in asking for what you want or need in any given moment.

Thoughts and mind pictures play continually in the theater of the mind, forming directives or orders.. In hypnosis these are called suggestions. Some of these are useful while others are not. Your inner assistant helps to keep order based on your specific requests.

Keep in mind that your subconscious filing cabinet is huge. Besides your automatic programs, you have an unlimited number of choices that may be better suited to meeting your needs in any particular situation. Your inner assistant can bring these to your attention if you give directives for that. In your work here, you will learn how to wake up, assess what’s playing and make a program switch if appropriate.

As you learn your way around your “inner filing cabinet and subconscious library” you will find many different kinds of files that can be utilized to meet your needs. Among other things you will find past experience files, as well as future files that haven't even happened yet. With a little practice will be able to see how these connect with your belief systems and how they affecting your current daily health patterns. Once again, you may find some to be helpful, but others may actually be blocking current goals. This holds true for past experiences or beliefs, as well as those you may have already placed in future files. This is called future pacing and can work for you or against you.

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, President & Program Designer for Sarasota Medical & Sports Hypnosis Institute located in Sarasota, FL & online at http://www.hypnosis-audio.com & http://www.sugar-addiction.com She is the author of Sugar....the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It, Beyond Disorderly Eating...The Truth About Sugar, Bingeing & How to Stop, as well as The MindBody Fitness Boot Camp... Lifestyle Change Made Easy. She has also written & produced +350 audio CD's & mp3's. The websites include moderated discussion groups, ezines, library & a host of other educational tools for learning Interactive Self-Hypnosis. Visit the online Boot Camp & work directly with the author. Download a free mp3 each month.

Inner Detective Work

The library of your mind is vast. You began collecting subconscious experiences and corresponding belief coats in the beginning of your life, even though you cannot consciously remember these. All coats and experiences, old or new, big or small can hold important information and keys to your success, as well as reasons for past failures…Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

Beginning Inner Detective Work

You may have a desire or tendency to rush through this kind of self-detective work. Perhaps you even recognize this as a past behavioral trait of yours. This is a good example of Heightened Awareness. You may have uncovered an unhealthy source that leads to procrastinating or self-blocking. When you spot these tendencies, pretend that they are colored child-blocks, labeled with their name. Place them in a pile over there.

While it's just fine to scan through this material to become familiar, don't fall into the trap of hurrying and not doing the detailed detective work. You will be cheating yourself, taking away from the quality of what you are capable of doing, and perhaps even taking you down past roads of failure. There is no easy road when looking to achieve high level health and optimum performance. If it were, more people would be experiencing it. This program offers you the opportunity to see, and address your short and long falls, as well as your potential. As you build your commitment to this self-development work, you will probably want to review this area more than once, so as to build on the already presented memories.

You probably know plenty of people who want to change something, but simply can’t figure out how or when to get started. Somehow it never seems to be the right time. Excuses abound that keep them engaged in procrastination. Perhaps you have had this personal experience, and are wondering right in this moment if you can do this. This is another colored child-block called "doubt". It usually accompanies "lack of self-confidence."

Do know that this time it will be different than before, because I’m going to help you get started and find your balance. In fact, you are already in the process because you are reading this book. It’s said that when a rubber band is stretched, it never returns to it’s original position, and so with reading material such as this. The actual process of reading engages your right brain, or subconscious mind and so inner motivators are already etching. Notice if you can sense them.

Throughout this inner detective work you will be activating the different areas with a light application of Interactive Self-Hypnosis. Managing health issues, addictions or getting to the heart of any problem involves the act of beginning. You must commit and step onto the merry-go-round of life. Life does not stand and still and wait for you. So reach out and grab on to the golden ring. The ring is the catalyst for moving you out of procrastination, and into the action of the merry-go-round of life. That's all you have to do.

MIND EXERCISE Take a moment to deeply relax, and just as if you were looking in a big filing cabinet, find the folder that contains your current lifestyle patterns. As your mind scans the material, notice that some appear familiar, but others may not be quite so clear. While you think you know yourself and how you spend your time, you are about to find out that you know less about yourself than you thought. That is because a good part of your day is spent in a very limited conscious state known as low-level awareness, or automatic pilot I call this is day-sleep walking, a form of automatic self-hypnosis.

There are many areas of lifestyle behaviors that are on automatic pilot. Some include food choices, meal timing, snack choices, snack timing, exercising, sleeping, excess habits, stress building habits, mood choosing. It helps to imagine that each automatic pilot area has a separate folder in your subconscious mind. As you work with your personal assessment, you will be opening these folders and researching the many aspect of the automatic pilot programming. Some aspects may need to be deleted, changed or mind-edited in some way. Other parts may appear to be fine, but it's a good idea to review these anyway. Your subconscious librarian may have suggestions to make these even better than before.

We all tend to think within certain boundaries, but unfortunately when we do so, our innate creativity can be curtailed. Practice allowing your mind to open and flow. Your subconscious mind will apply this to other areas of your life Each time you encourage creative thinking. Very soon you will find yourself doing so on automatic pilot, and this is a great creative self-gift.

While automatic pilot has some benefits, it also has drawbacks. When you are not fully awake, you give up your rights to observe, assess and manage your thought processes. Thoughts are goals. Whatever you play in your mind becomes your goal for that moment. If you decide to brush your teeth, you will most likely participate in an automatic pilot program designed for oral hygiene. While this may be a safe, automatic mind program for you, suppose that you have a tendency to over-brush, therefore injuring your gums. Since this type of continuous abrasion can lead to some serious gum problems, you will want to dismantle your old automatic program.

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, President & Program Designer for Sarasota Medical & Sports Hypnosis Institute located in Sarasota, FL & online at http://www.hypnosis-audio.com & http://www.sugar-addiction.com She is the author of Sugar....the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It, Beyond Disorderly Eating...The Truth About Sugar, Bingeing & How to Stop, as well as The MindBody Fitness Boot Camp... Lifestyle Change Made Easy. She has also written & produced +350 audio CD's & mp3's. The websites include moderated discussion groups, ezines, library & a host of other educational tools for learning Interactive Self-Hypnosis. Visit the online Boot Camp & work directly with the author. Download a free mp3 each month.

Inner Coach Imagery

Having anxiety & panic disorder can be frightening & so it's important to know that one is not alone. Inside each of us is a Higher Self.....an Inner Coach of sorts. Let me help you locate yours... Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

I'm no different from anyone else. Part of me has always fantasized about having my own private coach, someone who would lift me up and out, and then tell me exactly what I should do to achieve my goals, motivate me, taking me down the Goal-den path to high achievement of some sort. The kind, loving coach was always a part of a multitude of glorious images that I designed through the years, leading to everything I desired at the end of the rainbow. But as in all dreams, somewhere in the distance sounds could be heard, "Be careful what you wish for....." my Mother's always far too realistic way of breaking my fantasy.

I got my wish when I was about fifteen. I joined the roller skating club and Phil Pinto was assigned to be my coach. He was nothing I imagined and there were no rainbows, at least not then. His job was to take my focus away from my bruised knees in order to keep me skating , when what I really wanted to do was to give up and go home. It was years before I really liked him, much less admired him. I don't think I fully appreciated his attempts at teaching me self-discipline until I was a mature adult.

As life would have it, I now find myself being a coach and mentor to hundreds of people, but my main focus is assisting each individual to find their own coach within. We are all the same in this regard. Nursing is just another form of coaching, getting patients to follow doctors orders and to be self-responsible in their health practices. In my work as a lifestyle change educator and clinical medical, personal development and sports hypnotherapist, I work with people who want to experience functioning at their optimum levels. Many are managing anxiety & panic disorder, along with problems such as sugar addiction or eating disorder in addition to working on other goals.

I can certainly commissurate with my patients on many levels. Often as not, my anxiety attacks & my accompanying addiction, that of sugar addiction & disorderly eating had been blocking my path to these goals, sometimes for years on end, for it is very difficult to have what it takes to reach goals when blood sugars are dipping and rising like roller coasters in a giant theme park. My inner coach needed to be primed with the necessary background and suggestions to get on track & to work to stay there, as well as to find myr way back when I fell off the track.

Any lifestyle change and especially addiction management needs a super-coach, someone who is highly attentive, motivated and understands how to get into the moments and to open them up for assessment and possible editing or change. In my experience, the only coach up to this job is the "Inner Coach". That Coach resides inside our selves, in the subconscious mind. Our job here is to contact that part of ourselves and begin the learning process.

In this special work you will begin the process of re-communicating with your Inner Coach on a regular basis. The Coach will help you in disciplining all parts of yourself to turn towards what you really want on your goal-den path and to move past what you don't want. You will be keeping up the energy with a plan designed specifically to meet your own specific needs and desires.

Your "Inner Coach" has tremendous advantages in assisting you towards optimum performance. First , this coach knows you best and there is no hiding behind fantasy of any sort. You already know that you live most of your waking hours on automatic pilot or lost in fantasy. Individuals lost in thought, either hang out in the past, or in the future, usually staying involved in replaying old negative tapes, or fantasy adventures of the future that have little to do with planned goals.

Being able to face the truth is a vital force in licking sugar addiction and in all aspects of optimum performance. Your Coach will be asking you to be willing to see the negatives as well as the positives. For many of us this is the most difficult part of our work because we simply do not want to see these things and most certainly do not want to feel them. One of the reasons for this is that we tend to lack the knowledge that negatives are simply doorways to improved outcomes. They are like flags waving for attention. "Look over here! Correct this and find a better way." This is the heart and soul of inner creativity.

Lucky for us our Inner Coach is ever present. No need for meetings, conferences, cell phones or emails. Your Coach is not only ready at less than a moments notice, but has access to all the inner resources you have been accumulating since birth, making those available at any time. Your Coach will be showing you how to reframe them, making them even more useful and powerful.

Your Inner Coach is aware of self-imposed roadblocks, old stale beliefs, thought patterns and automated emotional responses that keep you side-lined and off the goal-den path. The Coach knows all about how many times you've failed at nutritional change, how imbalanced your emotions can be and how many of your goals have been left sitting on the table of the subconscious mind library for so long. Once it's clear that that you are ready to move through those blocks, your Coach will present doable plans for this part of your work, while placing you right in the middle of the needed action. Wow!

Most of us have been very out of touch with this part of ourselves. You will probably need some up front time for re-communicating, designing clear cut goals and giving the Coach what's needed for his or her part of the job. Like any other Coach or servo-mechanism, it needs care and attention. The next mini-chapters will remind you of those things forgotten, or perhaps introduce you to them for the first time. As you work through these daily exercises, you will begin to notice the path is not as difficult as you thought it would be. Don't be surprised if you feel a kind hand on your shoulder, motivating and urging you towards all you can be. The hand will belong to your deepest and Highest Self, known here as your Inner Coach.

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, President & Program Designer for Sarasota Medical & Sports Hypnosis Institute, Sarasota, FL & online at http://www.hypnosis-audio.com & http://sugar-addiction.com She is the author of Sugar....the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It, Beyond Disorderly Eating....The Truth About Sugar Addiction & Bingeing & How to Stop & the MindBody Fitness Boot Camp...Lifestyle Change Made Easy. She has written & produced +350 audio CD & mp3 programs written in original "interactive self-hypnosis." Her educational websites moderated discussion groups, ezines, library & over 800 pages of learning tools. Visit each month & download a complimentary mp3 program.

Food Stress Connection

Getting a handle on anxiety & panic disorder means getting a handle on lots of lifestyle areas including those related to stresses of all sorts....including food stress. And while you may not have heard about food stress, do know that it ranks right at the top of the stress list for most individuals... Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

Any time is a great time for deep cleaning & right at the top of the list for those in search of optimum health should be a thorough review of eating patterns & behaviors. There is little doubt that disorderly eating is responsible for the continual & rapid decline in the health of both adults & children & just in case you weren't aware, it is a major factor in those dealing with anxiety & panic disorder. In fact, of the thousands of patients I've met over my many years in practice, I have yet to find a patient with symptoms of anxiety & panic who doesn't have disorderly eating of sorts.

Disorderly eaters tend to fall into two major problematic groups. One group appears to be totally asleep & therefore unaware of how they are mis-managing their food-brain-body physiology & the other group, aware but distancing themselves, can be found sitting up in the bleachers hoping the problems they are formulating won't find them there.

Black humor helps us image disorderly eaters wearing bags over their heads, laughing at bad eating habits as if they had no dire outcomes. Connections to chronic & killer diseases, addictions, uncontrollable moods, low productivity, accidents & the like are missed completely as if there was no connection at all as to what entered the mouth & how often it entered.

Disorderly eaters appear blinded to the fact that they are speeding down life's highway, either starving themselves in the quest for the fantasy perfect body or forfeiting all for the giant slurpie & riding straight into the arms of the multitude of disasters waiting to greet them.

Where to Begin

Everyone travels to their moment of nutritional awakening by different routes & so it is important to begin with an indepth self-assessment of where one has been, where one is now & to then build a workable plan. While most of us can recognize surface problems, it is usually a challenge to harness these & then to successfully manage them.

It helps to think of disorderly eating as an octopus poking it's head out of the sea. The tentacles of the problem lie under the surface & the origins may be well-buried in the ocean floor, but still capable of sending up physical & emotional messages that connect to the maintenance of disorderly eating. When parts of a problem are not identified, it is often difficult to make a good plan for recovery or to find ways to implement it. Even when the parts are identified, there is still the business of staying motivated & persisting through obstacles on the life path. A good therapist can be of great assistance in pulling this all together & designing a workable discipline. The therapist's work will also include helping you to isolate your personal strengths & weaknesses, while teaching you to manage both aspects.

To properly identify the octopus' tentacles, it is vital to walk through the family & personal medical history, as well as the addictions history, current medications & past lifestyle behaviors & patterns. It is also important to examine what one eats & drinks over a 24 hour period, as well as what one doesn't eat. Keep in mind that the body has needs & when they are not met, the problems of disorderly eating ill enhance. Awareness needs to shine on the time of eating, the frequency & certainly the levels of exercise in relation to the food intake.

Take time to study hunger & energy levels for they are very connected to disorderly eating. Examining compulsive or emotional patterns can open the subconscious mind to deeper memories & often the origins of the problems. Self-honesty is the best policy & even if you believe that you eat in a healthy fashion, take the time to do a self-review. You may be surprised at what you find. If one just tunes in, the body & mind have much to communicate.

Organizing Disorderly Eating

Once the problematic areas have been isolated, a new working organization must be put in place, along with the self-management tools. Let's follow a disordered eater & observe as control is achieved.

Sharon, a 32 year old teacher, while not over-weight, is an unhealthy stress-binge eater. She has a history of disordered eating & wants to manage it. She images her new lifestyle work as a baseball game. She is the batter. The pitcher has baskets of stress-producing balls. This image helps Sharon in accepting the presence of outer stress, further understanding that as her batting improves, so will her outcomes.

First base represents high level nutrition & Sharon's food plan. A visit to first base repeatedly etches the new programs into her subconscious mind. She visits her internal motivators here, literally touching base with both her strengths & weaknesses. As she touches second base, she experiences close communication with her body & releases physical stress that is closely related to disorderly eating. Touching third base allows Sharon to work with her emotional & compulsive parts. She is aware of her more difficult patterns & works to diminish them before they begin & engages her positive emotional states in hot motivational imagery.

As Sharon crosses home plate, her winning subconscious mind programs are waiting to shake her hand. Scoring becomes a new pattern of immediate & life-long success. Management of disordered eating is a life long game & just like in professional baseball, one starts off in the farm leagues & with practice & endurance finds themselves as a MVP in the game of life.

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, President & Program Designer for Sarasota Medical & Sports Hypnosis Institute located in Sarasota, FL & online at http://www.hypnosis-audio.com & http://www.sugar-addiction.com She is the author of Sugar....the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It, as well as +350 audio CD's & mp3's. The websites include moderated discussion groups, ezines, library & a host of other educational tools for learning Interactive Self-Hypnosis. Visit the online Boot Camp & work directly with the author. Download a free mp3 each month.

Focusing on Facets

Anxiety & Panic Disorder presents itself in thoughts, body sensations, emotional choices & behaviors. Each is made up of facets, each one a jumping off point for reprogramming the mind....Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

The subconscious mind library is vast and filled with tremendous resources, ready for you to access when you know how to do so. As you are well aware, everything is not positive, but do know that everything is useful. Interactive self-hypnosis will help you to disassociate, and to enter your editing mind-set. You are now ready to become the writer, director and producer of your life. You can locate more areas for re-programming, as you become more skilled at heightened awareness. Then you can design your desires, in other words exactly what you want, in the special image and emotional format that is clearly understood by your subconscious mind. You will be ready to change course, right in the moment.

Learning with Others...

It helps us to read about others in our own quest for health and balance. As you read through Claire’s story, see if you can find some self-comparisons. Then, I’ll address some of the issues presented here.

Meet Claire…

I'm 38 years old and work in television production with a major network. I am over-weight and completely stressed out. I am a binge eater and rarely eat regular meals. I bite my nails and pull at my hair when I'm nervous. I've tried artificial nails, but I pick those off as well and so I spend quite a bit of energy hiding my hands as they are a true embarrassment to me, especially in my profession. Why can't I stop this? I know that I drink too much coffee and on weekends I find myself binge drinking. I've thought about this and think it is because I'm trying to fit in all of my fun and relaxation on the weekend. I do feel entitled to this because I don't have a minute to myself during the week. I am married and have two school-age children who are already over-extended in activities, making my life even worse because of time constraints, but what's a Mom to do?

Here is the frightening part. I truly don't feel well physically. I'm fatigued just about all the time and have frequent headaches. I truly do not remember the last time I felt well. I had a medical check-up and the doctor told me that I am fine. I am not fine and not even near to fine. This frightens me even more than having a diagnosis of something. Is that strange or what? I went to counseling and found it useless because, despite everything, I'm a fairly happy and successful person. I have a good marriage and two great children. I'm just not well.

I don't know how to start or where to start. I'm like a "messy desk" that I don't seem to have time to straighten it out because people, including myself, keep putting more things on it. I'm truly frightened that I will die from all of this stress and yet I can't seem to motivate myself out of this. My doctor offered me medications and I turned them down. I truly don't think that they will solve any of this. I see this as something I absolutely must do myself. I think I understand what is past and what is not. I'm also quite clear about what I don't want. Why doesn’t my subconscious mind respect this, and help me to clean up my disorder?

Claire is forming her actual goals from the images she plays in her mind. The subconscious mind does not judge. It simply takes the most current mind pictures or thoughts as the goal. Like radar, it attracts like experiences from the outside world and also from the subconscious mind library. This is goal reinforcement. The more frequently Claire plays a particular mind program, whether she wants it or not, the stronger the mind etching. This is how habits and fully orchestrated negative mind programs are constructed.

On a positive note, it is possible to design automatic mind programs that pre-instruct the subconscious mind to diminish a negative thought and replace it with a positive- goal-orientated program. This can be orchestrated under the direction of the subconscious mind librarian or inner assistant. This will be covered in the chapter focusing on self-hypnosis applications.

Claire’s mind programs are quite negative, now infecting other areas of her life. She has a tendency towards boredom, and was actually surprised to identify this negative mind-state during her work with me, because her job has some exciting aspects. But not all aspects were exciting. There is no job that I know about that is completely free of drudgery. As Claire investigated her work-related-boredom, she admitted through a veil of shame that she was also bored with mothering, being a wife, a neighbor and even sometimes being a friend. She feels so bad that in her own words, she felt like running away. This is why Claire binge eats and drinks.

Each time Claire experiences the above scenarios, they are seen as her goals, repeatedly etched into her subconscious mind programs. These very programs are like a virulent virus, busy looking for more areas and experiences to infect. In the past her boredom was hidden, but experienced in the body in the form of stress sensations. This is what took her to her physician, who gave her a clean of bill of health. There is no blood test, x-ray or medical diagnosis for boredom, embarrassment, shame, guilt and repressed anger.

Now that Claire has uncovered her boredom and other related emotions, she will begin to see and sense more of it. Bad news? Not at all, for now Claire is able to clearly identify the offending emotions, the connected experiences and can release these, thereby stopping the virus contagion and her bingeing. She is now in the powerful position of being in direct communication with her inner mind. She can decide to program her mind for what she wants. She can also request the particular emotional mind-states she would like to accompany this new programming.

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, President & Program Designer for Sarasota Medical & Sports Hypnosis Institute located in Sarasota, FL & online at http://www.hypnosis-audio.com & http://www.sugar-addiction.com She is the author of Sugar....the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It, Beyond Disorderly Eating...The Truth About Sugar, Bingeing & How to Stop, as well as The MindBody Fitness Boot Camp... Lifestyle Change Made Easy. She has also written & produced +350 audio CD's & mp3's. The websites include moderated discussion groups, ezines, library & a host of other educational tools for learning Interactive Self-Hypnosis. Visit the online Boot Camp & work directly with the author. Download a free mp3 each month.

Waking Up & Owning Fear

Most of us have a tendency towards anxiety or even panic in some area of life. Sometimes we know what it is attached to, but other times it is more generalized, disallowing us to be able to reason with it. However, while you may want to run away in fear, it is indeed possible to wake up & own it. Then you are free to manage both the physiological & emotional aspects of it...Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

We all have beliefs and behavioral patterns that work for us and those that don't. It helps to image them as plants for plants know all seasons and they can, indeed, be helped to grow and change. Some plants have both positive and negative aspects. Others are completely positive and some completely negative. We spend a good part of our day planting and weeding, often not awake for our inner gardening work.

Working the time-line allows you to see where old beliefs were planted, as well as where and how behaviors were developed. Some of these are in the past, but many are actively being planted in the future. Yes, you are planning and planting your future on many different levels. This can be either good for you or not so good! As young children we develop volumes of coping mechanisms and behavioral patterns. Some of them follow us right through life. Some help and some impede. Some we learned from our parents, other mentors or teachers and some came by way of experience.

We often can see our parents in ourselves as we become older and wonder if history has to repeat itself through us. Some of these inner behavioral programs work well for us and can be seen in our successes. There are, however, some that do not work well and often some that hinder. It is important for us to know that we can alter any behavioral program simply through the tools presented here. Interactive Awareness and Interactive Self-Hypnosis give us the means for going into these past files. We can then re-edit or reframe memories and associated programs, so as to make them healthy and useful to us in our present and future life.

Learning to Re-frame

Re-framing beliefs or memories or any mind programs is just like deciding that a particular photograph would look better in a different frame, and then actually changing it; only frames for mind programs are those of perception. You choose to see your mind program differently, through “new eyes.” Suppose that you have a memory or mind program that is framed in anger or distrust. This is how it is stored in your subconscious mind, so whenever you review it consciously, it will come up framed in anger or distrust. In fact, the way the subconscious mind works, every time it comes up the frame will be stronger in perception. Now suppose you have a mind program or memory file about managing an addiction framed in failure. I’m sure you get the idea!

MIND EXERCISE

Now we are spending time assessing and locating areas for concentrated attention later on. Take some time to deeply relax, in fact even deeper than before. Perhaps close your eyes after reading this, knowing that everything shown to you will be useful in your recovery. Each day of your life you are presented with learning experiences. Some appear pleasant and others are not, but all are learning experiences. Significant people may have or currently be demonstrating anxiety, panic, depression, compulsive or obsessive behaviors to you. You may find yourself mirroring these or wanting to, perhaps later in the day. Go to work on your time-line. For example, notice if s anyone demonstrated addictions to you in the past. Addictions and related behaviors travel through families of origin and extended social circles. Also look for specific emotional teaching or patterns that may or may not work for you. All hold importance for now, as well as for your future.

Call in your librarian and spend some time looking through the shelves for any history of anxiety and panic, depression, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, as well as treatment or known triggers. These are very connected to addictions and stress-related issues. Remember the octopus and the tentacles? While there are physiological connections to the aforementioned, there are also triggers and you learned these somewhere and probably from someone. Think of the world as a great big school where you begin your formal schooling at birth, continuing along until death. Every experience you have is an actual learning experience. Every person you meet, or that attracts you in some way becomes a teacher of sorts.

All of these experiences are stored in your subconscious mind and the inner librarian knows where they are. This information will become very useful later on, so take your automatic writing pen and welcome the inner communication. Remember to be patient with the process and if nothing comes off the pen, simply wait a moment and then move on to the next section. You may find yourself receiving this information later on in a different quiet moment.

Interactive Self-Hypnosis can help you to change. It is important to become aware in a relaxed state and to see the scenes of the past being played out as separate from you. You might like to read the chapter on emotional crayons and practice some of those exercises, then apply them to this area of your Assessment. Throughout the book you will be coming back to this area, as you will have things to add as your heightened awareness grows.

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, President & Program Designer for Sarasota Medical & Sports Hypnosis Institute located in Sarasota, FL & online at http://www.hypnosis-audio.com & http://www.sugar-addiction.com She is the author of Sugar....the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It, Beyond Disorderly Eating...The Truth About Sugar, Bingeing & How to Stop, as well as The MindBody Fitness Boot Camp... Lifestyle Change Made Easy. She has also written & produced +350 audio CD's & mp3's. The websites include moderated discussion groups, ezines, library & a host of other educational tools for learning Interactive Self-Hypnosis. Visit the online Boot Camp & work directly with the author. Download a free mp3 each month.

Emotional Imaging

When working with anxiety & panic disorder it is very helpful to work with images or other thought-editing tools. This helps to disassociate from the emotion, body sensation or behavior & then to be able to move into a new image or change, thereby also changing the body chemistry...Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

Those who read our books or work with our CD or mp3 programs work with imaginology or active imagery, picturing emotional states as little children wearing tee shirts with their names on the front. Each child has their own personalized box of crayons for coloring moment- to- moment experiences. This type of active imagery invites you to disassociate from your emotional state. You are also able to image, as well as sense what is going on in any given moment, in your thoughts, as well as in your body communication system.

Instead of an automatic pilot program with its attached emotions dictating your actions, you are now taking your rightful position as the writer-director-producer of your own life. At the same time you are invited to re-editing old subconscious mind programs, including the re-education of your emotional mind states. This is all key in bringing order to your life and managing addictions. In the past, before you began paying attention, you simply lit a cigarette, poured a cup of coffee, or put a piece of candy in your mouth in answer to stored or momentary stress.

The art of disassociation also makes it clear that you are not your emotions. They are outside or separate from you. For most of us this is a tremendous relief. This view allows us to forgive ourselves, as well as to have some self-compassion. Emotions are simply a part of us that needs management, even if they are acting out in a positive way. You'll come to understand more about this later on. Remember, emotions color experiences all day long. Sometimes the colors work well and other times not so well. On occasion the crayon colors are too heavy and other times too light. And if the emotion holds the crayon too tight, or presses too hard the crayon can break. You might experience this as a complete loss of control of your emotional self.

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, President & Program Designer for Sarasota Medical & Sports Hypnosis Institute located in Sarasota, FL & online at http://www.hypnosis-audio.com & http://www.sugar-addiction.com She is the author of Sugar....the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It, Beyond Disorderly Eating...The Truth About Sugar, Bingeing & How to Stop, as well as The MindBody Fitness Boot Camp... Lifestyle Change Made Easy. She has also written & produced +350 audio CD's & mp3's. The websites include moderated discussion groups, ezines, library & a host of other educational tools for learning Interactive Self-Hypnosis. Visit the online Boot Camp & work directly with the author. Download a free mp3 each month.

Taking Care of Body Physiology

Anxiety & panic disorder is about what you eat, when you eat it, as well as what you don't eat. Paying attention to this aspect of this disorder is just like first base in the game of baseball. When it comes to healthy weight, what's important is not so much the scale, but the percentage of lean body mass & body fat percentage. Do you know where you stand in this regard?... Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

No matter where you look, it appears that everyone seems to have weight issues. There are those who want to lose pounds & others not wanting to gain pounds. It's not uncommon to live one's emotional life in relation to the dial on the bathroom or supermarket scale.

Truth be known, the scale is not the best determining factor of what is going on weight-wise. The scale only reports the total weight, not the lean body mass nor body fat percentage. In addition, there are people who do not appear over-weight, but do have an unhealthy body fat percentage & a low-weight lean body mass. For one reason or another theyare not burning fat & more than likely, they are building insulin resistance on their cell borders, leading down the path to the killer diseases. Keep in mind that here are also individuals who have a dense lean body mass & lower body fat percentage who will weigh more than they appear as muscle weighs more than fat. Athletes often fall into this category.

Here are some keys to attaining a healthy lean body mass,body fat percentage & weight:

1. FIRST....you must have a HOT DESIRE to not only REACH your goal but to ATTEND to it FOREVER !! It needs to be fed each & every day with powerful affirmations, loaded with positive emotion. All negative mind states that present themselves MUST BE diminished as soon as they are noticed. Then, you must re-educate those emotional states, not only with new behaviors, but with HOT DESIRE.

2. Next, it's important to take stock of where you are RIGHT NOW in regard to your lean body mass & body fat percentage. You scale weight is actually a secondary issue at this time. There are websites that will help you to figure this out & also give you an idea of a healthy body fat percentage for your age & level of health. If you would like to write to me, I will be happy to help you as well.

3. Once you know your lean body mass, you will need to find out how much protein your body needs in a total day in order to burn fat. Again, check the web or write to me. Depending on your body fat percentage, body weight & exercise levels, you may need even more. You will also need to know how to divide your required protein throughout your day. Protein is calculated in grams or units. 7 grams equals one protein unit, so if you are measuring tofu or nuts as a protein choice, be sure to estimate your serving. Don't eat out of the package. Place your serving on a plate. An ounce of meat or poultry, one ounce of cheese & 1.5 ounces of fish constitutes a protein unit. There is usually no need to measure, but one certainly needs to "eyeball" serving sizes. Do know that when the meals are properly designed, hunger levels will normalize. That means that "I could eat the wallpaper off the wall" hunger levels will be gone forever.

4. Meals must be scheduled every 3.5 to 4 hours to avoid "big bridges" that interfere with healthy blood sugar levels. "Walk-by" & "thought-less" eating patterns also need to be broken to preserve this healthy fat-burning physiological state. These negative eating habits over-produce insulin & since insulin stores fat, you can guess the outcome. Heightened awareness & interactive self-hypnosis will help with this. If "break-through" hunger occurs, the previous meals need to be reviewed. In most instances one will find insufficient nutrition or hidden insulin triggers. Common ones include coffee, caffeinated tea, diet soda, artificial sweeteners, gum or breath mints. Insufficient water causing dehydration is also a possibility.

5. Its important to learn the difference between low, SLOW & high glycemic carbohydrates. Certain high glycemics, such as refined foods containing white flour & high fructose sugars tend break down very rapidly,causing the hormone insulin to be over-produced. Although we need insulin to survive, when it is over-produced it leads to excess fat storing, as well as to a condition known as insulin resistance, the precursor to the killer diseases. In addition, if a person smokes or has alcohol dependency, cravings increase.

6. Low-glycemic carbohydrates include all varieties of lettuce, sprouts, cucumbers, peppers, radish, artichoke, kale, zucchini, snow peas, asparagus, brussel sprouts, okra, arugula, broccoli, endive, spinach, green beans, cabbage, mushrooms, eggplant, yellow squash, turnips, to name a few. Tomatoes can be acceptable in smaller amounts as they are actually a fruit. These vegetables help to balance the blood sugars, as well as containing lots of vitamins & minerals. You can eat them raw or cooked.

Most obese individuals under-eat low-glycemic vegetables & over-eat high-glycemics, especially the refined choices. They have a strong tendency towards disorderly eating, eating too little of what their body needs to burn fat & compensating with larger portions or overly-frequent eating of foods that raise their insulin levels & place their body into food stress. When the needed meals are not properly balanced & delivered when they are needed, the pancreas WILL over-produce insulin & the body will store fat. Keep in mind that the body NEEDS proper nutrition & cannot go & get it for itself. Believe me, if it could it would !! The body looks for homeostasis or balance & so if the nutrition is not DELIVERED, the body will break down the lean body mass & store it as fat.

7. High-glycemic vegetables include acorn squash, butternut, corn, lima beans, refried beans, artichokes, beets, kidney beans, parsnips, peas, white & sweet potatoes, chickpeas, lentils, carrots to name a few. All grains are high-glycemic carbohydrates. Choose whole grains & stay away from refined ones. Read the labels. Choose breads that are dense & have no sugar or sweeteners of any sort added to the dough. If you suspect a sensitivity to yeast, choose a yeast-free product. If you suspect a sensitivity to a particular grain, check it out & if necessary take it out & try a different grain. Other grains include rice, both white & brown, barley, quinoa, millet, rye, buckwheat & oats. Bulgur & couscous are both wheat.

8. All fruits are high-glycemic & need to managed properly. Stay away from juices & pretend juices. They stimulate insulin production & very quickly. As for whole fruits, much will depend on your already present level of insulin resistance & how sensitive you are to the particular fruit. If your body fat percentage is high, you may need to limit fruits & to choose those that have less tendency to drive the blood sugar up. Those include blueberries, blackberries, raspberries & strawberries. Dried fruits, bananas, guava, mangos, papayas & dates are very glycemic & should be avoided unless there is some very good reason to include them.

Most people I see in my office tend to over-eat fruit. They see it as a healthy food & therefore interpret that as an "ok" to eat it whenever they like & as often as they like. I have one patient who nibbles grapes throughout the day. Think about that for a moment. She is actually asking her pancreas to produce insulin each & every time she pops one into her mouth!

9. Breakfast should consist of protein, healthy fat & a slow or dense carbohydrate. The portions depend on the needs of the body in the front part of the day. Fruits are usually not a good choice here, especially if the body fat percentage is high. They are often responsible for break-through hunger in the middle of the morning, or in the early afternoon. Depending upon the time one starts the day, there may be a need for two small breakfasts. I find this occurring in nurses who wake up at 5 AM & start their work shift at 7 AM. They may not be scheduled for lunch until 12 or 1 PM. It's important to work with "the bridges" so as to manage the blood sugars properly. All caffeinated beverages stimulate insulin production !! One is still paying for 8 ounces of coffee ten hours later !

10. Lunch is time for protein, healthy fat & lots of low-glycemics. By lots I mean at least 3 cups. Depending on the individual, a serving of grain may also be needed here. When one is looking to lose body fat percentage, the amount of food needed during this time is often higher.

Obese individuals usually over-eat at lunch OR starve. Once again, disorderly eating is a big problem here. Those who are disorganized find themselves dealing with lack of planning & looking for the easy way out that usually means joining the "let's order out" group in the office. For those who are home, it's easy to join the children or to just open the refrigerator & let the hands do the walking instead of the head. Water is the beverage of choice. Decaffeinated green tea is acceptable. I'm not talking about the bottled variety, but that make from loose tea or a tea bag.

11. Mid afternoon is low blood sugar time for most people & an afternoon snack is often a must. Once again, count those hours & watch out for "big bridges." The size of the snack depends on the body needs. The choices fall into the categories of protein, healthy fat & low-glycemics. These foods balance out the blood sugars & form a healthy bridge to dinner.

Most people tend to make poor choices at this time of day. Some reasons include the fact that breakfast & lunch were not properly balanced & so the body is screaming out due to the over-production of insulin. When this happens the body looks for carbohydrates to balance out, but unfortunately the kinds of foods chosen are not what the body had in mind. Sometimes a person will "be good" & choose fruit. This usually has a back-lash & within an hour or so, the body is
screaming to eat again or their could be symptoms of hypoglycemia including shakiness, light headedness, extreme hunger, blurred vision, etc.

12. Dinner is the time for a balanced meal. It should contain healthy protein & fat, low-glycemic carbohydrates & a balance of healthy high-glycemics. When the body fat percentage is too high, it's a good idea to eat at least two cups of low-glycemics to help hold the blood sugars. I'm not in favor of eating refined sugars at this meal, but sometimes it takes awhile before an individual can wean themselves. I always suggest that my office patients stay away from binge choices. If one "must have" a cookie or something sweet, choose one that is "ok" but "not to die for."

Once again, the serving sizes at dinner depend on the needs of the body including the lean body mass, exercise & stress levels. When a person eats correctly, after a short while, the physiological appetite levels usually balance themselves. Emotional & compulsive eating are separate issues & need to managed in a different way. The body is very intelligent & knows what to do when it is provided with what it needs. Of course, in rare instances there are other medical problems, but for the large majority of people the problems are nothing more than lack of desire, lack of knowledge, lack of planning, lack of exercise, lack of stress management, lack of follow-through & self-disorder.

Diets don't work. One needs to know how to eat for what the body needs & then to learn how to eat those other foods that the mind wants. In "interactive self-hypnosis" we learn to "contain" those foods. We can have everything we desire, but not all the time or when the urge presents itself to us. As we learn to work with our mind-body connection, our emotional child-self, our compulsive nature & old patterns, we can break through the dangerous habits of the past & re-edit these with new facets & desire for healthy outcomes.

Disclaimer:
The information in this article reflects the author's experiences & is not intended to replace medical or psychological advice, nor is it the intent of the author to diagnose or prescribe. The intent is only to offer information to help the reader cooperate with their physician in the mutual quest for desirable health. Always consult your physician before embarking on any lifestyle change, nutritional or otherwise.

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, President & Program Designer for Sarasota Medical & Sports Hypnosis Institute located in Sarasota, FL & online at http://www.hypnosis-audio.com & http://www.sugar-addiction.com She is the author of Sugar....the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It, as well as +350 audio CD's & mp3's. The websites include moderated discussion groups, ezines, library & a host of other educational tools for learning Interactive Self-Hypnosis. Visit the online Boot Camp & work directly with the author. Download a free mp3 each month.

Early Teachers

If you have a tendency towards anxiety & panic disorder, do know that you most likely have had early teachers, at least for some of the facets. These could have been parents, educators, relatives, siblings, or others who were close to you. Learning to recognize this fact, as well as to forgive, will give you the opportunity to change... Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht.

Claire: My parents were dysfunctional in many ways. My home was not a place where I felt safe as a child. However, I loved them very much despite everything. My mother was prone to anxiety, my father to depression. Both were alcoholics & smokers. Should I review my subconscious mind programs in relation to these behaviors & habits & if so what questions should I ask myself?

It's important to know that even when you were a toddler, your earliest teachers may have been placing potential behavioral or addictive programs. If addictions were present in your early environment, you were also learning how to manage stress with these substances. What did your hero’s teach you?

· Were there members of your family or social circle or smoked ?

· Where there members of your family or social circle who consumed alcohol?

· Was coffee a regular a beverage of choice?

· Did you have soft drinks available?

· We you offered any of these substances?

· Were you offered water as a beverage or was it not considered a beverage?

Are there any areas that need editing here? Simply relax deeply into the moment and bring up the images you would like to change. Even though they really happened, you can still change the scenes in some way. Perhaps you would like to stand next to your child as an adult mentor and point out that one can love or like someone even if they participate in dangerous habits. Let the child know that it is not healthy to smoke at all.

There are some people who can enjoy a drink of alcohol on occasion, but it truly isn't a good idea to get used to it. Coffee is not a healthy drink and should be avoided, as well as other drinks that have sugar and caffeine. Take the opportunity to share a glass of cool, refreshing water with your child-self and tell the child all about the rewards for participating in healthy behaviors.

Other articles in this series will address the emotional component & behaviors that were attached. As you learn to locate those practiced by your early teachers, as well as dissect them, you will be able to spot check yourself & then to make changes.

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, President & Program Designer for Sarasota Medical & Sports Hypnosis Institute located in Sarasota, FL & online at http://www.hypnosis-audio.com & http://www.sugar-addiction.com She is the author of Sugar....the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It, Beyond Disorderly Eating...The Truth About Sugar, Bingeing & How to Stop, as well as The MindBody Fitness Boot Camp... Lifestyle Change Made Easy. She has also written & produced +350 audio CD's & mp3's. The websites include moderated discussion groups, ezines, library & a host of other educational tools for learning Interactive Self-Hypnosis. Visit the online Boot Camp & work directly with the author. Download a free mp3 each month.

Changing Eating Patterns is a Must

It goes without saying that if you have a problem with anxiety & panic disorder you are most likely going to have to change your eating habits. This includes reviewing what you eat, what you need to it, what you need to remove from your nutritional intake, as well as when you eat or drink it!... Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

Perhaps you chose to read this article or my books because you know that you need to change your eating habits. This was a good first step.

Perhaps you already know that good nutrition lowers the risk for many chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, some types of cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis. For example, for at least 10 million Americans at risk for type II diabetes, proper nutrition and physical activity can sharply lower their chances of getting the disease. Good nutrition that is designed to meet the specific needs of your body and exercise level also stops food cravings, bingeing, as well as cravings for other addictive substances.

Perhaps another reason is because you have noticed a resistance to change in some areas of your lifestyle behaviors. You are certainly not alone. Although Americans are slowly adopting healthier diets, a large gap remains between recommended dietary patterns and what Americans actually eat.

It is very interesting to observe people and their relationship to eating. Most people tend not to pay any or little attention to what they eat or drink. There is often a complete lack of discipline, as if food and beverage had nothing whatsoever to do with the internal functioning of the mind and body. Truth be known, there is a huge connection between nutritional intake, chronic disease development, management and symptoms. Many individuals live in continuous food stress, causing their body and mind to function at very low levels. The chronic disease is often blamed, while the true culprit is the food stress.

I wish you could be a fly on the wall of my office, and listen as I interview patients about their eating habits. It is rare to find a single soul who is not experiencing what I call food stress, or disorderly eating. One cannot help but feel sorry for the poor body parts sitting before me. These body systems and cell groups are locked up, unable to get what they need to survive. Imagine someone carrying a hungry baby in their arms, and refusing to feed it. When individuals refuse to feed their body correctly, it is very much the same. The person with the baby could be arrested for child abuse. It’s unfortunate that there isn’t a law against self-abusing one’s body. Perhaps if there was such a law, people would begin to pay attention to what they are doing to themselves.

When the mind and body are under food stress, additional stress chemicals are produced as the body attempts to find balance. It is well known that chronic disease states are stress related. The medical literature suggests that 60-90% of disease states are related to stress in some way. This is actually good news. Translated correctly, this means that 60-90% is within one’s power to change.

There is much to be learned from observing chronic disease and the lifestyle behaviors of those with the problems. There is no lack of people to observe. Walk through the supermarket, the mall, the movie theater, the baseball park or just about anywhere else. Go into the school cafeteria or walk the halls, observing the junk machines. Count the fast food restaurants as you drive through your town. Try to locate a healthy place to eat. See how many non-food places sell junk food at their registers. Observe how many people are eating outside of regular meal times. How many of these people are doing something else while they are eating. This is called mindless, or blind eating. Walk through your office or workplace and see how much junk you can locate. Watch for ongoing cans of soda or the bottomless coffee mug. Also look for those items that people try to pass off as healthy “alternatives”. Then ask yourself, why do we need to eat all day long?

Observation or assessment is key to designing change, because if one can't see what needs to be changed, how can it be possible to do so? Sometimes these statements appear ridiculous, but once you begin paying attention to the problems that surround us, you might be stunned by what you uncover about yourself.

The reason for this is that most people live their lives on automatic pilot, not paying much attention to what they do "moment to moment." They don't see the big picture, nor the minute changes occurring in the mind and body triggered by unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. Little attention is paid to the reasons why heart disease, diabetes, circulatory disease, asthma, or the many others develop in some people, but not in others. Why do these diseases speed up during particular times of life and not in others? Little attention is paid to why the bowel is irritable, or why the body keeps breaking down in so many areas. Little attention is paid to why anxiety and/or panic disorder seem to be problematic in some, or why the anxiety comes in the afternoon and not the morning. If this sounds like detective work, you are right on the mark.

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, President & Program Designer for Sarasota Medical & Sports Hypnosis Institute located in Sarasota, FL & online at http://www.hypnosis-audio.com & http://www.sugar-addiction.com She is the author of Sugar....the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It, Beyond Disorderly Eating...The Truth About Sugar, Bingeing & How to Stop, as well as The MindBody Fitness Boot Camp... Lifestyle Change Made Easy. She has also written & produced +350 audio CD's & mp3's. The websites include moderated discussion groups, ezines, library & a host of other educational tools for learning Interactive Self-Hypnosis. Visit the online Boot Camp & work directly with the author. Download a free mp3 each month.

The Alcohol Connection

There is a huge connect between alcohol & anxiety & panic disorder. Even if you are not an alcoholic, if this runs in your family medical history you may be having symptoms related to alcohol issues. These can even be seen in children who have never touched alcohol. It is simply a genetic tendency. Therefore, it is in your best interest to learn about this connection & become familia with what you need to do to manage this. You may be surprised how much better you will feel... Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

Alcohol can be problematic for many people, especially those from families with a history of alcoholism, diabetes, heart disease and harboring other addictions. A family history of alcoholism is usually connected to reactive hypoglycemia or sugar addiction issues. This is true even if the individual does not drink alcohol and includes children as well. As you work with the tools of Interactive Awareness, it is important to notice the amount of alcohol consumed, when it is consumed, related emotions or trigger behaviors and of course the outcomes.

Next in line is tobacco and recreational drugs ...

There is absolutely nothing positive about tobacco whether it be smoked, chewed or simply positioned in the mouth. Everyone reading this program who has any sort of relationship with tobacco should be working towards total removal of these killer substances from their body. As you work with this program and change your nutritional choices you will find the desire to use tobacco decreases enormously. This is because all smokers, like all alcoholics have the tendency towards reactive hypoglycemia.

Claire: I stopped drinking about five years ago and noticed that I smoked more than ever. My doctor told me that it was necessary for me to quit and so I did. I then turned to sugar during times of stress. Lately I’ve been feeling so out of control with this and sicker than ever. Since obviously I’m an addicted personality type, how can I ever get well and how can I manage my emotions during rough periods?

Claire has experienced “switching” addictions, but not managing her tendency towards an addictive personality. She also has framed her “addictive personality” as a hindrance. Addictions are managed with high level nutrition designed to meet the individual’s needs and mind tools to manage emotions and body sensations. The tools of Interactive Self-Hypnosis will help Claire to manage moments and edit old belief patterns that keep her locked in an unhealthy frame.

If there is nothing to be said for tobacco, there is definitely nothing to be said for recreational drugs. This is the not the place to be discussing marijuana use for cancer patients. If you do experiment or use recreational drugs as part of your life you will find the desire for them decreasing as you follow this program. Once again this is because of the reactive hypoglycemia link.

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, President & Program Designer for Sarasota Medical & Sports Hypnosis Institute located in Sarasota, FL & online at http://www.hypnosis-audio.com & http://www.sugar-addiction.com She is the author of Sugar....the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It, Beyond Disorderly Eating...The Truth About Sugar, Bingeing & How to Stop, as well as The MindBody Fitness Boot Camp... Lifestyle Change Made Easy. She has also written & produced +350 audio CD's & mp3's. The websites include moderated discussion groups, ezines, library & a host of other educational tools for learning Interactive Self-Hypnosis. Visit the online Boot Camp & work directly with the author. Download a free mp3 each month.

Phobias & Specialized Fears

Anxiety & Panic Disorder is often accompanied by phobias or specialized fears. Just about anything can turn into a phobia. It's very important to learn how to take charge of these, because it's not uncommon for them to multiply into other areas...Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

Question: Lately I've noticed becoming fearful of many things. Some of them are new, but others seem to have intensified through the years. Some of them are really getting in my way such as driving on highways. Air travel has also become more difficult. A new one has to do with cleanliness in restaurants. I keep looking at the hands of people serving the food & I feel a compulsion to go into the kitchen & spot check the place. How does one stop these fearful reactions? JC

Answer: Would everyone reading this column who has experienced a phobia please raise their hand? I can see hands waving all over Sarasota! The question is, have phobias become more prevalent, or are people just owning up to them more often? Whatever the answer, the key lies in knowing how to manage them. Let me give you some direction about this. Most phobias are blown-out-of-proportion "fear files."

While it is a fact that people preparing food can have dirty hands, planes crash & cars have accidents, your subconscious mind has bought these ideas & has convinced your neurological system that you are in eminent danger. You have sparked off the fight or flight reaction. You are literally pouring stress chemicals into your body preparing you to meet the enemy. When no enemy comes forward, you are left with a body filled with them. If this negative experience is not reprogrammed in a positive frame, the next time you have the opportunity to play it again, the probability is that your negative reaction will be enhanced.

TOOL #1. Each time a thought arises having to do with one of these "fear files", simply notice & take a grounding breath through the bottom of your feet. Let the breath sit in the lower abdominal area. This will automatically slow the stress chemical production. Take a few moments to observe your breath in this area. I like to have my clients place their hand there so they can feel it. When the breath is felt in the area of the chest, stress chemical production is higher.

TOOL #2 - Learn to observe the triggers for the irrational thought files. Once you get good at this you may notice the triggers coming way before the actual event & maybe not even having much to do with it. This is the way of the subconscious mind. It is important to learn how to monitor the mind activity & to direct it. If you do not learn to do this, it is rather like having a puppy running around who hasn't been trained. Your mind activity can either help or hinder you. Once under stress, if not trained, the mind will automatically go to the negative fear files. It is a built-in safety, but one that works against the person in most instances.

TOOL #3. It is important to change or edit the old files having to do specifically with the phobia or fear. This can be accomplished with a mindbody tool called Interactive Self-Hypnosis. It is a form of imagery or visualization & has been around in one form or another for hundreds of years. In a nutshell, with your body in a very relaxed state, you go into the inner VCR & just like a movie producer/director or book editor, you re-write the script. It will then be filed in your subconscious library in the newly edited version. This means that the stress chemical codings will be changed & the next time the triggers present themselves, you will be ready to take that puppy out on a leash!.

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, President & Program Designer for Sarasota Medical & Sports Hypnosis Institute located in Sarasota, FL & online at http://www.hypnosis-audio.com/ & http://www.sugar-addiction.com/ She is the author of Sugar....the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It, as well as +350 audio CD's & mp3's. The websites include moderated discussion groups, ezines, library & a host of other educational tools for learning Interactive Self-Hypnosis. Visit the online Boot Camp & work directly with the author. Download a free mp3 each month.