One of the most powerful ways to change how you feel about your situation is to "own" it.  Everything we do or are exposed to in life has positive and negative aspects and we must take on both in order to regain our power. 

In this episode we continue the conversation started in episode 11 about how to change the meaning of events, with examples. 

Reframing is the art of seeing things from a different angle. It is a radical tool in changing the negative thoughts and feelings we associate with events,. When we start looking at our past or address our future with a sense of agency and gain rather than loss and helplessness, we open the path to healing. 

One of the most effective ways to break a habit or to shift a persons' perspective is to interrupt the expected sequence of events. Habits and beliefs are conditioned, so changing the conditioning agents is an extremely effective way to induce change.

You are starting to get a glimpse of the stories lying behind a symptom. What so do next? Let's call it A&E. 

We are constantly trying to adapt to our ever-changing world. Sometimes, a person feels trapped. They can't find a way to solve a problem or to deal with their circumstances. In those cases, illness might be the subconscious mind's last resource. Illness allows people to rest and be looked after,  step down from excessive responsibilities or walk away from stressful situations with a valid reason. The question to ask here is "how is this illness the solution"? 

We have all heard expressions of language that refer to the body. "I am heartbroken", "I am sick and tired of...", "I can't stand".  These are important clues pointing to the nature of the issues lying behind physical symptoms. Another way to explore language is to ask the patient to describe their symptoms and to reflect those words back to them. 

Physical symptoms seem to be the symbolic expression of the patient's lived experience. The interpretation of these symbols is a gateway that can open the path to healing. In this episode, we explore different ways to explore the symbols behind illness. 

A good starting point in exploring the MindBody connection behind physical symptoms is the timing of their appearance. What was happening in the person's life at the time when the symptoms appeared is an essential piece of information that opens the path to exploration. 

Mind and Body are co-emergent qualities of a person.  The stories we have adopted for our lives are translated into how we think, how we behave, as well as what we look for in reality. Our interactions with other people are also based on those stories, creating a circle of self-perpetuating experience that traps us even more.