Q
I bought your book and CD 2 weeks ago mainly for help with daily headaches for many years. I have listened to the CD and I am doing active sessions every 2 hours and there has been an improvement. I have however more problems (insomnia, restless legs, fatigue and hot flushes) I also have high BP and under active thyroid which I take medication for and it is under control. I would be grateful for your advice on when and how I tackle my other problems, whilst still doing active sessions for my headaches. Thank you for any help you can give me.
A
I see you have a number of different symptoms, as well as your daily headaches. Well done on the improvement in your headaches – do keep going and the watch the gaps getting longer on your chart.
Blood Pressure & Thyroid: As your headaches reduce, you may also find that some of the other symptoms like high blood pressure also reduce on their own. You can do regular sessions aimed at your thyroid and you may find that this improves many of your symptoms.
Watch out for past memories emerging as you work, as these may hold unwanted feelings that have been trapped in the memory. Write down any past event that arrives ‘uninvited’ so that you can re-visit them after you have used the ‘Changing Effects of Past Experiences’ exercises with them. This is a very effective part of the programme and can make a significant difference to your symptoms.
Restless legs: Use directional active sessions (page 92) on your legs. You may notice your restless legs happen at a certain time of the day, so that is when you could do your active sessions on them. When your legs are not misbehaving, you can give yourself a break. Record your symptom of restless legs on another chart so that you can see how much it is affecting you now, and then compare again every month to see how they are doing.
Fatigue: For the fatigue, this can fade out as you are working with the daily headaches. It may be happening at a certain time of day, like first thing in the morning. This is where you can add a ‘fast start’ (page 101) at the beginning of an active session. If your fatigue occurs at odd times, see if you can catch it when it first begins with a fast active session. Catching the first moments when it begins sends a negative feedback message to your brain that it is going off in the wrong direction! And then repeat your general sessions every couple of hours while the fatigue persists.
Insomnia also often reduces when people are underway with the programme for another condition. If it persists, then you may need to have more help. If you are constantly turning things over in your mind – in fact, worrying – then you can use the ‘Cinema Routine’, page 71 of the book. There is also a special CD called ‘Switch Off & Sleep’ on the website, for people who keep on thinking about things that must be done – making mental reminders not to forget things all night!
I also recommend that people alternate the ‘Cinema Routine’ - with this complete body relaxation:- Relax all of your muscles very deliberately so that your arms and legs feel really floppy and seem to sink into the bed. This releases the tension across the shoulders and the back of the neck. See how long you can keep your arms ‘floppy’ like this.
You should also practice ‘clearing your mind’. Imagine you have a blank sheet of paper, or a clean white board in front of you. You have to keep any thoughts out of your head as you imagine this paper or board. Shoo any thoughts away.
Hot Flushes: As soon as you feel the reaction beginning (the sooner the better), begin a short active session of about 12 sharp Go-aways, and then step forward and do something else. Record your hot flushed on a separate chart, recording the number each day, the duration and the intensity. You will be fascinated how they can reduce until they are just a shadow, but still, whenever you feel the ‘shadow’, do a quick 6 Go-aways, just to finish them off. Always complete the job properly, otherwise a symptom can begin to come back.