Don't Let Your Past Overpower Your Present

It is said that everybody has a skeleton in their closet. As a child who almost always took things literally I always used to think that this was a weird phrase which had extremely dark connotations. Needless to say I was none too keen to wander into the spare bedrooms and peek inside the closet doors!

This terminology is really just a descriptive way in which to say that everyone has something hidden from everyday view; everyone has a secret which they wish to keep out of sight from prying eyes. We all have done things which we find embarrassing or upsetting and so we try to push them into the darker recesses at the backs of our minds. More often than not the things which we wish to hide are really not that important; we humans are very good at making mountains out of mole hills.

To push something to the back of one's mind is a logical thing to do and most of the time it works very effectively. There are certain times however when it can be rather less beneficial. When something is unresolved, or you haven't accepted it fully, and you try to push it out of your mind, it will keep coming back in various forms. Often an unresolved issue will reappear disguised as a physical symptom. If you do not listen to your body and hear what it is trying to tell you, your body is quite likely to raise its voice and produce a more uncomfortable symptom.

Our physical state is for most of us a pretty good indicator of our emotional world. Your body in fact provides a very good feedback system, giving you constant updates upon the state of your emotional reality. Whenever you are subjected to a physical symptom it is worth asking yourself what that symptom feels like and what it might reflect in terms of an unresolved conflict in your mind. For example, if you are suffering from a sore throat, is something "sticking in your throat" or "hard to swallow"? If you have a rash which is itchy, what could be "making you itch"? If at any time you have a recurring symptom, then I would recommend paying particular attention to it, because it is likely that your body is repeating its message to you for a very good reason.

Everyone does repress certain things. We have an inbuilt ability to turn a blind eye, or a deaf ear, or to push things to the backs of our minds. As I mentioned before this is a fantastic help to us, so long as you are not repressing an unresolved conflict. As children growing up we inevitably repress more emotional issues than when we are older, as we are inexperienced at working through things and resolving conflicts. Thus all adults will have a number of repressions from childhood of which they are not consciously aware.

Most of such repressions do not cause discomfort. Sometimes, however, they do and it is therefore important to somehow get into the far recesses of one's mind and resolve those previously hidden conflicts. Hypnosis is a state of mind which is conducive to such probing. Hypnosis is a natural and normal state of relaxation and is easy to learn and easy to use. When in hypnosis you have access to your subconscious mind, the place where repressions have been stored. A visit to a hypnotherapist is probably your quickest and easiest route to this type of conflict resolution.

Remember that whatever you have done in the past or whatever someone else has done to you has no power over the present. It only has power if you give it power. So long as you come to terms with things in your own mind, you are the one in control; you have regained your power.

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in hypnosis for health and well-being.

http://www.RoseannaLeaton.com