Whole Body Healing:
For the past several decades, the focus of healing the body has been (for the most part) going to the doctor, having tests run, getting a medical diagnosis, and managing (or hopefully eliminating) symptoms. Whole Body Healing (or Holistic Healing) is when a person or healthcare support group takes a closer look at the cause of the problem, the relationship with thoughts and emotions, and addresses more than just the body as an alternative to healing.
Let’s Talk About Diagnoses:
A diagnosis serves a couple of important functions in the medical (and psychological) communities. One major reason for diagnosis is to group together a cluster of symptoms for the purpose of categorizing those symptoms into a manageable profile that can be “treated.” But another important purpose of a diagnosis is for the insurance companies so that they can also categorize and manage what they will and will not pay. So, for these two obvious reasons, a diagnosis can be helpful.
The Problem with Diagnoses:
However, giving a person a diagnosis can lead to some problems from a psychological perspective. Diagnosis tends to “label” the person which can lead to stigmatization. What I mean by that is that if a person is now labeled as “depressed” or “bi-polar” or some type of “hereditary disease” (for example), this can lead to stereotypical attitudes being directed towards the patient. It can also lead to that person developing a mental filter from which they begin to think and perceive their world, thereby limiting themselves without even realizing it.
Say, for example, that a child is “labeled” ADHD. The good thing about this diagnosis is that the insurance company will now cover some of these expenses (hopefully!) Another good thing is that now the apparent “symptoms” are clustered in a way that can be managed and (also hopefully) treated so that the child and his or her surrounding family members and friends can reduce stress related to the “symptoms.”
On the other hand, all people who are close to this child will now begin to (consciously or unconsciously) put this “label” on the child, which can lead to possible self-esteem or self-confidence issues that may hinder this 
child for many years or even the rest of his or her life. The child may then begin to believe this inferior “label” about himself or herself, begin to think he or she is different or doesn’t fit in, and people close to the child may unknowingly reinforce this belief. The child will then develop a mental filter (or way of perceiving the world) and may consciously and unconsciously begin to (as Dale Carnegie would say), “live up to this reputation.”
We are ALL guilty of this, so please don’t take it as a guilt trip! That is exactly the opposite of what we are trying to accomplish here! The purpose here is to become open-minded to a different way of looking at how we stigmatize ourselves and others without even realizing it. Here is an important reason not to beat ourselves up over this – it is how we have been programmed!
This is nobody’s fault! It is not your fault, it is not your parent’s fault, it is not your doctor’s fault or anyone else’s fault. What is really happening here is this is the way we have been taught to make sense of this world. Nothing more, nothing less. Sometimes it is helpful and sometimes not. My opinion is that if it causes the child or parent to feel better, then it is helpful. If it causes either to feel worse, then perceptions need to change.
One of the Goals of Transform Emotions:
One of the goals here at Transform Emotions is to throw out the labels (at least temporarily) for the purpose of “Mental Healing.” Once the mind begins to heal self-sabotaging and limiting beliefs, the emotions will respond accordingly, and the limbic system (the emotional center of the brain) will begin to relay a different message to the immune system and hormonal system. More positive thoughts and emotions will lead to a stronger immune system and a more balanced hormonal system, which will lead to a healthier body. We will also talk about natural ways to take care of the body, such as vitamins, minerals, and natural remedies.
The Way Our Minds Work:
Our minds like to put things into categories. There is a good reason for this – it helps us to not have to 
keep relearning the same things over and over again. Take riding a bike or driving a car for example – if our brains did not put things into mental categories that we practice and rehearse on a regular basis, we would have to relearn riding a bike or driving or typing or whatever else you can think of every day.
It would be like Ground Hog’s Day every day! We don’t want that! Thankfully, we don’t have to live that way because of the way our minds are structured. What happens is that we reinforce the things we learn and our bodies begin to have “minds of their own” and act out what we have learned “out of habit.”
How Habits Can Help Us Or Hurt Us:
As we all know – habits can be beneficial and they can be detrimental. Knowing how to ride a bike, drive a car or type are definitely beneficial habits. They make our lives easier. This is what habits were designed for and exactly why our minds tend to place concepts into categories. On the other hand, unhealthy habits can lead to all sorts of problems, such as addiction. We don’t want this! So, where do we find the balance? These are some of the questions addressed here at Transform Emotions.
Whole Body Healing and Holistic Healing:
Whenever we refer to whole body healing or holistic healing, we are putting our focus on ways to think about and perceive the world in less stressful ways. We want to “reframe” the way we are thinking about things that don’t serve us and make us unhappy. In other words, we want to change the way we are looking at our problems and ourselves and give those concepts more positive, peaceful and productive meanings. We want to stress less! That is one of the main topics here – finding ways to reduce or eliminate stress and feel better about ourselves and our challenges.
Why We Give Everything A Meaning:
Everything that we learn in this life becomes meaningful to us in one way or the other. There have been many studies on the memory and one thing that has been repeated in studies over and over again is the fact that we remember the “meaning” that we give to events in our lives better than we can remember the (meaningless) details.
We learn very early on in life what things are supposed to “mean to us.” For example, one child may have grown up with a certain breed of dog and tend to grow up having a preference towards that specific breed. Another child may have grown up in a family that does not like that specific breed of dog and may have developed a dislike towards that specific breed.
So, the first child sees that breed of dog and gives it a positive meaning and the second child sees that same breed of dog and gives it a negative meaning. This is just a simple example that is non-controversial (hopefully) that we can all relate to.
What Does This Have To Do With Body Healing?
Well, everything! The point is that we all grow up developing beliefs and attitudes towards everything that we 
encounter in this world (including ourselves), which determines our reactions (both mental and emotional) to those encounters. And then those thoughts and emotions relay messages to our bodies and our bodies respond accordingly.
Hopefully, you have found this article interesting and intriguing but most of all, made you stop and think about how your own beliefs, thoughts, and attitudes are making you FEEL. What thoughts and feelings can you change to make yourself feel better?
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Here is an interesting experiment: What are your beliefs about German Shepherds? Do you love them or are you afraid of them? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below or anything else that you may want to share about something that has made you feel bad that you would like to change, for the purpose of feeling better!
That is what Transform Emotions is all about – our own personal journeys towards how can we learn to FEEL BETTER!
