Five-step emotional cleanse for stress reduction and disease prevention

Wednesday, May 16, 2012 by: Mike Bundrant
Tags: emotional cleansing, stress, health

(NaturalNews) Every bit as important as physical detoxification, an emotional cleanse will free your mind and body in ways you can't imagine prior to doing it. It isn't always easy, but I have never met anyone who followed the protocol and regretted doing it. Beyond the immediate personal benefits, emotional cleansing may prevent the onset of disease, as there are scientific links between chronic emotional angst or stress and the major diseases of today.

One Harvard study of 1,305 men with an average age of 62 revealed that the angriest men were three times more likely to develop heart disease than the most placid ones.

According to researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, stress acts as a sort of fertilizer that significantly accelerates the spread and progression of breast cancer in animals. Immune cells, which normally protect the body against disease, are being biologically reprogrammed through stress into cells that actually help cancers grow and metastasize.

In a review of the scientific literature on the relationship between stress and disease, Carnegie Mellon University psychologist Sheldon Cohen has found that stress is a contributing factor in human disease, and in particular depression, cardiovascular disease and HIV/AIDS.

No doubt about it, chronic emotional stress contributes to fatal disease. Don't allow it!

Like a dietary cleanse, the emotional cleanse allows the emotional body to reset itself, letting go of the cumbersome toxic load and reducing stress significantly. Unless you consciously and deliberately engage in the emotional cleansing process, you are leaving your future health to chance. Don't leave your health to chance. Follow the recipe. Besides, it is the right thing to do.

Recipe for an emotional cleanse

The recipe will call to mind specific people and events and ask you to take certain actions, always erring on the mature expression of your emotions, rather than an immature expression.

1. Cleanse anger

Identify the people at whom you are angry. Once identified, the recipe calls for you to write down the mature expression of your issue (not the immature one). Once you are clear on your adult position on the issue, the road forward will be obvious.

2. Cleanse guilt

Identify people you have wronged and of whom you need to ask forgiveness. Identify specifically what you did or how you acted poorly toward each person and what, if any, restitution you feel is appropriate. Make plans to act on your insights.

3. Cleanse negative memories you are holding onto

Write a list of negative memories that still bother you. Once you have your list, review each memory completely and from a distance. Imagine you are viewing the memory as a neutral observer from a safe and comfortable distance. Ask yourself what there is to learn from each memory. Record your thoughts.

4. Cleanse self-criticism

Notice the specific words you use to criticize yourself. Take a paper and pencil and write the words self-criticism at the top. Then, write down all the phrases the come to mind that you use to beat yourself up. Don't censor yourself. Review each phrase, curious about its origins. Next, completely clear your mind by listening passively but intently to some mundane sound in your immediate environment (the sound of a refrigerator motor, a fan, the hum of your computer of the distant traffic). Once you are settled and clear, throw the paper away.

5. Develop resources

Finally, immerse yourself in a positive memory, seeing what you saw at the time, hearing what you heard and feeling what you felt. Imagine many, many more of these positive memories being scattered into your future. By ending on a positive note and casting positivity into your future, you set the stage for good things to come. Positive expectations and optimism are linked to health and longevity.

The moral of the story: Take charge of your emotional health. Consciously process your emotions. Don't allow stress to dictate your state of being. When this happens, your mind and body become a habitat in which disease is more likely to flourish. This is a proven fact.

If you cannot complete the emotional cleanse on your own, get some help and support in the process. It is that important.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.amoena.com

http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/09.21/01-anger.html

http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2007/October/oct10_cohenjama.shtml

About the author:
Watch the free video The AHA! Process: An End to Self-Sabotage and discover the lost keys to personal transformation and emotional well-being that have been suppressed by mainstream mental health for decades.

The information in this video has been called the missing link in mental health and personal development. In a world full of shallow, quick-fix techniques, second rate psychology and pharmaceutical takeovers, real solutions have become nearly impossible to find. Click here to watch the presentation that will turn your world upside down.

Mike Bundrant is co-founder of the iNLP Center and host of Mental Health Exposed, a Natural News Radio program.

Follow Mike on Facebook for daily personal development tips.