How I healed and am still healing myself

How I healed (and am still healing) myself from chronic physical and mental illness Megan Moll CPMH Seminar Tuesday, 2 April 2019

Who am I? • • • Certified TRE® provider QEC coach NLP practitioner Self-Love Coach An expert on my own life and body An expert on healing myself using my mindbody connection

My story • My diagnoses – Chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) – Generalised and social anxiety disorder – Panic attacks – Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) – Possible PTSD – Bipolar-like symptoms – possible mood disorder

Polyvagal Theory – Stephen Porges

The Phil Parker Lightning Process® (LP) is a training course that focuses on the science behind how the brain and body interact; it gives you powerful tools to use this brain-body link to influence your health and life. The tools involve gentle movement, meditation-like techniques and mental exercises. With practise you can use them to change the way your nervous system works, switching on pathways which promote health and switching off ones which aren’t so good for you. (Taken from https: //lightningprocess. com/what-is-the-lightning-process/)

• May 2016 – Lightning Process • 3 -day training programme • Prepared really well for 2 months before the 3 -day seminar • Day 3 of the seminar – completely free from ME/CFS (average: about 2 -6 weeks)

What did the LP teach me? • Neuroplasticity • Fight/flight (stuck) response • How powerful my thoughts and subconscious beliefs are • That I can change these to create change in my body (mind-body connection) • That I always have a choice in how to respond to any situation • That I can heal myself from any chronic issues

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) • Discovered NLP through the LP (LP based largely on NLP) • Neuro – neurology, nervous system • Linguistic – language • Programming – how your neural language functions à“learning NLP is like learning the language of your own mind!” (Taken from http: //www. nlp. com/what-is-nlp/)

• Created more than 40 years ago - Richard Bandler and John Grinder • Studied and worked with Milton Erickson, Virginia Satir and Fritz Perls – some of the most talented psychiatrists and therapists at the time • Bandler and Grinder wanted to know the psychological strategies great performers used – what they did and how they did it • Devised means for modelling these strategies so others could replicate their performance • This became the initial model of NLP (Taken from https: //www. nlp-techniques. org/what-is-nlp/)

• Trained as NLP practitioner 6 months after doing LP • Could now teach others how to harness the power of their own mind-body connection • After one trauma healing process – felt and looked so different in such a good way • I have experienced trauma! – redefine my idea of trauma • Researched trauma and trauma-healing methodologies available in SA

ACEs Study • Adverse Childhood Experiences – “harm children’s developing brains and lead to changing how they respond to stress and damaging their immune systems so profoundly that the effects show up decades later. ACEs cause much of our burden of chronic disease, most mental illness, and are at the root of most violence. ” • ACE score of 4 or more – “huge risk of adult onset of chronic health problems” • “toxic stress caused by ACEs affects short- and long-term health, and can impact every part of the body, leading to autoimmune diseases, such as arthritis, as well as heart disease, breast cancer, lung cancer, etc. ” (Taken from https: //acestoohigh. com/aces-101/)

Our subconscious beliefs • Trauma (ACEs) impacts our belief system, including our core beliefs about ourselves • It therefore impacts how we view and interact with the world • Some of the distorted beliefs that may be re-enforced or may develop are “I am not good enough”, “I am unworthy”, “I am not safe”, “I cannot trust anyone”, “No-one will listen to me or believe me”, “I am a disappointment and a failure” • These beliefs become ingrained in the person and life becomes a cyclical experience of “this always happens to me” • QEC was designed to change these beliefs at a subconscious level

• SA-born Medical Doctor and Traumatologist who worked for 30 years in the UK as a GP • Qualified Gestalt Psychotherapist Dr Melanie Salmon • Developed QEC in 2008 by combining her Gestalt and medical experience with various new energy modalities into a simple method that changes thought at the subconscious level of mind

• QEC is based in neuroscience and is a combination of: – Gestalt Coaching – to clarify issues – Focused Intention – to install new beliefs – Brain Gym – to facilitate learning at a deep level – Cardiac Coherence – to set the energy field appropriate for core learning – Neuroplasticity and Neurogenesis – to develop new neural pathways in the brain – Kinesiology – to test that the new beliefs have been successfully installed

The QEC process • Involves the client and QEC practitioner working together to choose new thought patterns and behaviours to replace negative limiting ones • These are then installed in the subconscious mind using a specific body position • The client is fully conscious at all times and the process is quick, easy and effortless. Once installed, the new beliefs are permanent and the change is profound (Taken from http: //qecliving. com/)

What has QEC given me? • • • I now know for a fact that I AM ENOUGH. Always. I love myself completely and unconditionally. Life is so much easier than it has ever been. I know that I will NEVER get CFS again. I am confident standing up in front of a group of academics and mental health professionals, and telling them my story of healing using unconventional and non-mainstream modalities.

TRE® Dr David Berceli, Ph. D. • Tension, Stress and Trauma Release Exercises • international expert in the areas of trauma intervention and conflict resolution • spent two decades living and working in many countries providing trauma relief workshops and designing recovery programs for international organizations around the world - Israel/Palestine, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Yemen, Egypt, and Lebanon • holds a solid academic and experiential grounding in psychotherapy and therapeutic body-work (Taken from https: //traumaprevention. com/about-dr-david-

• TRE® was designed to help release the deep tension created in the body during a traumatic experience or through chronic stress • Simple set of movements that safely activate a natural reflex mechanism of shaking or vibrating that releases muscular tension, calming down the nervous system • When this muscular shaking/vibrating mechanism is activated in a safe and controlled environment, the body is encouraged to return back to a state of balance (homeostasis) (Taken from https: //treforafrica. com/ and https: //traumaprevention. com/)

• David Berceli first observed natural shaking mechanism in people living in a war zone • Also observed this mechanism in other animals • Brought to SA by Dr Melanie Salmon in 2009 • Has already spread to 40 countries globally

2 videos • TRE® - A condensed explanation: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=e. Qkw. Lr. S xd 5 w&t=159 s • TRE® - A revolutionary way to feel better: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=WRe. Aj. A 7 Nx 4 M

Individual benefits within 3 -4 months of regular TRE • • • • Less Worry & Anxiety Reduces Symptoms of PTSD More Energy & Endurance Improved Relationships Less Workplace Stress Better Sleep Reduced Muscle & Back Pain Increased Flexibility Greater Emotional Resiliency Decreases Symptoms of Vicarious Trauma Healing of Old Injuries Lessened Anxiety surrounding Serious Illness Relief from Chronic Medical Conditions

Contraindications • Pregnancy • Serious injury within the last 3 months • Operation within the last 3 months • Diagnosed with mental illness (e. g. bipolar, schizophrenia) • Undergoing cancer treatment • Sick – fever, flu, bronchitis, pneumonia, etc.

What has TRE® given me? • Autonomic nervous system at homeostasis – grounded, present, mindful, SAFE • Know when I’m being triggered and can come out of it quickly • Able to be with, process and express my emotions in a healthy way (including anger, shame, grief, etc. ) • Deep self-compassion and self-love • Boundaries – I know my YES and my NO • Much better self-care • More energy • Sleep really well • Ask for help when I need it • Free from perfectionism • A lot fewer addictions • Free of anxiety disorders, panic attacks, SPD, PTSD, bipolar-like symptoms

Case study • • • TRE® group in 2018 4 people High-stress jobs All stuck in the fight/flight and freeze modes 8 weeks of TRE® sessions Practiced in between 1 -2 x per week

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Any questions?