Health is an area often affected by early programming. Children are repeatedly told that if they get their feet wet or get chilled, they will catch cold. There is no scientific basis for this. Viruses cause colds. However, on any day across the world, there are mothers and grandmothers saying, "I told you so" to little Johnny or Susie. Why? If the subconscious is subjected to repetitious information, even though the information is false, it will accept the information as true and act on it. Therefore, when a child (or even an adult under the proper circumstances relaxed in front of the TV, and "It’s the flu season") is told repeatedly that a certain action or condition will produce a cold, a headache, the flu or some other physical ailment, the subconscious accepts that information as true, and sets about to trigger the body mechanisms to produce the symptoms of the expected condition. Conversely, good health and resistance to illness can be fostered by positive statements and attitudes.
Another subtle aspect of health is often affected by early programming. Children are sometimes ignored, or only paid cursory attention by busy parents. At best, almost all parents feel they really should spend more time with their children. This sets the scene for the creation of a potentially negative pattern. Little Susie or Johnny gets sick. Parents feel guilty. They surround little Susie or Johnny with loving attention, give them special presents and make them the center of their world for a little while. Susie or Johnny has the attention, and evidence of love and concern he or she craves. Then Susie or Johnny recovers, and life gradually or abruptly reverts to normal. The next time an illness or injury occurs, the sequence is repeated. It doesn’t take the subconscious, or even the conscious mind, many repetitions to make the connection between being sick or injured and receiving the desired love and attention.
By the time the child grows into an adult, the negative habit pattern can be firmly entrenched in the personality. The adult produces pretend-illnesses, or dramatizes minor ones in an attempt to gain attention or keep someone’s love. This may work at first, but it soon gets old and drives even friends away. Then the individual constructs more and more dramatic situations in an effort to re-attract and hold the attention of the people who are drifting away. There is usually a pattern of ‘better’ health between friendships or relationships, and then the pattern repeats. Sometimes the pretend-illnesses become real. This negative pattern can be corrected with age regression by taking the individual back to the particular childhood incidents and correcting the impressions he or she received which setup the negative pattern.
This situation can be prevented by never rewarding a child for being ill. Illness should be treated in a matter-of-fact manner, with only the necessary amount of attention. The child should be given attention and ‘rewarded’ when he is well, happy and well behaved. This reinforces positive behavior patterns, and can make the difference between an adult who feels good to be around, or one who brings people down just by being present.
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