Basic emotions — fear, anger, grief, and others — are part of the normal response to everyday experiences. Generally, these emotional responses dissipate as the situation that triggers them resolves. For example, if you encounter a growling dog while you’re walking down the street, you may feel fear. The fear, in this case, is part of the healthy emotional response that protects your survival, and it will normally dissipate when the threat is gone. However, sometimes there are factors that prevent the body from recovering from what was originally a healthy response. The result is a short–circuit or “glitch” in the nervous system, which can affect physical and mental well-being.
MEET PAVLOV'S DOG
You may have heard of the famous experiment Pavlov conducted with dogs, where he rang a bell each time the dogs were fed. Soon, the dogs linked the sound of the bell with eating and would salivate simply at the sound of the bell even when no food was present. This is called a conditioned response. Emotional reactions to situations can also be conditioned, and sometimes after just one life experience — especially if it was a traumatic one!
SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT
Pavlov discovered something else. If a dog is conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell, the bell can be changed to another bell that sounds slightly different and the dog will still salivate. The same thing can happen with our conditioned emotional responses. For example, let’s consider the case of a young boy who was severely scolded by his father for making a simple mistake. This incident caused him great anxiety and an upset stomach. Today, as an adult, he finds himself becoming overly tense and gets an upset stomach whenever an older man (e.g., his boss) criticizes him in any way. He doesn’t consciously connect the two incidents, and can’t figure out why he feels ill. N.E.T. can help make the connection and efficiently resolve the problem.
WHERE DO YOU KEEP YOUR EMOTIONS?
Scientists recognize the connection between the nervous system, emotions, and health. Historically, emotions were thought to reside entirely in the brain. Now we know that emotions chemically affect the body on almost every level. If you’ve ever felt butterflies in your stomach when you’ve been anxious or a heaviness in your chest when you were sad, then you know first-hand how emotions can affect the body. Moreover, studies have shown that stress and emotional distress can make us vulnerable to illness.
EMOTIONAL REALITY
Even imagined events can stimulate a response and have a dramatic effect on how our body works. Have you ever awakened in the middle of the night in a pool of sweat with your heart racing after a disturbing dream? Fortunately, the attacker wasn’t real, but your body thought he was! Of course, we’re more conscious of this process when we have to give a speech, ask the boss for a raise, suffer the loss of a loved one, or experience other negatively-charged emotional events.
FINDING THE SHORT CIRCUIT
The “emotional baggage” associated with past events in our lives (remember Pavlov’s dog?) can sometimes haunt us for years. Like a computer “glitch,” unresolved negative associations are stored in our bodies, often short-circuiting our true desires; even our health. N.E.T. practitioners can help you identify and resolve stuck events (real or imagined) that are affecting your ability to have optimal health and well-being.
THE PROCESS IS ELEGANT, YET SIMPLE
Just as static electricity can make your hair stand on end, thoughts and emotions can cause measurable changes in the body. This is the basis of biofeedback and polygraph testing. For example, things that create internal distress, such as conflicting thoughts, unresolved feelings, anxiety, etc., can result in measurable changes in heart rate, breathing, muscle tension, and many other physical parameters. The N.E.T. procedure assesses for the presence of such distress as it relates to your presenting problem and provides a means of resolution.
RELIEF
After N.E.T. treatment many patients report feeling that a burden has been lifted and that they feel an internal shift. N.E.T. provides a sophisticated health intervention in an environment that is comfortable and relaxed. The overall goal of the process is to restore mind-body balance and health.
