Your therapy was by far the best one offered by the hospital". T.
H.
"The routine makes my heart pound, it's exhilarating". A. L.
"Your process is a lot easier to do than many I have studied in
the past. I hope you are passing this process along to some psychiatrists as
they will appreciate the multiple endorphin rushes that occur". V. E.
Accelerated-State Conditioning (TM)
Copyright 1997-2008
Neal Engelking
“A revolutionary,
fun, 5 MINUTE DAILY, motivational exercise, designed to dramatically elevate
mood, eliminate unwanted habits and addictions, reduce pain and boost the
immune system, WITHOUT MEDICATION OR DRUGS”.
This internet booklet is provided free to the public
by the ASC Institute, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to furthering
human growth and development. No
reproductions shall be made without permission of the author.
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Definition:
Wow, that's new and different
.
Chapter Two: The Theory:
How can something this fast and fun work so well?
Chapter Three: The Exercise:
Tricky but simple once you get it; I love it
Chapter Four: The Benefits:
Shouldn't everyone be using this?
Chapter Five: History:
Yep, I can see how that idea sprang forth!
Chapter Six: Final Notes & Thoughts:
Gosh, this just gets better and better1
Chapter One: Wow, that's new and different!
"I don’t know what to do!” cried Scrooge,
laughing and crying in the same breath; making a perfect Laocoon
of himself with his stockings. “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an
angel, I am as
merry as a school-boy. I'am as giddy as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to everybody!
A happy New Year to all the world! Hallo here! Whoop!
Hallo!”
(From a Christmas Carol, by Charles
Dickens.)
In 1976 I discovered, quite by accident, AN AMAZING
IDEA! One that has lead to the development of an extremely
powerful tool for dramatically elevating mood and eliminating unwanted habits.
A technique so powerful, that with practice, a person can get from a normal
mood, or even a depression, to feelings of joy and elation within a few
minutes! An idea which has led over the years to the creation of a brief, (five
minutes daily on average), "mental tune-up" exercise of IMMENSE
POWER! An exercise that not only elevates mood and
permanently changes behavior, but results in what I’ve come to believe, are
substantial reductions in chronic pain and significant boosts to the immune
system as well.
This revolutionary routine has helped me cope with
depression, lethargy, extreme shyness, sales-call reluctance, and stage fright.
Although advised at times to consider using psychiatric medications, I chose to
find alternatives. Today, at 66, I'm working, dancing and hiking like some one
half my age, without medication or stimulants of any
kind! Years of dealing with mood swings, especially depression are virtually
gone and I attribute these blessings primarily to the motivational exercise
I’ve developed over the years and named "Accelerated-State
Conditioning"(TM). What I’ve learned to develop with Accelerated-State
Conditioning, among other things, is the ability to generate an intense change
in "internal chemistry", resulting in an immediate and dramatic
elevation in mood, by performing a very specific behavioral routine in
association with a completely new and unique "conditioning"
technique.
With Accelerated-State Conditioning, I’ve accidentally
learned how to create a series of powerful RUSHES, GOOSEFLESH or CHILLS every
few seconds for five minutes straight, even longer if needed. In other words I
can repeatedly induce, AT WILL, very strong surges of what I suspect are,
endorphins, serotonin, dopamine and many other mood-elevating peptides, neurotransmitters, and neurohormones. These
chemicals are natural, brain and body-made chemicals associated with positive
emotions. And, by flooding my system with such large quantities (far more than
life normally generates), I can create an immediate HIGH of such INTENSITY,
that my mood ESCALATES DRAMATICALLY IN JUST A FEW MOMENTS. I am instantly FLOODED WITH EUPHORIA AND JOY
BEYOND BELIEF!
And what I've learned is that I can “self-produce”
these chemicals every few seconds during this daily exercise using a completely
new "conditioning technique" (a term used by psychologists to
describe a type of learning). I've taught myself how to produce and tolerate
more endorphins and related chemicals in five minutes than previously I would
experience in weeks, sometimes months!
Now I can imagine you thinking, if Accelerated-State Conditioning, is
this powerful why haven't I heard of it? Why don't mental health professionals
know about it and teach it? Legitimate questions, to be sure.
Well, it gets a little complicated, but one of the reasons has to do with my
prior fears!
Accelerated-State Conditioning is a powerful, mood
elevating exercise that has the potential to induce a "manic state"
in rare users, like those inclined to dramatic mood swings. And, having a
history of mood swings, over the years, I've experienced long periods of time
when I was afraid to use the routine for fear of becoming manic. But now I've
come to realize, mania isn't a problem for me, when using the routine with
caution. However, even though I now use the routine daily, as a precaution,
BEFORE USING THIS ROUTINE, I WOULD STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU DISCUSS THIS
EXPERIMENTAL CONCEPT WITH
A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL!
As to the second question; why don't therapists,
psychologists, psychiatrists, etc., know about it and teach it? Well, it's very
possible one answer is, because IT'S A NEW IDEA! And, as we all know, many new
ideas come from outside a field of learning. According to Amit
Goswami, author of "Quantum Creativity",
creativity is a "discontinuous, nonalgorithmic
quantum jump from one pattern of thinking into a completely new one". Deepak Chopra, M.D., author of "Grow
Younger, Live Longer", quoting Goswami says,
"it's a quantum leap, a paradigm shift, from one pattern to another
without progressing through incremental steps in between”. Creative advances in art,
and science represent new leaps of imagination that could not have been
predicted on the basis of the prevailing patterns". In other words, I had
A FLASH OF INSIGHT regarding Accelerated-State Conditioning and it could just
as easily have happened to you, or someone else, no matter what their education
or background!
You’ve read the warning earlier, and I speak from first
hand knowledge of the potential problems with using Accelerated-State
Conditioning, (here in after, also referred to as "ASC" (TM)). More on this a little later. But rest assured, I’ve
conquered this fear, or I wouldn't be writing this booklet and promoting the
routine to you. So, if you, a friend or a family member, suffer from
depression, mood swings, compulsive behavior, chronic pain, depleted immune
system, or simply want to raise your energy level to get out of your “comfort
zone” and take on some new projects; I think you’ll find my experiences
interesting to say the least, and at best, you’ll find you’re learning about
something exciting, dramatic and revolutionary!
Chapter
Two: How can something this fast and fun
work so well?
There are four primary features about the ASC exercise
that make it unique from most types of self-help therapy or exercises designed
to elevate mood and eliminate unwanted habits and compulsions). The first unique concept about the ASC
routine is that this mental exercise is specifically designed to create a
temporary state of excitement and even mild EUPHORIA. A NATURAL HIGH if you
will. Technically, a temporary state of mind called hypomania. This is brought
about by a unique behavioral routine in combination with a revolutionary new
"conditioning/learning/biofeedback" technique designed to produce a
series of RUSHES, OR CHILLS! What I have learned is that we have the ability to
MANUFACTURE AT WILL the chemicals associated with a RUSH. I've learned, we can
LITERALLY CREATE ALL THE ENDORPHINS, SEROTONIN, ETC. (if in fact these are some
of the chemicals underlying and causing a rush) WE WANT IN A FEW MINUTES.
Now let me emphasize, the resulting HIGH created with
the ASC routine is not a manic state (defined as having extended manic episodes
or psychotic breaks or a loss of identity).
And, it is not recommended to allow maintaining this euphoric state for
more than 5 minutes per day as a rule. Also, I have studied relaxation techniques
extensively and developed some new ones of my own (as outlined below), allowing
me the ability to calm down quickly after an exercise. Of course some rare people are often in a
similar state (hypomania) much of the time, but they are the exception, or they
will at times go into long periods of depression as a result of staying at this
elevated mood level. But again, the idea of the exercise is to put your self
into this mild euphoric state for just a few minutes a day, as needed. Just
long enough to alter your state of consciousness to experience the benefits of
the routine. Then the goal is to drop
back to a more level and sustainable mood at the end of the 5 minute exercise.
Now you certainly don’t have to be depressed to
benefit from
To repeat, with Accelerated-State Conditioning, I've
learned that I have the ability to create a RUSH OR CHILL at the end of every
single sentence I repeat out loud! In other words, I can deliberately induce a
surge of natural, "chemicals of positive emotion", every few seconds,
during this exercise. The resulting euphoria is evidenced by goosebumps (some call it gooseflesh) on the arms and legs,
and feelings of ecstasy and extreme well being. All of a sudden, you can feel
alive and profoundly present. Everything
can look new, and fresh. Colors can be
bolder, smells stronger. Cares and concerns can seem to melt away and you can
be entirely focused on the here and now!
The second unique concept of Accelerated-State
Conditioning is that, in my opinion, the learning (conditioning, and
re-programming, that takes place during the ASC routine, while excited (mildly
euphoric), is much more effective and permanent than any learning that occurs
while doing similar motivational routines in a calm or relaxed mood! Now, scientific research is starting to
support my 30 year belief. For example, in Nature magazine (1997;385:533-536),
research was described showing that when there is strong emotion present, the
brain is flooded with protein, which enhances any memory. Affirmations (part of the ASC routine and
described below) theoretically work by creating new memories, which gain
strength over undesirable memories that are laid down within a 90 minute
period. This makes a lot of sense to me on a purely practical note. Just think
back over the strongest memories you’ve had and you will probably recall that
you were extremely emotional (e.g. excited, angry, happy, fearful, etc.) at the
time the memorable activity took place! Some motivational speakers talk about
this phenomenon, but ASC is he first motivational exercise to offer a practical,
efficient, quick and easy way to put this fact to use!
The third unique concept of Accelerated-State
Conditioning is as follows; I believe that the well established practice of
repeating positive affirmations, (again, one of the many components of the ASC
exercise), works best (for both elevating mood and changing behavior long-term)
when the statements are “TRULY BELIEVED", and not just mouthed in a
half-hearted hopes that you will become that which you mimic! Therefore the
choice of words and sentences and the order of repeating them is crucial to
promote mood elevation through out the routine, as well as permanent behavior
change and will be elaborated in Chapter 4 describing the routine in
detail. Eventually, with practice, as
you repeat positive statements (positive affirmations), you will feel a RUSH or
CHILL nearly every time you repeat a sentence if you use the conditioning
technique outlined in Chapter 4. And, during the ASC exercise, the amount of
positive things you believe about yourself increases, and changes, in quantity
and quality, as the exercise progresses and your mood elevates.
Some mental health professionals feel that, for the
most part, all depression really is, is a bad habit of focusing on negative
attributes and events, coming to irrational and incorrect negative assumptions
and conclusions, losing our objectivity and then GETTING STUCK, repeating these
negatives over and over. Personally, I
believe the genetic component also plays a part, but regardless the reason,
creating natural anti-depressants (chemicals of positive emotion) with ASC
works, just as creating mood-stabilizers and anti-anxiety medications can be
done naturally with meditation, reducing stimulation, or monitoring internal
dialogue, etc..
So, whatever your favorite theory, you have probably
noticed that your thoughts and Self-Talk (TM) play a role too, and that is what
we are manipulating here. In any event, I have every reason to believe the
changes to brain and body internal chemistry are enormous during Accelerated-State
Conditioning. I'm also convinced that
during the ASC routine we are creating many "positive and healthy"
chemicals with other beneficial attributes. Every time someone currently widely
known in the mental health field, or metaphysical field, opens their mouth,
they are talking about the benefits of everything from endorphins, serotonin
and dopamine (associated with feelings of well-being and the reduction of
pain), to more recently discovered peptides, and neurotransmitters, to disease
fighting interleukin, which is associated with strengthening our immune system.
All of which, the mind and body are perfectly capable of creating themselves
according to all this intense research).
Just look at the mind/body movement both inside and
outside of the scientific community and the health industry. former
"hard-core scientists" like neuroscientist Candice Pert, PhD, author
of "Molecules of Emotion", and the discoverer of the opiate receptor
sites, (this discovery leading to reams of articles and research on the
benefits of "endorphins") and Psychologist Paul Pearsall, PhD, author
of “Super Joy“ and “Superimmunity“, and many other
writers and researchers in both the rapidly expanding field of “Alternative
Medicine” and the conventional medical and scientific world are acknowledging
the power of the mind and the power of “brain made chemicals” over emotion and
health! And believe me, when you're
doing an exercise that creates a series of intense RUSHES OR CHILLS every few seconds for several minutes, you're
PUMPING unheard of quantities of these chemicals of positive emotion into your
system. My personal daily routine normally generates around 15 to 20 "HARD
RUSHES WITHIN 3 TO 5 MINUTES. My endorphin and serotonin levels are probably
"off the charts" compared to the average individual at the end of a
routine. No wonder, the effects of this exercise last for hours and sometimes
days on end. And now, if I'm creating
chemicals, within myself, that fight disease, I've got an excellent reason, in
and of itself, to be doing this routine. For this reason, I absolutely do the
routine EVERY SINGLE DAY, WITHOU FAIL. To me, it's more important to have these
MIRACLE CHEMICALS in my bloodstream daily than all the supplemental vitamins
and minerals ever made! I just don't like being sick!
As I've stated, Accelerated-State Conditioning implies
more than a method of altering mood or consciousness. It implies changing
behavior (i.e. conditioned or learned responses or habits). And, what I believe
is, that this exercise has dramatically altered my personality and self-image
over a period of years, with the many hours of re-programming and
re-conditioning that goes on during the ASC episodes. (Actually, as I’ve since
learned and will explain below, it's not so much the number of hours, but
rather the "intensity" of the re-programming that is important). So, not only is ASC a terrific tool for
helping me get into and staying in a good mood, as I've mentioned, it's also a
useful way to overcome unwanted behavior (e.g. "bad habits") and
create new patterns of behavior. And, knowing what I do now, I really believe
the changes I've instilled over years of trial and error, could have actually
be generated in a period of months using Accelerated-State Conditioning. (After
all, as I've said, fear would keep me for using the routine for months and
sometimes years at a time).
The fourth unique aspect of the ASC rountine is that affirmations are VISUALIZED while
repeated. The subconscious needs more
that words to change programing and habits. It needs to SEE A PICTURE of what you are
trying to change. Thus when you repeat a
SPECIFIC affirmation try to SEE YOURSELF DOING THE NEW BEHAVIOR.
Chapter
Three: Tricky but simple once you get it; I love it!
Ok, on with the task at hand; to describe and explain
the daily routine itself. The basic platform on which Accelerated-State
Conditioning is based is an incredibly simple procedure, but extremely
difficult to get right at first! An idea so simple it has been overlooked
somehow. The first part of the basic
behavior involved is simply one of repeating, out loud, (the louder the
better), key words and phrases (affirmations) while smiling and looking into a
mirror and then doing the same thing while looking at pictures of smiling faces
(I cut them out of newspapers and magazines, creating an artificial audience if
you will). With practice, eventually you can even skip using the mirror,
pictures, even speaking out-loud and get the same results!
But, the second part of the ASC routine is the MOST UNIQUE AND CRITICAL
FEATURE. During this routine I’m
continually trying to remember what a RUSH OR CHILL feels like WHILE I REPEAT
THE AFFIRMATIONS. With practice, remembering these feelings while repeating
affirmations creates an ASSOCIATION!
With repeated practice (up to 21 days) you should be able to EVOKE A
RUSH OR CHILL by repeating an affirmation while thinking of what a rush feels
like! It becomes a CONDITIONED RESPONSE. And if you think back over recent
successes and repeat affirmations related to those successes while performing
the exercise, YOU GET AN EVEN STRONGER RUSH OR CHILL!
Perhaps you remember learning in school about Pavlov’s
dog. This was an experiment that showed
that you could train a dog to salivate even if no food was around to create
that event. We have all seen that a dog
will often start salivating when it sees food being brought into a room. Pavlov showed that by ringing a bell every
time he gave a dog food something new happened.
He observed that by repeating this association over time, ringing the
bell would cause the dog to salivate by itself, even when no food was present! A new association or conditioned response
had been formed! With practice you too
can create a new association or conditioned response. You can learn to associate repeating an
affirmation with the memory of what a rush or chill feels like and eventually
THE MEMORY OF A RUSH CHANGES TO AN ACTUAL FEELING!
Memories themselves can’t normally be
felt or experienced. To test this try
remembering what strawberries taste like.
Can you taste them? Probably not.
But a RUSH OR CHILL does not require an outside event such as someone
giving you a bowl of strawberries to experience the feeling. IT CAN BE EVOKED, or WILLED, WITH PRACTISE!
With regards to why we use affirmations during the
routine; repeating positive words and phrases is a proven psychological
self-help process for changing, adding or removing specific behaviors and
habits. As outlined earlier, this process is known as “affirming”. According MindPowerPlus.com, a popular
website promoting the use of affirmations, affirmations are positive statements
or messages. Affirmations that are heard and repeated often enough can have a
pronounced effect upon the user. Positive, high impact phrases can actually
change your life for the better as they act as
a counter-weight to all of the negative messages you hear daily through
radio, TV and the media (not to mention all the negativity you may carry over
from childhood)”. That’s because they affect your subconscious mind. The
easiest way to change and improve the quality of your life is to change or
improve your perception of yourself. This can all be accomplished with powerful
affirmations that can quiet negative thought patterns and discipline your mind.
Now, you don’t have to use a mirror to still get the
benefits of this exercise, but, if you don’t like looking in the mirror; you
probably will benefit doing it anyway for that reason alone. Often, not liking
what you see in the mirror is abnormal and can be changed with time, regardless
of how you feel about your appearance!
During the routine I'm actually alternating my
attention back and forth every few seconds between the mirror (my smiling face)
and the "audience" (the pictures of smiling faces). And, I make sure
I'm alone because I want to feel free to say anything and I feel I need
absolute privacy to have that feeling of "anything goes". Actually,
for awhile, this was one of the major stumbling blocks for me with
Accelerated-State Conditioning. That is, finding a suitable environment for
feeling free enough to "verbally act out". I've even gone so far as
to drive to an empty supermarket parking lot to do the exercise when the house
was full of company!
Now though, I've come to discover that I have the
ability to create pretty much the same effect "under my breath". I
can just close the bathroom door and do the routine under my breath. But, out
loud is still best because you stimulate "muscle memory" of what a
rush feels like (those memories are usually associated with movement and loud
verbal outbursts, etc.). And of course, for those who can afford it, a
"sound-proof" library, music room etc. is ideal. I actually foresee the day when companies
will have private sound proof rooms where their workers can go to elevate their
mood with Accelerated-State Conditioning. This would be especially helpful
employees who have to deal with difficult people on the phone or in person and
for salespeople.
There is a lot of "fantasy" that goes into
generating "mood". I am continually "visualizing" myself
talking to vast audiences while doing the routine. I also pretend to be talking
to important people sometimes, or what ever seems to be stimulating to me at
the time. Everything has to be “customized” to your current place and time.
Some days one person or event is important to you, some days another. Think
back over recent “successes” during the exercise that heighten your mood and
“link” those memories and feelings with your current affirmations!
Now most of us agree there is value in repeating
positive affirmations to overcome negative conditioning, and many of us have
practiced saying a few positive words to ourselves while looking into a mirror,
but if it was that easy, the ASC technique would have been discovered and
popular years ago! Actually, “Self-Talk”
(written by psychologist Shad Helmstetter),
and “Psycho-cybernetics” (by Maxwell Maltz), were
effective affirmation therapies for me, but fortunately I found creating
euphoria and belief” (as discussed earlier) during the sessions with Accelerated-State Conditioning was many times
faster and more powerful. But creating a RUSH OR CHILL, which results in a temporary
state of excitement or mild euphoria is not that easy. There’s a lot to it, as
you’ll find out if you decide to start trying it. Just like meditating, or using biofeedback
to control your blood pressure, takes skill and practice, so does this exercise.
The first time you try it, you may need to do it for an hour or so, for several
days, before you really start getting some significant elevation of mood.
Others will jump right into it. Bipolars (manic-depressives), watch out, if you’re like me,
you like getting high too much and need to remember this is a temporary mood
you're looking for, not a way of life! Our nervous systems can’t take it even
if we could control the side effects.
And for Bipolars;
anti-depressant and mood elevating medications (which theoretically you are
creating with the ASC routine) usually need to be offset with mood stabilizers
like Lithium according to mental health professionals, so they probably need to
make sure their support group and mental health
professional are following their use of this routine to give feedback on
observed behavior). As mentioned above
the third unique concept of ASC is as follows: I believe that the well
established practice of repeating positive affirmations works best (for both
elevating mood and changing behavior long term) when the affirmations are
“truly believed” and not just mouthed in a half-hearted hope that you will become what you mimic!.
A quick way to build “believable” affirmation
sentences is to simply put the words “I like it when I.....“ in front of
hundreds of positive words. Positive words like sociable, friendly, gregarious,
organized, helpful, kind, productive. So a simple, “believable” affirmation is;
“I like it when I'm able to be sociable”. It’s an easy fast way to build
sentences designed to create a quick “rush” or "chill" and later you
can add more detail to the sentences to begin working towards eliminating
specific habits, etc..
Here are some examples of “believable” affirmations:
“I like it when I speak up for myself when unjustly
criticized.”
“I feel great when I meet my daily weight reduction
goals.”
“It’s a joy when I get through a day without spending
over budget.”
“I love it when someone returns my compliment with a
smile.”
“It’s a terrific feeling when I take charge and avoid
the impulse to smoke.”
“I love it when I’m able to be sociable, friendly and
gregarious.”
“It feels great when I’m able to be positive,
optimistic and enthusiastic”
“I enjoy it when I can be kind, loving, supportive, patient
and tolerant with others.”
“It’s a pleasure when I can be productive, efficient,
quick and precise in my work.”
Here are some
examples of affirmations that are “usually not believable”:
“I am Powerful beyond Imagination.”
"I’m the Richest Person on the World.”
“I’m Enormously Successful in all ways.”
“I’m Powerful beyond Belief.”
Another way the ASC routine can begin with
“believable” words and phrases is to pick specific words that we nearly always
believe regardless of mood. For most people,
it’s words and sentences referring to "character". Words like
"kind", "generous", "warm", "friendly"
or "honest". You can make flashcards up with these words, one to a
card, on the front, and then sentences describing examples of your character on
the backside. Then, as the exercise proceeds and you feel a little better, and
your mood lifts or elevates a little,
you find that you can repeat other positive things about yourself, and can
comfortably start repeating more positive affirmations using sentences
containing words like "neat", "thrifty", "organized
" or whatever normally describes your basic personality (or what you want
your personality to be) and so on.
Everyone is different. You scan down long lists of written words and
phrases (preferably sentences) and pick up the ones that "feel right"
at the moment). Sometimes it may depend on what you have been successful at
recently, for example. As your mood elevates during the exercise, guess what?
Your "belief system" changes! And all of a sudden, as you start
getting into a more positive frame of mind (or another personality, who knows),
and you start remembering other good
attributes about yourself that had been temporarily forgotten and you
can start repeating additional words and phrases from your lists (or
flashcards).
Regarding these affirmation lists; a great source for
building these lists are the Self-Talk (tm) paperbacks by Dr. Shad Helmstetter. These books have page after page of terrific
positive affirmation scenarios and scripts. Take these scripts and pick out and
"repeat out loud" what you believe about yourself (according to you
initial mood). Then, during the ASC exercise, before you know it, your flying
along with words and phrases that you would normally only repeat to yourself
when you are really "up" and
even a little grandiose, (euphoric,.... get it?)! At the end of a routine I
literally believe I’m everything described in my entire portfolio of
affirmations!
Chapter Four:
Shouldn't everyone be using this?
Now elevating mood and permanently altering and
changing personality are obviously reason enough to consider taking a risk and
using this experimental exercise, but the benefits are far beyond these two
basic attributes! It’s my belief that
daily use of the routine leads to increased self-esteem, a positive attitude,
increased health, increased longevity of life, creativity, and less chronic
pain. The list is endless! And, although feeling good is great, the benefits are even better. Barbara L. Fredrickson, and her colleagues,
are researchers in a new field known a POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY which was the
brainchild of a former president of the American Psychological Association, Martin
Seligman. Fredrickson is well published
in the field and recently wrote a very informative article in the latest issue of American Scientist titled “The Value
of Positive Emotions”.
In the article she discusses literature relating
positive emotions to an increased ability to adapt to our environment, and to
longer life. In her Broaden-and-Build
Theory she proposes that positive emotions serve to solve problems concerning
personal growth and development. She
says that “experiencing a positive emotion leads to states of mind and modes of
behavior that indirectly prepare an individual for later hard times”. Fredrickson proposes that “the positive
emotions broaden an individual’s momentary mindset, and by doing so help to
build enduring personal resources”. For
example, her research has shown that positive emotion leads to perceptions of
the BIG PICTURE in individuals as opposed to being narrowly focused on
issues! This suggests to her a
suggesting a “broadened pattern of thinking”.
In the article Fredrickson discusses related research
over the years by Alice Isen, and her colleagues, at
Cornell University in which it was shown that “when people feel good, their
thinking becomes more creative, integrative, flexible and open to
information! By momentarily broadening
attention and thinking, positive emotions can lead to the discovery of novel
ideas, actions and social bonds”. And
finally, Fredrickson, et al, through their research, have come up with her Undoing Hypothesis
Theory that positive emotions may help UNDO the negative physiological effects
of negative thought such as anxiety, worry and stress! In other words, positive
emotions, may lead to REVERSALS IN ILLNESS!
Pick up her article; it’s a MIND BLOWER!
There are many other researchers and studies relating
health issues related to mood swings and depression. We all know that
depression is one of the most prevalent
maladies in western civilization, but it’s not so widely known than depression
has profound effects upon physical health as well! It is becoming obvious that we must do
everything in our power to stay out of low mood cycles for health reasons. This is the primary reason I feel the ASC
routine must become widely used. There
are millions of people who want to elevate their mood to stay physically
healthy but are afraid of medication or want to reduce the amount of anti-depressants they have to
take!
Studies relating disease and it’s severity to negative
mood and depression are coming out constantly.
According to a recent article in HealthDay
News, cancer patients with symptoms of depression are more likely to have their
lives cut short than cancer patients who are free of such symptoms. That warning comes from a study in the
July/August issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.
The researchers used a number of demographic, medical, cancer treatment,
and psychological factors to predict longevity over a 10-year period for a
group of 205 people with cancer. They
discovered that symptoms of depression were the most consistent psychological
predictor of shortened survival time. This examination of psychological
predictors of survival among people with cancer is a fairly new area of
research. At the end of the 10-year
study period, 125 of the people were still alive and 80 had died from
cancer-related causes. "We're
trying to understand the role of the mind in the disease process. The fact that
depressive symptoms were shown to affect the course of cancer in this study has important implications for psychological screening and treatment of
cancer patients," University of
And another new study
reported recently by HealthDay news cites
research reported in the July 03 issue of Psychosomatic Medicine, researchers
have found that people who have more
positive emotions, such as happiness and calmness, have fewer colds than glum
people. "We found that people high
on positive emotional style were less likely to develop colds than people who
were low," says study author Sheldon Cohen, a professor of psychology at
"Laughter really is the best medicine," says
psychiatrist Dr. Gerald Shiener of
The researchers then averaged the emotions from all of
the interviews. People who scored high on positive emotions were said to have a
positive emotional style, while people who scored high on negative emotions had
a negative emotional style. For the last
week of the study, the participants were quarantined. Using nasal drops, the
researchers placed a virus that causes the common cold into the volunteers'
noses, and then monitored them for signs of infection and symptoms of a cold
for five days.
People with positive emotional style weren't less
likely to be infected with the cold germs. However, they were less likely to
show any symptoms of being ill than people who scored low in positive emotional
style, the researchers say. Having a negative emotional style didn't increase
the risk of getting sick, but these people tended to complain more about the
symptoms they did have.
Cohen says the researchers also found people with
positive emotional style had better health habits, such as exercising, eating
well and getting enough sleep, and they had lower levels of three stress
hormones. He says the researchers controlled for these factors and still found
an association between positive emotions and fewer cold symptoms. He explains that chemical mediators, such as
histamine and pro-inflammatory cytokines, are responsible for cold symptoms.
And he suspects positive emotions may dampen the production of these mediators.
So, can the power of positive thinking keep you
healthy? Maybe, says Cohen, but he cautions that this study couldn't define if
the people who scored high in positive emotions during this study have always
been happy people, or if they were simply in a good period of their lives during
the research. Shiener
says he believes people can make themselves happier. He adds that it's
important that you don't keep your emotions bottled up and that you take time
to do things you enjoy. "Stress and
emotions do affect our immune responses," says Shiener.
"If we're comfortable and happy, then we'll live longer and healthier
lives."
In another example, a recent report by the U.S. Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) looked at the care of women admitted
to hospitals in the year 2000. Among the study's conclusions: Depression was
the second-leading cause of hospitalization for women aged 18 to 44, with some
205,000 admissions in 2000. The number one reason for hospitalization for women
in this age group was obstetrical care and childbirth. In another study, sited in the July 13, 1998
issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, men diagnosed with depression have
twice the risk of heart disease found in men without depression, and this
increased risk lasts for several decades!
The Washington Post in December, 2003 reviewed a new
study from UCLA and published in the journal Biological Psychiatry relating
SHYNESS to a WEAKEND IMMUNE SYSTEM! (The
Accelerated-State Conditioning daily motivational routine is a terrific tool
for OVERCOMING SHYNESS!). According to
the Post’s review, “This carefully done study showed that shy men have much
less resistance to the AIDS virus than extroverted men and benefit far less
from treatment with antiretroviral drugs.
It is the first study to demonstrate through laboratory tests a
connection between being introverted and the course of AIDS in individuals,
researchers said”.
The Post article goes on to say “In the new study,
HIV-infected men who were introverted, reserved and kept to themselves had nearly
eight times as many viral particles in their blood as did “outgoing” men. After treatment with anti-retroviral drugs
for as long as 18 months, the viral load among extroverted men fell 162-fold. Among shy men, the drop was only twentyfold, said the lead author Steve Cole at the AIDS
Institute of UCLA” . The Post article
further cites, “There is a link between
psychological profile and poorer response to HIV, and maybe even a number of
other viral diseases”, agreed Anthony Fauci, director
of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the federal
government’s lead research center in the fight against AIDS.
And there are many more studies indicating that people
are not taking advantage of current ways to deal with these problems of depression
and shyness. My feeling is that people don't believe there is a a fast, easy, economical way to overcome depression. But of
course, I believe there is. The Accelerated-State Conditioning routine
hopefully affords a safe, inexpensive, drug free way to dramatically reduce or
even eliminate this behavior. Since making it a firm habit to use this routine
a minimum of 5 minutes a day, I simply no longer feel any significant,
prolonged depression; EVER! And my health is excellent.
Now obviously, as I said before, ASC may not in itself
may not eliminate the causes of depression any more than does anti-depressant
medication! But, just like with medication, if you feel better, you're more
inclined (have more energy and motivation) to go out and spend some time
finding answers (conventional therapy, job and life-style changes, etc.). And, if your depression is gone, isn't that
what's important?
Another huge benefit from Accelerated-State
Conditioning is the INCREASE IN ENERGY that results from elevating your mood!
No one can deny the energy that comes from feeling good. As you do this
exercise regularly, it becomes obvious that we have virtually UNLIMITED SOURCES
OF ENERGY FROM WITHIN!. Our thoughts simply change our interior chemistry and
we've got the "fuel" to do it all.
Granted, creating a temporary state of euphoria
(hypomania) is a double-edged sword. The positive attributes of being
temporarily "high" are obviously tremendous. For a few minutes you
are invincible! You're fearless, gregarious, uninhibited,
creative...("happy as an Angel", as Scrooge says), the list goes on
and on. But, at the end of the routine, when you come back down to reality, you
bring back more and more of these attributes, (as a result of you're new
programming), which becomes a permanent part of your personality and
self-image!
But, on the other hand, when you're high, you can be
irrational, careless, lack objectivity; again the list goes on and on.
Obviously, you can't stay in this frame of mind, or make important decisions during
these episodes. But, unlike the positive attributes, these negative behaviors
(since you're not acting on them during the ASC routine), don't blend into the
personality when you calm down. In fact, it's a good idea to repeat
affirmations during the exercise that reinforce objectivity rationality, for
example common sense, etc. to remind yourself while you’re high that you have
to be careful!
And, for manic-depressives (those affected by Bipolar
Disorder), like myself (more on this later); the more I use ASC routine to stay
out of extreme lows, the less I find myself experiencing the extreme highs of
mania. Psychologists tell us mania is nature’s defense against depression and
low self-esteem, (granted, it’s an over-reaction, but when we are extremely
depressed it seems to be necessary for many of us to revert to this mania.) So,
ASC serves to keep me in the "middle road" instead of experiencing
wild mood swings. A new study out now
supports this idea. Researchers found
that those who suffer from Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depression) are less likely
to relapse if they stay on anti-depressants medication rather than following
the usual course of stopping
anti-depressant medication from the Bipolar’s regime
after six months).
Quoting a recent article in HealthDay
News, standard treatment guidelines for bipolar depression are challenged in a
UCLA study that appears in the July issue of the American Journal of
Psychiatry. Those guidelines
recommend that antidepressants be discontinued within the first six months
after the symptoms of bipolar depression ease.
But the UCLA study found people treated under the guidelines relapsed at
almost twice the rate of people who continued taking antidepressants in
conjunction with their mood stabilizer medication during the first year after
remission of acute bipolar depression.
The study found there was no increased risk of manic relapse in the
patients who continued the medication for a year.
Researchers examined 84 people with bipolar disorder
whose depression symptoms eased with the addition of an antidepressant to an
ongoing mood stabilizer. The study compared the risk of depression relapse in
43 people who stopped taking antidepressants within six months of remission to
the risk of relapse in 41 people who continued taking antidepressants. One year after improvement in depression
symptoms, 70 percent of the people who stopped taking antidepressants had
suffered a relapse, compared to 36 percent of the people who continued taking
antidepressants.
"The common clinical practice of discontinuing
antidepressant use in bipolar patients soon after remission of depression may
actually increase the risk of relapse," study author Dr. Lori Altshuler says in a news release. "Long-held concerns regarding a risk of
switching into mania may actually interfere with establishing effective
guidelines for treating and preventing relapse of bipolar depression.
Guidelines more similar to those of maintenance treatment of unipolar depression may be more appropriate for individuals
with bipolar depression who respond well to antidepressants. A controlled,
randomized study is needed to address these questions," Altshuler says.
About 3.5 percent of Americans have bipolar disorder,
which is characterized by alternating cycles of depression and mania.
Symptoms of mania may include inflated sense of
self-esteem or self-importance, elevated or expansive mood, decreased need for
sleep, racing thoughts and impulsive behavior.
I feel this research is just one more confirmation of the importance of
staying out of depression and of course my theory is that the Accelerated-State
Conditioning exercise is an alternate to using anti-depressants (or at lease
affords a way to cut down on the amount used)!
Another benefit from ASC is that it creates tremendous
OPTIMISM in the user. Hope springs eternal the saying goes, and because
creating euphoria results in a mind expansion of sorts, you begin to see your
true potential! Naturally, a better way is to feel good about ourselves is to
actually accomplish things, but when we are depressed, or even just lethargic
and unmotivated, the option of action escapes most of us! But once you begin
using the Accelerated-State Conditioning exercise routinely, you begin to
realize or believe that you are perfectly capable of doing much more than you
felt previously. Now, whether this is just some grandiose thinking or really
true, really doesn't matter much.
What matters is you truly believe it with every fiber
in your body while you’re high during the routine and you find your behavior
changing without effort or fear and as a result start accomplishing more! I
used to think the expression “you are, what you think you are“, was just a lot
of hype. No more! This heightened
awareness of our true potential is really the same type of knowledge that
Chopra (The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success)1966, (who as you may know is also
a Harvard trained M.D.), and many before him of the Eastern philosophy, have
described when speaking of the benefits of Tran-scendental
Meditation (tm). A practice I thoroughly believe in and use.
It's just that from my perspective, Accelerated-State
Conditioning is faster and easier to use for accomplishing the mood/personality
changes I've described. And I don't know if you have ever tried holding all
thoughts out of your mind for 20 or 30 minutes, but for me, it "isn't
easy". Most people I know have given up the practice for this reason. Again, I certainly believe in meditation,
especially for stress-reduction and calming down, and I feel there are long
term benefits (such as enhanced assertiveness and greatly diminished
co-dependency), whether it's coming from blending with the Universal Mind or
purely physical! (Who's to say we aren't also tapping into an unknown source
when we are high (euphoric)!
Another benefit to ASC (speaking of Deepak, reminds me
of the strong spirituality movement in this country) is the SPIRITUAL ASPECT. I
think getting high with ASC is one of the most spiritual events going. After all,
when raising positive emotions we are literally RAISING OUR SPIRTITS! When I'm HIGH; I'm loving, caring,
altruistic, non-judgmental, understanding. Sounds like a pretty good
description of spirituality to me!
Another possible benefit from the ASC exercise
pertains to addictions. One of the driving forces for addiction is the
temporary high that results from substance abuse. You feel good for awhile!
Since ASC creates a “high”, doesn’t it stand to reason that the addict’s or
alcoholic’s need for a high would be diminished if they created a temporary
high with the ASC routine? Many mental
health educators explain "addictions", as behavior designed to
"avoid feelings" rather than "feel" them. Believe me, if
you start using the ASC routine, you are going to have "feelings...big
time"! Many times I've tried to start the exercise and felt extremely
upset when trying to repeat positive words about myself while looking into the
mirror. It can be like shame!
This is a perfect time to “work on yourself” when
these strong feelings come to the surface.
The more we “allow ourselves to feel” and “acknowledge our feelings” the less powerful are our
addictions. When we let ourselves feel
the anxiety, anger, sorrow that is inevitable in our lives it eventually lessons
us once it’s served it’s purpose our making us aware of the need to make
changes. And that pain is so minor
compared to the pain of an addictions aftermath that it’s a far lesser of the
two choices! And, if you have to create
an artificial high, why not do it in a manner that does not have physical
destruction, financial ruin, etc. as a by-product. Accelerated-State
Conditioning isn't even addicting! Like any exercise it actually takes a little
effort to force your self to do it! In twenty five plus years of use I still
have to prod myself somewhat to get started (but like I say, it's certainly not
painful so it doesn't take much to get going).
Another benefit of the ASC exercise pertains to pain
reduction. As mentioned above, I suspect one of the primary chemical changes
that come with euphoria are a dramatic increase in the endorphins. Numerous
studies have shown the benefits of elevated levels of endorphins for pain
reduction. Just plug the words endorphin and pain into a search-engine such as
Google and you will find numerous references.
And, still another benefit to the ASC exercise,
pertains to unwanted side-effects, addictiveness, or health risks associated
with other methods of creating a high (alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroine.
Even supposedly harmless "POT" is becoming more and more suspect,
e.g., a new study indicates smoking marijuana may cause gene mutations that can
trigger cancer. "Smoking marijuana
is every bit as risky as smoking cigarettes," concludes study lead author
Dr. Marinel Ammenheuser of
the
The
Previous research has already uncovered cases of
tongue, lung, and head and neck cancers in long-time marijuana users who did
not smoke tobacco. The researchers say another study reported "a 10-fold
risk of leukemia in the offspring of mothers who smoked marijuana during
pregnancy." The findings appear in the journal Mutation Research 1998;
403:55-64.
And then there is the "easy-to-do factor".
Unlike most exercises of one type or another, the ASC routine is easy to
start-up. And, unlike physical exercise, there is no real pain involved with
beginning the exercise. It doesn't hurt (like starting up that rowing machine)!
In fact, you begin looking forward to it because you know it's going to feel
good.
It becomes what the psychiatrist William Glaser
describes as a "Positive Addiction"! (in his book of the same name).
What keeps bringing us back to the exercise, is not the pain of withdrawal, as with
a physical, chemical or process addiction, but rather the memory of the
pleasurable positive results and benefits.
And, unlike anti-depressant medication, ASC can be temporarily suspended
immediately if need be. Especially for those who recognize a manic phase coming
on. With psychological medications you can't just stop and start them as needed
because they can only be reduced gradually over a period of days or even weeks!
(See Ann Blake Tracy's Prozac, Pandora or Panacea? - 1994).
And then there is reason to believe anti-depressants
only work due to the "placebo effect anyway". According to some
research, most people who take medication for depression break out of the
doldrums not because the pills change their brain's chemistry, but because they
believe so strongly that the drugs will work.
In a controversial new study appearing in the July, 1998 edition of
Prevention & Treatment, a new journal published by the American
Psychological Association, Drs. Irving Kirsch and Guy Sapirstein
pooled and analyzed data from 19 randomized, placebo-controlled studies
involving 2,318 patients. They concluded 75 percent got better because of the
placebo effect, and the other 25 percent got better due to the positive side
effects of the drugs.
The placebo effect is the well-documented phenomenon
in which people who are given sugar pills or other fake medications get better
as long as they believe whatever they've consumed is supposed to work. Recent
research at
Some f the studies involved drugs that are not
considered anti-depressants. Across 19 studies, they calculated the extent to
which the beneficial effects of the various drugs could be attributed to the
drugs themselves, and the degree of positive effects that could be attributed
to the placebo effect. They say their conclusion ``does not mean that only 25
percent of patients are likely to respond to the pharmacological properties of
the drug. Rather, it means that for a typical patient, 75 percent of the
benefit obtained from the active drug would also have been obtained from an
inactive placebo.'' They speculate the positive benefits came ``from an
enhancement of the placebo effect caused by the fact that those who received
medication, rather than a dummy pill, could tell by the side effects that they
had taken something.''
A new study n the July 1999 issue of the American
Journal of Psychiatry, suggests that psychotherapy could be just as effective
at controlling severe depression as antidepressant drugs like Prozac. Researchers from the
Still, another benefit to the ASC routine involves
overcoming fears and inhibitions. Especially the fear of socialization and
public speaking. I really believe these fears are at the core of my illness (or
dysfunctional behavior). I grew up extremely shy and withdrawn and immediately
upon beginning to use this routine I noticed it greatly enhanced my ability to
"get out there and mingle" and even give a few speeches. But, thanks
in no small part to ASC, I went on in sales and became a national sales
champion two years running with a national mortgage banker. So, all you
aspiring public speakers, take heed. This exercise may not cure your
state-fright but it will sure "keep the butterflies in your stomach in
line"!
And finally, one of the most powerful benefits of the
ASC routine pertains to PERMANENTLY CHANGING BEHAVIOR OR UNWANTED HABITS! Much
of habitual behavior is automatic and mechanical, and therefore we do it
without thought. For example; how many
times have you put food into your mouth before remembering you just started a
new diet? When we remember our goal of
changing a behavior, such as over-eating, right before committing, the unwanted act , we can sometimes divert
our focus on the food and overcome the impulsive behavior. For example; drinking water curbs the
appetite, but if we are not in the habit of substituting water for food we
don’t do it. Each time we are able to do this substitution of a healthy habit
for an unhealthy one we get the satisfaction of completing a goal and take
another step towards staying healthy and creating a new self-image.
Mechanical behaviors are conditioned responses. We perceive a stimulus and we have learned to respond in a specific way.