QUESTION: I got a cold sore and I know it was directly related to being angry with someone, but why did my body choose that expression and how can I reprogram it to not do that any more?
ANSWER: Your body uses memory, sensory awareness, and energy to react to all your mental and physical behavior. When you get angry, all your biosystems are highly activated, especially in the area of your body where you might habitually respond to whatever made you angry. This could result in angry words or fight/flight reactions. If you suppress the anger, however, your body tightens the muscles or organs in the habit areas to block memory, sensory awareness or energy/movement reactions. This tension distorts body functions and triggers further reactions that we call disease or illness. So, with suppressed anger, for instance, some people get headaches, skin problems, arthritis, tumors, or many other conditions. You can reprogram your body to react with a different symptom when you suppress emotions by using affirmations, visualization, and self hypnosis, for example, but suppressed emotions will always cause tension and result eventually in symptoms of some kind. The best approach for this is to reprogram your mind to react differently to unpleasant situations. As a very general but workable guideline, increasing your self esteem and confidence really helps to do this.
