The Secret Power of Words and Subconscious Trauma Activation

“A single word has the power to influence the expression of genes that regulate both physical and emotional stress.”

I have been inspired to write this article due to the monumental weight of fear penetrating through the minds world-wide whilst navigating the great topic of the century so far. As an NLP Coach and applying these modalities for over 10 years I’ve been using the power of words to help clients become the best version of themselves and and feel strong and empowered. When used for manipulation words can create a vast weakness in the mind, physical immunity and well-being. This year we have seen a rampant thrust of scare mongery piercing through media channels on the recent “panic-demic” causing millions to give their power away to fear. Scandalous and shocking headlines create money, but at what cost? My intention of this article is to explain the impact words can have on the brain and remind people they have all the resources within to make good decisions for themselves. You know what is best for you. Would you rather be the victim or the Leader in your life?

The Chemical Reaction of Words on the Brain

Words carry power that are not only felt through the act of saying but through the act of receiving. The mind is like a voice recorder when you listen enough times to something on audio or video, your mind will remember and store it. Words can literally change the neurons in the brain.

Here is an excerpt from the book Words Can Change your Brain by Andrew Newberg, M.D. and Mark Robert Waldman.

“Positive words, such as “peace” and “love,” can alter the expression of genes, strengthening areas in our frontal lobes and promoting the brain’s cognitive functioning. They propel the motivational centers of the brain into action and build resiliency.

Conversely, hostile language can disrupt specific genes that play a key part in the production of neurochemicals that protect us from stress. Humans are hardwired to worry as our primal brains protect us from threats to our survival, so our thoughts naturally go here first. A single negative word can increase the activity in our amygdala (the fear center of the brain). This releases dozens of stress-producing hormones and neurotransmitters, which in turn interrupts our brains’ functioning.

By holding a positive and optimistic “word” in your mind, you stimulate frontal lobe activity. This area includes specific language centers that connect directly to the motor cortex responsible for moving you into action. And as our research has shown, the longer you concentrate on positive words, the more you begin to affect other areas of the brain. Functions in the parietal lobe start to change, which changes your perception of yourself and the people you interact with.”

Repetition and Verbal Anchoring

Words can be used to transform thoughts or influence a specific way of thinking via repetition. Words such as “death” “loss” “danger” “stay alert” carry vibrations and memories that can trigger subconscious fear programmes. If a person carries a weight of subconscious trauma these powerful words can literally activate a chemical response as though a threat is happening in real-time – remember the loo roll chaos? We all have fear programmes deep in our subconscious as a result of life experience and ancestral trauma but usually they remain fairly dormant until something happens to activate them. The level of activation and stress triggered varies from person to person.

The term “stay alert” when you’re feeling emotionally weak will tell your subconscious that there is danger ahead and to be on standby, this language is similar to that of the military when on guard for an attack. When your body gets psyched up for danger it goes into fight or flight and stress hormones are triggered bringing the immune system under pressure. If you have a propensity for anxiety and panic, this will perpetuate it hence why we are seeing such fear on a grand scale . I discuss more about what happens in your body when there is potential danger stimuli in a separate article 13 Powerful Ways to Boost your Immune System with your Mind.

When a word is repeated enough times, it can become a subliminal message into the mind and the body automatically responds engaging the entire system. Whether that reaction is good stress or bad stress depends on our mental well-being but too much stress of any kind lowers the immune system. Notice how these fear words play out in the media, advertising and politics.

Submodalities and Ambiguity

Submodalities is a term used to change the essence, tone, pitch, sound, strength of a word. Notice the difference between DANGER and danger, SHOCKING shocking, BEAUTIFUL, beautiful HARMONY harmony. How does it feel when you read each word?

The use of ambiguous headlines and quotes are very common in media stories to create emotion, this is where the order of words is put out of context to create something different. Ambiguous statements or headlines are a way to disguise facts and truths. In NLP we call this delete, distort, generalise and if you were to actually question or research further, likely you would discover a very different picture and depth under the original context.

Notice what it feels like in your body when you say:

“I feel fear” “I am worried” “I feel helpless”

compared to…..

“I am powerful” “I am resourceful” “I am strong”

For me it’s a complete change in my neurology. When I say “I am powerful” repeatedly, I feel strong physically and mentally (even better when you engage your body). The same applies to “I am safe” I feel strength in my body and a complete shift from any weakness, plus I am more likely to have a better day if I start with the intention of feeling POWERFUL.

If you say or read the sentence “You are weak” enough times through repetition, your body would literally respond and be weak. If you say or read the sentence “You are strong” the body would feel strong and powerful.

A sports person would never give their power away to their opponent for fear of being beaten on the track, an athlete will focus on all their inner resources, inner power and positive words so they win the race.

Negative words make you feel bad, Positive Words Make you Feel Good

With the volume of negative information pouring through the minds of millions it is no wonder there is a feeling of danger in the air. The compound effect of fear is hugely debilitating and when people feel helpless they become reliant on being told what is best for them, helplessness causes a person to give their power away.

Just as fear can be contagious; so too can fearlessness, trust, faith and a positive mindset. When we use positive words we uplift our mind and those around us. The energies or words, feelings and emotions beam out into society having an overall positive impact on those around us. It’s super important we are each responsible for our energy foot-print and linguistics to help one another live powerful and resourceful lives.

Here are some suggestions of resourceful sentences to feed into your mind and body daily:

• I am safe
• I am powerful
• I trust my inner guidance system
• I have all the resources I need within me to make the right decisions for myself
• I am powerful when I create choices
• I am strong and confident
• I trust my body is a strong and powerful healing machine
• I take responsibility for my own health and make sensible decisions that suit my needs
• I believe in the power of my mind and positive words keep my immune system strong
• I allow my body to function in its naturally programmed way
• I am guided by my intuition as I trust my body’s signals
• I am attuned to my personal needs and desires
• I choose to use words that are uplifting to support people around me
• I am the CEO of my life

If you have a friend or someone you care about in fear and worry, please share this article as it could really change their experience. Peace and Love <3