On the savannah, a young antelope walks feasting on the leaves of the trees. He is straying more and more from the herd, his protection, his foothold. He doesn't really notice.
What he also fails to notice is that in the tall grass at the edge of the savannah, the cheetah has long since spotted him. Cheetahs have only a minute to catch their prey at full speed. Otherwise, they burn up. One minute for a chance to eat tonight.
The antelope wanders more and more and the cheetah sees her opportunity. She circles around the antelope and begins to gain speed. The antelope catches on.
It's too late...
The cheetah grabs him, biting his neck and dragging him along. The antelope has three options, as we all have.
– Freeze
– Flight
– Fight
In that order also. He plays dead and it succeeds. The cheetah drags him to where the rest of the family is. The cubs play nicely and hear Mom call, "Dinner is ready. Come on boys before he gets cold. Cold antelope is not tasty.'
"Just finishing the potty mom!
'Come on now guys, eat...'
The antelope sees his opportunity. He begins to shake. Have you ever seen that? That's how animals shake off trauma. It's how they get out of that "freeze" mode. When he is shaken out, which is at most a few seconds, he sneaks away and runs to the herd.
The antelope is saved. The leopards have no food. Here's how it works.
The next day dawns. The antelope heads back to the savannah. Is wary so stays closer to the herd. He still has the trophies on his neck, so he does watch out.
But should he take pills for anxiety? Um, no. Should he start snorting coca leaves further out in the woods? Make an appointment with the psychiatrist for his PTSD? Lying on the divan in the beech forest with the antelope psychiatrist? Talking about his past, about his traumas?
No, he has already shaken it off. That's how mammals do it, and so can we. We too can shake it off, only if we experience something at the age of four and we freeze, it can take years before it's safe enough to thaw out, so to speak.
Especially if you live with the cheetahs at home....
And when you're out of the house and it's essentially safe, you get so used to the feeling that you don't know how to shake it off. The antelope was frozen for a few minutes. You maybe twenty years. That's the big difference.
That's not to say you can't shake it off. Because if you don't do it? Then you can even pass it on to your children.
We use this natural mechanism in hypnosis to bring people out of that frozen state. Lifechanging it is for those people. It's not a disorder or something you have. You've frozen yourself once and when you unfreeze that then it's done. Would save a lot of pills. Simple? Yeah. Easy? No, but definitely doable.
In hypnosis you often track it faster but you have to be able to do it. Learning hypnosis can be done in as little as two days. Take a look here for more info.
