Article

Balancing to Resolve Fear Paralysis Reflex

by Kathy Brown, M.Ed.

Background information: Many academic and behavior issues have at their core the incomplete progression of childhood reflexes. These reflexes should each develop in the child's system, become fully integrated and useful as a neural pattern, and then "inhibit," or fall away, so the use of the pattern can be a choice, rather than an inevitable reaction. Early trauma can cause the orderly progression of reflexes to go into a "holding pattern,"resulting in a wide variety of emotional, physical and academic challenges. Fortunately, these reflex challenges resolve quickly and effectively when addressed through specific Brain Gym® processes. For more background information, please see "Retained Reflexes in Children and Adults" under "Articles" on my website, www.centeredge.com.

The Fear Paralysis Reflex is the key to all other reflexes. It is the first reflex to manifest. Indeed, the Fear Paralysis reflex is intended to develop, become integrated, and "inhibit," or fall away, all in utero, long before birth.

If the Fear Paralysis Reflex (FPR) does not follow the intended route of development, the child's (or adult's) system is left locked in a fear state that permeates all waking and sleep activity. If Fear Paralysis is still active all situations are seen through a filter of fear.

A partial list of behaviors that may manifest due to lack of resolution of Fear Paralysis Reflex is as follows:

• low tolerance to stress
• anxiety seemingly unrelated to reality
• hypersensitivity to touch, sound, specific frequencies of sound, changes in visual field.
• Dislike of change or surprise/poor adaptability
• Fatigue
• Elective mutism - the persistent failure to speak in specific situations where speaking is expected, despite the ability to speak otherwise
• Holding breath
• Fear of social embarrassment
• Insecure. Lack of trust in oneself. May become socially isolated and withdrawn.
• Overly clingy or may be unable to accept or demonstrate affection easily
• Fear of school
• Compulsive traits/OCD
• Negativism, defeatist attitude
• Won't try new activities, especially where comparison occurs or excellence is expected
• Depression
• Temper tantrums
• Controlling or oppositional behavior, especially at home
• Immediate motor paralysis under stress - can't think and move at the same time
• Reduced muscle tone
• Eating disorders
• Craves attention
• Aggressive behavior borne out of frustration and confusion
• Poor balance

Children or adults with FPR still "on" in their system will typically manifest a cluster of these behaviors&endash; the more fully the reflex manifests, the more pronounced the behaviors will be, and the more severe the implications in their life.

Like all reflex issues, Fear Paralysis Reflex responds quickly and easily to the Brain Gym® balance process. Once identified and addressed, rapid, permanent change is experienced.

• A recent client, a very capable woman with a flourishing business, recently came for a balance regarding her fear of being home alone. It was clear that resolving Fear Paralysis was called for. The session had excellent results, and I got a call from her a few days later and learned that she was now completely comfortable at home alone, and none of her old fear remained.

A few weeks later I heard from her again. She had just come back from a ski weekend in Utah. Previously she had stuck to the easiest slopes, but this time she thought, "Why can't I go down these other slopes? They look like a lot more fun!" She found herself skiing aggressively and joyfully, truly "throwing herself into it." That night back at the ski lodge she realized what she'd done, and thought immediately of her balance for Fear Paralysis. While she had taken appropriate precautions to remain safe, there had been no feeling of fear the entire day.

• Another client brought her daughter, Jana, age thirteen, to deal with some very challenging issues. Jana was simply unable to be away from her mother. She could tolerate her mother going to work if she herself was at school, but was unable to wait at the bus stop in the morning without her mother waiting in the car until the bus got there. Her mother could go nowhere in the evenings or on weekends without Jana.

After a series of doctors diagnosed Jana as simply ADD, her parents tried everything from hypnosis to a variety of alternative treatment methods. Nothing had any effect. Jana's balance session focused on being able to be anywhere, regardless of where her mother was. The specific process that was called for here was a balance to resolve the Fear Paralysis Reflex.

At the end of the balance Jana reported feeling "really different... and good!" And her trip to church camp the next weekend, where she waved goodbye to her mother and never gave her another thought the entire time, was a great experience.

A few weeks later she turned to her mother and said, "Mom, school is only two miles away. Can't I just ride my bike there every day?"

• Another client, Ron, would always jump at unexpected noises. A career police officer, he'd always dreaded his yearly visit to the shooting range to maintain his marksman rating. Now retired, even the sound of the phone ringing next to him caused him to jump. Having had two heart bypass surgeries, he decided it was time to do something about his extreme reactions.

Of course, his balance session called for resolving Fear Paralysis Reflex. Immediately following his first session Ron reported that he no longer jumped at the sound of the phone. He said, "I find myself just turning my head and thinking, 'Oh, the phone is ringing.' Before that you'd have had to peel me off the ceiling."

Not long after, Ron and his wife were out for the evening with two other couples, and they enjoyed dancing all evening. Ron told me, "I'd always hated dancing&endash;you couldn't make me dance in public. I always worried what people were thinking about how I danced. This time I just didn't care what anybody thought&endash;and you know what? I had a great time!"

As you can see from each of these client stories, when you resolve the Fear Paralysis Reflex, you resolve a lot more than the issue that might have prompted you to come for the session in the first place. You're resolving the tendency toward fear itself.

What does it take to resolve a reflex? As I mentioned earlier, each reflex must be fully developed, integrated, and then inhibited. On occasion, if manifesting in a mild form, all three stages may actually be resolved in a single balance session. More typically, especially when the reflex seems to be strongly "on," it will take two or even three sessions for each reflex to be completely resolved: one session to facilitate reflex development, one to support integration and one to support full inhibition of the reflex.

Especially if you or your child are dealing with severe learning or performance challenges, you will want to see what other reflexes have been compromised. If Fear Paralysis Reflex is still strongly "on," it is certain that other reflexes are, as well. And each reflex creates its own unique strain on the system, producing its own array of learning and performance challenges.

As you approach resolving each of these reflexes, it's important to move slowly. It takes at least two weeks for each balance session to create the neural network desired. Sessions held too close together could be counter-productive, as time needs to be allowed for the neurology to mature.

Amazing results are seen in both children and adults with a wide variety of challenges, when reflexes are addressed over time. Claire Hocking, who pioneered addressing reflex issues in this way through Brain Gym®, has had remarkable results, from those who are extremely learning-disabled, developmentally delayed or autistic. Many of the originally "hopeless" learning-disabled children that Claire has worked with over time are now excelling in college.

At a recent Reflexes Course training for Brain Gym® consultants she told of her work with a young girl diagnosed as having "Asperger's Syndrome" (a syndrome described as part of the "autism spectrum"). After a few sessions to resolve the girl's Fear Paralysis Reflex, the doctors actually had to re-categorize the girl as "normal, with occasional and mild Asperger's behaviors."

We all have various reflex issues, acting as the invisible puppeteers pulling us this way and that. Of the fourteen Brain Gym® consultants who gathered for Claire Hocking's recent course almost all had Fear Paralysis "on" to one degree or another. Who knows what changes will manifest in the lives of all those people who are no longer subject to this invisible pull?

Resolving Fear Paralysis is a powerful step in creating true inner ease. It may be the step your body has been waiting for your entire lifetime.

Recommended Reading: To learn more about how reflex continuum delays may manifest in children and adults, as well as interim management and coping strategies, I highly recommend A Teacher's Window Into The Child's Mind by Sally Goddard.

Note: Since this article was written, Sally Goddard has published a new version of her book. Please now look for Reflexes, Learning and Behavior: A Window into the Child's Mind.