Healing and Hypnotherapy Volume 2, Issue 8, (February 1, 2018) | Page 17

giving them meaning . Behaviors Behaviors are things we do, whether by conscious choice or not. These include: ! Bodily expressions of our current state of mind, such as fidgeting or biting 
 nails because we are restless ! Bodily sympathetic actions, such as sweating, high breathing, blushing, 
 heartbeat ! Compulsive behaviors, such as smoking, drinking or doing something else 
 compulsively and excessively 
 Positive Intentions 
 Instead of trying to find a negative label such as a disorder or syndrome, we take the perspective that every behavior has a positive intention. Find this inten- tion and you will be able to redirect to another behavior if the current one isn’t filling your needs. 
 An example of this is anxiety: If you feel anxiety there is a reason. The reason may not be relevant to anybody else, but for some reason it is relevant to your conscious or subconscious mind. And to feel it, you need to actively do something, consciously or subconsciously: Perceive a stimulus in the form of a sound, smell, sight, situation or feeling, or bring up the memory of one. 
 For example, the positive intention of ! Anxiety is to put you into alert mode to avoid a life threatening situation ! Aggression is to put you into a defense mode ! Shame is to alert you that something you just did might not be in your interest in the long run ! Guilt is to make you remember to avoid certain behaviors ! Nightmares are for your subconscious mind to “let the steam off” certain 
 issues