Video: Tim Altman Mickel Therapist

The Mickel approach is far from therapy in the commonly known sense. It is an action based technique derived from neuroscience research that teaches people to take their body out of pemanent, internal overdrive (or fight or flight mode) to achieve extraordinary health and performance results – especially with chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue and pain, post viral fatigue, CFS, fibromyalgia, adrenal fatigue, IBS, anxiety, depression, auto-immune conditions, and more, as it addresses the ‘root cause’ of illness higher in the body – specifically, in our hypothalamus and brain. It is also fantastic for eliminating blocks to performance in all fields.

I discuss how the hypothalamus, whose job is homeostasis, or maintaining balance in all automatic functions, ends up in most people, and especially in those with chronic illness, in chronic overdrive. Or, as what is often described as, in permanent ‘fight or flight’ mode of varying degrees. The hypothalamus goes into overdrive because of a breakdown in communication or cooperation (internally) between the two intelligence systems in our bodies – the thinking or rational brain (head mind) and the instinctive, pre-thought emotional brain (body mind) that uses emotions as a call to action to our bodies to deal with any stress or threat to our safety, comfort or happiness.

The unprocessed, or effectively dealt with emotions, become internalised, sending our hypothalamus into overdrive, eventually resulting in symptoms of illness, and syndromes. As such, fatigue and symptoms of illness are described as resulting from suppressed energy, or stuck energy, rather than lack of energy. If it were merely a case of lack of energy, then rest and sleep would fix chronic fatigue – in most cases, we know this is not the case.

This occurs as a result of a severe mismatch between the body we have inherited (from our hunter gatherer ancestors) and the world we have created. Our bodies do what they are adapted for, in a world we have not yet adapted to. This makes us chronically sick, or under-performing, which we then pass on to our children etc. In the modern world, we humans have become supposedly top of the animal kingdom by having highly sophisticated rational, or thinking brain, but we have forgotten how to be an animal – to tune into the messages our body sends us about stress, and threats to our happiness, safety and comfort.

The Mickel approach is an action based technique that uses a potent set of tools to reverse this suppression of emotional communication, or energy, by targeting the day to day patterns, lifestyle, and behaviours that send us into overdrive or ‘fight or flight’ in the first place. I have witnessed many complete recoveries in chronically ill clients who had been ill for many years, and had pretty much tried everything else. It has been very humbling to witness.

And has dramatically changed how I approach my own lifestyle, relationships and how I treat clients. It is also fantastic for performance and optimal living – as well as relationships. Go to www.timaltman.com.au for more information – including some videos by Dr Mickel himself.