About Motion Sickness
For some people, travelling in a vehicle, boat, aeroplane or other modes of transport can cause discomfort. The discomfort often starts as a sense of uneasiness then develops to dizziness and anxiety followed by nausea and vomiting. This condition is known as motion sickness and it affects a lot of people.
You may experience the same sense of discomfort when riding a rollercoaster, watching a video with fast action, or playing video games. It is therefore a serious condition that can limit your life considerably if left uncontrolled.
The Development of Motion Sickness
Your brain receives signals from all the sensory organs and then it signals the body to react appropriately. The inner ear coordinates with the brain to keep the pressure inside your body at an equilibrium with the surrounding atmospheric pressure. In doing so, it helps in maintaining your body balance especially when you are in motion.
The visual system is also involved in maintaining balance. The brain receives visual signals of your surroundings and communicates with the muscles to adjust in order to keep you steady.
Motion sickness occurs when the brain receives conflicting signals from the visual and inner ear systems. It can happen when you are moving but you can’t see the motion that your ear is sensing e.g. when in a ship cabin; or when your body and inner ear can’t sense the motion that you are seeing e.g. when watching a fast-action film or playing video games.
The mixed signals cause confusion in the brain. Not knowing the right signals to send to the body muscles and other body parts, the brain goes into protective mode. This is what triggers the dizziness, nausea and other symptoms of motion sickness.
Some people have reported motion sickness resulting from anxiety related to the journey especially if it is a mode of transport they are not used to. In such instances, even the smell of the fuel can trigger the symptoms.
Controlling motion sickness can be prevented.
There are various medications you can take to manage motion sickness. Sometimes, however, the medications don’t work. They also don’t treat the problem but the symptoms.
Instead, you can use some behavioural adjustments to control the sickness:
- Avoid heavy meals just before travelling
- Don’t take foods with strong smell before or during the journey. The smell may trigger nausea.
- Get a seat where there is least motion; front seats in a vehicles, over the wing in airplanes, and for boats, in the midsection rather than in uppermost or lowest cabins.
- When travelling on train or a bus take a seat that’s facing forward i.e. towards the direction you are travelling to. This aligns all the signals being sent to your brain.
- For some people, distracting themselves with a book or conversation can help manage the symptoms while for others it exacerbates them. Find out what works for you.
- If the condition proves to be too severe, seek medical attention.
How hypnotherapy treats motion sickness.
From the description of motion sickness, it is clear that the condition stems from the brains inability to interpret the signals sent to it. That is why some people experience the symptoms even before they start travelling. It is therefore all in your mind and any meaningful treatment should be targeted at the brain.
Hypnotherapy has been used in recent studies and practice to successfully relax the mind thus addressing the fear and anxiety associated with travelling.
The hypnotherapist guides you through a series of relaxation sessions. In these sessions you access your subconscious mind together and train it to interpret the signals correctly without confusion thus preventing the onset of dizziness and other symptoms.
Seek the services of a qualified hypnotherapist today and start enjoying the travelling experience again.
