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Hero’s 12 Step Journey
GOING ON YOUR OWN HOLLYWOOD HERO’S JOURNEY IN 12 STEPS
Blockbuster films such as The Wizard of Oz, James Bond, Star Wars, The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings and Superman are all huge international successes for one reason: they follow an amazing concept known as the ‘hero’s journey’. It’s why they resonate with us – because deep down we know it’s the journey we all need to go on to realise our true selves and be the best we can be…
WORDS DAVID HURST
ECG PICTURE
Arrhythmias are simple errors in the electrical impulse and conduction within the cardiac electric circuit. There are many different types of arrhythmias causing palpitations – mostly signifying that the patient can feel their heart beating which usually is not the case. Although most of them are harmless, caused by stress, age and other medications taken for completely different conditions, on some occasions arrhythmias can be of great importance and danger. This is why cardiologists always advocate a thorough investigation once a patient complains of anything suggesting a heart arrhythmia. The most common condition is that of atrial fibrillation, especially with age, causing a fast and irregular heartbeat. Some patients are not aware of it, others feel immediately unwell, tired, short of breath with exertion or simply dizzy. Atrial fibrillation is an important diagnosis because it can cause heart weakness and strokes if left untreated. Other important arrhythmias are slow heartbeats, so called heart blocks, causing long pauses between heart beats. These are dangerous because the blood
supply to the body, especially to the brain is reduced. Symptoms here include dizziness, fatigue and quite often the sudden loss of consciousness, which may only last for seconds, but nevertheless Virtually all successful stories are the same. From Charles Dickens to Stephen King, the books by these authors and many more follow a similar concept. In fact this is why they are so successful. By following the hero’s journey blueprint, these stories reach a part of us deep inside that we know to be the absolute truth about how we need to live our lives to find our true self and meaning. Hero’s journey stories is a very worrisome event. Most patients attribute these spells to stress and dehydration, and the significance often remains underestimated until severe accidents happen or even the worst-case scenario, the sudden cardiac death. Consulting a cardiologist is the most important step to take: the investigations performed like ECG's, Holter-ECG's and heart ultrasound examinations will determine the fundamental problem and determine the severity of the situation. At times, there are underlying reasons causing the
are all about a character we connect with because they’ve suffered some adversity in life, frequently during their childhood. Their present-day life is often drab – and they know there’s something more, if only they could escape from the spiritless confines of their ordinary world…
On their hero’s journey, they find a previously hidden inner reserve of strength to deal with a current adversity. In doing so, as well as helping and often saving their community or even the world, they deal with what’s been blocking them – and it’s often that childhood adversity – from living their life to its fullest potential. Z HERO INSIDE In a hero’s journey film, book or spoken story this all resonates with us because the main character represents our own hopes and fears, our own lives. This character will confront their fears to realise their hopes and become who they are meant to be, who they can be. They find their hero inside. They are driven to find this inner reserve because their backs are against the wall, the game is up. They discover it was always inside them. In mental health terms those who do the best in their recovery are those who are similarly driven due to hitting rock bottom or after grasping that their breaking down can be a waking up… they are given the ‘gift of desperation’.
Another parallel with recovery is that one of the many rewards for someone who goes through such as the 12 Steps programme is that in transforming themselves from, say, the depressed or constantly anxious person, or the seemingly hopeless addict, everyone around them benefits too. There is a hero inside all of us.
Z CALL TO ADVENTURE It’s why something stirs inside when Superman tears off his average man’s suit to reveal what super strength was underneath all along. Or when Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz leaves the farm where she is put upon by everyone, the film actually transforms from monochrome into stunning Technicolor. She literally opens the door to a brighter life. It signifies she’s left her ordinary world for an extraordinary world. It’s a world that’s there for all of us if only we can answer the ‘call to adventure’ as it’s called in the hero’s journey.
A professor of literature called Joseph Campbell recognised the hero’s journey concept in 1949 with the publication of his book The Hero With A Thousand Faces. He studied stories throughout history, including from cultures that had no contact with each other, and realised that the story structure was basically the same.
So our ancestors in such as the ancient legends, Greek myths, religious stories, classic bestsellers and more recently Hollywood blockbusters are all trying to tell us the same thing: we must take our very own personal hero’s journey to find our true self.
Campbell’s hero’s journey saw that the main character always answered their ‘call to adventure’ and in doing so left their “ordinary world” for an “extraordinary world”. On their journey they encountered all nature of trials, tribulations and temptations that they had to overcome to gain what they set out for.
Z BECOME THE ONE A hero’s journey is divided into 12 stages and now a growing number of mental health experts are noting the phenomenal connection to the 12 Steps that are well known in beating addictions. But they are also being increasingly discovered as an exceptional method of living for anyone.
A passage from my book 12 Steps To 1 Hero about this incredible paralle sums up what anyone can gain: “The 12 Steps enable a realisation that allows you to become the person you’re supposed to be, by going on a journey to find the hero inside. Consequently significantly emboldened, you can now stand tall, even during the worst periods of life: during a relationship or job rejection; as a loved one suffers with sickness; when the world recoils due to terrorism or a pandemic virus; even during the deaths of your mother and father.”
Consider the astounding transformations of the main characters in your favourite films and books and from the most popular stories throughout history – and know that their story is urging you to go on your very own hero’s journey. e
g David Hurst is a Wellbeing Coach with four books published on emotional and mental health recovery, including 12 Steps To 1 Hero and The Anxiety Conversation. He has also written for newspapers and magazines around the world including The Guardian, The Times, Psychologies, GQ, Esquire and Marie Claire. To find out more or contact David to see how he can help you or someone you care about with any mental health problem or emotional issue, visit: david-hurst.com
