When was the last time you sneezed? What were you thinking before and after you sneezed? Let’s delve into the world of sneezing shall we?
Simply put, sneezing is a reflex motion in response to various things …
And this reflex motion has fascinated me from a young age.
I’ve probably thought about sneezing more than most! Like when my sister sneezed and her belt broke, that happened several times. Goes to show there’s way more going on during a sneeze than just in the throat and head … the ab muscles, lungs, diaphragm and much more.
Oh and then there was the time I questioned;
“if someone sneezed eight times in a row, would it be the same sensation as an orgasm?”
That was a tweenager thought after a rumour went around high-school about a sneeze being an eighth of an orgasm. It does have a build up and can make you feel lightheaded, followed by a calming sense of relief … but I’m certain there is no scientific evidence for that connection.
I used to try how much pepper I would need under my nostrils to make me sneeze. Interestingly, if the sneeze occurred on more than one occasion then just looking at the pepper could trigger a ‘nearly-sneeze’. There shines our intriguing mind-body connection again.
Achoo … X 8 (or not!)
More sneezing stories (yes, really!) …
A girl in my English class at college sneezed a squeaky high-pitched ‘achoo’. I switched my brain from the exam paper to the topic of sneezing … it got me thinking how sneezes vary in pitch and style, and speed and power. (Don’t worry I completed the exam after my internal research.)
In later years, post-college days, during my modelling and acting career, I found these observations useful because a fellow actress was preparing for a cold and flu TV commercial audition. And I was there to help. We practised a whole day on the various ways she could sneeze. Back then, securing a commercial meant big money.
And then the topic of sneezing arose again … when I started driving. I have sneezed on a number of occasions during driving … have you? Scary! Right!? You have to check if someone is behind you and get your hazard perception into high alert … Because you have to close your eyes when you sneeze. A sneeze travels through you, and can jolt your whole body! And I remember hearing when I was younger that if you open your eyes when you are sneezing that your eyes will pop out! Super unsafe when driving.
And finally – on the sneezing story front; more than a few female friends have reported peeing a little during a sneeze. Another reason to maintain those pelvic floor muscles. I love the book Pelvic Power by Eric Franklin that I regularly referenced during my yoga teaching days, and it’s still on my bookshelf.
I did mention that I’ve thought of sneezing a lot! Moving on to the question at hand; Is sneezing a sign you are in a toxic workplace or relationship?
Sneeze alert!
Metaphysics
I am no expert on the physical or chemical aspects of sneezing such as histamine etc… but I am all about the metaphysical side. This is a personal interest of mine and an area of study for many years. I like patterns and to realise patterns in the health of people is exciting for me, because it reveals healing possibilities.
Metaphysics relates to physical manifestation, focusing on the root causes of illness, injury, ailments, symptoms, and life-choices.
What occurs in the energetic space, metaphysically sits there for a while and when we ignore it, it builds up and up and finally manifests in a material or physical way, saying; “pay attention now please!”, and it presents itself in a vulnerable area in the body and sometimes extends to other things like our pets and car and home and so on.
Many mainstream doctors, dentists, and health practitioners are paying attention to this topic now. Stress and burnout have been two key areas of popular interest because they are so impactful in society, they can no longer be ignored or purely attributed to external factors … it’s as if we have collectively bred this wave together through ignorance and pushing forward at rapid pace in an overwhelming information-technological-action age.
Metaphysics relates to the so-called invisible space in the energy fields. It points to energetic dis-ease. Traditional Chinese Medicine references sneezing as a sign of disharmony in the energy system. And the chakra areas (in other schools of thought) are in the head referring to self acceptance, and in the throat; relating to communication.
This energy focus is different to a symbolic meaning or spiritual meaning of something, which are still valid. Some people believe that sneezing is getting rid of evil sprits, others believe it is a sign of good luck, or a warning that someone is talking about you.
Some believe sneezing is simply a physical reaction.
There’s so much more to these subjects … and everything we believe individually and collectively is valid and valuable, but metaphysics is where I’m taking our sneezing chat next …
The nose knows best!
So what does sneezing mean?
Generally, we associate sneezing with external allergens, such as dust, mould, pollen, perfumes, cleaning products, chemicals and so on. Sneezing is also a symptom of colds and flu, but it’s important to note that a sneeze does not define a cold or flu or virus.
A sneeze is an irritation of the mucous membranes in the nose and throat.
Google’s A.I. generator says this: “Sneezing is a natural, involuntary reflex that expels air forcefully through the nose and mouth to clear irritants from the nasal passages, and it’s a common symptom of allergies, colds, or other irritants.”
As you read on, you will be able to relate the physical description of a sneeze (as described above in this article thus far) with the underlining causes of why we really sneeze, and how we can heal this symptom.
Case-study
A couple of years ago someone was working with me for seven weeks of therapy. And the focus was their hayfever symptoms, particularly the violent and repetitive sneezing. (I am not using their real name or details and I’m going to call them ‘Alex’.)
Alex had seasonal hayfever, but for two years it had been constant. I like to work on individual symptoms if a condition includes a collection of symptoms. I was focusing purely on the sneezing at this point.
Alex had a nearly sneeze … (the build up only, and then an anticlimax), when talking about their manager during the therapy sessions. I addressed this and they explained that they sneezed at work on the days the manager was in office and that even hearing their car could ‘trigger a sneezing fit’.
Sneezing is the underlining belief in something negative. It is a release and reflex of something negative that cannot be expressed in another way. It has built-up to such a high level in the energy space that it becomes involuntary.
This negativity is actually something that is from ourselves. It is our relationship with the situation that causes the sneezing. This means that the sneeze is energy in motion or emotion seeking escape and it needs to be expelled.
Bring in some semantics …
What happens if we foster a strong association with a word or a feeling with specific experiences? This then can physically manifest.
Alex was engulfed by the ‘toxic‘ work environment, but only when the manager was present; to a point that even thinking of or talking about the manager gave a physical response.
The words ‘toxic’, ‘intoxicate’ and ‘toxin’ all stem from the same history. I won’t digress too much into the etymology, but the meaning relates to poison or toxic waste from the terms used in latin back in the 17th Century, when ‘toxicus’ and ‘toxon’ related to bows, arrows, and poisons on the arrows; all relating to the purpose of using poisoned arrows (to cause harm or to kill).
Poison arrow >
The term ‘toxic’ is not used in the same way in modern day, because the world and purposes change. However the word has very much seeped into our psyches, and collectively we are aware that to be around toxins equals danger; thus reinforces the common fear of death many of us carry sub-consciously.
The term ‘toxic’ has now embedded into our lexicon for describing relationships – both personal and professional, including the home or work environments. The term is used commonly in films/TV, other media, and in corporate settings and social platforms.
When we are in a toxic environment or situation or dynamic or relationship, there is a build up of this ‘toxin’. We may disempower ourselves and feel we have to make ourselves small and compliant, because otherwise the ‘poison’ will activate externally and cause conflict. It can be easier to absorb the ‘poison’ and internalise it, than to speak up or leave, and do the things we want to. The toxicity accumulates and then we literally become intoxicated by it all. It is a sub-conscious choice; a survival or safety mechanism – but not a good one for the longterm.
Here is for the weird part …
Because we have created a dual association with ‘being intoxicated’, it has been glamorised to an extent. For example, we have a pleasure and self-harm connection with substance intoxication. We use the word ‘intoxicate’ to describe love, lust, and the beauty of nature (e.g. her smile was intoxicating; the view was intoxicating etc.)
Intoxication can become addictive and we can thrive on the feeling without realising it, and this is when our energy field gets clogged and then expels via sneezing. But the sneezing and the experience further reinforce not being able to perceive our good points. The sneezing clouds our judgment. This can also keep us in a sense of pseudo-safety and we stay in relationships and situations that are toxic.
The more violent or frequent the sneezing, the more of a trigger the situation or relationship is (or is becoming). The toxins have been programmed in the mind and body as environmental or personality irritants, and these penetrate our sense of safety through the nose just as the physical chemicals or poisons would.
Remember the nose is where our life force travels … where we need moist, cleansed and warm air for safe passage to our lungs.
With the allergy in the nose it can point to a human instinct of survival of something smelling bad and being unsafe.
So we sneeze because we don’t want to be unsafe, but we are also too intoxicated to distinguish between our self and the thing that has intoxicated us, and so we also need to address boundaries with self and the toxin.
There is no surprise that sneezing is an initial or occasional symptom of multi-symptom conditions like flu, COVID, allergies and hayfever, because these conditions relate to negative thinking and witnessing broader negativity occurring in the environment and world at large. A sneeze begins that downward spiral with the blurring of boundaries between self and the toxin, and the diluting of one’s own needs inside an engulfed situation.
The word ‘sneeze’ originally started with a /pn/ pronounced with a silent p as apposed to the /sn/ (story for another day). Pneumonia means ‘lung disease’, with ‘pneum’ meaning ‘lung’ or ‘breath’. The relationship between ‘pneeze’ and ‘pneumonia’ is clearer now as the lungs and nose (breath) play active roles in the reflex motion. Lungs relate to life – receiving air through the nose (as previously mentioned).
Knowing this is to know that a sneeze is not a signal that we are getting unwell or that the condition will worsen, but a signal to raise self-awareness of our overall health. We need to pay attention to the metaphysical causes of sneezing as well as the physical.
‘Bless you’ – whoops!
A college friend told me years ago that if you say ‘bless you’ to someone after they sneeze then you kill a fairy. The truth of this statement obviously depends on whether someone believes in fairies or not. But it is another aspect of sneezing and the holistic human form that is fascinating … why?
It is reported (and I vaguely remember from my school history lessons and a visit to the London Dungeons at Christmas 2024) that people would say ‘bless you’ when someone sneezed during the time of the plague, as a way to bless their souls from the ‘evil’ of the plague, because it was a sign that it was about to take hold.
This ‘bless you’ response to someone sneezing is more of a polite acknowledgement in modern day. So if someone says ‘bless you’ to you, take a mental note of it and accept the blessing as a healing prompt as opposed to a warning that your soul is doomed or you’re getting the flu.
Self-remedy
Self-remedy or self-healing always stems from self-awareness.
Ask yourself: What is in my thoughts or environment before, during and after I sneeze? Do I have any toxic associations with these thoughts or environmental elements? Do I sneeze just before getting something else? Is it a signal symptom to another condition that I could prevent from developing before it takes hold?
Affirmations: I am safe to breathe in life; My environment is safe; I am safe; I feel joy; I am loved; I am fine; All is well! (Any or a combination of these can be spoken to self with a visualisation of pale pink loving light from the lungs, to throat, up to the whole head area.)
Am I his toxin?
A final note:
If someone sneezes around you, don’t assume you are toxic to them, unless it is a regular occurrence. Instead consider it as another opportunity to be self-aware of your actions and behaviour.
Circulate this article at work to raise collective awareness. With thanks and a non-toxic ‘bless you!’.
Author and copyright: Jordan P Martin
Artwork: Pexels and A.I. generated via WordPress.
Author disclaimer: #metaphysics #semantics #toxic #relationships #workplace #nojudgement #nopreaching #inittogether #professionalexperience #personalopinion #writtenwithoutai #humour #leadership