In the 11th century, Persian polymath Avicenna (Ibn Sina) conducted an experiment that would echo through the ages of medicine, psychology, and now, behavioural neuroscience. His now-famous study involving two lambs and a wolf laid the groundwork for understanding the devastating impact of chronic emotional stress on physical health. Today, as we face unprecedented levels of global anxiety, socioeconomic uncertainty, and psychological overwhelm, his ancient insight rings truer than ever.
This article explores how Avicenna’s work aligns with contemporary theories of behavioural change—particularly Matt Hudson’s Split-Second Unlearning model—and the role of Emotional Memory Images (EMIs) in perpetuating chronic illness. We’ll also examine how the current global climate effectively places the entire population in the position of the lamb, staring endlessly at the wolf.
Avicenna’s Lamb and the Psychology of Perception
Avicenna’s experiment was simple but profound: he placed two identical lambs in separate pens. Both were given the same food, water, and care. The only difference? One of the lambs had visual access to a nearby wolf confined in a cage. The result was startling. Despite being in no physical danger, the lamb who could see the wolf became increasingly anxious, weakened over time, and eventually died. The other lamb, unexposed to the predator, remained healthy.
What Avicenna uncovered was the psychophysiological impact of perceived threat—a concept that today forms the cornerstone of mind-body medicine. He identified what we now call chronic stress: an ongoing, unresolved perception of danger that, over time, erodes physical health.
The Modern Wolf: EMIs and the Split-Second Stress Response
Fast-forward a thousand years to the work of Matt Hudson and the concept of Emotional Memory Images (EMIs). EMIs are subconscious mental imprints formed during moments of psychological overwhelm or trauma. These imprints are stored outside conscious awareness and are re-triggered by sensory cues—sounds, sights, smells, or even thoughts.
Hudson’s Split-Second Unlearning model identifies the EMI at the moment it is reactivated, dissolving the emotional charge and disrupting the physiological stress response. This method speaks directly to the mechanism demonstrated by Avicenna: a perception of danger (the wolf) activates a stress response that can lead to chronic illness—even if the danger is not real or current.
In this way, the wolf in the lamb’s pen becomes the symbolic ancestor of the EMI—a persistent threat imprint that activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, keeping the body locked in a state of high alert.
The Cost of Chronic Stress in the 21st Century
In today’s world, the wolf is everywhere. From income inequality and job insecurity to climate anxiety and digital overstimulation, we live in a state of near-constant stress. According to the World Health Organisation, depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy $1 trillion annually in lost productivity. Chronic stress has been linked to a host of medical conditions including:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Autoimmune disorders
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Fibromyalgia
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Insomnia and sleep apnea
Each of these conditions reflects a neurobiological echo of the past—the body’s attempt to survive a perceived danger that no longer exists but continues to dominate from the subconscious.
Socioeconomic Stress: Living with the Wolf
For millions of people today, life feels like living in Avicenna’s pen.
The socioeconomic system has become the wolf—visibly threatening but psychologically omnipresent. The cost of living crisis, food insecurity, housing instability, and fractured social safety nets keep populations in a state of anticipatory anxiety. Even those who are safe today may feel unsafe tomorrow, because the threat is not merely physical—it is psychological, emotional, and existential.
When a child grows up in a home marked by poverty, emotional neglect, or domestic conflict, they are more likely to develop EMIs. These imprints often influence adult behaviour in hidden ways—affecting relationships, health, and performance.
Hudson’s model emphasises that EMIs formed in childhood often persist into adulthood, constantly triggering the HPA axis, increasing cortisol, and reducing the body’s capacity to regulate inflammation or restore balance.
From Lambs to Leaders: The Global Impact
The chronic stress response is not confined to individual suffering; it has global implications:
- Workplace performance declines when staff operate under high stress
- Health systems are overburdened by stress-related conditions
- Educational outcomes suffer in children dealing with unprocessed EMIs
- Political polarisation and social fragmentation worsen as populations live in survival mode
In other words, the wolf doesn’t just harm the lamb—it destabilises the entire flock.
Split-Second Unlearning: Clearing the Wolf
Split-Second Unlearning offers a way to remove the internal perception of threat without needing years of therapy. The approach is rapid, non-invasive, and targeted.
Using specific questioning and observational methods, practitioners help individuals identify the exact moment an EMI is activated. This split-second window is when change is possible—where the physiological response can be interrupted, and coherence between mind and body can be restored.
This aligns with modern neuroscience findings that suggest the brain is plastic and dynamic, capable of rewiring in real time under the right conditions. Techniques like Split-Second Unlearning exploit this neuroplasticity to reverse the hidden effects of adverse experiences.
A Century of Psychophysiological Discovery
From Pavlov’s dogs salivating to a bell, to Avicenna’s lamb wasting from fear, and now to Hudson’s clients freeing themselves from emotional loops—our understanding of the mind-body interface has evolved enormously.
But at its heart is a simple truth: what we perceive changes our biology. And often, we are perceiving not the world as it is, but as it once was—when we were small, scared, or overwhelmed.
In that sense, EMIs are the modern wolf: relics of past trauma that remain visually, somatically, and emotionally present. Until they are cleared, the nervous system will continue to act as if the threat is still real.
Conclusion: From Survival to Coherence
Avicenna gave us a parable for the ages: that emotional perception is as powerful as physical reality. Hudson has given us a tool to act on that insight.
As the world navigates growing inequality, climate instability, war, and rapid technological change, it’s not enough to address external stressors. We must also clear the internal wolves—the EMIs that lock us in patterns of fear and reactivity.
Split-Second Unlearning doesn’t just offer relief; it offers a paradigm shift. One that transforms survival into self-regulation, fragmentation into coherence, and inherited fear into liberated presence.
In a world where the wolf is always at the door, perhaps the answer is not to build a better fence—but to change the way we see the wolf.
References:
- World Health Organization (2017). Mental health in the workplace. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-in-the-workplace
- McEwen, B. S. (2007). Physiology and neurobiology of stress and adaptation: central role of the brain. Physiological Reviews, 87(3), 873–904.
- Sapolsky, R. M. (2004). Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
- Hudson, M. (2020). The Saboteur Within. MindReset Ltd.
- Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Penguin Books.
- Avicenna. (1025). The Canon of Medicine.
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