Irene Boshoff

2.Effects of Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome Each one of us is an electromagnetic being. Our bodies conduct electricity and grounds the electromagnetic radiation that is present all around us. In fact, each cell in our bodies is made up of energy – electromagnetic energy. Similarly, everything around us is made up of the same. The problem, however, is the ‘new’, manmade frequencies we are being exposed to. Our bodies are simply not designed to cope with them. A typical example of how this radiation affects us negatively is in the pineal gland. It is a tiny endocrine gland situated in the brain. This small body, together with our eyes, are the most sensitive to electromagnetic radiation. The pineal gland also controls our body’s hormone levels, melatonin being one of them. Low levels of melatonin have been linked to fibromyalgia as well as chronic tiredness, two illnesses that are accompanied by a sensitivity to chemicals and illnesses due to environmental factors. When this gland is placed under undue stress, for whatever reason, it affects its ability to produce sufficient melatonin for the body’s needs. Constant bombardment by these electromagnetic waves at a frequency our body has difficulty in coping with puts extra stress on the functioning of the pineal gland. Constant exposure to these electromagnetic waves causes muscle tension as well as a heightened stress level. The more intense and persistent this radiation, the more stressed the body becomes as well. Finally, the limbic brain feels it is under threat. Your body needs to defend itself. The adrenal glands are kick-started to respond to this threat and your body goes into fight mode. Joe Hall, the founder of Clarus Systems, San Clemente, California (Hall 1997), has been instrumental in exploring the effects of electromagnetic field radiation. He gives an example of the effect of electromagnetic radiation and our bodies’ reactions to it. He states that where a number of people are taken to a remote location in nature and hooked up with EKG sensors in order to record their stress levels and muscle tension for a period of fifteen minutes the finding would be that some are relaxed while others are stressed. If they were then subjected to electromagnetic stimulation such as they would encounter in a normal suburban home, a physiological response would be imminent. Their stress levels would jump. If the radiation level were to be increased by an addition three to five milligauss per square meter, such as would be the situation in a normal office environment with its office equipment, the jump perceived in stress levels would be even higher. Hall explains that this is possibly one of the reasons many people do not like their jobs and why they find their work environments so stressful. Every electrical appliance, of whatever nature, that is added to your immediate environment adds to your physiological stress, finally pushing your body into survival mode. Magnetic radiation is constantly passing through us, the sub-particles causing irritation to our limbic brain. The limbic brain then perceives this constant bombardment as a direct physical threat. This, in turns, results in an adrenal response. Hall further states that of those living in industrialized countries, approximately 99% have a weakened adrenal system due to a sensitivity to electromagnetic radiation. What makes matters worse, however, is that children too are affected.