Ancient philosophers began to oppose soul and body. We have inherited their view of the world. But physical and mental illnesses are interconnected. It’s time to learn to heal yourself with this reality in mind.
“The doctor said that my back hurts not at all because of arthrosis and it is quite possible that this will pass soon. I didn’t really believe it, because for almost a year I woke up with pain! But the next morning, my back was completely fine and still does not hurt, although several years have passed, ”says 52-year-old Anna.
According to her, this doctor did not possess any special charm. Yes, and by profession he was not a rheumatologist at all, but a gynecologist. Why did his words have such a magical effect?
Wonders of the Unconscious
The cure is the enigma of the unconscious. Tibetan Lama Phakya Rinpoche1 told how in the early 2000s, meditation helped him cope with gangrene of his leg, when doctors insisted on amputation. But the Dalai Lama, to whom he turned for advice, wrote: “Why do you seek healing outside of yourself? You have healing wisdom in yourself, and when you are healed, you will teach the world how to heal.”
Five years later, he was walking even without crutches: daily meditation and healthy eating did the trick. A result that only a true meditation virtuoso can achieve! But this case proves that the therapeutic power of our spirit is not an illusion.
Man is one. Our mental activity affects biology and physiology
Chinese medicine also believes that our “I”, the psyche and the body shell form a trinity. The same point of view is shared by psychoanalysis.
“I talk to my body even when I don’t know it,” said Jacques Lacan. Recent scientific discoveries in the field of neurology have confirmed these assumptions. Since the 1990s, numerous studies have been conducted that have identified links between the immune system, hormones, and the mental system.
Classical pharmacological medicine, in accordance with the concept of the body as a machine, takes into account only our material shell – the body, but the person is a single whole. Our mental activity influences biology and physiology.
So, with diabetes, which, at first glance, has little to do with psychological disorders, the condition improves when the patient develops a trusting relationship with the attending physician.2.
Ike nke iche echiche
The term “psychosomatics” was introduced in 1818 by the Austrian psychiatrist Johann Christian August Heinroth. He claimed that sexual impulses affect epilepsy, tuberculosis and cancer.
But the first psychosomatic doctor in the modern sense was Freud’s contemporary Georg Groddeck. He believed that any bodily symptom had a hidden meaning that needed to be carefully analyzed: for example, a sore throat could mean that a person was fed up …
Of course, such a concept should be approached with caution. Just understanding the causes of the disorder is not enough for recovery. Alas, the soul makes us sick faster than it heals them.
Modern medicine no longer considers the disease in isolation, but seeks to take into account diverse factors.
Other approaches (in particular, Ericksonian hypnosis, NLP) appeal to the creative power of the imagination and its healing properties. They are based on the good old self-hypnosis method developed in the 1920s by Émile Coué, who stated: “If, when we are sick, we imagine that recovery will come soon, then it will really come if it is possible. Even if recovery does not occur, then suffering is reduced to the extent possible.3.
He proposed a simple formula: “Every day I am getting better in every way,” which the patient had to repeat in the morning and evening.
Similar views were held by the oncologist Carl Simonton, who developed the therapeutic imaging technique in the 1970s. It is still used in the treatment of cancer patients. For example, you can imagine that the disease is a castle that must be destroyed, and the immune system is a tank, a hurricane or a tsunami involved in its destruction …
The idea is to mobilize the internal resources of the body, giving free rein to the imagination and imagining that we ourselves expel the affected cells from the body.
On all fronts
Modern medicine no longer considers the disease in isolation, but seeks to take into account diverse factors.
“In the 70s of the 2th century, a grandiose medical forum was held in India, which was attended by healthcare representatives from more than 3/XNUMX of the countries of the world. The forum proposed a biopsychosocial model for the development of the disease, says psychotherapist, specialist in body-oriented psychotherapy Artur Chubarkin. – That is, as the causes of the disease, in addition to biological (genetics, virus, hypothermia …), they began to consider equally psychological (behavior, personality type, degree of infantilism) and social factors (whether a person lives his life, the state of medicine in his country). The forum proposed to simultaneously influence all three groups of causes for the sake of healing patients.
Today, we no longer wait for the thunder to strike and have to run to the doctors. There are more and more people who daily use practices that have a beneficial effect on both the soul and the body: meditation, yoga, relaxation …
We are also more likely to prioritize behavioral responses that create bonds with other people: empathy, altruism, and gratitude. Perhaps a good relationship with all those around us is the best path to good health.
1 In Meditation Saved Me (co-authored with Sophia Striel-Revere).
2 “History of Psychosomatics”, Lecture June 18, 2012, available at societedepsychosomatiqueintegrative.com.
3 Emile Coué “School of self-control through conscious (intentional) self-hypnosis” (LCI, 2007).