Psychosomatic is Not a Dirty Word

I want to reclaim the word psychosomatic. Many times when a physician, caregiver or therapist uses that word, regarding someone’s illness, condition or symptoms, that person believes that they are being accused of “faking it” That’s because, depending on the practitioner and/or their discipline, that could be exactly what they are thinking! But, it is getting better.

When the word was first coined in the 1860s, it really was a dirty 13-letter word doctors could use right in front of their ignorant patient to tell others “in the know” that the patient was a hypochondriac and it was all just “in their head.” Now, hopefully, those days have gone the way of leeches and bleedings.

The world of western style healthcare has, in the last few decades, really started to wrap their collective heads around the profound connection between mind and body. It is now accepted that some diseases have a physiological /emotional component. In some circles, my own included, the concept that all disease has a physiological /emotional component (if not cause) is being gradually accepted.

My personal belief is that the mind body connection is not a one-way street, but is in fact a circle or cycle. More exactly, in the case of ill health, it is a descending, self-amplifying closed feedback loop of stress, depression and disease.  Real, physical disease.

It’s a downward cycle:

• If you meet someone with a chronic illness you can bet good money that it causes them stress.
• If you meet someone with stress, you can bet they will eventually get depressed.
• But, if you meet someone who is profoundly depressed, who wants to take the bet that a chronic illness won’t just “coincidentally” find them?
• Then, if you meet that someone with a chronic illness you can bet good money that it causes them stress.

And so on.

One disease or condition may have a stronger emotional component than another and the components of the downward cycle are not equal. They don’t affect all conditions and disorders the same, but I believe all the components will always be present to some degree.  As far as how this concept applies practically, a downward cycle can start with any of the components; consequently, the repair can start with any of the components. This is particularly helpful when the disease, condition or syndrome is poorly understood by the medical community. If your local M.D. has a quick and effective solution, why not use it? If I have an infection that an antibiotic can easily cure, I use it (and I’m a real “alternative medicine” kind of guy.)

On the other hand, there are many afflictions that the medical and scientific communities really don’t have a grip on; they can’t really explain them and they can only treat the symptoms. In that case, we need to attack the other components of the cycle. Our bodies are amazing healing machines. We swim in a sea of pathogens; we defeat bacteria, viruses, mutated cells (cancers) every day and only fail when we are overwhelmed mentally or physically by the downward cycle.  We just need to break the cycle somewhere, anywhere, to turn it around and eventually turn it into an ascending loop of both mental and physical, health and wellness.

All disease is at least a little psychosomatic. Hell, in many ways life is psychosomatic. So let’s reclaim the word, it’s too useful a word to be left derogatory.

Wes Graham C.C.Ht.

A Bridge to the Unconscious Mind

Why is it always about breathing? Whether you’re in a karate dojo, a yoga class or a hypnotherapist’s office, they’re always prattling on and on about breathing. “Take three cleansing breaths.” “Imagine your breath going here, going there.” Why all this focus on a bodily function that’s as basic as your heartbeat? It’s because breathing is different.

Your conscious thinking mind, for the most part, has no direct effect on most of the functions of your autonomic nervous system. You don’t “think” about secreting cortisol from your adrenal gland, you don’t “think” about your heartbeat and most of the time you don’t think about your breathing, but you can. Right now you can choose to breathe faster, slower, hold your breath. Try holding your heartbeat. (Go on, I dare you.)

The unconscious mind. (We really need a better name for it, as it is not “un” conscious at all, but let’s save that for another posting.) Okay, moving on, the unconscious mind does have an effect. In fact, it could almost be said that the autonomic nervous system IS the unconscious mind, with what we typically call the unconscious “mind” being simply the portion of the system that regulates behavior like the hypothalamus regulates body temperature. (Among other things)

It make very logical sense that when we want to pass information from the thinking mind to the unconscious “operating system” and vice versa, we use the few functions that are under the control of both system (breathing, eye blinking) as a bridge.

The language of the unconscious “mind” is a visual metaphor so you will find everyone from the Hypnotherapist in his office, the Yogi on the mountaintop, to the Massage therapist giving chair massages in the mall, telling you to “focus on your breathing,” visualize it as this color or that. See it going here or there. Breathing is a bridge between the conscious and the unconscious. This bridge runs both ways. You can “inhale” a healing light as well as “exhale” stress or pain.

We live in a time when science and logic seem to be at war with ancient wisdom that has stood the test of time. In this day and age so many alternative practices are looked down upon as metaphysical and so much “woo woo voodoo,” but when we truly understand the logic behind these practices, they can make sense and are as much physics as metaphysics.

Wes Graham C.C.Ht.