Six Ways the Human Nervous System Prevents Interdependence (Part 3)
from Sustaining the Gaze Towards Interdependence
“Are we destined on this path, destined to destroy ourselves, like so many species before us? Or can we evolve fast enough to change ourselves, change our fate… Is the future truly set?”
— Professor X, X-Men: Days of Future Past
If changing problematic habits came easily, we would have done it by now. The difference that makes the difference between just thinking about change and actually changing is when we understand how.
Most lists will tell us what: Be kind. Have courage. Take action. Be humble. Be strong. But very few will actually tell us how.
The challenge with lists like the following is that the how simply cannot be fully included. How occurs mostly in the physical dimension, which can be more elusive to access. Therefore, how generally needs to be addressed individually, in person, because how you do something is completely personal.
We can read a book about how to stop smoking, but until we have identified the very personal reasons we haven’t already stopped — and developed the new resources that make it possible for us to finally let go of the old way of being — the knowledge in our head will not have penetrated through our entire nervous system, which is where change actually takes place.
So, as you read through this list that describes what is inhibiting an interdependent world from a psychological perspective (because the what is still essential), keep in mind that Nike’s slogan does not apply to deep psychological work; no one is expected to be able to “just do it”. Also, that this article is incomplete without the context set in Parts 1 and 2 which describe how our social systems (economic, political, cultural, familial) are intrinsic to our sense of self.
Gandhi taught that individuals do not evolve alone in a void. His true message was not the quote attributed to him: Be the change you want to see. Gandhi was pointing to something more comprehensive.
About the following list, perhaps Gandhi would have said something along the lines of: These functions of the nervous system are not something we can heal completely by ourselves, because the human nervous system is intimately effected by the social systems we live within.
So then where do we focus our efforts for change, the inner world or the outer? Definitely both. The intention of somatic psychotherapy is to not skip over important steps in our personal growth, also known as spiritual bypassing. We respectfully attend to each of the primary dimensions of our experience — psychological, emotional, spiritual, and physical — as well as the larger social bodies we live within.
Finally, these two lists (this one and Part 4) are thoroughly considered and well researched. They are also intended to be further evolved. So lend your knowledge and your wisdom — thank you, Medium.
The following are common human challenges for which it is likely everyone, including therapists, requires guidance from time to time to evolve their how. Especially now. These are six functions of the human nervous system that we must take responsibility for, and also recognize that it is likely we will only truly transform individually as we transform our world into one that upholds the value and dignity of every human being and all life.
1. Addictive behavior to avoid change.
The rapid pace of global change can be terrifying on a biological level, which has us clinging more adamantly to cherished behaviors that give us a fleeting feeling of safety — mindless eating, binge screen time (TV / social media, video games), substance dependency, superfluous shopping, and addictive gambling. These are some of the more known addictions; there are endless ways to engage in addictive behavior, which can be characterized as anything that persistently resists some kind of evolution.
2. Unconscious pull to maintain the status quo.
The human brain has two equally strong, built-in tendencies: we crave the new just as much as we require familiarity (Deane Juhan’s Job’s Body). That is why as much as we may personally want to evolve, and even when our circumstances are far from optimal, we may respond instead to the internal, involuntary pull to maintain the status quo. We do this psychologically, somatically, socially, economically, and politically. It is how the human nervous system is wired.
There is also a powerful feedback loop firmly in place between our internal experience and the external world. This inherent function of the human nervous system is reinforced externally through what Jerry Mander refers to as “a global monoculture of human beings that fits nicely with… the external homogenization process.” Jerry Mander wrote:
“It’s a primary drive of corporate globalization that every place on Earth should become like every other place on Earth. This creates new investment opportunity for global capital and promotes efficiency in resource management… But the external homogenization process also requires an internal homogenization process — a remake of human beings themselves — our minds, our ideas, our values. The ultimate goal is a global monoculture of human beings that fits nicely with the redesigned external landscape, like so many compatible computers. In the end, corporations seek a mental landscape that nicely matches the physical landscape of freeways, suburbs, franchises, high-rises, clear cuts, and the sped-up physical life of the commodified world.”
3. Denying negative feelings.
It is a natural human instinct to avoid negative (uncomfortable) feelings. This is because the human nervous system responds to emotional pain the same as it does to physical pain, by scanning and scheming for ways to prevent or get rid of it.
Temporarily defending against negative stimuli serves to maintain our psyche’s integrity, at least until there is sufficient support to take in the new information. But as we learned from James Baldwin in the opening quote of Part 1, pain underlies hate. Through his writing Baldwin teaches us that where there is persistent defense against negative feelings, access to the deeper concern is cut off, and something vital is lost.
4. Disembodiment.
Embodiment is a function of whether or not our body is experienced as a welcome place to be. Disembodiment begins in the moments when life’s experiences are too much to integrate. When overwhelming experiences recur and are left unaddressed, disembodiment becomes a habitual a response to life, and is a contributing factor to the whole range of mental distress and dis-ease including addictions, anxiety and depression, dissociative disorders, as well as schizophrenia, sociopathy and psychopathy.
When we are not embodied we are much more susceptible to what Eckhart Tolle calls the painbody. In chapter two of The Power of Now Eckhart Tolle describes the painbody as identification with unresolved experiences from the past that have become lodged in the mind and body. According to Tolle, once the painbody takes over, we see everything through the lens of pain, and pain seeks more pain.
In this video by ArchDuke we see how stereotypical masculinity is dissociated from feeling. A vicious cycle is put in place in which essential aspects of existence are bypassed. When we are disembodied it is harder to deal directly with emotional pain and fear because we do not have direct access to the physical sensations of the negative feelings.
5. Over-care.
With so much of the world out of our direct control, having a heart that is open can be very painful. Without psychological protection (remember the message at top about somatic psychotherapy and how we learn new emotional habits), a person may feel burdened by the collective suffering in the world to the point of paralysis, which Heartmath (a practice to develop the heart’s intelligence) describes as “over-care.” With over-care,
“what starts out as a genuine and balanced intention to care gets muddled with over-attachment and over-identity… The original caring intentions instead become emotionally draining to all parties and often can create a negative effect.”
6. Body/mind feedback loops of resentment, helplessness, and apathy.
The realization that a massive number of people require immediate aid — and since the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, that millions more people require as yet fully identified support and protection — induces any one of a vast range of somatic responses. From deep, heartfelt care, to a powerful sense of civic duty and moral responsibility, to helplessness, apathy, resentment, and symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
What we may not always fully aprreciate is that each of these responses engages the muscles and energy in the body to create a distinct physical feeling. A few examples: heartfelt care could have sensations of increased energy and expansion in the chest, moral responsibility might have the sense of increased physical alignment and sturdiness, helplessness may bring the uncomfortable sensations of emptiness or heaviness, resentment can bring physical tension.
Even if we’re not paying attention to them, the feelings in our body are still in dialogue with our thoughts. Without becoming aware of this dialogue and learning how to participate in the body-mind dialogue, these painful feelings and thoughts create an automatic feedback loop that perpetuates and maintains itself. And often will get worse. Chronic helplessness about the conditions of the world, for example, tends to breed apathy, depression, and even hate.
For five habits for strengthening the ego, see Part 4.
For a rough sketch of the ultimate Gordian Knot, see Part 1
For a core challenge in evolving towards interdependence, see Part 2
About Marenka Cerny: www.somatic-psychotherapy.org
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