The Mind-Body Connection
Unexplained fatigue, weight loss, constipation, migraine, back pain, frequent colds — all these and more used to be conditions attributed to outside stimuli affecting the body adversely or to purely pathological causes. But now the scientific and medical communities are realizing that many symptoms and illnesses are the results of unresolved emotional upheavals.
The modern world has birthed a whole new line of diseases. Psychogenic or emotion-caused illnesses are now believed to account for a large percentage of visits to doctors’ offices.
The mind-body connection can no longer be dismissed. It provides valuable clues to the nature of an illness as well as the means by which the whole system can heal.
The Emotional Component of Diseases
In the early 1980s. medical intuitive Louis Hay explained that certain illnesses are related to certain emotions. Scientific studies have since upheld many of her theories. An example of this is AIDS, which Hay says comes from feelings of defenselessness and hopelessness. Studies have confirmed that feelings of hopelessness and inescapable stress, a lack of sense of security and safety in the world all lead to a breakdown of the immune system.
Hay maintained that people who are accident-prone exhibit a specific emotional pattern: Being unable to speak up for one’s self, believing in violence and being in a state of rebellion against authority. Interestingly, several studies reveal that frequent accidents are related to impulsiveness and resentment of authority.
Lower back pain, according to Hay, may be related to emotions involving money and the fear of losing financial support. “A wide range of studies suggests that people who suffer from lower back pain have emotional struggles related to their employment or work.” says Dr. Mona Liza Shulz, who is also a popular medical intuitive.
In fact, according to Dr. Shulz, “studies have shown that gastro intestinal disorders, asthma, Parkinson’s disease, Grave’s disease, multiple sclerosis, infertility, heart disease and many other illnesses also have distinct emotional counterparts.”
Pain as Manifestation of Repressed Emotions
Another pioneering physician in the Mind-Body connection, Dr. John Sarno, attributes many painful conditions such as neck and back pain, migraine, repetitive stress injuries, whiplash and tendonitis to repressed emotions. Sarno has successfully treated thousands of patients with back problems without drugs, contraptions or surgery.
His therapeutic program for healing aches and painful conditions include what he calls the “three principles of treatment: repudiate the physical, acknowledge and accept the psychological.”
Sarno explains that the “tendency to attribute the pain to a structural abnormality is irresistible and in some instances may be legitimate, but in most cases, it clearly is not.”
Because of his high success rate in treating various bodily pains, Sarno has become very popular for his “three principles of treatment.” Instead of drugs or surgery, Sarno encourages his patients to take the principles of treatment to heart. “I tell my patients that they must consciously think about repressed rage and the reason for it whenever they are aware of the pain.”
For centuries adepts, sages and scientists alike have been studying the mind-body connection, which puts the healing power in the hands of the patient. Many have healed completely by utilizing the methods and techniques that make the body-mind connection work for the patients’well-being. But ironically, inspite of these astounding breakthroughs, we are now seeing such a wide-spread epidemic of psychogenic disorders — unparalleled in human history.
The reason for this is the fast paced life we live, which is becoming faster by the minute. We are, it seems, trapped in a vicious cycle of soul-less automation and we have become like the machines we operate — fast, rigid and impersonal. As a result, expressing and feeling our emotions have taken the back seat. We either deny or repress what we feel until all the “ugly stuff” explodes and expresses itself in a deep depression, a nerve-wracking back ache or worse — a heart attack.
The mind and body are intimately connected. One affects the other in a dance that can either maim or heal. Ultimately, our health is clearly in our hands. The decision is ours — we can either dance a fast dance and leave everything else to chance, or slow down, feel what we feel and express ourselves in a dance that is uniquely ours and is in tune with our mind, body and soul.
Photo by Samuel Zeller on Unsplash
