PSYCHOSOMATICS

by Stanley

The term ‘psychosomatic’ was coined in 1860 to define a disorder having physical symptoms, but originating from mental or emotional causes; it is a compound word from the Greek (psyche) plus (somatos) body. The whole idea has had a long tortuous history with much disagreement as to exactly what this means. We are still a long way from overcoming the basic assumption that the mind and body are two different things, instead of two viewpoints of a single interwoven network. I am going to bypass the historical controversies and try to look at the question in a new way.

Strictly from our point of view we can regard all physical problems as psychosomatic, not because we are ignorant of viruses and all the other physical causes of disease, but because whatever the causes may be, the ‘psychological’ aspect is always involved in some way. Put simply, if I catch the influenza virus and am suffering the usual symptoms, I also will have an ‘attitude’. I may think I am dying; I may be sorry for myself; I may bravely soldier on; or profit by being looked after; or, more subtly, it may revive body memories of previous illnesses and traumas – together with the ‘attitudes’ I had to them at the time. The past is invariably involved.

Now, it may seem that I have complicated things instead of simplifying them. Not really, because we are now free to explore the psychological side of the equation, putting aside whatever else is involved whether bacteria, viruses, accidents, injuries, fungi, dog bites or genetic predispositions. We are not disavowing the reality of these causes, but simply saying that we can address the psychological aspect for what it is. We are interested only in the subjective experience of body, the way we experience the condition. This allows us to refer to any and all the bodily sensations as simply: somatics. In this way we side-step everything else except the subjective experience of the physical sensation.

A somatic is any physical feeling/sensation. It doesn’t have to be bad or painful. Without distinctly felt bodily sensations there can be no pleasurable excitement or anticipation. Even the purest form aesthetic appreciation is a finely felt erotic excitement.

The term ‘somatic’ has a wider application than ‘felt-sense’ as in focusing – and it is used differently. There are similarities to ‘wholebody focusing’, but it has a different theoretical underpinning and a different perspective; one difference being an appreciation that the environment is not universally supportive. The struggle for survival is a continuous fact of life. We are guilty of New Age deception if we romanticize otherwise. Our immune system, for example, is engaged in a continuous battle with the hostile forces of nature.

Whilst fully acknowledging this, we don’t have to work out the material ‘causes’ of somatics when we are doing this kind of work. We don’t have to look into the etiology of a somatic. We are primarily interested in the reality of the somatic as we sense it and the effects of bringing it fully to consciousness without asking anything of it. Through this process we can unwind the psychosomatic aspect of any life problem whatever its cause. It can also unveil the ‘secondary gains’ of being sick.

Then there are other problems that have no physical cause whatever. For example, an emotional upset in the family. These will have psychosomatic consequences such as physical tension, or anxiety stomach, or a stiff neck.

However, it is quite normal to have a stiff neck and have no idea of its connection with the family upset. When you have an emotional problem, the somatic effects can seem completely disconnected. Indeed, to suggest such a connection is often felt to be ridiculous. A stiff neck is a stiff neck – that’s that! Probably due to the way I slept (which might be true). The solution would then be some kind of physical manipulation – which may, incidentally, work; but this will not advance a person’s deeper understanding of herself.

The sixty-four dollar question is: how do you come to know, how do you discover, the intimate connection between psyche and soma? Here’s one way to get it started. A strong feeling is usually accompanied by some kind of visible physical reaction. I may sit up in my chair; I may lean forward or shrink back. If it’s a pleasant feeling I may feel an excited energy in my chest. If unpleasant, I may pull a face with disgust or horror. Ask the person to repeat the exact physical effort involved, to do it again, in other words. Get them to pull the same grimaced face they had a second ago. They might discover that their shoulders also make the effort to hunch up at the same time. Then ask them to do it again and hold it whilst exploring what else it may lead to. Give the person time – in fact, tell them to take their time to explore.

This simple little dodge is one way into mindbody connections. Incidentally, this process is not about relaxation – quite the opposite. Bodily tensions – we will call them ‘efforts’ because they have an intention – are what the body is intending. Ask the person what the effort, the screwed up face and hunched shoulders, want. Exploring this will reveal a whole string of efforts and somatics in other parts of the body. Then the person might unexpectedly start thinking of a traumatic incident early in life – even of birth. This is the string of somatics unwinding. This process gives rise to many interesting conscious reflections that can be dealt with in the usual person-centred way of counselling.

There is no simple one-to-one correspondence between a somatic and an incident in life. A somatic effort has multiple references because you make the same effort in may different circumstances. It works like this: many times when faced with an actual or potential threat you react with the same body response. Whether it is a loud noise, or seeing someone hurt themselves, or a fight in the family, or when you were intimidated at school, or being interviewed – your stomach went anxious, you tightened your shoulders, your heart beat faster, and your anus squeezed up – a whole swag of your own precise and characteristic body reactions to a certain kind of trouble. The incidents may not seem similar, but they feel the same because of the same physical response to each of them.

As the somatic efforts unwind I don’t need to remember all the incidents associated with them – my body remembers them. I need to talk about them only when a memory or an incident arises. Otherwise, concentrate on the moving sensations and let the somatics unwind in their own way.

It is important not to get stuck on this form of bodywork (call it ‘bodyminding’) as a method. Not everyone can do it. One has to be fluid with it, adjusting it to the needs of the moment and the person. It should be introduced carefully. It’s a way of gradually learning how give way to one’s biological nature when it is right to do so.