We can hide feelings, think one thing and speak another, but our body will betray us with our heads!
Scientists, delving into our unconscious, for a long time overlooked one very important thing: we are not only spiritual beings, but also bodily ones! Mental suffering, anxiety and feelings easily turn into physical pain and can easily provoke a psychosomatic illness, such as a stomach ulcer or asthma. So without a holistic approach to a person, in which a person is considered as a unity of three equal components - body, mind and soul, psychotherapy is of little use.
Body oriented therapy
Freud's student Wilhelm Reich invented body-oriented therapy in the 30s of the last century, and he did not do it from a good life. His patients, as they say, played in silence, not wanting to maintain a conversation with a psychologist about their inner problems, innermost feelings and painful memories. The poor doctor had to pull words out of them with ticks! And since he could not talk to his wards in any way, he began to carefully examine them, instead of listening. And he came to an amazing conclusion: it turns out that the body of any person can tell about his character and problems much more and faster than he can tell about himself! It all started with the fact that Dr. Reich noticed how the patient lying on the couch began to grab himself by the throat, as if wanting to push the anger that overwhelmed him. Further more! It turned out that each emotion corresponds to certain bodily manifestations.This made it possible for specialists to bridge the gap between the physical and the mental: at the junction of these areas, a body-oriented therapy arose. Its main advantage over other psychotherapeutic methods: it allows you to bypass the walls erected by the client and, despite his resistance, to get a comprehensive idea of his internal anxieties, to get to the root of the problems. Another thing is important: the methods of body-oriented therapy are not censored by our consciousness, it acts faster and more efficiently than verbal techniques, which are based on a traditional conversation with a psychotherapist.
Relaxation
Having revealed the physical analogy of mental trauma, Reich revolutionized psychology. He believed that feelings, which we do not give a way out, cause muscle tension - muscle clamps and blocks. Eliminating them through exercise, we get rid of areas of chronic stress in the body and improve the psychological state. Muscles can also relax if you release suppressed emotions to freedom: give free rein to tears when sad, or scream at the offender. Complete relaxation can be achieved in the fetal position. It reminds us of a happy time when we were well protected. Sorrows recede, it is worth curling up and taking cover with a blanket with your head.
The neck hurts, the back aches, the shoulders are petrified, the nerves are cocked? Help your muscles relax and your heart will feel better: after all, muscle relaxation is inevitably followed by psychological relaxation.
Express test. Sit in the most uncomfortable position, in which the tension in the muscles is felt more strongly.Turn your head back one way, and then the other way, touching the chin of the clavicle. Move your shoulders, bend over, touching your fingers on the back legs of the chair. These movements will help reveal muscle clamps. After doing relaxation exercises, repeat the test. Discomfort - both physical and emotional - must go away or at least lessen.
Workshop
One of the most popular methods of body-oriented therapy is to create the desired psychological state through external emulation of emotions. The necessary experience can be caused by controlling the muscles of the body and face. Hence the recommendation of psychologists: waking up, smile at your reflection in the mirror to create a good mood for the whole day. Do not try to restrain a smile at the moment of fun! Otherwise, the joy will be weaker than if you allowed yourself to laugh heartily.
■ Are you inclined to underestimate self-esteem and doubt yourself? Raise your head above, slightly raise your chin, straighten your shoulders, open your eyes wider and feel a surge of pride.
■ To create the feeling that you are standing firmly on your feet not only in the physical, but also in the psychological sense, use the grounding technique. Legs shoulder width apart, toes turned inward. Bend forward in the lower back. Bend over with your knees bent and touch the floor with your fingers. Transfer the weight to the socks. Breathe deeply through your mouth. Straighten your legs slowly, but not completely. Continuing to breathe deeply, hold this pose until your knees begin to tremble. Feel the support under your feet. Straighten up very slowly, vertebra after vertebra.
Express option: spread your legs wider, typing them in the ground - helps.
■ It seems to you that you can’t, as before, rely on a loved one, and has he begun to trust you less? Turn your backs and lean on each other. Feel both of you fall if one of you strips the other of support. This is an excellent training to strengthen relationships in a couple.
The article was published on the materials of the magazine "Good advice" 11/2013
Text: Irina Berezina. Photo: Fotolia.com
Material prepared by Julia Dekanova
