What state of mind helps us maintain physical well-being? Psychotherapist Thierry Jansen is convinced that our health is based on the principles of plasticity, trust and harmony.
Thierry Janssen after 11 years of surgical practice he was educated as a psychotherapist, he was interested in alternative medicine. Today she works with patients suffering from somatic manifestations of mental illness.
Why is Western medicine so reluctant to admit that there is a close relationship between body and spirit? Because of the lack of concrete evidence? Or, perhaps, due to insufficient familiarity with various practices (from yoga to gestalt therapy), which consider this connection to be the cornerstone? To fill the existing gap, Thierry Jansen collected and processed all the evidence published in major international publications (Nature, Science, PNAS), and also analyzed the scientific discoveries made over the past 30 years, which confirmed the effectiveness of non-traditional approaches to healing. The result of his research was a deceptively simple discovery: all bodily-spiritual practices converge on one thing – they teach us to respect the internal and external ecology and strive for harmony between the physical, emotional and intellectual principles, recognizing them as inseparable parts of a single whole. Yes, laughter and a good mood really help to recover from heart surgery! Yes, the combination of drug treatment, psychological support and body practices contributes to the cure of many diseases.
Is it possible to conclude on this basis that each physical ailment corresponds to a psychological problem? Does back pain mean that “life has become a heavy burden”? Thierry Jansen doesn’t go that far. “The causes of physical symptoms are always multiple, so by artificially squeezing them into any standard explanation, we run the risk of preventing a person from realizing the deeper meaning of what is happening to him,” the researcher warns. “Moreover, believing that everything depends solely on psychological factors, the patient may refuse the necessary treatment. It is unwise to completely reject traditional methods, since “illness” and “health” are more subtle and multifaceted concepts than we used to believe. According to Thierry Jansen, the Darwinian theory of evolution is capable of showing us the way to true health, based on the harmony of all three fundamental principles of our being: a person is, firstly, an animal (physical principle), and secondly, a social animal (emotional principle) and, thirdly, a thinking being (intellectual principle). And we are able to establish a balance between these hypostases of ours if we reason in this order (that is, always take our body as a reference point) and constantly develop in ourselves the three qualities that seem to Jansen the most important: plasticity, trust and harmony. These properties relate to our relationship with ourselves, other people and the world around us, and therefore equally beneficially affect both our body and our psyche.
Plastic
This is the most important postulate. Plasticity promotes free circulation, the flow of information within our body, thus it harmonizes the various aspects of human existence and serves as a guarantee of our health. Having lost plasticity (for example, having lost the ability to verbalize our physical sensations and emotional experiences), we risk becoming victims of such well-known psychosomatic disorders as stomach ulcers, asthma, eczema … However, it is impossible to force ourselves to be plastic, just as it is impossible to force ourselves to be natural! “Let’s follow the path of evolution: let’s start with the body,” advises Thierry Jansen. – We should learn to relax and liberate it – only in this way we can release the sensations and emotions hidden in the body. Research shows that even simple things like deep breathing or physical movement have the ability to normalize brain function and restore the balance between negative (fear, anger, anxiety) and positive (joy, excitement) emotions.”
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Confidence
Trust in the world around us is just as necessary for us as faith in ourselves. However, alas, a significant part of our nature is formed under the influence of fears and restrictions based on our negative experience or the upbringing we received. Without comprehending the existing problems and those protective mechanisms with which we are trying to isolate ourselves from them, we will not be able to develop plasticity in ourselves. However, it is not easy to face the truth.
Where to look for a solution? For Thierry Jansen, the answer is clear: in your own body, of course! “Wilhelm Reich and Alexander Lowen* have proven long ago that each of our fears and defense mechanisms we use causes muscle spasm, that is, physical tension,” he explains. “To overcome it, it can be effective to combine soft body practices such as yoga, tai chi or the Feldenkrais technique with any psychoanalytic or psychotherapeutic work.”
Consent
Plasticity and trust arise when there is agreement between our thoughts, intentions, words and actions. According to Thierry Jansen, this is what nature itself requires of us: a biological system grows and develops when all its components are interconnected according to each other. But as soon as an isolated, violating element penetrates into it, there is a failure in development. “The same principle works with people, societies and civilizations. Often I hear from patients suffering from physical or psychological problems that the general incoherence, the inconsistency of the elements of their life, manifests itself as bodily or emotional tension. However, by listening to ourselves, we will be able to recognize what is alien to us and overcome falsehood – after all, our nature does not tolerate dishonesty with ourselves.
* Wilhelm Reich (Wilhelm Reich) – Austrian psychoanalyst, in the 30s of the twentieth century, studied the energy aspect of mental phenomena. Based on his research, the American psychiatrist and psychotherapist Alexander Lowen developed the theory of bioenergy analysis of the body.