Do you listen to your body?
Edward did not. He came to counseling at the suggestion of his physician after being assessed for the feeling of a “lump” in his throat that had no biological basis. While both of them assigned his symptoms to stress, I wasn’t so sure.
“It feels a bit like choking,” he told me.
Upon questioning, it was clear Edward made a habit of not speaking his mind, particularly with family. “Maybe your body is telling you something,” I suggested. “Perhaps you are, quite literally, choking off your true voice.”
Edward was a recipient of what psychoanalyst Fritz Perls described as “organismic wisdom.” According to Perls, the brain is not the only source of consciousness, judgment and decision-making in the body. To him, the so-called “deep mind” extends far beyond that 3 lbs. of densely packed neurons in one’s skull.
Beyond Conscious Awareness
There is growing evidence that organs like the heart, GI tract and even skin possess their own type of awareness and ways of knowing that, while very different from that operating in the brain, are also sophisticated. The traditional image of the brain as the sole central processing unit (CPU) for the body is oversold.
For the most part, body wisdom operates outside conscious awareness. It is embedded in the so-called unconscious mind, where, neuroscientists estimate, over 95% of cognitive processing, decision-making, sensing and intuition occur.
Learning to listen to the body’s wisdom when it percolates into one’s awareness is a valuable skill, but one many of us were never taught and, consequently, fail to practice. To address this widely shared blind spot, we now treat some mental maladies with any number of body-centric therapies, including those incorporating so-called energy work (reiki), expressive movement (tai chi and dance/movement therapy), and moving meditation (yoga and forest bathing). These methods help us tune into the body’s way of “speaking” about psychological and emotional issues.
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Through a combination of insight-oriented talk therapy and tai chi, Edward discovered that the “lump” in his throat was his body’s way of saying he was gagging himself. Predictably, the sensation worsened whenever he was with family, with whom he had considerable unspoken issues. In its organismic wisdom, his body tightened the muscles and ligaments in his throat, creating the physical equivalent of a psychological condition. Once he began expressing his truth in a respectful and direct manner, his self-strangulation dissipated, eventually disappearing altogether.
Learning the Body’s Language
With folks like Edward, medical evaluation is always a first step, but when disease or injury are ruled out, we are challenged to learn the body’s metaphorical language. This requires recognizing how physical sensations and psychosomatic symptoms can symbolically depict mental health issues. What is my body telling me? How do I decipher its somatic code?
The body can communicate with the conscious mind through physical sensations, cravings, intuitions, involuntary movements and even dreams. In other words, it sometimes knows what we don’t consciously know we know. There’s a brain twister.
Examples: A client with coughing jags that erupted when with her father who emotionally abused her through adolescence (expelling toxic feelings he visited on her). Another with chronic neck and shoulder pain who discovered he was “keeping a grip” on himself to hide his true feelings. Yet another whose chest pains turned out to be mourning for a love lost. Then, there was the man who walked with a pronounced and recently acquired gimp, a message indicating how deeply conflicted he felt about his pending matrimony.
Reading the body’s tea leaves is not an aptitude easily acquired. Some can do it solo when the physical metaphors are fairly obvious, but many require a psychotherapist to make the connection. Regardless, in my experience, most of us are too far out of touch with our bodies, rather than too attuned. That deprives us of an ancient wisdom that can inform our daily lives in the service of greater well-being.
For more, visit philipchard.com.
Philip Chard is a psychotherapist and author with a focus on lasting behavior change, emotional healing and adaptation to health challenges.
