In a world where everything matters, there is no such thing as (just) “psychological”. It’s understood in yoga, for example, that our “issues are in our tissues.” Unfortunately westerners have totally forgotten this. Ayurveda/yoga is not much better when it comes to daily practice in the world, but the information is there if one needs to find it. I most certainly did.
So I learned, by necessity, that the body/mind/spirit/soul are all one and indivisible. While healing the brain injury I’ve had to learn how to detox subtle aspects of my neurological system that Western medicine doesn’t even recognize exists. Many of the techniques considered psychological, like meditation and even talking therapy, if done right, do affect these subtle neurological bodies in therapeutic fashion as well.
***
I have never set out to lose weight on a diet. My weight, however, has radically gone up and down during this healing process. Pharmaceuticals put on a hundred pounds. I lost all of those and then my weight has fluctuated 40 pounds back and forth since then. Stabilization comes.
The weight gain more recently was necessary for brain injury healing. There have been times when that extra fat has helped my brain go through periods of detox it would not have otherwise tolerated. This healing process involved acute pain much of the time and a sort of neurological cushioning seemed to happen when it was needed as long as I let my body do what it needed to do in surrender.
I came to trust my body when it gained weight knowing that another round of detox was necessary. I’ve been happy to watch the power and knowledge of my body guide me through this process. It has been an incredible honor as well as a miracle.
***
The above tweet exchange made me think of this collection of articles on meditation: Meditation, not all bliss and roses
***
Knowing/allowing traumatized parts of the psyche to be expressed is important. What people have trouble with is finding a graceful way (and a safe place) to do that. It’s a legitimate issue because there are few supportive environments to do the work needed.
We have overcrowded prisons and millions of people on neurologically damaging psychiatric medications because allowing traumatized/young parts to express and heal is simply not safe in our current climate.
psychiatry/psychology have used clinical terms to obfuscate and dismiss layers of trauma since their inception. We can continue to tell people who are struggling to go hide and drug them silent or we can actually provide supportive environments to do the work to move through legitimate pain. We can do this for one another if society at large isn’t doing it.
***
Being authentic is being true to whatever is arising and if your madness is arising. that, my friend, is authentic…be with it as safely as is currently possible.
“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a sick society.” – Krishnamurti
It is the “well-adjusted” that come up with clinical terms that obfuscate — like neurosis and bipolar and schizophrenia and depressed. They will not be leading anyone to freedom with such labeling and dismissal. Nope, they will bring us all to hell with them. Let no one label another.
***
***
for a multitude of ideas about how to create a life filled with safe alternatives to psychiatric drugs visit the drop-down menus at the top of this page.
Support Everything Matters: Beyond Meds. Make a donation with PayPal
Everything matters 
You must be logged in to post a comment.