Learning for Sustainable Living

Werner Sattmann-Frese PhD

Symptoms of Illness and Wellness

First Annual Lifestyle Medicine Conference

Manly NSW – March 2009Slideshare 3 – 27 January 2014

I am currently working as a Senior Lecturer and Program co-manager at the Jansen

Newman Institute – Think Education Group in Sydney.

To share your feedback, please contact me at slse@bigpond.net.au

Please note that the views expressed in the following slides are mainly the result of 30 years of clinical experience in working as a bodyoriented psychotherapist. I would be grateful for any information on research on this topic.

Symptoms of illness may result from:

unhealthy lifestyle choices unmanageable stress repressed and suppressed

feelings unconscious conflicts, and environmental health

hazards.

Symptoms of wellness may result from:

deep massage and other treatments Yoga, Tai Chi, and other exercises cathartic expression in therapy the dissolving of muscular tensions

through movements and postures, and

the use of remedies and cleansing substances.

Symptoms of wellness may emerge as:

fever, nausea, and diarrhea itches, rashes, hives, and eczema acidic sensations in the stomach head colds and sleeplessness rumbling sounds in the guts (borborygmi) cramps, aches, twitches, and streamings insomnia, agitation, and trembling, and fear, sadness, anger, and other feelings.

Illness symptoms are:

a person’s cry for help signs of unhealthy and

unsustainable lifestyles manifestations of imbalance, and signs of a threat to a person’s

emotional or physiological health and integrity.

Wellness symptoms are:

signs of a healing crisis resulting from detoxification and waste elimination

associated with emotional expansion and integration

results of the softening of muscular tensions and the accumulation of free ; energy and fluid, and

signs of a successful energy distribution and harmonisation.

Vegetative reactions between psychotherapy sessions

Gerda Boyesen regards vegetative reactions between psychotherapy sessions (wellness symptoms) as signs of emerging positive changes and successful emotional restructuring (Boyesen, 1970).

Confusing the symptoms

Health practitioners may fail to support or even interrupt through inappropriate treatments these expressions of healing and integration if they are not able to distinguish between symptoms of illness and wellness.

Wellness symptoms on the increase

As an increasing number of people embrace ‘Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability’ (LOHAS) and engage in personal growth and healing, lifestyle medicine and general practitioners, as well as psychiatrists, are likely to see an increasing number of wellness symptoms in their practices.

Lack of advise after treatments

Many health and wellness practitioners appear to be unaware of the possible vegetative effects (wellness symptoms) of their treatments and exercises and may thus fail to advise their clients of the meaning of these symptoms.

Energy and energy flow

To fully understand the vegetative effects of deep massage, breathing exercises, and body-psychotherapy, we need to conceptualise human functioning from an energetic and biodynamic perspective (Totton and Edmondson, 1988).

Some of the wellness symptoms

Nausea

Nausea may emerge when stagnant emotional and biological energy (charge) is moved through massage, deep breathing, cathartic abreaction, or body exercises. It may stay for hours or even days.

Skin symptoms “Many skin diseases, such as

hives or eczema, are functional. In these conditions there seems to be a push of energy through the contraction at the skin surface. Many of these tend to occur during certain phases of therapy when energy breaks through to the skin” (Baker, 1967, p. 231).

Cramps and twitches

Cramps and twitches often emerge in connection with the successful softening of emotional and muscular armouring through deep massage or cathartic psychotherapy. The energy released creates these symptoms as part of the emotional and physiological integration process.

Head colds and head aches

Head colds and headaches may result from free-floating emotional charge that draws excessive body fluids to a person’s head.

The fluid pressure and symptoms can be significantly reduced through repeated sneezing.

Pleasure streamings

Deep breathing and the successful distribution of physio-emotional energy through energy distribution massages and certain exercises often create pulsations and streamings in a person’s bodymind. Many general practitioners and psychiatrists are mistakenly treating these symptoms as symptoms of psychosis.

Identifying wellness symptoms

To correctly identify wellness symptoms we have to enquire about recent:– psychotherapy sessions– massage or other bodywork sessions– yoga, meditation, and breathing exercises– unusual movements, postures, and sport

and work activities, and– remedies and body cleansing procedures.

‘Treating’ wellness symptoms

People suffering from wellness symptoms will benefit from:

assistance in completing the exploration of their feelings (connecting memories of situations to the energetic process)

talking about how they feel resting, being in fresh air, and drinking large

quantities of water getting support in understanding how the

symptoms occurred, and understanding that they may need to slow down

their healing process or choose a modality that has a stronger focus on emotional integration.

Additional informationo For additional information on this and

related topics visit:

o Learning for Sustainable Living (online learning course) www.lfsl.com.au;

o and refer to the books in the following bibliography.

Thank you for your attention!

Bibliography Baker, EM 1967, Man in the Trap, Avon Books, New York. Boyesen, G 1970, ‘Some Experiences with Dynamic

Relaxation’, in Schrauth, N 2006, Koerperpsychotherapie und das vegetative Nervensystem, in G Marlock, H Weiss (eds.), Handbuch der Koerperpsychotherapie, Schattauer Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany.

Groddeck, G Freud, S, and Schacht, L 1977, The Meaning of Illness: Selected Psychoanalytic Writings, International Universities Press, Madison, CT, USA.

Reich, W 1942, The Function of the Body, Orgone Institute Press, Rangeley, ME, USA.

Totton, N and Edmondson, E 1988, Reichian Growth Work, Prism Press, Bridport, UK.