Why Can't I Get Well? (Part 3)
The "P" Word

Psychosomatic.

As in: "It's psychosomatic? Oh, I see!...

...It's not really all that serious, then."
...So you're just a hypochondriac."
...There's nothing really wrong with you."
...You're just trying to get out of your responsibilities."
...You're not actually in all that much pain."
...It's all in your mind."

But this word seems to be on its way out. There's just too much baggage that goes along with that "P" word!

"Psychosomatic" has even been removed from DSM IV as a diagnostic category, at long last. Did you know there even used to be a branch of medicine known as "Psychosomatic Medicine"? That's been done away with, too!

This is a good thing, right?

Yes, but...

...let's not throw out the baby that nearly got drowned in all that dirty bathwater!

When the "psychosomatic" concept was developed, the idea that the emotions influence illness was simply a commonplace idea without any hard scientific support.

I even remember seeing a news item in the 1970s stating that the New England Journal of Medicine had declared in an editorial that there was no scientific basis for believing that emotions could actually influence the course of an illness.

And then came Candace Pert, a Ph.D. in the field of psychopharmacology. Dr. Pert played a huge role in ushering in the field of - get ready, this one is a mouthful - psychoneuroimmunology.

A New and Vastly Improved "P" Word

Psychoneuroimmunology.

Through her decades of research, Dr. Pert has played a major role in the discovery and development of a hardcore scientific basis to the mind/body connection.

In her writings, she explains that nearly every cell in the body is studded with thousands of tiny structures known as "receptors." The job of the receptors is to pick up signals coming at them from their surroundings.

Once a signal is received by the receptor, the information stimulates key processes. For example, they may stimulate functions like cell division and growth or immune system functions such as making repairs and attacking invading cells.

These signals are carried by various chemicals: hormones, neurotransmitters and peptides. These substances and the receptors that pick up their signals are what make bodymind communication possible.

Before the vast body of research that now exists, scientists had believed that these various substances received their signals primarily from the brain. They believed the mind – the source of your emotions – was a product of the brain. But these signals have been discovered to be produced by cells not only in the brain, but also in the sexual organs, the gut, the heart – from pretty much every part of the body.

Revisiting "It's All In Your Mind"

Dr. Pert now theorizes that your mind is actually in your entire body. She goes so far as to declare that your body is your subconscious mind.

To quote Dr. Pert: "I've said that the emotions are the link between the physical body and the nonphysical states of consciousness, and the receptors on every cell are where this happens! The attracting vibration is the emotion, and the actual connection – peptide to receptor – is the manifestation of the feeling in the physical world."

I'll get into the role your energy system plays in all this in the next issue. In the meantime, I want to leave you with Dr. Pert's bottom line conclusion:

"In other words, our physical body can be changed by the emotions we experience."

An Experiment...

This week, when you become aware of a pain or discomfort within your body, rest your attention on that sensation. If the area is within easy reach, it may help you focus on it by sandwiching it between your hands or laying one hand on top of the area where you feel the sensation.

For 4 or 5 minutes, simply be with that sensation, with a soft focus and without trying to get rid of the discomfort. Have the sense you that you are fully and easily breathing into that area and out of that area. See if any thoughts or emotions arise. See if the uncomfortable sensation changes in any way.

I'd love for you to drop me a line to let me know what happens for you!

Resources for this Article:

By Candace Pert, Ph.D.:

Molecules of Emotion: The Science Behind Bodymind Medicine

Your Body Is Your Subconscious Mind

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