How to listen to your Body
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- One of the most peculiar ideas of psychology is that trauma may end up ‘in the body.’ We can understand that a difficult event might be lodged somewhere in the mind - but how, and by what mechanism, might a trauma get remembered or stuck in our physical selves? Can a kidney ‘remember’ a sorrow? Can a wrist or a femur hold on to the memory of a punitive parent or a painful divorce?
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“One of the most peculiar ideas of psychology is that trauma may end up ‘in the body.’ We can understand that a difficult event might be lodged somewhere in the mind - but how, and by what mechanism, might a trauma get remembered or stuck in our physical selves? Can a kidney ‘remember’ a sorrow? Can a wrist or a femur hold on to the memory of a punitive parent or a painful divorce? But mind and body are not impermeable entities; much traffic flows between them. When we are sad, some of the grief in our minds may well find a home in our shoulders; when we are terrified, some of the fear from our imaginations can grip onto our lower vertebrae…”
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I spent the night in the ER last year because of severe stomach cramps. After full examination, the diagnosis was: STRESS.
I was strongly advised to see a therapist or psychiatrist. Reluctantly, I did, and It was the best decision of my life. 😊
I'm thrilled for you that the healthcare provider came up with that diagnosis and treatment recommendation, rather than simply throw meds at the problem.
@kk12ie I wish our cultures to express ourselves are as common as you are but its not. We tell no one in my country, even to our best friend. we would rather suicide than tell anyone because that's my people's culture. I have to get through shits in order to make my friend trust me and tell me their problems so I could help them. Some of them have already attempted to suicide.
It's sad.
@@Yayaloy9sheeeeesh that's hellish. I'm really curious to know where you live, since i've got chills running down my spine.
Would you mind sharing how it helped or what the therapist had you do?
This is so good. If we deny ourselves to voice out a problem, our body has no other option than being loud for us.
well said
💯!
A lot of people have gut problems when heavily stressed. When I was dealing with my narcissistic parents, I definitely experienced a lot of unexplained issues with my body. It’s really interesting, how the body reacts to stress, anxiety, and abuse.
I know what this feels like - but I'm glad if anything, I never grew up with narcissistic parents.
@@EmbraceTheStruggle24 Yeah, it wasn't fun.
My family has a history of gut related issues, always related to repressing stress for the benefit of others mainly, so we can mediate and keep calm in a crisis. Long term this can be disastrous for your health, but it's now - I'm male in late 50s - almost impossible to stop it happening. When everyone is crying and losing it, someone - my sister or myself - has to remain cool faced and grimly get the problem resolved. Almost feels like the old tradition in Catholicism of "sin eating" which, in a way, it is I would say. Still, knowing the cause allows me to meditate my way out of the worst of these events when I have time to myself. it may not be possible to stop it happening, but you can fight back and let it leave your body :)
For those confused with how to make sense of this video:
Next time you’re with your therapist, try bringing up physical ailments you’ve been concerned about. See if your counsellor can guide your through common mental health problems (and solutions) based on that.
Thanks !
That’s a load of pseudoscience.
@@haveaday1812 it might benefit you to look more into social sciences and humanities. Also, it’s a little weird seeing your comment under a channel called School of Life…
@@haveaday1812 thats called psychosomatic illnesses/symptoms, very much science.
Do you feel the Chakra teachings are accurate based on physical ailments in line with psychological findings?
This is why prayer is so important to me as a Christian. I can talk to God anytime and pour my heart out to him. It helps me tremendously with anxiety, fear, and stress. And even better: I can read the Bible and the words literally bring healing. It’s a win/win!
One of the best remedies for alleviating pain, is to simply take a deep breath. When we're anxious, scared, worried, or overthink, we hold back our breathing almost as a way to prepare for something dangerous. But by simply reminding yourself to breath deeply, count to three, and then breath out again, you will find that whatever you think about will become much more manageable, because such as the mind affects the body, the body can affect the mind.
Yes absolutely and tbh it's something I should be doing a lot more often - but I tend to struggle with my alter ego - especially lately which has led to me being apathetic. As objective as I try to be; logic and reason typically won't beat strong feelings. And everything you described is spot on ^_^
There a really good book that discusses this issue. It's called The Body Keeps Score. It discusses how our bodies hold on to trauma and how it can shape us.
I'm reading it right now. It's such a revelation!
I clicked this video hoping it was going to be the subject of discussion!
School of life has a video with that title...it highlights the main points of the book.
How do you guys relieve stress? Were there any techniques you learned?
I just received this book!!!! can't wait to read it.
Having close relationships where you are free to both give and receive love fixes half of all mental health issues
True. Unfortunately, not everyone has the priviledge of such relationships which is sad because feeling disconnected fuels things like addiction :(
Not being able to have close relationships where you are free to both give and receive love IS having a mental health issue. Saying "have you tried not feeling anxious" to an anxious person might be less helpful than we think, however straightforward it might initially seem.
@@seddensky dude I have clinically severe OCD, Tourette’s and social anxiety, no one is reading me as talking down to them
luckily, if you are female with any sort of mystery health issues, your doctor will likely assume your symptoms to be psychosomatic.
A problem talked about is half-solved
Schizophrenia? ASD? CPTSD?
I respectfully disagree. Awareness of the problem is only the *beginning* of the journey….not the halfway mark.
@@supersaiyanzero386 As a recoverig from the pattern formerly known as schizophrenia,yes.Drugs hurt more than they helped in my case and,related to the video,have had terrible consequences for the body.Therapy and looking mental distress and /or neurodiversity in the case of ASD or even dchizotypal spectrum disorders is the way.The diagnostic model islike a pathologizing self-propogating viral meme which gives psychiatrists power over hypochondriacs.
I guess this phrase shouldn't be taken literally, but figuratively where the complete knowledge of where and abouts of the disease is important.
I agree. If I’m at the point where I can identify the problem and put words to it, a huge heft of the journey is behind me.
The Body Keeps the Score - a book we all can gain something from.
Beautifully illustratred, I strongly belive that most of us need somatic therapy & exposure therapy as result. "The body keeps score" is a good read on this. As someone who always tries to rationalize problems in the mind, it amamzed me to hear how much our body itself holds onto as well.
I really believe in this because we often deny our feelings but the body is honest.
This channel in itself is like a therapy ❤
Untill recently I used to have some sort of discomfort around or over my chest region which used to be really uncomfortable. Guys , believe me when i say this , a couple of days ago i just laid down on my back on the floor , closed my eyes and allowed myself ro feel all the emotions that were trapped in my body . It was for about 20 mins and my life has bever been the same again . I m starting to grow day by day by becoming more calmer , accepting situations and feeling emotions like lonliness and anxiety that i used to once ignore .
MORAL : ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR BODY !
I periodically get sharp pains on either side of my abdomen. My doctor said it was lack of hydration, which I found cumbersome since all I drink is water all day long.
After reading the book, "The Body Keeps Score," I started to pay closer attention to my surroundings and current state of mind when these pains pop up. Most of the time I'm overwhelmed or fraught with stressful despair, but other times it'll come on when I'm laughing with my children or husband.
I'm not quite sure what my body is trying to tell me, but it is trying to make a painful statement. 😕🥴
Maybe your body needs reassurance it is allowed to receive hydration?
@@keeponshiningbrightly That's an interesting response. 🤔 I never thought about it that way.
This! I've read two books in the last two years that helped me more than anything to deal with trauma: "The Body Keeps the Score" and "Miss America by Day." I dealt with the kind of SA that is described in "Miss America by Day" and understanding it via the lens of "The Body Keeps the Score" has done worlds of good in helping me understand my body pain.
My gut health is the worst it’s ever been at the moment, it all started when I started college. My symptoms get so much worse when i feel the need to perform, i really hope it’ll turn back to normal when i graduate
This clip is my body's current reality, an animated version of my life and existence. And there are many others out there, experiencing the same!
I'm purging all of the stuck emotions in my body. I bypassed feeling them because of my habits around seeing the brightside. It's a lot. I'm currently purging all of the shadow material in my upper arms. There is a lot of hypervigulance or survival energy from covid in there. It's like my central nervous system reached capacity under covid and my defense mechanisms stopped working. I look at my process as a resetting of my central nervous system. You are not alone in understanding this video with your own body.
@@kristenwalmsley5177 hello, your message did resonate with me. Different circumstances but it also feels like my nervous system is not regulated and it reached capacity and Im trying to understand how to let go of trapped emotions and learn to reset the nervous system too. It reaches to a point in occasions where I cant even watch an action movie and I need to pause it… would be great if you could kindly share any tool or any book to reset the nerve system. Thank you in advance for sharing
@@alcahuete816 I have a somatic processing therapist. That's been the most helpful thing. With her help I reversed my repression habit and started into feeling all the emotional debris that's been trapped in my body until now. I read Jung because his work is most like my process. Other authors I've read are Gabor Mate and Jeff Brown. I think you can get too caught up in understanding trauma with the intellect though. Processing and integrating the emotional material is the most important thing for me.
@@alcahuete816 There are body scans and practices called Yoga Nidra (or NSDR, non-sleep deep rest/relaxation), and other relaxation techniques. That can take the form of walking, dancing, singing, yoga, drumming, massage therapy, meditation. But the idea is to be "in your body" or "grounded." Basically to be aware of your body in this present moment.
Absolutely! Whenever I'm overwhelmed, I get sick. I get headaches, have digestive issues, weird rashes for no reason, etc. And some issues are more chronic for me than others. It's been really bad lately. Currently have a lovely rash around my mouth that makes me look like the Joker got botox!
as a medical student, i know that there are group of nerve cells , having a unit of brain , eg: enteric nervous system , sacral plexus, brachial plexus, cardiac plexus ... so they have the connection, maybe strong enough to form " memory" ... just a thought.
Hey Ive been thinking about an idea of a video if you think it's interesting enough. Kinda like the difference between a conscious and unconscious joy. buying a new car = conscious joy, we feel the joy of seeing a new car and knowing it's ours. Compared to e.g. walking in nature or gardening being an unconscious joy. We don't feel it in the same way as a new car, and it's not as apparent. But instead of warming our soul with the unconscious joys, we're warming our ego with the conscious joys. Idk if they made any sense or if it's interesting at all but as life goes on I feel myself more and more looking towards the less obvious to create happiness. The things that hit you on an unconscious level
Everything is conscious to me because I am always in my own head analysing my thoughts and feelings. It's a blessing and a curse. Mostly a curse 😂
That is very observant! I will be thinking of this from now on.
It has been such a stressful year for me and I've gotten sick quite often. I know I consciously made the decision not to bug people with my issues, so I guess the issues had to come out some way.
You're not alone.
Blessings 🙏👍
My body tells me I am old and that’s the reason I don’t understand the dystopian world that I am growing older in. So thanks to my body for keeping me real.
That's about how I feel. 😮💨
@@erinsuzy613 that’s two of us then.
This is basically "The Body Keeps The Score". I'm running out of words to say how much i love the animation and narrator's soothinv voice. Thank you for yet another awesome informative video.
If you liked this, I think you’d like Louise L. Hay. Amazing woman. She made a list from where many illnesses come from (connection between mind and body). Can really recommend her books ❤
Ive had 2 episodes recently where my face and neck went numb, my blood pressure spiked, angina... test results say I wasnt having a stroke. Just all caused by anxiety. Which was caused by hyperchondria because I have a pain in my right flank.
Which is caused by gallbladder issues. Which is caused by GERD. Which is caused by anxiety.
I feel you! Sending hugs virtually! I have IBS caused by anxiety cause by weightloss :)
Although it was an diagnosis of Hpylori in my mid-20's that cured to worse of the symptoms...I spent many hours in the bathroom as a teenager and young adult over the stress of my relationship with my Dad. The most infamous was the morning my 16th birthday when we argued...I was curled up on the toilet a short time later. My Mother would not allow us the argue with him. In those days, she did not realize how she fell into the roll of enabling his bullying.
This very many years later...I know my body carries those traumas and stresses. Listen to what your body is 'saying'!!
My mother was a passive enabler to my dad's narcissism so I know what you are talking about. She'd make excuses and say "he had a bad childhood" while I cried.
A therapist that has helped me so much is Patrick Teahan here on UA-cam. He has a lot of videos about these types of relationships and childhood trauma.
Great video, very well done. I agree, talking about past trauma in therapy has lifted so much weight mentally and physically for me.
Same for me 💯
Props to the channel , This video provides extensive information about the relation b/w mind and body .
you are, to me, one of the most valuable channels ever...in all forms of media.
master mentoring...thank you
This is such and important message. The essence of ancient and traditional medicine and healing. In my experience, very powerful compared to modern medicine.
Highly recommend the book "heal your body" by Louise Hay if you're interested in learning the connection between specific dis-eases and the trauma/mental patterns they came from.
I felt this. Been through a doctors because I felt some pain and inflammation on my joints but they found nothing. Turns out stress can induce inflammation.
My sister has asthma that is much worse when she visits our childhood home. I was getting unexplained infections and neurological issues I've never experienced before when dating someone with a particular behaviour pattern. They all went away rapidly when we broke up and have never returned. Our bodies are so clever.
1:15 *THE CUTEST BRAIN I HAVE SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE*
The lungs and kidneys too!
I got gastritis after she left. Doing heavy work but no appetite to eat. From 69kg down to 54kg. Half a year is gone and now I think I'm doing fine. I wish I had never gone through that again.
It would be awesome if you could make this content accessible in other languages. I would like to share it with my Spanish language colleagues but the captions are only in English. It's very easy to add them in other languages, FYI. Thanks for the information. ❤
I’ve been wanting them in Spanish as well .. to share with my husband 😅
This is so important. There are so may people suffering from chronic pain or illness and the cause is simply psychological. I'm finally getting rid of unexplained sciatica that turned out to be mental.
Nice video but it doesn't exactly tell us how to decode the messages in the body, rather how it ends up happening. Is your only suggestion Therapy?
Agree
Meticulous work with yourself, with the help of others (friends or specialists) so that you can restore mental emotional and physical health, balance. Focus on selfcare with love, healthier diet and exercise. No easy solutions. Much work needs to be done…
Emotional release bodywork or somatic inquiry - any therapy that works with somatics ❤
A body-based therapy like somatic experiencing is one option. That's what I'm currently having.
Writing for yourself helps a lot too, if u cant afford a therapist, and it also gives you a deeper vision of yourself, the only thing missing would be the pov of another person
This is so true, but a person can communicate with the body and “hear” the story. It absolutely will communicate.
Stomach, kidneys, back and don't forget the most 'telling' body part -- the penis -- its usually the first to say something is not right. Can't talk to a therapist -- journal and tell your self that way. Still healing. Thank You School of Life.
“Say what you want, say what you like, cause ooh, your body talks, your body talks.
Ooh, ooh, your body talks.
You could pretend you don't want it now, but I read the signs from your head to your toes!” The Struts
Absolutely true! I have a lot of trauma and a lot of chronic pain. I am diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (finally after years of suspecting it and being told all my issues were because Im obese). Basically my body is constantly throwing a temper tamtrum 😂
This has been certainly true for me. It will take decades for science to catch up with all these phenomena.
Wonderful video.
Thank you very much!
Gabor Maté, Bessel van der Kolk, Peter Levine and Kathy Kain's work are good for reading more about this. Also check out the ACEs study and Nadine Burke Harris' work too.
"And thank your body for letting you know how your life is going."
Don't thank it too much; you'll go blind...
@@bucketofparts :) and why is that?
And when we get good at ignoring bodily pain too, serious illnesses develop, which is when we decide to go to the doctor and often amputate a small part of our body that can no longer withstand the pressure. Complaining is better than being slowly eroded by stress and pain. Express yourselves
such an accurate portrait of Northern/Western problem solving. the body only indicates the problem, the mind solves it. there's a huge repertoire of possibilities that's thrown away with this idea.
Great video. I was just wondering how fun would it be to read a book about the daily life of a person from the internal organs perspective
You should write this book !
Brilliant idea!
Buddhism explains the mind and body connection in miraculous detail.
Oh my goodness, this is so true! Thanks for producing this video.
This is the one of the best videos I have ever seen Our body the ailments are all very very much interlinked to our state of the mind heart and soul I my self have experienced this the ailments are more or less directly proportional to the state of mind it's a very very practical things if the mental health is not good at all it directly effects the stomachs and vice versa and voila all most all the diseases are born in the stomach
This is beautiful and the graphics are so sweet. I really resonated with this one! 🥰
Such a profound concept conveyed in a delightful manner, thank you!
Always remember. Disease = dis-ease. It means you are not at ease about something in your life. You’re holding something in and it’s starting to eat away at you and cause bad physical health problems. You need to let it all out and work on solving whatever is mentally troubling you. Only then can you truly begin to heal. Disease starts in the mind before it spreads to the body.
It's so interesting hearing from modern sources that fear and trauma may be stored in the base of the spine. And for thousands of years Hinduism says that the root chakra, at the base of the spine, which deals with the emotions of survival, it's primary blockage is fear.
When the body twitches on its right side, it's a left brain problem, normally an epiphany to solve a problem or a problem presenting itself. When the body twitches on the left side, it's a right brain problem, normally some emotion or trauma bubbling up the conscience.
Just stay in silence, ask what it is and the answer may be presented verbally.
Thank you!
And this is why I fast a lot. Eating every day does not do my body well. Fasting helps me spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. Also, I deal with less decision fatigue when I am fasting and not worrying about what I need to eat.
I didn't know this was a thing until my cat died
The sciatica in my back wouldn't let up for months...I had to manage my emotional pain to lessen the physical pain
People usually think about stress as a killer...but not literally. Stress will beat you down before taking you out
Spot on.
Those organs are so cute that I felt pity on them for being part of us getting traumatised with life 😢
this concept is brilliant
Aint that the truth. When my migraines became worse and worse, despite doing what I could to tactically and slowly deal with the problem, as is my nature; I knew it was time for more direct and a maybe even rude solutions.
It cost me my job, but I don't have pains in my neck, back and head anymore. 😌
You never said how to decode the body’s messages about your mental health.
Somatic therapies, like Somatic Experiencing. I think the point of the video was to alert us to the fact that emotional and physical pain can be one in the same. Perhaps for some people, their mental state seems fine but they have persistent physical symptoms, so this could be their prompt to seek therapy. But I agree, suggestions as to what type of work needs doing would have concluded the video more thoroughly.
@@francesprendergast1721 Well, it seems to me, a “How To” video should have some how-to element! You can’t call your video “How To Make Martinis” and then merely introduce the concept of the martini. But thank you.
The crazy thing is - there will never be a true unambiguous definition of what mental health is - coupled with how it affects the body and manifestations that come with it. That being said, none of us are alone when going through psychological and emotional change and progression. The way mainstream media portrays it is skewed - but a lot of it has to do with conflicting perspectives.
Summary: Mind and body are connected. Suppressed problems in brain can cause physical problems. Don't ignore small issues either. Looks like the implication is "express your problems". Just said in a roundabout way to sound fancy
Writing room: Should we cover practical advice?
"Nah we need our ad revenue make it quick"
This is exactly what I'm going through the past months (or even years)? Trying so hard to downsize the real nature of my emotional suffering and trying to spare my wife all my problems has resulted in sore shoulders and neck and chest pains. Low level depression: yep. Anxiety: you bet.
The worst part is: we've already been to a therapist and nothing really changed about the core of all the issues. Do we understand things better now? Surely. Has it made things better or easier? Nope.
Yes lately I'm really in doubt about whether or not I should continue to visit this specific therapist. Thank you for your words!@@featuresofinterest
This is extremely helpful! Thank you:]
Beautifully animated ❤
Omg this one hit home
one should listen to their body, everything is taken into account by it
Really enjoying your book. " A Simpler Life.
Actually all of this can be explained by a simple phenomenon called muscle memory.
When we experience something it gets stored in our brain in form of memory and whenever the same stimulus happens it invokes the same feeling and hence our organs begin to act like that again.
Like if we ate some bad sushi and got stomach problem, the next time we will think before eating sushi again due to that memory.
I mean, my back pain comes from labour, same with the knees. My shoulder tendons ache from longsword and other exercizes.
It’s stuck energy. What the hell is pain if not stuck energy? Nothing to do with the physical dimension! Where the hell is energy in the physical dimension anyway?
The organs speak through your dreams too, and there there are not eloquent although often just as difficult to understand for those with little experience.
Congratulations on feeling pain, it means you're alive.
i love this so much! it reminds me of yoga and i agree with it so wholly!
What abt knee pain?
I have heard is related to ego
And to think all this time I attributed my bodily aches and pains to age, poor diet, too much booze etc not enough excercize.. but maybe it's all in my head!
So much needless suffering :(
It should be mentioned that before there were programs to deal with Japanese language like Atok or ime, there were a lot of specialised devices (incompatible to Dos or Windows and also incompatible to each others) that were called WAPRO -word processor- from various Japanese manufacturers. Often printers were integrated.
This video would have been perfectly rounded off by signposting people to resources and specific kinds of therapy. As a chronic pain sufferer myself, I've tried to post resources for people on this video several times, but my comments keep disappearing - are they being deleted? It's the only explanation I can think of! Without word of mouth, people don't get to hear about mind-body medicine. Had I not been introduced to the idea by someone else, I wouldn't know about it and I wouldn't be in recovery.
Interesting take, and sometimes very helpful for curing stress or trauma related conditions.
That said, please see a doctor first if you have a serious or debilitating condition.
I enjoy and find new ways of understanding and enjoying life with these interesting manterials. I wish the books and cardas could be sent abroad. I haven´t been able to buy them as I live in mx city. ¿Is there a way to acquire them other than from Amazon? Kind regards.
I wonder if journaling does this as well
Every emotion has a physiological cause/symptom. It's all chemicals and electrical impulses. Carrying 'emotional' and 'mental' pains in our body makes a lot of sense.
Thank you.
I've got something stuck in my shoulders right now that I'm trying to figure out
Can you help with rejection sensitive dysphoria
Thanks
I love this video so much. ❤
takes the term "Gut Feeling" quite literally...
great video but yall gotta put a de esser on those vocals
but which part represents which trauma?
Very helpful
Great video!
Gotta love the animation
Never underestimate the power of prayer one small prayer can change your life Praise God Praying for Everyone Everyday God Bless You All 🙏
Prayer has negative effects on patients. When prayed for and told. This was concluded by a massive study by religious people costing millions. So no, prayer can make things worse. If by change your life you mean increase the negative outcomes then yeah. Prayer doesn't work, and is bad, even if there is a God, prayer still helps nothing only hurts it.
@@supersaiyanzero386 So you're saying that if I pray, giving an internally focused voice to my anxieties/goals etc, which then gives me the calm to act positively on those aspects of my life, that's negative? Get out of here.
@@supersaiyanzero386I'm not a "believer," and even so and for the same reasons, I'm interested in this massive study, as in, link? title? authors? Don't forget that one study does not a truth make, however big the sample (with the possible exceptions of meta- and mega-analyses). All research is biased in one way or another, some more blatantly so than others.
I'm no big fan of organized religion, but even so, the assertion that prayer leads to not just no effect on outcomes but to negative ones is a bold (and dubious) claim.
BLESSINGS TO YOU!!! AMEN!!!
@@camez2345 I'm not familiar with the study this person is referencing, but I would assume based on what they said that it is not the prayer causing the negative outcome but the fact that the patient has been told they are being prayed for. I don't believe being prayed for WITHOUT being told about it would have any impact one way or another. It would take a lot of big studies to prove to me otherwise on that. But being told "hey a bunch of people are praying for you" seems to me like it could have a definite impact on a person's psyche, which could then impede their immune system or healing ability.
The first step is knowing there is a problem
Sometimes I think I'm going through a depressive episode but I really need to fart.