In many cases of ‘alexithymia’ there also seems to be a difficulty in the awareness and expression of bodily feelings (tentatively called ‘alexisomia’). Furthermore, this insensitivity to the body obstructs one’s awareness towards the laws of nature with which the body is implicitly in touch. Holistic awareness, which includes not only the intellect but also emotional, bodily and ecological (existential) aspects of man, can be the basic principle for holistic self-control. Oriental body-oriented approaches which facilitate such a holistic awareness must be reevaluated as an essential part of psychosomatic treatment.
Body-oriented therapies as relaxation training and certain forms of meditation are gaining popularity in the treatment and prevention of psychosomatic disorders. In this paper, a new method of self-control called self-regulation method (SRM), derived from autogenic training and Zen meditation, is presented. The technique of SRM is introduced. Secondly, physiological studies on SRM using skin temperature, galvanic skin response, and cortical evoked potentials are presented. Thirdly, the results of psychological tests conducted on SRM are presented. These psycho-physiological studies suggest that SRM may elicit a state of ‘relaxed alertness’. Fourthly, clinical applications of SRM are discussed, and 3 cases are presented. Finally, SRM is discussed in relation to the psychology and physiology of ‘relaxed alertness’.
In order to study the relationship between personality and the development of diabetic retinopathy in patients with diabetes mellitus, diabetics with retinopathy (severe group) and sex-, age-, and duration-matched diabetics without complications were tested by psychological tests, and interviewed. The result of the Yatabe-Guilford personality test (Y-G) and Spielberger’s State and Trait Anxiety Inventory revealed that subjects were emotionally and socially stable and well-adjusted types and less anxious in the severe group than in the mild group. The interview findings reveal that the severe group had neglected the medical treatment and the diet therapy for significantly longer periods of time and the incidence of a childhood parental separation was significantly higher in the severe group than in the mild group. Discussion focuses on the severe diabetics’ coping behavior which is characterized by the neglect of medical treatment and diet therapy for extended periods of time, which in turn resulted in diabetic retinopathy and other complications. Such coping behavior is shown to be equivalent to that found in the alexithymic behavioral syndrome.
The Oriental approach to life can contribute to the development of psychosomatic medicine in three major ways, revolving around its realization of the illusion of mind-body dualism, its development of practical somatopsychic techniques for learning self-control, and its orientation towards realizing our true nature. In our department we are currently exploring the use of both standard psychosomatic as well as a variety of somatopsychic techniques, with the ultimate goal of providing a meaningful integration of these approaches. While working to realize the integration of these varied approaches, we feel we are discovering some important clinical principles.
The integral yoga approach to asthma (and other psychosomatic disorders) is briefly outlined as meeting all of the requirements for an optimal, holistic, somatopsychic therapy (as outlined in Part I), including correction of distorted posture and faulty breathing habits, teaching a system of general muscle relaxation, techniques for the release of suppressed emotion and for reducing anxiety and self-conscious awareness, as well as special methods for the expectoration of mucus. Yoga practices are described in detail and the available psychophysiological research on yoga practice, as well as clinical-therapeutic studies on yoga as asthmatic therapy, are reviewed. It can therefore be concluded that yoga therapy is most effective with asthma.
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