The Wise Mind and Body
/By Jackie DeCarlo, MA, LCSW
Throughout time, healers and philosophers have known the wisdom of the body and the mind. Each one can be used to heal the other. The idea that words and thoughts can effect how we feel and how we behave is known as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, often used in the treatment of anxiety and depressive disorders. In Vessel Van der Kolk’s book The Body Keeps The Score, trauma related disorders are the results of the maladaptive choices of the body and brain. Movement can also be used to heal the mind. A “workout” is often prescribed to channel thoughts and feelings that transform stress and illness into a more positive state with the increase of endorphins.
Therapy involves talking, active listening, and teaching to think calm. In the treatment of panic attacks and anxiety disorders, thinking that you are in danger will immediately increase your fear and make symptoms worse. When feeling the terror of a panic attack, fears of death or serious harm seem logical even though the situation at hand may not warrant this outcome. Working with a therapist can help one realize that you can take charge and mastery over your life. By identifying thoughts and beliefs, you can use self- talk and other coping skills to change outcomes. Mindful exercise along with therapy can reunite the body and mind.
Mindful exercises like yoga, tai-chi, and mediation can clear the mind and help you access more reasonable conclusions. Walking can feel very soothing to the brain and change obsessional thinking. With a less anxious mind, other thoughts become accessible. A calm state can change thoughts such as “I am going to die”, “I am losing control”, “this will never end”. If your mind is clearer you can question, “ how realistic is this thought?” You can then replace these worries with thoughts of: “how many times did I think I was going to die, yet nothing happened”; “This only feels like it will never end but I am just having a bad day and this too will pass”; “I am losing control but it only feels that way as I am not acting or doing anything different”. Therapy can help you with the tools to challenge outdated beliefs and fears and come up with helpful and realistic thoughts. What you think often does not represent the reality of a situation. Panic and anxiety prevent us from allowing the competent adult self from using other coping styles.
Curiosity and compassion can help us experience ourselves differently. Mindfulness and access to other ideas, thoughts, and beliefs can allow us tolerate feelings that have caused us great distress. Acknowledging options can be life changing. By listening to the wisdom of our bodies and minds, we chose a more satisfying life.