Stress affects every aspect of modern life. Debilitating and harder to diagnose than other ailments, stress produces havoc on the body. Stress costs American industry more than $300 billion annually and ruins our health and relationships. More than 4 in 10 of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress and as many as 9 in 10 of all visits to doctors' offices are stress-related.
Stress is your body's reaction to any situation. You know that you are stressed when your body sends you a signal, a cue. Even though there is "good" stress called eustress your body's adrenal system is activated the same as when there is "bad" stress called distress.
Idiopathic scoliosis from a bioenergetic perspective is a stress reaction that can be overcome. As a Bioenergetic Analyst and Stress Consultant I have seen many stress reactions to life experiences overcome. The most exciting and rewarding one has been seeing scoliosis clients' spine straighten as they overcome their original stress reactions.
The focus of this anecdotal research article is to provide perspective on the etiology of idiopathic scoliosis from a bioenergetic view of stress. This anecdotal research article comes from clients' sessions and with their approval we offer our findings here for your review.
Our research begins with four questions. First, is there evidence that idiopathic scoliosis is an energetic condition? Second, what major issues promote its development? Third, what personality and character structure is associated with this stress-related condition? Fourth, what energetic and therapeutic conditions will cause the lateral curvature and rotation of the spine to straighten?
Incoming complaints of "who am I?"; twisting and turning to others' expectations; need for approval and acceptance; fear of rejection; fear of failure and statements such as: "I don't know what is real for me anymore" is confirmed by observing that even though scoliosis clients want to feel, they deny, stay away from, and resist their feelings.
Scoliosis clients' also resist accepting their body. They control and resist letting go of, and surrendering to their feelings, by talking themselves into and out of situations, with their ideas and behaviors.
Scoliosis clients' fear surrendering to their feelings. They tend not to trust. They avoid living in the present by recounting the past and preparing for the future, and by analyzing each situation to determine the outcome and their role in the outcome.
Fear, hurt and anger keeps them from making contact with others, and with themselves. An inability to accept this becomes critical when they feel tired, and when the chest, throat and neck are tight.
Scoliosis clients are emotionally frozen. They are very negative and tend to complain a lot. They resent being dependent and being depended on, and yet they need approval and acceptance from others. They exhibit low self-esteem and fear of needing and being needed. Fear of hurting and being hurt is intense and apparent when they insist on controlling what they feel and how they express themselves.
Even though scoliosis clients are negative, they resist getting into negative feelings for fear of goofing and hurting self and others. "I am impatient, I want to make it all right for me now" is said frequently.
Scoliosis clients are frustrated, sad and angry with themselves and with others. They fear and are challenged with the desire of getting what they want. "I am always a reactor, I back into success, I want to initiate and I am afraid I will fail." They have difficulty getting in touch with the need to get what they want. "I want to do for me, for no one else anymore. I react or run, I never say this is for me and stay there. I have difficulty supporting myself."
While making these statements, the scoliosis client begins to feel like a small child taking his/her first steps, and remembers mother leaving. Intellectually the scoliosis client knows that a step must be taken now. Several minutes are taken to execute this, all the while there is a concern with "step to where?" The scoliosis client then begins to see and say things symbolically, which reveals (to this bioenergetic analyst) the scoliosis client's schizoid character structure.
Scoliosis clients' physical attributes tend to support this. From a bioenergetic perspective their physical attributes exhibit schizoid and oral character structures. The chest is small and pelvis is locked. Energy, which is mainly in the head, neck and throat, is locked. These defensive physical attributes are stress-related survival reactions, and can be overcome.
Scoliosis clients are arrogant. They are very intelligent and employ intellect as a defense and resistance against needing. Being verbal helps them stay away from their feelings and from being aware of who they are and what they want and need.
Their tendency to struggle between "don't tell me who I am" and "tell me if I am right, and that I am right" makes the situation complex and their feelings fragment. Evidence of this fragmentation can be heard in statements such as "I don't know who and where I am." Their concern is about "if I let go of my holding in my chest and throat, there will be a void and then what will I have?"
As sessions continue, the scoliosis client begins to talk about being in touch with his/her anger, sadness and pain moment to moment; but does not stay with these feelings. Rather feelings of being unlovable, being afraid of hurt feelings, and being afraid of hurting others are spewed out.
The scoliosis client fantasizes experiencing fear of letting go by not having control "I will go into a temper tantrum, and I will break everything."
The scoliosis client wants to learn how to integrate doing for oneself with doing for others.
Our research on the development of these physical, mental and emotional characteristics reveals that scoliosis as a contraction, a collapse and a twist of the muscles along the spine is the representation of a sexual disturbance created by an imbalance between the pituitary sex hormones and the pituitary growth hormones.
While Dr. Alexander Lowen, M.D. gives primacy to this sexual and growth imbalance, Dr. John Bellis, M.D. does not overlook this imbalance, he just goes further to explore their need for rational expression.
Evidence of this is seen in the eagerness, receptiveness, and responsiveness to the bioenergetic work around sexual issues and the need for rational expression. When the scoliosis client begins dealing with his/her sexuality, there is more acceptance, and more connection with being, with his/her true self, and his/her inner child.
To be sure, bioenergetic work dealing with sexuality comes after the scoliosis client acquires an ability to support his/her expansive feelings. Many hours are devoted to, and focused on breathing (for feeling), and grounding (for support); with particular emphasis around negativity and hostility, non-acceptance of feelings, fragmenting, needing, controlling, suffering, pain and humiliation, as well as a need to perform.
The focus of the bioenergetic work is on dealing with, and working through each issue as they surface. As the basic trauma of insufficient nurturing and hostility from parents surfaces, the schizoid issue of the right to exist becomes evident.
It is around this time when the bioenergetic work focus is extensively on sexual issues and the right to exist that a portion of the scoliosis spine straightened.
A portion of the spine straightened when the therapeutic goal of accepting a relationship of mutual dependency, and facing the fear of needing and the fear of submission with its anger is achieved; when there is a willingness to face feelings and support the right to have these feelings; when an acceptance and integration of feelings in the body with thought (a body-mind connection and integration) is achieved.
A portion of the scoliosis client's spine straightened when there is acceptance and release of the energy held in the muscles along the spine. By supporting, grounding and breathing, the scoliosis client works through feelings around the issues of existence, abandonment, self-expression, mutual dependency and love as an adult.
These results correlate well with Dr. John Bellis' position that idiopathic scoliosis is the body's expression of "an inability to back up one's feelings and to face those apparently responsible for those feelings."
Our research that idiopathic scoliosis as an energetic stress-related condition of "putting a lid on" points to the following conclusions:
1. There is a relationship between genetics, psychosomatics and environment.
2. Interactive use of the discipline of Bioenergetic Analysis (grounding and breathing with voice and movement, acceptance, and willingness to deal with issues as they come from held muscular structure that created the lateral curvature and rotation of the spine) works.
3. Acceptance and release of the energy held in the muscular structure along the spine evokes the old trauma of being that of the inability to support oneself against intolerable conditions while growing up, twisting to please, winning approval and love.
4. As issues of the right to exist, feelings of abandonment, lack of self-expression, mutual dependency and love are uncovered and resolved a portion of the scoliosis clients' spine straighten.
5. And finally, even though there is compelling evidence as a result of our research, the scientific community's verdict on the etiology and resolution of idiopathic scoliosis is not in -- yet.
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