A textbook case
Yvonne no longer needs anti-depressants
During a training course in which she is taking part, a highly experienced psychologist, with a creative and recognized professional activity, expresses that she has been depressed for over a year. She has lost interest in her work and the impetus in her life. She is heavily involved in social action and is married to a man she loves. She is also in great conflict with her mother and sisters, and is currently on antidepressants. The trainer suggests that the trainees do a body reading in groups of three, where two participants try to read what the body of the third can communicate to them. Then, having learned about Yvonne's problems, he comes to work with her group.
When she stands, her body feels like it's being crushed from above. The therapist suggests compressing her body by pressing down on her head to accentuate this constriction. This relieves Yvonne: whatever pressure the therapist applies, she feels fine (this phenomenon is explained by the fact that when the therapist applies pressure, he takes over from the constrictor muscles, allowing them to relax).
The therapist then suggests stretching her in the opposite direction. Climbing onto a chair, he stretches her arms upwards, as if to make her taller. A heart-rending cry emerges, expressing terrible distress. distress. The therapist asks: "What's going on?" New, extremely distressing cries emerge.
"Where are you now? How old are you?
- I'm 9 years old, I see my father leaving with my sister. If I stay with my mother, I'll die.
- What do you want to say to him?
- Daddy, don't leave me!" The therapist encourages Yvonne so that the little girl she was expresses her distress to her father and gets him to come back to her. "Call him, make him come!" Little by little, Yvonne finds the strength to cry out to him and make him come back. She then sobs hot tears in the arms of one of the participants who, at this point, symbolically represents the father's place.
After this session, Yvonne was "knocked out" for the whole of the next day, yet in a very peaceful state. She was digesting the session, not participating in any exercises, savoring her new state of being. The depression was gone. She clearly felt that she no longer needed her medication. We can see how, in the contraction of Yvonne's body, was the repressed distress reflecting what she had experienced.
Depression, or any other potential symptom, can arise in the present:
- or when the body is saturated in its compensation and no longer has the space to absorb the neurosis;
- or when an event in today's life brings back the original suffering;
- or by a time cycle. For example, a strong disorder at age 26 may reappear at age 52, i.e. twice 26 years.
That's why, when these symptoms arise, they can seem to come out of nowhere, suddenly invading daily life for no apparent reason. They are no longer understandable, because the original roots have been forgotten. Modifying our posture brought this suffering to the surface and enabled us to transform it.
This example shows how, in vegetotherapy, the patient can discover spaces of himself outside his usual patterns by modifying his posture, the "armor" described by W. Reich. posture, the "armor" described by W. Reich. This can be the posture as a whole, as with Yvonne, or a particular segment, such as making unrestricted faces to mobilize the oral part, or looking differently to activate the ocular segment.
It's worth pointing out that, in Yvonne's case, these powerful results came about because she had already done a great deal of personal work. So, even though her symptoms were very strong, her profoundly solid and coherent general psychic base enabled her to regain her equilibrium as soon as she found and repaired the original situation.
When the therapist asks her how she feels, her whole body is slumped over, resigned, and she says, "I feel powerless." The therapist asks her if she finds it normal that her husband is in the same position as her two children, facing her.
She is surprised to realize that she feels like the mother of the whole family. He suggests that she place the husband at her side and feel what's happening. She gets a very ambiguous feeling, one of rage at losing some kind of importance, and one of relaxation and hope. "Ah, how nice that would be!
This session revealed how Rosie had positioned herself in a dysfunctional position, and how difficult it was for her to be helped. Further work will enable her to feel that she can, and that she is no longer solely responsible.
Excerpt from the book "Biodynamic psychology. A therapy that gives a voice to the body". By François Lewin with Miriam Gablier. Le courrier du livre.