Psychological Muscle Function

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

The metaphorical idea of the psychological functions of individual muscles also follows from the concept of the bodily "attachment" of certain personal qualities. Correction of psychological problems can be carried out through the normalization of the state of the muscles. Diagnosis of the condition of individual muscles can be used to diagnose psychological problems.

In classical psychoanalysis, the power of the ego is considered an indicator of a person's mental health, and the goal of therapy is to nurture a mature ego. By analogy with this, in bodynamic analysis, the concept of the body Ego is introduced, the functions of which are:

• thinking;
• emotional control;
• life position (beliefs and stereotypes of behavior);
• balance of "I" (internal psychological balance between "I" and "others", between feelings and mind);
• approach / distance (external balance in relationships with people);
• relationships with people around;
• centering (self-esteem);
• grounding and reality testing;
• the formation of boundaries (assertiveness);
• self-expression.

A mature bodily ego is a condition for both psychological and socio-psychological adaptation. On its basis, the integrity, the unity of a person both with himself and with other people is built, which is a reflection of the universal relationship.

The term "bodynamic" is formed from the fusion of two roots: body + change (dynamics). Thus, it can be deciphered as "bodydynamic" analysis or analysis of body development. The method is based on the concepts of the psychology of age-related development, anatomy and age-related physiology of the neuromuscular system, describing the dynamics of the child's bodily development, its parallelism with personal development. The method was developed by the Danish psychotherapist Lisbeth Marcher, a follower of Wilhelm Reich, based on his ideas about the "muscle shell".

From the idea of the corporeality of the Ego, of the bodily "attachment" of certain personal qualities, a metaphorical idea of the psychological functions of individual muscles or muscle groups, which underlie the bodily-mental unity, also follows.

If this idea is recognized as correct, then the opposite is also true: through the normalization of the state of the muscles, correction of psychological problems can be carried out (the principle of feedback). Diagnosis of the condition of individual muscles can be used to diagnose psychological problems.

Marcher approached the description of the formation of the character structure at the bodily level as an integral part of psychomotor development, and at the psychological level as a sequence of alternative choices that naturally evolves in time (Table 2) that form the personality structure. The particular personal properties corresponding to these most general choices are, as it were, imprinted in the muscles (see Table 1).

Table 1. Metaphorical psychological functions of muscles according to Marcher

Bodynamic analysis made significant additions to Reikh's ideas about the structure of character and the "muscle shell". In body psychotherapy, the character structure was initially understood, in fact, as a set of subconscious, irrational stereotypes of behavior in stressful situations - a set that is formed in each person, starting from an early age (it is with the reproduction of childhood experience that elements of irrationality are associated).

At the same time, it develops in many respects spontaneously, under the influence of circumstances (let us clarify: perhaps by imitating others). The set of typical psychological defenses is, according to Reich, the "shell of character", and their reflection in the form of areas of increased muscle tone is the "muscle shell".

At the same time, according to L. Marcher, in the process of development, different muscle groups "ripen" at different times. And psychomotor development is presented as the sequential "maturation" of certain muscles (and the development of the movements associated with them). By "maturation" here we mean the achievement of such a degree of maturity of the neuromuscular apparatus, which makes the activity of this muscle fully accessible to conscious control.

The transition of a muscle to a "mature" state is associated with a specific age period, and limited by a fairly narrow time frame. This is the so-called critical or sensitive period of development, which is also associated with an indelible experience acquired in a situation of primary learning (imprint).

When a child is faced with traumatic situations, two problems arise. First, a violation of psychomotor development, its partial delay at this age stage (a bodily analogue of Freud's fixation). At first, it is designed to play a protective role, but later it becomes a "brake" on further development, the basis of an inferiority complex. Second, the emerging imprint, as a rule, contains biographical scenes saturated with traumatic experiences.

Although these memories are repressed, due to the fact that such protection is not absolute, they create a kind of "Achilles' heel", islands of increased psychological vulnerability in the structure of the personality. The kinesthetic sensations associated with the "problem" muscles are partially repressed and become inaccessible to consciousness.

Table 2. Periodization of age-related psychological development according to Marcher

Hence, there are two tasks for body psychotherapy. The tactical task is to identify muscle "blocks"; the strategic task, carried out on the basis of the elimination of these "blocks", is the development of the missing bodily-psychological resources. The initial stage of work with a patient is a bodily diagnostic procedure - drawing up an individual muscle "map". With this mapping, about 200 muscles are examined.

At the same time, in contrast to traditional body therapy, not only the static, “mechanical” characteristic - muscle tone (that is, the state of the muscle at rest), is analyzed, but also the dynamic characteristic of the state of the muscle. This is the so-called reactivity, that is, the reflex response of the muscle to its mechanical manual stimulation - palpation.

Such a muscle response can be compared with a feedback channel, with a signal from the subconscious mind about the acceptability / unacceptability of this bodily contact. If muscle tone and reactivity correspond to the median range on a conventional scale (normal range), then this muscle is considered to be in a resource state. Otherwise, her condition is regarded as a deviation from the norm - hypo- or hyperreactivity, respectively.

Comparison with the scheme of age-related psychomotor development allows us to assume at what age traumatic situations occurred that affected the state of the muscles. Psychological trauma, suffered during a critical period of age-related development or at an even earlier age, manifests itself in the hypotonia (hyporeactivity) of the corresponding muscle. If psychotrauma took place at an older age, then muscle hypertonicity (hyperreactivity) becomes its result.

In contrast to Reich's approach, bodynamic analysis refuses to forcibly remove the "muscle shell" so as not to leave the patient defenseless. Instead, it is proposed to teach the patient to be aware of the presence of his own "shell" in various life situations, as a way to control emotions and access to internal resources.

Ultimately, along with the restoration of the resource state of the corresponding muscles, this leads to the strengthening or "awakening" of the bodily Ego, the harmonization of the functions of which is the main goal of psychocorrectional work.