Psychogenic paralysis. How psychoanalysis can help
The diagnosis of psychogenic paralysis is made when violations of the motor function of the body, as a rule, of the limbs, are not substantiated at the organic level. That is, there are neurological symptoms, but their cause is not detected by diagnostic tests. Typical, in the case of similar organic lesions, deviations are not confirmed. Physicians recognize the body as healthy. Nevertheless, for the patient, these are real symptoms that actually disable him, significantly reducing the quality of life.
“My legs are being taken away”, “I can't feel my legs” - psychogenic paralysis can be of varying severity and seize various parts of the body, may accompany or manifest itself separately, impaired sensitivity and coordination. There are also frequent reactions when a person practically loses the ability to walk on his legs and is confined to a wheelchair.
Conversion as an escape from the horror of life
Such violations are combined into a group of so-called. conversion disorders. The name comes from the word conversion, i.e. "Substitution" of unbearable psychological conflict for the psyche with somatic symptoms. The body takes a blow to the psyche - this is how the body's defensive reactions work.
The founder of psychoanalysis, Z. Freud, who studied the nature of "conversion" also believed that the resulting disorders are a consequence of the repression of traumatic experiences into the unconscious.
Is it possible for everyone to have such reactions? How and why do they arise? Obviously, if we find an accurate answer to these questions, we will be much closer to understanding the nature of conversion disorders, and therefore to understanding the causes of their occurrence. This is what we will try to figure out.
Previously, such manifestations were called "hysteria", which is unpleasant for the patient himself, but much closer to the true cause of their occurrence - connection with human emotions.
The persistence of the consequences of such psychogenic reactions is due to two reasons:
- The primary benefit lies in the fact that in this way the person avoids psychological conflict that was intolerable to his psyche.
- Secondary benefits can be the attention and care of loved ones, the ability to avoid heavy duties, difficult situations, etc.
The latter cannot be considered as a diagnostic criterion for conversion disorders, and the discovery of the primary benefit turns out to be completely impossible in most cases - the real reason is repressed from memory into the unconscious.
How to restore health
Psychogenic paralysis does not respond to medication and restorative treatment. In view of its special nature, psychoanalysis is considered the only possible method of assistance. It is believed that the disclosure of the psychological conflict that formed the basis of the reaction, and its removal into the field of consciousness, deprives the problem of its foundation.
For such an understanding, first of all, it is necessary to have accurate knowledge about the human psyche, which lies at the basis of modern psychoanalysis - Yuri Burlan's System-Vector Psychology (SVP). SVP trainings have been held online for over 7 years.
Based on the knowledge of the system-vector psychology of Yuri Burlan, we can significantly supplement and concretize the conclusions of the French neurologist J. M. Sharko that both conversion disorders and pseudo-neurological symptoms that arise during hypnosis are based on similar physiological processes, or rather, the same properties of the psyche - the highest suggestibility, as well as a number of other properties that are characteristic only for one of the psychotypes (vectors) considered in system-vector psychology.
Anatomy of the unconscious
A vector is a set of psychophysiological characteristics and desires consistent with them that determine the essence of a person - his character, aspirations, priorities, values, tendencies to respond to various stimuli, developmental features, and even life scenarios.
Moreover, a person is not a simple mechanism consisting of one vector. Each of us carries an average of 3 to 5 vectors, the combination of which is an innate feature. All the properties inherent in the vectors have a development scale; in children they are presented in their original version and require a certain development from simple to complex, the stages of which are clearly defined and observable in life.
So, the visual vector has all the characteristics that are capable of provoking the above-described psychosomatic reactions, and no other vector is greater. Let's take a closer look at it.
Life at the peak of emotions
A feature of this vector is the highest emotional amplitude, which predisposes its owners to live everything that happens in their life at the peak of emotions - both good and bad. Accordingly, any situations of super stress are amplified many times due to the emotional factor.
It is important to note here that, depending on the degree of development and realization of the properties of the visual vector, a person will experience either mainly positive feelings (love, empathy), or negative emotions ranging from exaltation at the peak to the blackest fears and panic attacks at the time of a natural drop in amplitude. emotions to lower states.
At the same time, various kinds of fears (fear of loneliness, anxiety for the health of one's own and loved ones, fear of the future, fear of the dark, communication and any other fears and anxieties) will be the main human experiences (often so familiar that they are completely unconscious), along with the dramatization of any events. In the latter case, "love" is more like seeking attention and the need to constantly receive confirmation of the partner's feelings.
Thus, in the latter case, we have certain prerequisites (initially unfavorable psychological background) for the occurrence of conversion disorders. But that is not all.
Living imagination
A feature of people with a visual vector is their figurative intelligence and rich imagination. Moreover, in a state of fear, they are characterized by exceptional suggestibility, including self-hypnosis. The spectator is able to believe so vividly in the images drawn by his imagination that he ceases to distinguish them from reality. It is the visual people who are most hypnotizable. (By the way, cases of amazing healing from psychogenic paralysis "Get up and go!" Are just connected with the great suggestibility of such people.)
In addition, the difference between the spectator in fears is that he is determined to believe, and unconditionally, and not to know for sure based on facts. For the latter, active mental work is needed, and this requires energy consumption and an active life position, while in a state of fear, a person feels passive and dependent - from the participation of other people, their protection, care, attention, he becomes more vulnerable to other people's opinions, etc..d. That is, in this case, the person will be dominated by unconscious reactions, including defensive ones, rather than a conscious choice of actions based on an active understanding of reality.
Ability to withstand stress
Being out of fear, the spectator is not subject to blind faith, but relies in all his conclusions about himself and the world on the observed reality, i.e. empirically acquired knowledge. A person in this state is much less susceptible to both suggestion and (as a result) conversion disorders. His psyche, despite all the same emotionality, is more resistant to stress, he has the ability to react not through the fear that swept over his mind, but taking into account all the conditions of a particular situation.
You can get acquainted with the properties of the visual vector in more detail at the full training on System-Vector Psychology. Within the framework of the topic under consideration, the following is important:
- People with a visual vector with a predominant state of fear are prone to conversion disorders, including the onset of psychogenic paralysis.
- The resulting defensive reaction is a consequence of insufficient readiness of the psyche to adapt stress, which is directly related to insufficient understanding of its nature and insufficient implementation of the vector's properties.
- By increasing the degree of fulfillment (realization) of the desires of the visual vector, a person ceases to need a secondary benefit.
- Revealing the nature of the visual vector, its characteristic root state of fear of death and its reactions to what is happening, a person realizes what happened, and the so-called primary benefit of psychogenic paralysis (to protect the psyche from overstress) is no longer relevant. On the example of alleviating other psychosomatic problems, one can observe that after understanding their causes, psychogenic symptoms go away. This is a natural consequence of self-awareness that occurs at the training of Yuri Burlan.
A full course of 14 lectures is designed for self-knowledge and the study of the human psyche. The accuracy and depth of the knowledge gained allows the listeners not only to gain a clear understanding of the structure of the unconscious, but also to resolve any internal conflicts, as well as to alleviate many psychosomatic problems. (This is a unique positive effect of psychoanalysis, the SVP Portal does not provide medical services). Many students share their serious results following the training, including in the field of psychosomatics.
We offer people with diagnosed conversion disorders (psychogenic paralysis and others) to receive free psychological support on a full online training in systemic vector psychology by Yuri Burlan. You can leave your request for a free training session directly in the portal chat
