THE PROCESS OF GETTING WELL
By Lawrence Wilson, MD
THE PROCESS OF GETTING WELL
Healing Versus Symptom Removal. Healing is different from, and so much more than eliminating or suppressing symptoms.
In fact, healing is a path that can be embraced. It is a process quite foreign to our medical system and to our culture. It is essentially a reversal of the process involved in becoming ill, and at the same time an awakening to one's true nature and the meaning of life.
Western medical science has pursued a path of fragmentation, separating mind from body, thought from emotion, and organ from organ. This has produced many marvelous technologies for symptom removal. But it does not produce healing. Healing involves re-integrating or re-membering (bringing the members back together).
WHAT IS HEALING?
On the physical level, healing involves following a healthful diet and a healthful lifestyle with lots of rest. It may involve changes in activities, consuming special foods, taking supplementary nutrients, and often the use of other natural therapies of various kinds. Physical healing needs are described in many other articles on this web site, so I won't spend time on it here.
At a mental level, healing involves taking full responsibility for oneself, committing to oneself and to happiness and health, and releasing any habit, behavior, job, persons, attitudes or emotions that are blocking healing. It also involves discipline, forgiveness of self and others, desire, allowing and surrender.
Healing also involves an expansion of consciousness and a new understanding of who we are and why we are here. All of this is part of the healing process.
EMOTIONAL HEALING
Most of us are driven by our emotions. These include fear, longing, physical desires, anger, resentment, guilt and others. These are considered normal emotions and are even encouraged by some psychologists.
Healing requires detaching oneself from what is for many people an emotional roller coaster. One can be up one moment and down the next. Good days alternate with bad ones, and so forth.
Many methods can help to even out the emotions and produce more happy times and fewer roller coaster rides. These range from traditional psychotherapy and many non-traditional techniques to improving the health of the body. This is a great help because the brain is a chemical organ. Meditation techniques can teach the mind detachment. This concept is explored in an article on this site about meditation.
Emotional healing also involves letting go of all that is not conducive to a positive emotional environment. For many, this is the most difficult step in emotional healing. This can mean a change in one's relationships, one's family situation, work or even location. Some situations are clearly damaging and negative from an emotional viewpoint and will block healing.
For example, I used to live in Phoenix, Arizona. I loved it when I first moved there. As Phoenix grew more crowded and polluted, and I grew more healthy, I found myself depressed and anxious living there. I realized I had to leave, though it meant giving up my business and friends and moving to a strange city where I knew no one. It all worked out, however, as it will when one move toward emotional healing.
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