How to remove muscle shell. Body Oriented Therapy: Muscular Exercises by Wilhelm Reich

Wilheim Reich (1897-1957) was Freud's first clinical assistant from 1922 to 1927. Then he had a theoretical disagreement with his supervisor, since Reich believed that all neurosis is based on the absence of sexual satisfaction.

He developed an interesting concept, according to which a person's character includes a constant, habitual set (pattern) of defenses. At first, the scientist described this pattern in terms of psychology: “Character consists of the habitual positions and attitudes of a person, a constant pattern of his reactions to various situations. It includes conscious attitudes and values, style of behavior (shyness, aggressiveness, etc.), physical postures, habits of holding and moving, etc.”

Reich believed that character creates defense mechanisms against the anxiety that is caused in the child by intense sexual feelings associated with fear of punishment. The first defense is suppression, temporarily curbing the sexual impulses. As the Ego Defenses become permanent and automatic, they develop into character traits or armor. But these traits are not neurotic symptoms. The difference, according to Reich, is that the latter (for example, irrational fears and phobias) are experienced in the human soul as alien elements, while character traits (like exaggerated love of order or anxious shyness) are experienced as components of personality.

Each relationship that makes up the character has a corresponding physical posture, so the latter is expressed in features of muscular rigidity. Reich emphasized: "Rigidity of the muscles is the somatic side of the suppression process and the basis of its continued existence." It is useful for a person to analyze in detail his posture and physical habits (therefore, Reich often imitated the characteristic postures or gestures of patients, asked the people themselves to repeat or exaggerate the usual pattern of behavior, such as a nervous smile), strengthen a certain muscle clamp in order to better understand, feel it and identify emotion associated with that part of the body. Only after the repressed emotion finds its expression can a person completely abandon chronic tension or clamping. Reich writes: “Without exception, patients reported that they went through periods of their childhood when they learned to suppress their hatred, anxiety or dislike through certain actions that affect vegetative functions (such as breath control, tension in the abdominal muscles, etc.)”.

One can be amazed at how the weakening of the rigid muscles releases not only vegetative energy, but also recalls the situation in early childhood when this clip is engaged for a specific suppression. Reich found that chronic muscle cramps block three basic urges: anxiety, anger, and sexual arousal. He came to the conclusion that the physical (muscular) and psychological armor are one and the same. He also noted: “In any case, the function of the shell is protection from displeasure. However, the body pays for this protection by losing a significant part of its capacity for pleasure.

These muscle clamps lead to distortion and destruction natural feelings, to the loss of energy and joy in life, to the suppression sexual feelings, interfere with a full and complete orgasm. The lack of sexual satisfaction, the stagnation of sexual energy, is, according to Reich, the main cause of neurosis. As the scientist pointed out, "the removal of muscle clamps, the elimination of the stagnation of sexual energy allows you to eliminate any neurotic symptoms."

When working with the "muscle shell", the scientist found that the release of chronically tight muscles causes special sensations - a feeling of warmth or cold, tingling, itching, or emotional uplift. He believed that such sensations result from the release of biological energy, which Reich called orgone.

It has the following properties:

free from mass, has neither inertia nor weight;
present everywhere, albeit in varying concentrations;
is the medium of electromagnetic and gravitational interactions, the substrate of most fundamental natural phenomena;
located in in constant motion and can be observed under appropriate conditions.

Orgone energy naturally flows up and down the body, parallel to the spine. The rings of the muscular shell form at right angles to these currents and prevent them. Muscle clamps limit both the free flow of energy and the free expression of emotions in a person. What first appears as a defense against overwhelming feelings of tension and arousal becomes a physical and emotional straitjacket.

Psychological, personal growth Reich defines human self-improvement as the process of dissolving the psychological and muscular shell, as the gradual becoming more free, sincere and open person- energetic and happy, like gaining the ability to enjoy a full and satisfying orgasm.

Three types of means are used in opening the shell:

accumulation of energy in the body due to deep breathing (later it developed into the psycho-technique of rebirthing);
direct impact on chronic muscle clamps (pressure on them, etc.) to relax them;
maintaining cooperation with the patient when identifiable resistances and emotional limitations are openly addressed.

Learning to let go of exaggerated and inappropriate feelings blockages is just one aspect of psychological growth. Self control and purposeful behavior- the second essential factor; be able to balance, correlate self-control and freedom of expression - necessary condition. Reich developed special techniques for relaxing the "muscle shell", which are now used by psychologists to help people, since a "squeezed" person is not able to relax him on his own.

Reich considered the treatment as a weakening of this shell, which has seven protective segments in the region of the eyes, mouth, neck, chest, diaphragm, abdomen and pelvis.

The scientist believed that the following areas of the body inhibit the corresponding reactions:

eyes - crying;
mouth (too tight or unnaturally relaxed lower jaw) - crying, screaming, anger;
neck - anger, crying, crying;
chest, shoulders, arms - laughter, anger, sadness and passion;
diaphragm - strong anger (clamp in this segment is manifested in the fact that when a person lies on his back, between bottom there is a significant gap between the back and the couch);
back muscles - fear of attack;
abdominal muscles - anger and hostility;
pelvis (tension and soreness of the gluteal muscles) - a feeling of sexual arousal and satisfaction, as well as anger.

It is impossible to experience sexual pleasure until the anger in the pelvic muscles is discharged. If pleasure is blocked in a person, it leads to anger and rage. From Reich's point of view, positive feelings cannot be experienced until negative emotions have been discharged.

Table 5.5.

W. Reich's concept

Attitude towards the body	The body is the main source of psychic orgonal energy. Body posture, physical habits, muscle clamps accumulate repressed emotions, experiences, human problems. The contradictions between orgonal energy and the protective shell of muscle clamps are the driving force behind personality development. By relaxing the clamps of the body, it is possible to facilitate the discharge of suppressed experiences, the removal of neurotic symptoms, the healing of the body, the harmonization of the energy flow of the organ, and personal growth.
social relations	Social relations can provoke the formation of a protective shell of muscle clamps, a person's character. social ways human behavior, his habits are a function of the individual bodily character.
Will	Will is a person's awareness of his naturally inherent aspirations and desires, that is, those that already exist and are represented in the human body. Will as self-control is an important factor in the development of personality.
Emotions	The source of emotions is the dynamics of the relationship between the orgonal energy and the protective shell. The emotions of an ordinary person are blocked by a muscular shell. Suppression of them leads to anger, fear, rage, is the source of neurosis. Emotions must have an outlet through the relaxation of the muscular shell. At first, negative emotions break through, then paths open to positive ones.
Intelligence	Intelligence is one of the bodily functions, capable of accumulating an effective charge in the same way as any emotion. Its development is connected with orgonal energy. The intellect acts as a means of blocking bodily energy.
Self	The real person is a healthy body. Proper Development personality - in the possibility of correct understanding eigenstates, in the balance of self-expression of emotions, desires and self-control, in the establishment of sincere harmonious relations with other people.
Attitude towards psychotherapeutic help	Reich made the transition from the analysis of word associations to work with the body. The meaning of his body-oriented therapy: work with the body, deep breathing, “relaxation of the muscle shell”, release of orgonal energy, as a result of which unconscious complexes are neutralized, personality problems patient.

To relax the bodily “armor”, a number of techniques have been developed, including: direct manipulations with the body; imitating and provoking emotional states; performing special movements and exercise; work on the release of sound during emotional stress.

What is a character?

According to Reich, character consists of attitudes and attitudes familiar to a person, as well as reactions to various situations. Character includes a conscious attitude and values, a unique style of behavior (shyness, aggressiveness, etc.), manners of movement, various habits. Our “manners”, as a form of communication, are always an order of magnitude true to what we say. Each of us can tell a lie, but making our body lie is a task that only a few can do. The concept of character first appeared to Freud in 1908 in his work Character and Anal Eroticism. Reich developed this concept and became the first analyst to use the nature and functions of character in his work with his patients instead of analyzing the symptoms.

Characteristic carapace

Character - creates a defense against anxiety, which is caused in the child by intense sexual feelings, accompanied by fear of punishment. The first defense against this fear is suppression which temporarily curbs the sexual impulses. When these ego defenses take root, become permanent, automatic, a characteristic or characteristic armor is established. Reich's idea of a characteristic shell includes all the overwhelming defensive forces, organized into a more or less coherent ego pattern. "The establishment of a characteristic ... points to the resolution of the problem of regression: it either renders the process of repression unnecessary, or turns the repression, once established, into a relatively rigid ego-accepted formation."

“A conflict that has operated at a certain period of life always leaves its marks in the character, in the form of rigidity”

Characteristic features are not neurotic symptoms. Development consists in the fact that neurotic symptoms (such as irrational fears and phobias) are experienced as alien to the person, as alien elements in his soul, while neurotic characteristics (such as an exaggerated love of order or anxious shyness) are experienced as components parts of the personality. One may complain of shyness, but this shyness does not seem senseless or pathological, like neurotic symptoms. Characteristic defenses are very well rationalized by a person and are experienced as part of himself, therefore they are very difficult to remove.

Release (opening) of the muscular shell

Reich believed that every characteristic attitude of a person corresponds to a physical posture and that a person's character is expressed in his body, in the form of muscular rigidity or muscular armor. He began to work directly with the relaxation of the muscular armor in conjunction with analytical work. In his work, he found that the relaxation of the muscular shell releases considerable libidinal energy and aids the process of psychoanalysis. Reich's psychiatric work moved more and more into the release of emotions (pleasure, anger, excitement) through body work. He found that this led to a much more intense experience of the infantile material revealed in the analysis.

"Muscular rigidity is the somatic side of the repression process and the basis of its continued existence."

Reich began by applying the technique of character analysis to physical postures. He analyzed in detail the patient's postures and physical habits in order to make the patients aware of how they repress the feelings of life. various parts body. Reich asked patients to intensify a certain clamp in order to become more aware of it, to feel it and to identify the emotion that is associated with this part of the body. He saw that it was only after the repressed emotion had found expression that the patient could completely give up chronic tension or constriction. Gradually, Reich began to work directly with the contracted muscles, kneading them with his hands to release the emotions associated with them. “In the end I could not avoid the impression that physical rigidity was in fact the most essential part of suppression. Without exception, all patients said that they went through periods of their childhood when they learned to suppress their hatred, anxiety or love through certain actions that influenced autonomic functions (breath control, abdominal muscle tension, etc.). “The shell can be superficial or deep, soft as a fur coat, or hard as iron. In any case, its function is protection from displeasure. However, the organism pays for this protection by losing a significant part of its capacity for pleasure.” ... Again and again one is amazed how the release of rigid muscles not only releases vegetative energy, but also brings back the memory of a situation in early childhood when this clamp was used for a certain suppression. In his work on muscle shell Reich discovered that chronic muscle contractions block three major biological arousals: anxiety, anger, and sexual arousal. He came to the conclusion that the physical (muscular) and psychological armor are one and the same.

“The armor of character turns out to be functionally identical with muscle strain, muscular armor. This functional identity means nothing more than the fact that muscle patterns and characteristics serve the same function in the mental apparatus; they can influence and replace each other. Essentially they cannot be separated; they are identical in function.
genital character

For Freud, the term "genital character" determined the level of psychosexual development. In the specific interpretation of Reich, this means the achievement of orgastic potency. “Orgasmic potency is the ability to surrender to the flow of biological energy without any suppression, the ability to completely discharge the accumulated sexual excitement in involuntary, pleasurable body movements.” Reich found that as his patients loosened their narcissus and developed orgastic potency, many aspects of the personality changed spontaneously.

“I say from vast clinical experience that there are very few instances in our civilization that sexual intercourse is based on love. Interfering anger, hatred, sadistic emotions and competitiveness are completely inseparable from the sexual life of modern man.

Instead of rigid, rigid neurotic control, individuals develop the ability to self-regulate. Reich contrasted the natural self-regulation of individuals with forced morality. The natural individual acts according to his own inclinations and feelings, and does not follow an external set of requirements set by others.

After Reichian therapy, patients who had previously been prone to neurotic promiscuity (sexual promiscuity) gained greater sensitivity, capacity for attachment, and spontaneously began to strive for longer and more fulfilling relationships.

“You don't 'fight' to get your heart beating or your legs move, just as you don't 'fight' to find the truth. Truth is in you, it works in you just like your heart or your eyes work - for better or worse, depending on the state of your body.

Those who had been in barren, loveless marriages found that they could not have sex out of a sense of duty alone. The genital character is not imprisoned in its shell and psychological defenses. He is able to defend himself if necessary in a hostile environment. But this protection is carried out more or less consciously and can be withdrawn when it is no longer necessary.

Reich wrote that the genital character is a person who has worked through his Oedipus complex in such a way that this material is not repressed and does not have a strong charge. “The superego becomes 'sexually assertive' and thus acts in harmony with the id. The genital character is able to freely and fully experience sexual orgasm, completely discharging the existing libido. climax sexual activity characterized by the ability to surrender to sexual experience, involuntary movements that are not blocked, in contrast to the forced, even violent movements of an individual protected by a shell.
Bioenergy

In working with the muscle shell, Reich found that the release of chronically tight muscles often produces special physical sensations - a feeling of warmth or cold, tingling, itching, or emotional uplift. He believed that these sensations arise as a result of the release of vegetative or biological energy.

Reich also believed that the mobilization and discharge of bioenergy are essential steps in the process of sexual arousal and orgasm. He called it the "orgasm formula", a four-part process that is characteristic of all living organisms: mechanical tension - bioenergetic charge - bioenergetic discharge - mechanical relaxation.

As a result of physical contact, energy accumulates in both bodies, which is eventually discharged in an orgasm, which is essentially a phenomenon of biological discharge:

sexual organs are filled with liquid - mechanical stress;
as a result, intense excitation occurs - a bioenergetic charge;
sexual arousal is discharged in muscle contractions - bioenergetic discharge;
physical relaxation occurs - mechanical relaxation.

Orgonic energy

Interest in the physical functioning of patients led Reich to laboratory experiments in physiology and biology, and eventually to physical research. He came to believe that bioenergy in individual organisms is only one aspect of the universal energy “present in all things. In the term "orgone", "organic energy", he connected the roots "organism" and "orgasm". “Cosmic orgonic energy functions in living organisms as a specific biological energy. In this capacity, it governs the whole organism and is expressed in emotions as well as in purely biophysical movements of the organs.

Reich's extensive research on orgonic energy and related topics has been ignored by most critics and scholars. His discoveries contradicted many accepted theories and axioms of physics and biology; in addition, there are experimental weaknesses in his work. However, his results have never been refuted or even carefully checked and seriously considered by any of the respected scientists. One of the psychologists who worked with Reich notes: “For more than twenty years since Reich announced the discovery of orgonic energy, there was no report of a credible repetition of a single definitive experiment that would disprove Reich's results ... The fact is that despite the ridicule, reproach and attempts by the orthodox to “bury” Reich and orgonomics (and partly thanks to them), not one scientific publication there is no refutation of his experiments, much less a systematic refutation of a huge scientific work confirming his position.

Orgonic energy has the following main properties:

it is free of mass, has neither inertia nor weight;
it is present everywhere, albeit in varying concentrations, even in a vacuum;
it is the medium of electromagnetic and gravitational interactions, the substratum of most fundamental natural phenomena;
it is in constant motion and can be observed under appropriate conditions;
a high concentration of orgonic energy attracts orgonic energy from a less concentrated environment (which "contradicts" the law of entropy);
orgonic energy forms units that become centers creative activity. It can be cells, plants and animals, as well as clouds, planets, stars, galaxies.

Psychological growth

Reich defines growth as the process of dissolving the psychological and physical shell, gradually becoming a freer and more open human being, gaining the ability to enjoy a full and satisfying orgasm. Reich argued that the muscular armor is organized into seven main protective segments, consisting of muscles and organs of the corresponding functions of expression. These segments form a row of seven approximately horizontal rings at right angles to the trunk and spine. The main segments of the shell are located in the areas of the eyes, mouth, neck, chest, diaphragm, abdomen and pelvis.

Orgone energy naturally flows up and down the body parallel to the spine. The rings of the carapace form at right angles to these flows and prevent them. Reich points out that it is no coincidence that in our Western culture an affirmative movement of the head up and down, in the direction of the flow of energy through the body, has formed, while the negative movement of the head from side to side is a movement of shell formation, protection, crossing the flow.

“You can get out of the trap. However, to get out of prison, you need to understand that you are in prison. The trap is emotional structure man, his characteristic structure. There is little use in inventing systems of thought about the nature of the trap; the only thing you need to get out is to know the trap and find a way out.”

Protection serves to limit as a free flow. energy and free expression of emotions in the individual. What first appears as a defense against overwhelming feelings of tension and arousal becomes a physical and emotional straitjacket. “In the protective shell of the human body, orgone energy is bound in chronic muscle clamps. After the opening of the armored ring, the orgone in the body does not immediately begin to flow freely ... As the first armored blocks open, we find that orgone flows and sensations, the expression of “pressure”, “giving back” develop more and more. However, there is still a defense that prevents full development.”

Reichian therapy consists primarily in opening the shell in each segment, starting with the eyes; and ending with the pelvis. Each segment is more or less independent and can be handled separately.

“Ultimately, in self-awareness and in the pursuit of perfection of knowledge and full integration of biological functioning, the cosmic orgone energy becomes aware of itself.”

Three types of agents are used to open the shell:

1) the accumulation of energy in the body through deep breathing;

2) direct action on chronic muscle clamps (through pressure’, pinching, etc.) to relax them;

3) maintaining cooperation with the patient in openly addressing the resistances and emotional limitations that this brings to light.

Eyes.

The protective shell in the eye area is manifested in the immobility of the forehead and the “empty” expression of the eyes, which seem to be looking from behind a motionless mask. Opening is accomplished by opening the eyes as wide as possible (as in fear) to mobilize the eyelids and forehead in forced emotional expression, and by free eye movements, rotation, and side-to-side looking.

The oral segment includes the muscles of the chin, throat, and occiput. The jaw can be both too compressed and unnaturally relaxed. This segment holds the emotional expression of crying, screaming, anger, biting, sucking, grimacing. The protective shell can be relaxed by the patient by imitating crying, making sounds that mobilize the lips, biting gagging and through direct work on the relevant muscles.

This segment includes the deep muscles of the neck and the tongue. The protective shell keeps mainly anger, screaming and crying. Direct impact on the muscles in the depths of the neck is not possible, therefore, screams, screams, gagging, etc. are an important means of opening the shell.

Breast.

The thoracic segment includes the broad muscles of the chest, muscles of the shoulders, shoulder blades, neck: chest and arms with hands. This segment holds back laughter, sadness, passion. Breath control, which is an important means of suppressing any emotion, is largely carried out in the chest. The shell can be loosened by working on the breath, especially by exhaling completely. Arms and hands are used for a well-aimed blow, to tear, to destroy, to beat, to passionately achieve something.

Diaphragm.

This segment includes the diaphragm, solar plexus, various internal organs, muscles of the lower vertebrae. The protective shell is expressed in the forward curvature of the spine, so that when the patient lies down, there is a significant gap between the lower back and the couch. Exhalation is harder than inhalation. The shell here holds mostly strong anger. One must loosen the first four segments to a large extent before proceeding to dissolve the fifth segment through work with the breath and the gag reflex (people with strong blocks in this segment are practically unable to vomit).

Stomach.

The abdominal segment includes the broad muscles of the abdomen and the muscles of the back. Tension of the lumbar muscles is associated with fear of attack. The protective shell on the sides creates a fear of tickling and is associated with the suppression of anger, hostility. Opening the shell in this segment is relatively easy if the upper segments are already open.

The last segment includes all the muscles of the pelvis and lower extremities. The stronger the protective shell, the more the pelvis is pulled back, sticking out backwards. The gluteal muscles are tense and painful. The pelvis is rigid, "dead" and non-sexual. The pelvic shell serves to suppress arousal, anger, pleasure. Excitation (anxiety) arises from the suppression of sensations of pleasure, and it is impossible to fully experience pleasure in this area until the anger in the pelvic muscles is discharged. The shell can be released by mobilizing the pelvis and then kicking and hitting the couch with the pelvis.

“... the main criterion for mental and vegetative health is the ability of the body to act and respond as a whole, in terms of biological functions tensions and discharges ... disturbances in the perception of oneself really disappear only after the orgasmic reflex is fully developed.

Reich found that as patients become capable of total "genital giving", their whole being and lifestyle changes fundamentally. “When the unity of the orgastic reflex is restored through therapy, the sense of depth and sincerity that was previously lost returns with it. In this regard, patients recall the period of early childhood, when the unity of body sensation was not yet lost. Deeply touched, they tell how as young children they felt one with nature, with everything around them, how they felt “alive”, and how later it was broken into pieces and destroyed by training.

“The snake - a symbol of the phallus and at the same time a biologically primary movement - invites Eve to tempt Adam ... “Whoever eats from the tree of knowledge will know God and life, and will be punished,” we are warned. Knowledge of the law of love leads to knowledge of the law of life, and knowledge of the law of life leads to knowledge of God.

Such people begin to feel that the rigid morality of society, which previously seemed to them for granted, is becoming alien and unnatural. Their attitude to work also changes markedly. Those who have done their work mechanically begin to look for new, more lively work that suits their inner needs and desires. Those who are interested in their profession acquire new energy, interest and ability.

Growth barriers. Protective shell

The protective shell is the main obstacle to growth according to Reich. “Clamped by his protective shell, the individual is not able to dissolve it. He is also incapable of expressing the simplest biological emotions. He knows only sensations of tickling, not of orgonic pleasure. He cannot let out a sigh of pleasure or imitate one. If he tries, it will be a groan, a strangled growl, or an impulse to vomit. He is incapable of uttering an angry cry or even imitating a fist on the couch.”

“I have found that people react with intense hatred to any attempt to disturb the neurotic balance maintained by their protective shell.”

Reich believed that the process of creating a protective armor created two false intellectual traditions that form the basis of civilization: mystical religion and mechanistic science. Mechanists are so well protected that they have lost all sense of their own. life process and inner nature. They are struck by a deep fear of deep emotionality, vitality, spontaneity, and tend to create rigid mechanical ideas about nature, being interested mainly in the external objects of the natural sciences. “The car must be perfect. It follows that the thinking and actions of a physicist must be "perfect". Perfectionism is an essential characteristic of mechanistic thinking. It does not recognize mistakes, uncertainty of uncertainty, obscure situations are avoided ... But when applied to nature, this inevitably leads to error. Nature is inexact. Nature does not act mechanically, but functionally.”

Mystics are not so completely enslaved by their protection, they remain partly in touch with their life energy and are capable of great insights due to this partial contact with their inner nature. However, Reich considered these insights to be distorted by the ascetic and anti-sexual tendencies of the mystics, their denial of their own physical nature and loss of contact with one's own body. They denied the origin of the life force in own body and placed it in a hypothetical soul, which they believed to be only loosely connected with the body.

“Only mystics, distant from scientific views, have always maintained contact with the function of life. Therefore, life has become a sphere of mysticism, serious natural Sciences refused to do it."

“The destruction of the unity of bodily feelings through the suppression of sexuality and the constant thirst for restoration of contact with oneself and with the world is the subjective basis of sex-denying religions. God is the mystical idea of the vegetative harmony of the self with nature.”
Suppression of sexuality

Another obstacle to growth is the social and cultural suppression of natural instincts and sexuality in the individual. Reich considered it the main source of neuroses. This suppression occurs during three major phases of life: early childhood, puberty, and adulthood. Infants and young children enter a neurotic, authoritarian, and sex-repressive family environment. Regarding this period of his life, Reich reproduces Freud's observations concerning the negative effect of parental demands regarding toilet training, self-restraint, "keeping oneself in hand", "good" behavior.

During puberty, adolescents are deprived of a real sex life; masturbation is prohibited. More importantly, society as a whole prevents teenagers from finding meaningful, meaningful work. The unnatural lifestyle makes it especially difficult for teenagers to grow out of their infantile attachment to their parents.

"The destructiveness inherent in the character is nothing but anger at frustration in general and deprivation of sexual satisfaction in particular."

Finally, as adults, most people are trapped in a forced marriage for which they are not sexually prepared due to the requirement of premarital chastity. Reich also points out that marriage in our culture contains inevitable conflict. “Every marriage is internally destroyed as a result of the growing conflict between sexual and economic. needs. Sexual needs can only be satisfied with the same partner for a limited time. Economic dependence, moral requirements and customs, on the other hand, force the relationship to continue. This conflict is the basis of family suffering.” The resulting family situation creates a neurotic atmosphere for the next generation.

Reich argues that individuals raised in an atmosphere that denies life and sex create in themselves the fear of pleasure, represented by their muscular shell. "The shell of character is the basis of loneliness, helplessness, the search for authority, fear of responsibility, mystical aspirations, sexual suffering, impotent rebellion, as well as the obedience of unnatural pathological types." “That which is alive is, in itself, intelligent. It becomes a caricature if it is not allowed to live.”

Reich was not optimistic about the possible effect of his discoveries. He believed that most people, due to their powerful defenses, would not be able to understand his theory and would distort his ideas. “The Teaching of Living Life, picked up and distorted by a man in a protective shell, will be the last misfortune for all mankind and its institutions… poisonous genital pleasure will destroy human society.”

The protective shell cuts us off from our inner nature, but also from the social suffering around us. “Because of a crack in modern human nature nature and culture, instinct and morality, sexuality and success are considered incompatible. The unity of culture and nature, work and love, morality and sexuality remain an unrealizable dream as long as a person rejects the satisfaction of the biological requirements of natural (orgastic) sexuality. Under these conditions, true democracy and responsible freedom remain an illusion…”.

Ecology of life. Health: Conduct a self-diagnosis ... Reflect: is there something to think about? So, there is a reason to work on yourself.

Carry out a self-diagnosis ... Reflect: is there something to think about? So, there is a reason to work on yourself.

Muscular shell according to Wilhelm Reich.

Reich believed that:

Mind and body are one, each character trait of a person has a corresponding physical posture;

Character is expressed in the body in the form of muscle rigidity (excessive muscle tension, from lat. rigidus - hard) or muscular shell;

Chronic tension blocks the energy flows that underlie strong emotions;

Blocked emotions cannot be expressed and form the so-called COEX systems (systems of condensed experience - specific clumps of memories with a strong emotional charge of the same quality, which contain condensed experiences (and related fantasies) from different periods of a person's life);

The elimination of muscle tension releases significant energy, which manifests itself in the form of a feeling of warmth or cold, tingling, itching, or emotional uplift.

Reich analyzed the patient's postures and physical habits to make him aware of how vital feelings are being suppressed in various parts of the body.
All patients said that in the course of therapy they went through periods of their childhood when they learned to suppress their hatred, anxiety or love through certain actions that influenced autonomic functions (breath control, abdominal muscle tension, etc.).

The reason for the increase in muscle tension in adults is constant mental and emotional stress.
Targeting is the state of modern man.
The imposed ideals of material well-being and comfort, the conditions for achieving them, the focus on the end result, and not on life at the moment - keep people in constant tension.
Hence muscle clamps > spasm blood vessels> hypertension, osteochondrosis, peptic ulcer, etc. etc.
Everything else is secondary.
The function of the shell is protection from displeasure. However, the body pays for this protection by reducing its capacity for pleasure.

The muscular shell is organized into seven main segments, consisting of muscles and organs. These segments are located in the eyes, mouth, neck, chest, diaphragm, abdomen and pelvis.
Reichian therapy consists in opening the shell in each segment, from the eyes to the pelvis.

The elimination of muscle clamps is achieved through:
* accumulation of energy in the body;
* direct effect on chronic muscle blocks (massage);
* expression of released emotions, which are thus revealed;
* spontaneous movements, dance therapy, relaxation exercises, yoga, qigong, holotropic breathing, etc.

1. Eyes. The protective armor is manifested in the immobility of the forehead and the "empty" expression of the eyes, which seem to be looking from behind a motionless mask. Opening is done by opening the eyes as wide as possible to engage the eyelids and forehead; eye gymnastics.

2. Mouth. This segment includes the muscle groups of the chin, throat, and back of the head. The jaw can be both too compressed and unnaturally relaxed. The segment holds the expression of crying, screaming, anger. Muscle tension can be relieved by imitating crying, lip movements, biting, grimacing, and massaging the muscles of the forehead and face.

3. Neck. Includes deep neck muscles and tongue. muscle block keeps mainly anger, screaming and crying. A direct effect on the muscles in the depths of the neck is impossible, therefore, screaming, singing, gagging, protruding the tongue, tilting and rotating the head, etc., allow eliminating the muscle clamp.

4. Thoracic segment: broad muscles of the chest, muscles of the shoulders, shoulder blades, chest and arms. Laughter, sadness, passion are restrained. Breath control is a means of suppressing any emotion. The shell is opened by working on breathing, especially by exhaling completely.

5. Aperture. This segment includes the diaphragm, solar plexus, internal organs, muscles of the vertebrae of this level. The shell is expressed in the forward curvature of the spine. Exhalation is more difficult than inhalation (as in bronchial asthma). Muscle block holds strong anger. One has to pretty much unravel the first four segments before moving on to unraveling this one.

6. Belly. Abdominal muscles and back muscles. Tension of the lumbar muscles is associated with fear of attack. Muscle clamps on the sides are associated with the suppression of anger, hostility. Opening the shell in this segment is relatively easy if the upper segments are already open.

7. Taz. The last segment includes all the muscles of the pelvis and lower extremities. The stronger the muscle spasm, the more the pelvis is pulled back. The gluteal muscles are tense and painful. The pelvic shell serves to suppress arousal, anger, pleasure.

Reich's belts - 7 segments of the muscular shell.

neck zone

The neck is a very important area, a kind of barrier and bridge between the conscious (head) and the unconscious (body). The rationality inherent in Western culture sometimes makes us rely too much on our own reason. According to American studies that studied how people perceive their body (the so-called "body image"), the size of the head in the internal representation takes an average of 40-60% of the size of the body (whereas objectively, anatomically - about 12%). This "distortion" is caused by excessive mental activity, the incessant "mental chatter", giving the feeling that the head is full, and it is impossible to either recover or relax. At the same time, the texts generated by the head "do not reach" the body, and the body is simply ignored by the consciousness - a situation of "separation" arises, a kind of "Professor Dowell's head". In this case, it is important to focus the client's attention on the signals given by the body so that thoughts connect with sensations.

There is also a reverse version of the “neck barrier”: sensations in the body exist, and they are quite vivid, but they are not interpreted, they do not reach the level of awareness. This situation is characterized by various pains of psychosomatic origin, paresthesia, etc., the causes of which the person does not understand.

throat zone

Localized in the area of the jugular notch and associated with the blocking of emotions. This reflects the problems of interaction with other people (communication) or with oneself (authenticity). Such a block can occur if a person finds himself in a situation where it is impossible to admit to himself some unpleasant truth or do something that threatens to violate his identity (“if I do this, it won’t be me”). This zone also reflects the impossibility, the prohibition on the realization of some important truths (that is, the prohibition on pronouncing a meaningful text or the prohibition on certain actions: “if I say / do this, it will not be me”). for a long time existing problems in this area threaten the development of thyroid diseases, asthma, bronchopulmonary disorders.

Middle of the sternum

This area is located behind the protruding bone of the sternum, below the jugular notch, and the zone of resentment is localized in it. Subjectively, sensations here can be perceived as a lump, a ball, a clot, a “stone on the heart”. In this case, the overload of the pericardial canal really occurs, and cardiac disorders occur. For a person with such a problem, a specific facial expression is also characteristic - pronounced nasolabial folds, lowered corners of the lips - all this adds up to a mask of distrust of the world, resentment.

chest center

By Eastern tradition, in the middle of the chest at the level of the heart is the heart chakra, anahata - the focus of love and emotional openness to the world. If there is no place for love in a person's life, then another basic feeling arises - longing, which causes a pulling, sucking sensation in this area. Also, clients may describe it as the presence of a callous, compressed, cold, dark "substance". The defeat of this zone, as a rule, is associated with large-scale psychotraumas received in childhood - first of all, with the coldness of parents, child abandonment, etc.

Diaphragmatic zone

It captures the zone of the diaphragmatic muscles and the epigastric region. In body-oriented therapy, this area is associated with blocking, a ban on the expression of any emotions - both good and bad. Also rooted here are fears of financial distress and social maladaptation. When working with this zone, retraction can be felt even with a voluminous abdomen. The tension here is similar to the feeling after a blow “under the stomach” - breathing becomes less deep, emotions, crying, laughter “freeze”. The protective reaction of the body to the formation of a clamp (which is associated with stagnation of blood, lymph, etc.) is often the formation of a fat pad. Also, psychosomatic stomach ulcers, liver problems (in China, the liver was considered a source of anger), and gallbladder problems often occur. The clamp in the diaphragmatic zone is typical for people who seek to control everything, keep it in themselves. For them, such turns of speech are typical, such as “I can’t allow myself to do this”, “you have to pay for all the pleasures”, etc. Also, such people tend to constantly discuss what is happening, generate mental constructions, see life through the prism of schemes.

Umbilical zone

This is the zone of fear, which corresponds to the so-called "Reich belt", which includes the projection of the kidneys. The Chinese called the kidneys the "graveyard of emotions" and the source of cold. After working in this zone (and long “squeezing” movements are used here), the client can feel the redistribution of cold throughout the body.

pelvic clamp

From the back, this is the region of the sacrum, buttocks, iliac crests, in front - the lower abdomen and inner thighs. Reich associated the pelvic clamp with blocked sexuality. If as a result of sexual life there is no deep discharge, giving a sense of integrity, then there is a deep spasticity, fat, congestion in the pelvic area. In the presence of a pelvic clamp, many techniques for working with fatty deposits are ineffective, since, as already mentioned, they are formed as a protective reaction of the body.

forehead clamp- (helmet of a neurosthenic), with constant, prolonged stress, general overwork.
jaw clamp- jaw clenching (aggression).
Neck area– degitality – concentration of sensations, ambivalence > duality.
chest clamp- Bronchitis, asthma, conflict zone between want and need. The middle of the chest is the zone of resentment.
diaphragm clamp- blocks emotions (keeps everything in itself, zone of psychosis).
Zone of fear“Fear affects the kidneys and bladder.
Pelvic clamp m - Lower abdomen, gluteal muscles. published

Reich believed that:

- the mind and body are a single whole, each character trait of a person has a corresponding physical posture;

- the character is expressed in the body in the form of muscle rigidity (excessive muscle tension, from lat. rigidus - hard) or a muscular shell;
- chronic tension blocks the energy flows that underlie strong emotions;
- blocked emotions cannot be expressed and form the so-called COEX systems (systems of condensed experience - specific clumps of memories with a strong emotional charge of the same quality, which contain condensed experiences (and related fantasies) from different periods of a person's life);
- the elimination of muscle clamp releases significant energy, which manifests itself in the form of a feeling of warmth or cold, tingling, itching or emotional uplift.

Reich analyzed the patient's postures and physical habits to make him aware of how vital feelings are being suppressed in various parts of the body.

All patients said that in the course of therapy they went through periods of their childhood when they learned to suppress their hatred, anxiety or love through certain actions that influenced autonomic functions (breath control, abdominal muscle tension, etc.).

The reason for the increase in muscle tension in adults is constant mental and emotional stress.

Targeting is the state of modern man.

The imposed ideals of material well-being and comfort, the conditions for achieving them, the focus on the end result, and not on life at the moment - keep people in constant tension.

Hence muscle clamps > spasm of blood vessels > hypertension, osteochondrosis, peptic ulcer, etc. etc.

Everything else is secondary.

The function of the shell is protection from displeasure. However, the body pays for this protection by reducing its capacity for pleasure.

The muscular shell is organized into seven main segments, consisting of muscles and organs. These segments are located in the eyes, mouth, neck, chest, diaphragm, abdomen and pelvis.

Reichian therapy consists in opening the shell in each segment, from the eyes to the pelvis.

The elimination of muscle clamps is achieved through:
* accumulation of energy in the body;
* direct effect on chronic muscle blocks (massage);
* expression of released emotions, which are thus revealed;
* spontaneous movements, dance therapy, relaxation exercises, yoga, qigong, holotropic breathing, etc.

3. Neck. Includes deep neck muscles and tongue. Muscle block holds mainly anger, screaming and crying. A direct effect on the muscles in the depths of the neck is impossible, therefore, screaming, singing, gagging, protruding the tongue, tilting and rotating the head, etc., allow eliminating the muscle clamp.

Vegetotherapy W. Reich is the first and main direction in body-oriented psychotherapy, in which the psychological problems of the client are considered in connection with the peculiarities of the functioning of his body and are solved by influencing the body.

In addition to W. Reich's vegetotherapy, body-oriented therapy includes the bioenergetic approach of A. Lowen (a student of Reich) and the biosynthesis of D. Boadella.

Wilhelm Reich(1897-1957) - an outstanding personality, he lived an extraordinary life bright life, was not just a psychologist, but that great scientist who seeks to combine all the knowledge about a person in order to help him become happy.

W. Reich in the 50s of the twentieth century created an apparatus called "orgone accumulator". This device could be panacea for all diseases, in particular, Reich managed, using the apparatus, to save clients from oncological diseases, epilepsy, and asthma.

For the invention of this very apparatus, the psychologist and paid with his life: was arrested and soon, at the age of sixty, died in prison of a heart attack. The US government (there was a psychologist in this country at the end of his life) did not like the "too smart scientist."

At first, Reich simply did not receive a license to manufacture the apparatus, but continued his work (although the authorities forbade him), and after the arrest of the “naughty” scientist, all the already created orgone accumulators, as well as drawings for them, materials, publications, scientist’s notes, at least somehow related to the invention, were destroyed.

But that was at the end of the psychologist's life. And Wilhelm was born into a Jewish family in the village. Dobryanichi (today it is the territory of Ukraine, and in 1987 of Austria-Hungary). His father brought up children in German traditions (everyone in the family spoke only German) and introduced them to Western culture.

Wilhelm adored his mother and feared his father. When he was 14 years old, he found his mother with her lover (his home teacher) and told everything to his father. The next child, the mother committed suicide, the father could not live without her for a long time, sought death and died a few years later. Some time later, Wilhelm's brother also died.

At the age of 17, Reich was left completely alone, for the rest of his life he tried, but apparently he could not forgive himself for the death of his beloved mother.

After there was service in the army during the First World War and moving to Vienna. There, Reich met his first wife, entered the medical school of the University of Vienna and became interested in fashion at that time. psychoanalysis. As a result, Reich became a member of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society and began psychoanalytic practice.

In Vienna in 1922, a fateful meeting took place that determined the entire creative way W. Reich. He met and became clinical assistant Z. Freud himself!

W. Reich is a student of Freud, a neo-Freudian. Like many other associates of Freud, after some time, he isolates himself from the teacher, creates its own direction in psychology.

Reich disagreed with Freud in his views and understanding of the mental nature of man, and two more great scientists did not find mutual language because Reich was a rebel by nature and, moreover, a zealous Marxist.

Then there were decades of hard work against the backdrop of unfolding terrible events in world history. Nobody likes anyone, a revolutionary and innovator, ahead of not only his own, but even ours, today's time, W. Reich did not like anyone.

Reich married twice more, lived in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the USA, but nowhere and from no one did he meet the proper understanding and support. Neither the fascists nor the communists liked him, and even in America, which he represented as the freest country, he was banned.

Having destroyed the inventor and his main invention, the US authorities still failed to destroy new trend in psychology - vegetotherapy.

But even today W. Reich's vegetative therapy is called pseudoscience, and the scientist himself is not taken seriously. official science criticizes Reich mainly because his theory is not supported by generally accepted scientific methods, and more importantly, it defies the known laws of physics! Naturally, it is much easier to call Reich's theory a pseudoscience than to revise the basic laws of physics.

Muscular shell

Observing Dr. Freud's patients, and later his own clients, W. Reich noticed that people with similar psychological gaps have a similar character, and most importantly, there is a physical resemblance. Freud analyzed the symptoms with which patients came to him, Reich - the character of the person as a whole.

This observation prompted the psychologist to the basic idea of his theory - the nature of a person is related to the structure of his body.

Character according to W. Reich, this is not only a set of habitual attitudes, attitudes, patterns of behavior, ideas and values of a person, but also his usual postures, gestures, movements and body structure.

All inner turmoil and repressed emotions expressed and reflected in bodily manifestations, mainly in muscle clamps, that is, in places constant voltage muscles.

Chronic muscle cramps in different parts bodies add up to what Reich called characterological muscular armor person.

Muscular shell- "armor" of a person from the outside world, he protects, but at the same time prevents him from being himself and enjoying life. Where muscles are clamped, feelings, thoughts, instincts are also clamped there.

muscle clamp- This is a state of chronic tension of the muscle group responsible for the expression of emotions.

When suppressed emotions (and they are often suppressed, since it is often impossible to express oneself directly in a civilized society), there is a strong nervous tension that binds the muscles of the body. They become rigid and eventually remain clamped for many years.

Like Z. Freud, W. Reich gave great importance sexuality. But, unlike Freud, he believed that society is to blame for the fact that a person is forced to suffer because of the gap between morality and instinctive impulses. Reich believed that the basis of any neurosis is sexual dissatisfaction, due to the taboo of the topic of sex.

The characterological muscular shell grows even in children. Everyone has it. Being born free, ready for love and creativity, a person is more and more rigidly “tightened with belts” of morality, science, and religion. A creative and inquisitive child learns to react in the same way, standardly, typically, culturally, most importantly, he learns to hide himself, not to stand out, to be like everyone else.

Reich singled out three the main taboos in society and therefore presented by the consciousness of mental phenomena:

anger,
fear and its derivative - anxiety,
sexual arousal.

These natural, but "indecent" impulses are blocked not only by the mind, but also by the body. If a person constantly hides the same feeling, a muscle clamp forms in him, first one, and then throughout the body.

Seven segments of the muscular shell

An adult is trapped in the "cage" of his body, and the worst thing is that he accepts this as the norm. People react to bodily problems only when they go into the category of serious diseases, and if the posture is deformed, the shoulders are constantly tense and raised, or a hump has begun to form on the back - it's okay.

In order for a person to become free and open, to regain the ability to enjoy life, he must commit psychological growth.

Psychological growth Reich understood it as a process of gradual unfolding of the seven segments of the physical shell.

Protective segments of the muscular shell:

Eye. Includes the muscles of the eyes and forehead. The eyes look, as if into nowhere, at one point, through, the forehead is often motionless. The presence of a clamp in the muscles of the eyes is expressed in vision problems. This segment of the shell is formed when a person does not want to see everything that is happening around, is afraid to look into the future or the past. Suppressed emotion - fear.
Oral. Mouth, chin, throat, neck. The jaws are constantly compressed or relaxed (mouth open). This segment holds those emotions that provoke crying, screaming, biting, sucking, grimacing, mainly these are emotions anger and sexual arousal.
Cervical. Rigidity of the muscles of the neck and tongue. Suppressed anger and his expressions: scream, wail, cry, gag reflex. The clamped cervical segment does not allow a person to speak out, to express himself.
Thoracic. Shoulders, shoulder blades, chest, arms and hands. This segment is unique in that it holds back all emotions. Holds breath, and breath- this is life. The vast majority of people do not even notice how often they do not breathe or breathe very shallowly. Both laughter and passion are blocked in the chest, as are anger, fear and sadness.
Diaphragmatic. Diaphragm, solar plexus, internal organs, muscles of the lower vertebrae. Held strong anger.
Abdominal. Muscles of the abdomen and back. Main repressed emotion fear. If the lateral muscles are clamped, anger and hostility are suppressed, hence the fear of tickling.
Pelvic. Muscles of the pelvis and legs. Suppression of anger and, above all, sexual energy(excitement, feelings of sexual pleasure and satisfaction).

The destruction of the shell and the achievement of normal, free functioning of the body and psyche must occur from top to bottom: from the eyes to the pelvis.

As the shell is released, a lot of vital, vegetative energy is released. Reich called this energy orgone.

orgone energy

Reich studied orgone energy in his laboratory at the Orgone Institute he created (New York) in the 40-50s, although he came to this idea in the 30s of the twentieth century.

orgone energy is the universal energy of life, vegetative, biopsychic energy, the main component of which is sexual energy (what Fred referred to as "libido").

Reich came to the conclusion that orgone energy circulates inside human body from the crown to the heels and back, as well as along the periphery of the body. But she can move freely only when there are no muscle clamps, otherwise the vital forces are blocked. Physical rigidity is a direct consequence of suppression of emotions. Muscle tension in the body is the "straitjacket" of the individual.

A sure sign that the muscular shell fetters a person is the inability to experience an orgasm with the whole body. That's right, with all his being, according to Reich, a person should experience a healing and empowering orgasm, and not just feel it in the genital area, as is usually the case.

A free man is, roughly speaking, a man without character. He does not have stereotypical movements, stereotyped ways of responding, there are no such “highlights” of character as helplessness, the desire for loneliness, shyness, anxiety, unnatural fears, fear of responsibility, the need for authority, mystical aspirations, aggressiveness, impulsiveness, compliance, sexual perversions, etc. .

The most important thing that Reich discovered, and what prompted him to create the orgone accumulator, was the discovery that the energy that is the driving force of life is not only inside, but also outside. She is everywhere: in microorganisms, plants, animals, man, atmosphere, space and vacuum! It creates electromagnetic radiation in blue spectrum colors.

In some places, the concentration of orgone is especially high. In particular, in pyramidal structures, as well as in the form of a hemisphere and onion. It is not surprising that all religious and sacred buildings have such a form as Pyramids of Egypt, Buddhist pagodas, Orthodox churches, Muslim Mosques.

Reich wanted accumulate orgone energy from the outside and direct it inside the human body, for "recharging" and recovery. And he did it! But the very fact of the existence of energy, called orgone by the scientist, refuted the basic laws of physics.

Reich cured people of many diseases and said that through the accumulation of orgone it is possible to significantly extend human life.

When Reich's invention became known to the public, some began to recognize him as a genius, and the orgone accumulator as the most important discovery in the history of medicine, not to use which would be a crime against humanity, while others laugh, explaining the healing abilities of the device only by the placebo effect.

Well, this story ended, as already mentioned, with the death of a scientist and the destruction of everything that would be associated with an orgone battery.

Unfortunately, Reich died before the first man went into space and long before astronauts returned with photographs of the Earth surrounded by an atmosphere that glows with the blue glow of orgone energy.

Reich believed that galaxies were created and set in motion by orgone. What scientists call the "dark matter of the universe" is the dark blue glowing halo of galaxies. As proof of the reality of orgone energy, Reich even developed a method for launching small aircraft with engines working only on this omnipresent, infinite, absolutely accessible and free energy of life.

Probably, a psychologist, who was at the same time a physician, a physicist, and a cosmologist, would have made a lot of discoveries, but was not pleasing to those in power and, like many brilliant scientists, was apparently ahead of his time not even by years, but by centuries.

Reich has successors, but their activities are biased science community does not seriously recognize the results contemporary research orgona are not published in scientific journals, but belong to the category of science fiction and pseudoscience.

Vegetotherapy: how to dissolve the muscle shell

Returning to vegetotherapy, the first and most important thing to designate is its purpose- the destruction of the muscular shell and the achievement of the normal functioning of the human body, as a result of which the problem will be resolved psychological problem with which the client turned to the therapist.

Vegetative therapy techniques:

respiratory,
massage,
psychoanalytic.

The body-oriented psychotherapist notices the client's problems without even interacting with him. Not all, but many bodily clamps are visible to the naked eye. Already by the way the client entered the office and how he sat down on the chair, you can tell a lot about him.

The therapist acts on the clamped muscles: strongly squeezing, squeezing, twisting, pinching, and so on, that is, making a kind of deep massage. To work out internal muscles that are inaccessible to direct influence, the client is asked to scream, make certain sounds, cry, bite, growl, imitate vomiting, beat something, tear, choke, and so on.

Many clients do not understand or notice their clamps. In such cases, the therapist tries to bring them to the point of absurdity in order to make them noticeable. If the client jerks his leg nervously, he is asked to pull it harder, more intensely, more sweepingly. And as a result, there is an awareness: these movements are similar to kicking, which means that strong aggression and anger are hidden behind the clamp.

When muscles can be relaxed, release of orgone energy and a person begins to react emotionally, realizes a lot and very often recalls significant, but long-forgotten events from life.

At this point methods are important psychoanalysis. The therapist talks with the client, helps him to understand the feelings, desires and memories that have arisen. As segments of the muscular shell are unlocked (from the eyes to the pelvis), mainly traumatic, negative or limiting the freedom to be oneself events from childhood are remembered, and when the muscular shell is completely shed, people remember themselves as very small and at the same time absolutely happy and feeling the depth of unity with the whole world.

Parents can neither educate nor educate their children, they cannot but say: “Quiet! Don't scream!", "Don't cry! What will people say?”, “Don’t be mad! You disgrace me!" etc. Without this, there is no socialization, but by joining society, a person moves further and further away from himself, from his own nature and destiny.

A special technique of vegetative therapy - deep breathing. It is through breathing that a person receives orgone energy from the atmosphere. Proper breathing- an alternative to the massage study of muscle clamps.

"Blowing" the body with deep breathing, you can rid it of the muscular shell and open the way for the free flow of orgone energy within the body.

Usually a vegetotherapist combines all methods and techniques to achieve best result. It is natural that huge role also plays the desire of the client to understand, to know, to help himself improve his health, that is independent work.

After completing a course of vegetative therapy people's lives are changing in better side drastically:

Reich's vegetative therapy is especially effective in the treatment of neurosis, post-traumatic disorders, stress, depression, psychosomatic diseases.