Re-Viewing Symptoms

“When people observe the ways in which the soul is manifesting itself, they are enriched rather than impoverished. They receive back what is theirs, the very thing they have assumed to be so horrible that it should be cut out and tossed away. When you regard the soul with an open mind, you begin to find messages that lie within the illness, the corrections that can be found in remorse and other uncomfortable feelings, and the necessary change requested by depression and anxiety.”

Thomas Moore, Care of the Soul

In our fast-paced world, we often rush to label and treat symptoms as manifestations of illness or pathology. However, a deeper, more holistic approach invites us to see symptoms through the lens of the soul. It’s a perspective that recognizes the interconnectedness of our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. When we embark on this journey, we open ourselves to a better understanding our symptoms, their origins, and the potential for true healing.

Depression, anxiety, and trauma states exist in various forms, one of which arises from societal influences tied to gender, race, and economic disparities. These particular symptoms impact those dealing with challenges like food or shelter insecurity.

Another form of symptomology is rooted in biological factors within the body. Medication often proves effective in treating these types, and our current view of mental health predominantly aligns with this category. Progress in mental health occurred when psychological issues were destigmatized through a medical lens, equalizing them with physical ailments, shifting blame away from individuals, and attributing it to a “disease.”

A third type can be seen as a spiritual or psyche-based depressive, anxious or traumatized state. This is a human experience that ebbs and flows throughout life. Unfortunately, in Western society, these natural states  often get confused with biologically rooted symptoms, leading to the misconception that such feelings are abnormal or indicative of a disorder. This misunderstanding results in treatments aimed at symptom suppression, framing depression, anxiety and trauma as an illness to be eradicated. This can foster the perception of personal failure, as well as reinforce the idea that “something is wrong”.

During such episodes, individuals often feel something is amiss and try to rectify it. They might blame themselves for insufficient effort, lack of gratitude, or mishandling aspects of their lives, intensifying efforts to improve their state by setting goals to “do better” in various parts of life.

An approach more aligned with a spiritual or psyche-based approach to difficult states delves into symptoms as a signal from the psyche, indicating a need for attention, tending, acceptance or change in one’s life. Rather than viewing it as a pathology, this perspective sees symptoms as a message that one’s conscious life might not align with one’s deeper, unconscious desires or needs.

James Hollis, Jungian Analyst, states that people are generally operating out of one of two core life beliefs:

Fear of being overwhelmed (the world is powerful and I am not)

Fear of abandonment (I cannot live without the other)

He says that in order to cope with the overwhelming feelings that come with those beliefs, we will react with one of these strategies:

Avoid

Control

Comply (accommodate)

It is these coping strategies that can cause the most negative consequence in a person’s life. When we take the actual symptom out of the coping strategy, we can get a good idea of the way soul is wanting us to go. The symptom points in the direction to follow, the coping strategy confuses and blocks that momentum.

Reflection Questions:

Consider that the situation you are in is precisely where you need to be. If it were not going to change, what would that require of you? What would that ask from you? Is it possible that this is direction your soul is pointing you towards?

What might be the deeper invitation for you to develop?

What triggers you? What is your response (when this happens, I do this)?

Is this a pattern? Is this something you recognize in other situations?

What is the symptom?

What is the defensive coping strategy?

What would that symptom look like outside of a defensive strategy?

A Life of Meaning: Relocating Your Center of Spiritual Gravity Kindle Edition

James Hollis