SOUL SICKNESS AND SOUL LOSS #3

Here is this weekend's blog - a bit early

Some Physiological Effects of Soul Sickness 

The psychiatrist Stephen Porges has enhanced our understandings of how the parasympathetic nervous system and its vagus nerve work. Many disagree with his principles but they have been found to be  effective in the treatment of abused children, notably his Safe Sound Protocol. Attachment theory say that a compassionate caregiver/s is vital for the early development of a child. Abused children who are treated with humiliation and disgust often have soul sickness. It is essential for a child to feel safe, secure, seen and heard and not to believe they were born a mistake. The Safe Sound Protocol helps to connect the child to the high frequencies of a compassionate human voice with auditory engagement.

 

His is a complicated theory but may be worth thinking about. Here is a brief outline - there is a lot of detail on the Internet for those interested.

There are two vagal branches - a dorsal and a ventral one. The ventral or front vagus nerve is a much more recent evolutionary addition according to Porges. It is common to mammals that raise live young (not reptiles, birds or fish). It goes directly to the muscles of the face, ear and voice, helping to determine expression and is active in social engagement. When the ventral vagal nerve is active we seek and initiate social contact. The ventral vagus is responsible for social engagement, facial expression and also tuning in to high vibrational hearing which is key to Porges' Safe Sound Protocol. This is an effective therapy for these children, connecting them with the ventral vagus and facilitating social re-engagement. It activates the parasympathetic ventral vagus in severe stress preventing and helping the child to come out of dorsal vagal shutdown. This method can alleviate the soul sickness and shame caused by developmental trauma. 

The dorsal vagus controls our thoracic and abdominal organs. Normally the dorsal vagus, part of the parasympathetic nervous system, serves as our relaxation response. It helps the body modulate stress. It can be enhanced by meditative techniques. However, in rare instances when the sympathetic nervous system is too aroused by extreme stress, the dorsal vagus can override the sympathetic Flight or Fight response and shut down the entire system, inducing a Freeze response.

 

The sympathetic nervous system controls our flight or fight response which increases our heart rate and blood pressure, dilates our pupils and increases metabolic rate to prime our bodies into action. However, the dorsal vagus can override it in these extreme conditions. It also tunes out high frequency sounds but will respond to low frequency threat sounds such as a predatory growl. Porges' Safe Sound Protocol  uses high vibrational sound to slowly overcome this shut down response in these unfortunate children.

The Broken Heart Syndrome  

can be a byproduct of acute soul sickness caused by severe emotional or physical stress. It is a reversible heart condition occurring almost exclusively in women. The stress causes cardiomyopathy and a weakening of the muscle of the left ventricle. The main symptoms are chest pain and shortness of breath without evidence of coronary artery obstruction. The symptoms are due to a ballooning of the left ventricle which can be seen on imaging studies. Recovery occurs usually within a month. It can mimic a heart attack.

General Principles in the Prevention of Soul Sickness

"I am guarding my light and my treasure, convinced that nobody would gain and I myself would be badly, even hopelessly injured, if I should lose it. It is most precious not only to me, but above all to the darkness of the Creator, who needs humans to illuminate his Creation.” C. G. Jung

 

“To confront a person with his own shadow is to show him his own light.” C. G. Jung

“... What counts is to restrain the blaze in the hours of desire and let it flow into the hours of prayer and service.”  Talmud

 

Prevention is better than cure. Prevention is about having a spiritual life and not submitting to the wiles of a sensory body hypnotized by the temptations of excess and greed.

If you would dispel the darkness, seek the sacred.

 

Be careful of what you taste and where you immerse.

 

And as for your power what are you doing in the wrong circle.

 

Grieving is essential when confronted with severe trauma and this means fully acknowledging the truth and expressing it to those who can hear and support, so that the pain can be released. Denial or hiding it away will not work.

 

”I was never asked, “Aren’t you finished grieving yet?” Rather, they would say – “have you grieved enough? Have you cried enough?” Blame, guilt and shame, come from being unable to express our grief properly…” Sobonfu Some' (quoting her African mentors)

 

Grief may require special rituals and communal help – sometimes it take a village as in a recovery program. Indigenous societies have their own rituals that have to do with forgiveness and letting go that are effective.

 

“May you have the commitment to know what has hurt you, to allow it to come close to you and in the end become one with you.” Payer of Finton

 

“I saw grief drinking from cup and called out, ‘it tastes good does it not?’ ‘You've caught me Grief answered and you've ruined my business. How can I sell sorrow when you know it's a blessing?”  Rumi

Everything should be considered a test.

 

We are continually being tested – not about how much we know or how well we perform but that our trust, our love and our faith are being always tested at unexpected times in often unrecognized guises…

The sages teach that without the sacred there is no mundane and without the mundane there is no sacred.
They are different sides of the same reality.
They are unique but not separate from the whole.

Spiritual knowledge and practice can help us overcome the trials and tribulations of life and mitigate or prevent pain, suffering and the possibility of soul sickness.

Love, laughter and song chase away the dark forces and all that is dreaded from your nights and days.

 

"If you don't want to see the shadow, turn your face to the sun."

Aboriginal proverb