The human mind and the body: Intricate Interconnection (Psychosomatic Disorder)

                                                   

John Polkinghorne in his famous book, "Faith in the living God" writes, "We surely are psychosomatic unities, animated bodies rather than incarnated souls". I too believe that we are not disembodied minds rather we are psychosomatic beings.

Even otherwise, if we ponder, we will find, that everything we experience in terms of our feelings and sensations is psychosomatic because every time the body is involved necessarily, for instance, we look through our eyes, we hear through the ears, etc. This interaction between the human mind and the body is so subtle, that it is highly complex and demanding task to discover the mysterious osmosis that seems to exist between the body and the mind. Maybe it is because of this intricate interconnection between them, our physical wellness and our mental well-being also become so much so badly entangled that at times it becomes difficult or nearly impossible to establish the "cause and effect" relationship between them. I see this interdependence of the two, as a "Holistic Law of Nature". 

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Further, this interrelatedness engenders a bizarre species of illnesses termed as "Psychosomatic Disorders". The concept visualises that mental and emotional factors have a bearing on how a disease affects a person and therefore plays a significant role in its treatment as well, for instance, a disease may go inexplicably worse due to the mental state of the person at a particular point of time. So, ceteris paribus, the same disease may hit two persons differently at the same point of time or may even hit the same person differently at two different points of time which is attributable to their mental and emotional state. As also, the term includes and encompasses even those diseases which are solely caused due to mental factors, for example, lower back pain may be caused due to stress or even one may feel chest pain without any biological explanation for the same. So, in the former case, some aspect of the disease is unaccounted for while in the latter case the cause of the illness itself is not biologically explainable. However, now this distinction is almost blurred in the interdisciplinary branch of medical science dealing with these disorders known as "Psychosomatic Medicine". 


These days we can also see an increase in the use of the term "Psychosomatic Illness" to explain illnesses that could not otherwise be diagnosed or cured. But, as yet, the epistemological aspect involved in medical science vis-a-vis these psychosomatic disorders much seems to be governed by the philosophy of "Mitigated Scepticism" i.e. there can only be virtual but no real knowledge regarding the disorders resulting from this interconnection of the body and the mind. Maybe I can also put it like, we have not yet been able to study and understand the whole concept holistically i.e. in its entirety.

However, there is no denial that the limitation of the human mind to behold only a single object at one given instant necessitates compartmentalization. Also, the attempts made so far to study the whole complex system in its totality are commendable, needless to specifically mention that it has produced results and has given a measure of relief to us. Nonetheless, in the light of epistemological vacuum in the arena of "Psychosomatic Medicines" as well as the significant rise in cases of these disorders, it becomes significant all the more, to make further endeavours to study this complex system in its entirety rather than breaking them into components; bits and pieces.  

Last but not the least, the discussion also makes me contemplate, that on a larger perspective, there would be many such "Holistic Laws of Nature" existing for long but have either not been found out altogether or at least not been looked into in its entirety. The connotation of the phrase "Laws of Nature" here must be distinguished from "Scientific Laws", premised on the fact that unlike "Scientific Laws" these are not an approximation of the truth rather the truth itself and from "Natural Laws" on account of the fact that "Laws of Nature" are inviolable while "Natural Laws" are not. Thus, "Laws of Nature" should be construed as "the principles" governing the world or at least describing it, based on whether one espouses the "Necessitarian" theory or the "Regularity" theory of it.

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No wonder such studies if could be done, would yield miraculous results !

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©Both the text and the photographs are protected works of the author Bibhuti Bhushan Mishra. They can not be published, reproduced, adapted or otherwise dealt with without the prior permission of the author.