Psychosomatics: Mapping The Correlation Between Thoughts And The Human Body
by Time Wheel
Psychosomatic interconnectedness refers to the mind (psyche) and body (soma) acting one upon the other in a way that can either prove incredibly synergistic or highly maladaptive to the organism. In a simplistic example, if we have a physical experience in which we are very cold, then it is more difficult to focus on our own thoughts and the activities that we are engaged within. After experience such conditions over an extended period of time, if the cold is substantial, mood will undoubtedly begin to shift towards displeasure as well.
Conversely, in say the mind of a schizophrenic, if they are convinced that someone is following them, chasing them, or reading their thoughts, the body will react in a way as if it is actually occurring regardless of whether it truly is or isn’t. The “lizard brain” of the limbic system in the humans, especially in the emotional response processing center in the amygdala, will flood the perceiver's’ body with stress hormones e.g. adrenaline, cortisol, norepinephrine all the same.
We combine this notion of a mind-body feedback loop and find the notion of self-fulfilling prophecy tucked away very neatly in this paradigm. Coined as a term by sociologist Andrew K. Merton in 1948, a self-fulfilling prophecy is a concept in which one commits a heavy amount of mental energy into believing a possible outcome will occur, and if/when it does, then uses the resulting event as proof that the one’s “prophecy” was true all along. The alternative holds true for the opposite concept of self-defeating prophecy.
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Every Day is Earth Day
Source: http://www.riseearth.com/2015/12/psychosomatics-mapping-correlation.html
