A Case of Symbolic Healing

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A CASE OF SYMBOLIC HEALING



"Every illness...is an onslaught upon the person as he

or she is. Things have become so bad, and he or she is so alienated

from the whole of life, that a very extreme invasion is necessary to

break so loosened and liquified that, finally, the LIFE spirit

can flow into him or her. To be sick is to be shut off, to be

isolated. Every disease is like an invading force trying to destroy

our rigid forms and make us whole. With every invading illness comes a

symbolic content, and it is the task of the soul to expand itself so

that is can encompass the invading images and symbols. This may be a

struggle, though ultimately it is not a struggle but an expansive,

releasing process as one grows beyond his or her former

boundaries."



"The disease won't let us live the old ways. It actually comes to

destroy the way we are. The blockages in your respiratory tract, the

stiffness in your movements-these exist because of the way you have

held yourself. They emerge from the guarded, fearful, cautious

posture and a carefulness to control tears, and blushing, and anger and

free spontaneous movements. The symptoms are the body crying out, telling

you it has had enough. The symptoms will tear you apart at the very

places where you have held too tightly."



"When you become ill, it is as if you have been chosen or elected,

not as one to be limited and crippled, but as one to be healed. The

disease  always carries its own cure and also the cure for your whole

personality." - Albert Kreinheder



Quote from Psychological Perspectives ( A Jungian Journal of

Thought)

Issue 42, 2001

Pixie's picture
Pixie

This is beautiful and I believe oh so very true. 
I have had bouts of acute IC on and off throughout my 20's and hopefully this is the actually resolution I have been looking for  ,finally at 28! 
However, each time I have dealt with and jumped over a hurdle in  this illness I have discovered parts of myself that I never would have known otherwise and have slowly been healing emotionally and physically bit by bit, piece by piece through it all. 

My boyfriend asked me the other day if I think that I would have been the same person had I not gone through this...and the answer of course is no, but I am glad for the things that I have learned while dealing with everything.  I think that it has made me more of a fighter, a better actress, and a better counselor in the fact that I understand more.  It has helped me discover my spirituality- the dark and the light side of my being and how resilient I truly am. It's helped me fight for myself and find what I really want in life rather than flailing around hopelessly. 
IC and other illnesses force you to really reexamine yourself and the world around you...

Once I have fully overcome this hurdle I will take what I"ve learned and be able to help heal others through my experiences more than I can now....( I do a little at my jobs, however once I am fully better I can fully do this , and I'm so excited to)

Anyway, went off on a tangent there, but just wanted to say thanks Mimi, all of that was very inspirational and hit home :)
 

Mariposa's picture
Mariposa

How ironic that you posted this!
My journal entry last night was basically me writing how I felt like the person that I was in the past was actually dying and that I could feel this whole new existence beginning to blossom within me.
It seems like this incredible gift because this experience is forcing me to face those parts of myself that I have ignored or denied and in facing them I am accepting them and growing beyond them in ways I have dreamt of doing for sooo long!
It's like being in a chrysalis no?
Thank you so much for posting this. It's so wonderful to see that so many brilliant and enlightened people have gone through this experiences!
 
So much love and gratitude for you,
 
Hannah