Dr Margarita Tareyn on “Svetat na zdraveto”: Where do emotions and the body meet?
What is the connection between psychical experience and physical health? Can we speak of “toxic” emotions, and what actually happens when tension, anxiety and difficult experiences are reflected in the body?
These questions were discussed by Dr Margarita Tareyn, clinical psychologist, psychotherapist and specialist in analytical psychosomatics from the team of the Institute of Medical Psychology, Psycho-Oncology and Psychosomatics, in the programme “Svetat na zdraveto”.
The psyche and the body are not two separate worlds
Psychosomatics considers the human being beyond the traditional division between “physical” and “psychical”. The bodily state influences the way we think, feel and relate to the world, while psychical processes can have their own bodily manifestations.
This does not mean, however, that illnesses are “caused by emotions” or that a psychological cause must be sought behind every physical symptom. Such a simplification not only fails to reflect the complexity of the human organism, but may also lead to an unwarranted sense of guilt in the person who is ill.
This is precisely where one of the important tasks of the psychosomatic approach lies – to think of the body and the psyche simultaneously, without one being explained entirely through the other.
Are there “toxic” emotions?
Fear, anger, sadness or anxiety are not in themselves pathological experiences. They are part of normal psychical life and are significant for the way a person reacts to what is happening to them.
The more important question is how a person manages to recognise, experience and process their own emotions, and what happens when psychical tension cannot find a sufficiently good way to be expressed and given meaning.
In the conversation, Dr Tareyn examines precisely this complex territory – the point of intersection between emotional life, bodily experience and health.
This appearance is part of the Institute’s consistent work towards a better understanding of psychosomatics and the establishment of an integrated approach to the human being in health and illness.
Watch the conversation with Dr Margarita Tareyn on “Svetat na zdraveto”.