Helping Patients with Psycho-Spiritual Dilemmas, Part I

“Psycho-spiritual dilemma” (PSD) is a term I use to describe pathological, non-resolving stresses that include both psychological and spiritual aspects of being. A dilemma is any situation with no apparent solution. PSDs are dilemmas of the mind, caused by dualistic thinking. In fact, all thought is dualistic. Like computers, the brain operates with a binary system. Through thinking, the mind separates and compares two possibilities. It creates object and subject, I and you, this and that, good and bad, pure and impure, and so on. Usually a balanced mind will bounce back and forth between the two poles of duality, and settle on choosing one of them. This settling process then leads to opinions, beliefs, prejudices, and actions. These mental phenomena may be beneficial or harmful, but the process itself is normal and adaptive.

A dilemma is created when the mind is confronted with two mutually exclusive options at the same time… and cannot choose between them. Often the conflicting experience is between the right and left sides of the brain. For example, we may receive one message through verbal information with our left brain cognitive functions. At the same time we receive contradictory information with our right brain perceptions of body language, tone, gestures, cadence, inflection, and affect. An example is the narcissistic mother who ignores her young child’s wish for attention, while saying that she loves her or him. What is communicated with words does not match what is communicated without words. Gregory Bateson, in Steps To An Ecology Of Mind, called this condition the Double Bind. He felt that double binds were the cause of many of our modern mental diseases.

Attachment or grasping to mental phenomena perpetuates the two poles of a dilemma. The attachment may be to a belief, opinion, memory, view, paradigm, emotion, wish, desire, or any other mental phenomena. Dilemmas may also be created and perpetuated through a lack of information, confusion, perversity, or habitual tendencies. However they arise, once a dilemma is created in the mind it tends to stay there. A therapeutic intervention is then needed to break the cycle. Fortunately, naturopathic doctors have many tools that help to dissipate dilemmas.

Dilemmas of the mind become Psycho-Spiritual when a person’s psychology conflicts with religious or spiritual issues. Since human beings are basically spiritual beings, virtually all mental dilemmas are also PSDs. A spiritually oriented person would probably agree that we are spiritual beings and that the human condition involves spiritual conflicts. But even from a materialistic or non-spiritual view, we are spiritual beings. Our biological name, Homo sapiens, means “human aware of itself”. This self awareness evolved at the same time that religious beliefs, behaviors and artifacts arose in human evolution. The capacity to think leads to thinking about issues such as life and death, and what happens after we die. Most anthropologists agree that the distinguishing characteristic in the evolution of Homo sapiens is the belief in an after-life. From this belief, all forms of religion and spirituality eventually developed. Whether an individual alive today believes in an after-life or not, the point is that we can and do think about such things. In fact, it is my experience that PSDs are the biggest source of stress that human beings experience.

I have named the most common types of PSD syndromes. They are:
1. Finding One’s Life;
2. Damned If I Die;
3. Too Busy To Die, or Controlling Life To Avoid Death;
4. Materialist/Atheist Depressed About Death;
5. Prayer Without Faith, or I’m Not Worthy;
6. Wrath at God Guilt;
7. Pre or Trans Inca
ational Post Traumatic Stress;
8. Inquisition Persecution Complex, or Fear of Spirituality;
9. Ready To Go “Home” But Not Gone Yet;
10. Purging or Bowel Cleansing Due to Feeling Impure, Unclean or Guilt;

Finding One’s Life Syndrome

The most commo
PSD, and the biggest stress anyone can ever have, is whether they have found their life… or not. I know this has been true in my own life. Ever since I can remember, I was constantly wondering what life was about, and what I would do with my life. After leaving undergraduate school, I encountered a psychic who told me a “spirit guide” was telling me, “You must follow the Nature Path.” Unfortunately, neither the psychic nor I knew that a Naturopath was a type of doctor. It took me nine more years to find my way to Naturopathic school.

Soon after that chance encounter with the psychic, I was moving from the East to West coasts. Along the way I was “led” to stop in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. Pine Ridge is on a Sioux Indian reservation. As soon as we got out of the car, my traveling companion and I immediately met a woman on the sidewalk. She asked us a series of questions, as though she was testing us. Then she said, “Get in your car and follow me. I want you to meet someone.” Then the woman drove to a residential area, and we followed. She stopped at a nice, ranch style home and went in. We followed her. The owner was hosting a poker game with about 10 other native Americans. They were smoking cigars, drinking beer, and gambling. The host, a huge gregarious man, invited us to sit next to him at the table. He asked poignant questions and made jokes that indicated he was psychic. When it came time to leave, he stood up to shake hands goodbye. Towering over me, and leaning forward, he bellowed, “You must find your life!” I was shocked, and meekly said, “What?” “That’s right,” he continued, “You must find your life!” His words almost knocked me over. Then he added, “And remember, Red Cloud’s grandson told you that.”

Red Cloud was the most famous Sioux chief, warrior, and medicine man of the nineteenth century. I have a copy of an Edward Curtis photo of him in my office. Patients often ask who it is, or why I have it there. Usually I tell the story of meeting his grandson, and the importance of finding one’s life. I explain that this means discovering one’s purpose. I go on to say that there are two kinds of purpose: the first is Purpose, with a capital P, which is the same for every human being. This means finding the Purpose of Life. The Meaning of Life. Surprisingly, many people are either unaware that there is such a thing as a Purpose to Life, or they have an erroneous idea of what that Purpose is.

Not consciously knowing the Purpose of Life is such a huge stress because we intuitively or subconsciously know there is a Purpose. Therefore, not knowing creates a dilemma between the conscious mind or intellect, and the intuitive and/or subconscious mind. The dichotomy of not knowing creates a source of stress that permeates the person’s whole life.

While it is imperative to acknowledge the existence of Life Purpose, it is also important not to impose the doctor’s own world view or spiritual beliefs on to the patient. At the same time, it is important to acknowledge spiritual realities. This is the doctor’s dilemma. In my practice, I usually don’t tell a patient what the Purpose of Life is. I just tell them that there is such a thing, and that it is up to each of us to discover it. If they are religious or have an object of faith (i.e., a spiritual path), I ask them what they think it is, and if they have found it. I ask them to use their own beliefs to clarify or define the Purpose of Life. If I feel their answer is incongruent with their own religion or belief system, I try to help them use their own beliefs in a more logical way.

Given that there is a single Purpose in life that is the same for everyone, how do we live our lives out in accordance with that Purpose? The second kind of life purpose or purposes (purpose with a small “p”) addresses this issue. The two kinds of purpose are inter-related. The Purpose of Life is the same for everyone, while purpose(s) in life are unique for each person. Individual purposes can include career, service, teaching, creativity, invention, art, protection, marriage, family, children, influencing others, and personal or spiritual development. People often go through stages of finding and fulfilling life purposes. The process can be like following a treasure map: one goes from clue to clue, getting closer as the map of life unfolds.

The pursuit of one’s purpose(s) is somewhat of a modern concern. In traditional cultures people did not have choices or options, so they didn’t question their lives. As Tevia says about tradition in Fiddler On The Roof, “We know who we are, and what God expects from us.” Those who have found the answer(s) to both kinds of purpose are the most fortunate people. They are more content, calm, successful and well. Those who have not suffer, either from searching and not finding, or from the futility of life without searching or finding their Purpose. The lack of knowing the Purpose of Life and one’s purpose(s) in life creates a dilemma in every one of our patients. Without a sense of purpose, patients have a sense of discontent that permeates their lives. This lack of knowing leads to poor lifestyle and health choices and behaviors. As wholistic doctors, we can help patients immensely by helping them discover their life purpose(s) as a fundamental step in the path of healing.

There are many other ways to help someone find their purpose(s). There is prayer. There are many self-help books, seminars and programs. There are vocational counselors and therapists who specialize in this area. Intuitive counselors (i.e., psychics) and astrologers can help. Religious leaders and spiritual teachers are a good source of guidance. As a doctor, I often start by asking the patient what they wanted to do as a child (when they grow up). People often had a dream or vision of their purpose when they were young, which faded as they grew older. In my practice I also use Electrodermal Testing (also know as Meridian Stress Assessment or EAV), to help find each patient’s life purpose(s). I ask how many there are, how many have already been fulfilled, and then what they are. I start with broad categories, and then narrow it down with yes or no answers to questions. I also check to see if it is appropriate to find purpose(s) in this way. Sometimes it is better for the patient to discover them on their own. On the other hand, many of my patients have made major life changes based on the work we do together.

Next... Damned If I Die Syndrome and More