Janov's Reflection on Language as Anesthesia

Dr. Arthur Janov

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Language as Anesthesia 2

In our evolution we had the brain stem and limbic structures to handle outside danger. But our neuro-physiology in all of its wonder also “decided” how to handle internal danger: our stored feelings. There seemed to be a migration of cells upward and forward to develop a neocortex that could not only deal with outside menace but from inside, as well. “Deal with” is perhaps an exaggeration because what that new (neo) cortex does is suppress feelings. It also connects them to where they should finally go for full consciousness. But for the moment let’s concentrate on the menace. Thoughts evolved in part to anesthetize feelings. Ay ay ay. Could that be true? Do we have an internal anesthetic that the brain produces? Of course, it is the basis of nearly all pain-killers and tranquilizers that mimic the chemicals we produce inside of us.

So what happened? Well we went from the primtive nervous system to an higher order affair; from instincts to thoughts and beliefs, and those beliefs also are wonderful anesthetics. Witness all of the religions and cults. I was thinking about this when I watched TV the other day and saw the ads; almost all were for painkillers, Aleve, aspirin, Tylenol ad nauseum. Everyone seems to be hurting and almost everyone believes. Is that an accident? A strange coincidence? Don’t think so. Some of us take our painkillers straight; others go to India to find some belief system. So many actually think that some guy in India knows all the secrets of the universe. Nobody does. You know that an expert is a guy from out of town. The further we go, the more we expect from the “expert.” So allow me to repeat: no one in the world knows more about life than you do. All of those secrets of your life lies just below the top anesthetizing level. All you need is access, and you will become the expert you wanted from that guy in India. We actually need that “guy” or “girl” because we are so driven by our unconscious that it is all a mystery; for that we need an expert. Actually, I am that guy and I am not in India; I am in Santa Monica, as mundane and prosaic as that seems. The reason I am that guy is I can help you with access to your unconscious. I can help you find yourself and your own answers. I can never find your secrets out of my own brain. That would be ridiculous; and oh yes, you think a shrink knows those answers? Guess again, and I underline “guess.” You are buying that guy in India again only now he is in Beverly Hills in a nice suit. If he doesn’t help you with access, he is of no use.

I know I went to those shrinks for battle fatigue or whatever they called it in those days. And we did dream analysis. Ridiculous. I know how ridiculous it is, because I practiced it for years. When I discovered Primal I called many of those patients back and told them I was wrong and I think I have it right now. Some came back and some didn’t. They thought they were fine.

So here we have a feeling system, the amygdala, hippocampus and other structures, and over time some of those wily little cells began to migrate and they formed its antithesis; a pure dialectic. They formed the anti-feeling; not to be confused with the anti------. And the circuits leading upward were much more robust and numerous than the circuits from the cortex to the limbic system. Now we go to a cognitive/insight therapist who insists that the new insights and changed ideas they help you with can change those feelings; when everything in neurology militates against it. It is far easier for feelings to mount up there than for ideas to go downward and put down feelings. Still we try, and when we cannot, we use painkillers that simply add to what the brain already produces to shut down pain. Don’t forget that past feelings and needs are engraved into our nerve circuits; we are not going to eradicate them so easily. And they are not meant to be eradicated, in any case.

Jan Johnsson’s comments on

Languages as anesthesia

I am a living example of that you are the guy, who can help us find the access to our unconscious. How did I find you? By insights and marketing!!! When I read the Primal Scream, I got my first insights. The general interpretation of an insight comes from the Greek word noesis and is the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of seeing intuitively.

I know  that you are skeptical about marketing. Nonetheless, the Primal Scream was an excellent example of marketing and fulfilled perfectly the interpretation of an insight in marketing:

“Insights are most effective when they are/do one (or more) of the following:

   1. Unexpected

   2. Create a disequilibria

   3. Change momentum

   4. Exploited via a benefit that your brand/therapy can deliver.”

However, Primal Therapy, was, and even more now, is up against serious gigantic competitors (operating in oligopolies) like, for example, the pharmaceutical industry and the cognitive therapy treatment. This is caused by the fact that the society needs efficient and rapid solutions, even if they develop side effects and shorten our lives.

I needed Primal Therapy to be able to stay alive today. At he same time, I needed as well the pharmaceutical products as I needed the physical structural integration of the Rolfing. Maybe I was lucky to have developed epilepsy? If I tried alcohol and drugs they triggered seizures, like sex, coffee, and sugar, and if I tried cigarettes, I developed asthma. My dope was languages and, by mental preparation, to be one step ahead of my surroundings. I needed over the years to find an equilibrium to loosen my fascia in my body structure and  gradually to quit the painkilling rat poison, Tegretol, which prevented my seizures. By following the Primal Principal, I could start to feel the original pain and resolve my neurosis (the use of this word now almost eradicated by DSM).

There exist a proverb “If you can’t beat them, join them”. The problems of P.T. are often blamed on a few suspects/issues. It is tempting to think that we can solve the problems of P.T. by tackling these issues. But we cannot. These issues reflect basic human motives and are unavoidable.

However, the same motives drive us forward. P.T. must establish itself as a credible player and must build alliances. It must recognize the need for other elements in the treatment.

P.T. is complicated and must constantly develop repeatable, quality, auditable processes for its treatment.

Passion for the therapy and it’s process. People are motivated by an inherent interest in the human body and brain and the quality of life. An organization that encourages this passion will benefit from a general respectability. Be it in California, India, Sweden or wherever we look.

Jan Johnsson

PS

In 1492 when Columbus made landfall in the Caribbean, he believed he had reached the East Indies. Hence the name Indians of the original inhabitants of America was born.