Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast,

To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak

- William Congreve (The Mourning Bride, 1.1)

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Bon debut de semaine a tous!

Stephanie - info@thefocusclinic.co.uk

           Theories that surround the notion of pain differ in the medical world. Some doctors argue that pain could be a disorder of sensory processing whilst some others contest the idea that pain is all ‘in the mind’.

The World Health Organisation defines pain as an ‘unpleasant sensory or emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage’.

Pain is a message sent along the nerves to tell the brain that something is damaging the body. When one pinches one’s finger in the door, it is painful because our brain says so. What happens on a biological level is that damage-detecting sensory neurons send a message to the spinal cord, and our brain interprets it as (1) body damage (2) something needs to be done. The brain then sends a message to the muscles that triggers a behavioural response, such as pulling one’s finger out of the way.

Pain is said to have both physical and emotional components and may vary according to individuals’ genetic and environmental predisposition to pain. Psychological factors are also important and one’s response to pain can be triggered by past experiences and expectations for the future. For example, experiencing a painful injection in the past will trigger a negative emotional response (= fear) towards future injections, leading to an anticipation of the pain. And one WILL feel the pain.

The video below describes this principle of pain anticipation. Although an entertainment video, Darren Brown’s show demonstrates that pain CAN be ‘all in the mind’. If you believe that someone is about to insert needles in your arms, you are very likely to feel the pain, even though the needles are actually not inserted in your arms.

Similarly, analgesia or anaesthesia can be targeted during childbirth or surgical operations by using psychological techniques such as concentration, distraction, auto-suggestion and clinical hypnosis.

Alors… real pain or no real pain?

Stephanie - info@thefocusclinic.co.uk

      Last Friday I went to see the French movie ‘Angel-A’ in CineWorld in Fulham Road. Beyond the beautiful scenes of Paris in this black-and-white film from French director-producer-writer Luc Besson, I was struck by the message behind the movie, advocating self-acceptance and self-love.

The story is about Andre (Jamel Debbouze), a short, dark and incompetent Algerian conman in Paris who owes a large amount of money to loan sharks and who clearly cannot pay them back. As his desparation increases, he thinks of jumping off a bridge in an attempt to end his life, and meets Angel-A (Rie Rasmussen), a mysterious, beautiful blonde who shares similar desperate suicidal thoughts. He saves her from her suicidal act and she decides to help him clear his debts and see his life from a different angle. We discover that she is actually his guardian angel and her mission on Earth is to help him find himself.

According to Luc Besson himself, the story ‘deals with the sickness of the century — the fact that we are not comfortable with ourselves. It’s difficult to watch yourself in the mirror and say I love you. If you don’t like yourself then you cannot like others. So let’s try this simple act, — making peace with ourselves — then maybe things will be better’ (The Times, July 22, 2006).

“Angela is the exact opposite of what Andre is. It’s the yin and the yang,” continues Besson. “He’s scared all the time; she’s never scared. He doesn’t feel good in his body, he has three coats; she has just a little piece of cloth, she doesn’t care. She’s smiling; she sees the good side of life. He sees the bad side. She wants to prove to him that the other half is inside him. She says, ‘I am you,’ and he says, ‘What, I’m a 6″ tall blond girl?’ She replies, ‘Yes you are – inside’ (Interview for Channel4).

This movie reflects the ego disturbance that some of us may experience at some point in our life. Besson’s film depicts beautifully what we therapists call ’the specific principle of emotional responsability’: one is making oneself feel anxious/unhappy/unlovable because one is accepting possible negative judgements in one’s own heads. Working on this unhealthy, irrational belief can help one think in a more positive way and change the unhealthy negative ’self damning’ belief with a more appropriate, healthy belief of self acceptance and self-love.

For those who would like to see the movie trailer, please follow the URL hereafter: http://www.allocine.co.uk/webtv/acvision.asp?cvid=0:18636252,18636264,18636292&emission=Angel-A

To access a short clip of the movie, click on the following URL and select the link named ’Clip’ (the last one in the list): http://www.allocine.co.uk/webtv/film.html?cfilm=61511

Enjoy!

Stephanie - info@thefocusclinic.co.uk