You do not have
to be an avid reader of current events to know that a colossal amount of money
is spent trying to figure out the
causes and the cure of
diseases. Science, medicine, and other
fields have toiled to provide generations with longer healthier lives and
higher quality lifestyles (thank God for them!). It is not often that we read or hear
discussion about the amazing aspects
of a disease or problem which is not as attractive of a conversation as
“finding the cure”, but the disease
itself might be more beneficial to us than “the cure” – in some ways.
As a mental
health clinician at one of top educational institutions in the nation, I am
privileged to work alongside some of the best therapists and psychologists in
the Pittsburgh region. Besides this
clinical team having elite degrees, years of experience, and supreme clinical
skills, what impresses me about this group is their openness to nontraditional
approaches to psychotherapy; even disdaining the medical model in some regards. For example, typically when a client comes to
see a psychologist, psychiatrist, or a therapist, they are “diagnosed” by an
assessment of their “symptoms.” Most
diagnoses within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, better known as The
DSM, have a criteria of symptoms that people need to exhibit or present with to
receive a diagnosis and once a person is diagnosed, abracadabra! – the
client/patient, now, officially has a
problem. The thing I love about the
team I work with is that some of us prefer to view the symptom as, what the
lead psychologist calls, an “angel [or] messenger that points to healing.” You might be thinking “how is a symptom of a disease/illness an angel or messenger??” I had a conversation with the lead
psychologist and he talked about the fact that when we eliminate God from our
lives, He will reappear [almost out of vengeance] as the disease in order to get our attention in attempt to point us back to healing. Think about how Americans respond to the
common cold. It is a treatable sickness
that occurs when we have not been taking care of or protecting our bodies. When we go outside in the cold without enough
protective gear, or when we eat unhealthy things – we get sick. Once we are sick, we then eat and drink foods
to become healthy again; tea, soups, you name it. Then, when we are healthy again, what
happens?...Americans go right back to eating junk food(lol). I’m guilty of it as well sometimes.
But there lies the message (the
cold…”the sickness”) pointing toward healing. Did you catch that…are you getting it?
For years,
scientists have been trying to find cures for diseases as well as trying to
find the causes of them. I, like many of
the clinicians I work with, believe that symptoms, diseases, and illnesses are
not always a negative thing. Not only is
the disease a message but, in my opinion, it can also be a part of natural
progression of our own unique development to live out our call here on
earth. If one eliminates the symptom,
they might eliminate the very process of becoming who God created them to be. We need to stop seeing diseases and illnesses
as problems and believing that medical problems in particular have biological
beginnings. In my book, IMPROVED
THINKING, I give The DSM a different acronym.
Instead of its given name, I call it Decoding Spiritual Matters. To me, clinical depression does not grow from
a chemical imbalance (medical
related) or maladaptive relational issues
(mental health related). Depressed
people tend to have a down-and-out, sad, and gloomy spirit which I would argue is the root catalyst that affects the
physical body. I do not believe that any
disease or problem has roots here on earth.
I believe that they all have a spiritual foundation; we are born with
them. In his sermons, TD Jakes refers to
our problems and idiosyncrasies being part of our call here on earth. In a sermon from Minister Louis Farrakhan, I
heard him tell the Mosque that God sends us here [to earth] with problems. Author James Hillman believes that we are all
born with a [guardian angel]. In his
literary work he touches upon the DSM and says “…the whole of that thick,
heavy, and lightweight book provides accounts of the various ways the [guardian
angel] affect the human fate and how sadly and strangely they often appear in
our civilization,” (Hillman, 1996).
He encourages a shift in the readers PerspectVe to view “pathology” as
“exceptionality” and to see something “abnormal” as being “extraordinary”. These are three different men (Bishop Jakes,
Minister Farrakhan, and Hillman) with three different spiritual
backgrounds, agreeing, and giving the same message about the
relationship between problems/symptoms/disease/trauma and their necessity
within our purpose here on earth. Some
of my problems have consisted of anger, rage, violence, etc., but these are some
of my greatest assets as I have transmuted this energy into my purpose.
What are your
struggles? What problems do you
have? The response to those questions
may carry the reason for you being here.
As I say in my book, if you can
find the present in the process of the pain, you may find the gifts that God
has for you to gain.
#ExpandYourPerspectVe
References
Hillman, J.
(1996). The Soul's Code In Search Of Character And Calling. Random House, Inc.
©February 28,
2015 Shawn Coleman, MS PC, PerspectVe LLC
