In the chapter on autoimmune rheumatoid diseases in his book “When the Body Says No,” Gabor Mate says:
“In the first edition of his classic Principles and Practice of Medicine, published in 1892, William Osler suggested that rheumatoid arthritis has “by all accounts a nervous origin”. In today’s language, Osler was referring to psycho-emotional stress. He mentioned “the association of the disease with shock, worry and pain”. Far from being an obscure theorist, William Osler became the best-known English-speaking physician. According to Sherwin B. Nuland, himself a physician and author, Osler “may have been the greatest clinician of all time and worlds” (…) His widely used manual has been reprinted 16 times, the last since 1947, 28 years after his death.
In 1957, C.E.G. Robinson, an internal medicine specialist in Vancouver, quoted Osler in a short article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal: “I was impressed with how often chronic or prolonged stress can precede the development of rheumatoid disease. (…) I believe that the emotional and mental aspect of many rheumatoid patients is of paramount importance”. Dr. Robinson’s medical education was still based on Osler’s humane and holistic approach. Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, we search in vain in general medical texts for any reference to stress and its connection to rheumatoid arthritis or other autoimmune diseases, all characterized by a civil war of the immune system against the body. The omission, tragic for millions of people suffering from rheumatoid disease of one kind or another, is all the less justified as research has long established the link between stress and autoimmunity and given us an understanding of many of its potential physiological pathways.
The large series and overlaps of medical conditions called rheumatic diseases also include rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, ankylosing spondylitis and systemic lupus erythematosus. (…)
Characteristic for many people with rheumatoid disease is extreme stoicism and a deep-seated reluctance to seek help. People often endure agonizing discomfort in silence, do not voice their complaints loud enough to be heard, or oppose the idea of taking symptoms-relieving medication. (…) A common feature is pseudo-independence, described as hyper-compensatory independence. The rigid belief that it could overcome all things is an adjustment mechanism, a compensation for the emotional needs ignored in childhood (and then later in life). fear of one’s own angry impulses, denial of hostility, and strong feelings of inadequacy. (…) None of these are innate features of a person and are not irretrievably established.
In the history of the development of these patients, a striking finding was the actual loss of one or both parents (early separation from parents, physical or emotional abandonment or even the death of one of the parents). Emotional deprivation is also universal (poor relationship between parents and children in “unbroken” families). Anger is a form of dissociation, a mental process that originates in childhood. The young being unconsciously moves away from the information that, if he receives it, will create unsolvable problems for him. (…) Anger and rejection go inward, against the self, to keep in touch with the parent. This leads to a “strong sense of inadequacy and low self-confidence”, which researchers have recognized in people with rheumatoid disease. It is not uncommon for anger to be redirected from a character who provoked it to self. Inappropriate self-criticism results.
In autoimmune disease, the body’s defense systems turn against the self. In the life of a society (the political body) such behavior would be denounced as treason. Within the individual body, physical rebellion results from a confusion at the level of immunity that perfectly reflects the unconscious mental confusion between self and non-self. In this borderline disorder, the immune cells attack the body as if it were a foreign substance, just as the psychic self is attacked by reproaches and anger directed inward.
Gabor Mate says there is no single trigger for a disease. Many processes and many factors work together in the formation of the disease or in the restoration of health. But we must be aware that one of the factors is always emotional. “Healing” is a word of ancient origin, meaning “whole.” Healing yourself means becoming whole, restoring harmony and balance. Stress is a disruption of the body’s internal balance in response to the perceived threat, including the threat of not meeting an essential need. In modern society, the threat is most often psychic, and the disturbed balance is the inner one. Disease is a lack of internal harmony.
Gabor Mate says the first step in rebuilding our path to health is to give up our attachment to what we call “positive thinking.” Authentic positive thinking begins with the inclusion of our whole reality. It means having a look at things and seeing the negative aspects too. “Positive thinking” as it is described, by which we see only the good side of things, is the mechanism of adaptation of the injured child. The adult who remains unknowingly injured makes this residual defense of the child a principle of life. When symptoms occur or we are diagnosed with a disease it would be good to investigate what happened in the past or what is happening now and then what we can help in the future. Most of the time the first part is ignored, the patients focusing on the future, ie “healing”. We cannot become whole, that is healed, if we do not first understand why we got there. That is why knowledge and introspection are vital. False positive thinking prevents us from doing that. We need to be confident in our ability as adults to look at reality, to come out of the child’s defense mechanism, “positive thinking.” To gain the ability to look at ourselves with honesty, compassion, and a clear vision so that we can identify ways to take care of ourselves. This way we can see previously hidden areas in the dark and become whole.