How Do I Know Whether I Need Primal Therapy Or Not?

By Gordon Van Rooy Th.D.


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If you are in any emotional pain, you need primal therapy. However, you may be in pain and not know it. Many are in emotional pain but have so repressed it that they are not aware it is there. But repress it as you may, pain always surfaces in one expression or another.

The most commonly recognized symptoms of repressed pain are: (1) Physical, e.g. headaches; (2) Emotional, e.g. depression; (3) Spiritual, e.g. feeling alienated from God and the church; (4) Social e.g. being aloof; (5) Occupational, e.g. boredom. The following is a more detailed list of symptoms suggesting the presence of primal pain:


PHYSICAL

  • headaches, dizziness
  • blurred vision
  • lump in throat, choking feelings, asthma attacks, bronchial involvement
  • palpitation of heart, shortness of breath, sighing
  • nausea, vomiting, gas, diarrhea, cramps, colitis
  • high blood pressure
  • convulsions
  • sweating
  • obesity
  • skin itching and eruptions
  • stomach ulcers
  • rheumatism
  • alcohol overuse
  • pill dependency
  • drug addiction
  • drowsiness, excessive sleeping
  • avoidance of exercise regimen
  • teeth grinding (bruxism)
  • sleeplessness
  • nightmares

EMOTIONAL

  • anxiety, worry
  • fears, general and specific
  • depression
  • guilt feelings
  • obsessions and compulsions
  • confusions
  • inferior feelings
  • persecuted feelings
  • irritability
  • angry outbursts
  • moodiness
  • sexually hyperactive
  • sexually disinterested
  • sexually distorted
  • no feelings
  • hallucinations
  • inability to grow emotionally or admit a need for it.
  • no emotional objectivity
  • no emotional subjectivity

INTELLECTUAL

  • professional student syndrome, always reading
  • argumentative, debater syndrome
  • one upmanship syndrome: "But did you know..."
  • omniscient syndrome: "That's nothing new. I knew that already."
  • strident talk (loud mouth)
  • mind reading: "You don't feel that way."
  • dunce: "I can't read," "I can't remember what I read."
  • foggy thinking, lack of concentration, shut down
  • closed mind: "Don't confuse me with facts." "I don't have time to go to that seminar, read that book, go to the counselor, etc."

SPIRITUAL

  • hyper-emotional
  • hyper-spiritual: "God told me that you were to be my therapist and that you wouldn't charge me."
  • hyper-doctrinal, ready to fight over minor doctrinal issues
  • hyper-legalistic: obsessed with keeping the letter of the law
  • hyper-active: continually involved in most church programs
  • hyper-sensational: "God called me to raise the dead, do miracles, etc."
  • hyper-discerning: critical of most believers and most church functions
  • hyper-fearful of demonic activities, possession, etc.
  • hyper-down on "self"
  • hyper-feelings of displeasing God: "I've committed the unpardonable sin."

SOCIAL

  • excessive partying
  • becoming a crusader, Pied Piper
  • politicking
  • social climbing
  • name dropping
  • inability to get along with people
  • finding in-laws and other relatives intolerable
  • having difficulty communicating words and feelings
  • fear of speaking before groups
  • closing others out by TV, sleep, reading, music
  • blaming others
  • withdrawing from others

FISCAL

  • miserliness
  • financial irresponsibility
  • pretending financial wisdom but not being able to pay bills
  • excessive credit card spending
  • being excessively materialistic
  • bankruptcy through risky and being non-business like.

GEOGRAPHICAL

  • inability to grow roots - moves from place to place, house to house, city to city
  • inability to venture forth, move out of city, state or country
  • fear of freeways (especially driving)

OCCUPATIONAL

  • inability to find work
  • inability to continue on one job very long
  • inability to advance in the company
  • inability to conform to employer's expressed or implied desires (e.g.,
  • irregular hours, prolonged coffee breaks, etc.)
  • inability to get along with employer or associates
  • accident prone
  • taking sick leave to avoid responsibilities
  • always doing the easy job to avoid the pain of hard work