Weight Loss

Exercises for the physical fitness of the body are quite the fashion. But to many people the idea of exercises for the relaxation of the mind seems rather queer, and it is only just acceptable. And now we come to pain; and we find the idea of exercises with pain is so strange to most people that they can hardly accept it at all. But it is not simply because the idea of exercises with pain is unusual to people that they are reluctant to accept it. There is something more involved.

As in matters of sex, there is a kind of taboo about pain. And as with sex, there is a reason for the taboo. In discussing the masochistic embellishment of pain, I said something of the nature and origin of sadism and masochism. The idea of the experience of sexual pleasure in the giving or receiving of pain is horrible, and shocks us. It would seem that the taboo against any voluntary experience of pain is in fact a protective mechanism against the activation of the sadomasochistic traits that lie buried within us. Because of the unconscious operation of the taboo, people are loath to experiment with pain, and if they do, they are often faced with misunderstanding by their professional colleagues in much the same way as those who first started to write about sex.

In addition to the problem of the taboo, there are considerable practical difficulties. Experiments with pain involve us in the sensation of pain, which we do not like because it hurts us. Then there is the further difficulty of getting a suitable painful stimulus which does not cause too much bodily injury. Electric shocks are now widely used for this purpose as there is no injury to the tissue. However, this is a biologically unnatural stimulus, as in our evolutionary development we have had no experience of this kind of pain. I have therefore preferred to keep to the simpler and more natural modes of painful stimulus.

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Are shown by broad dark signs = tumour signs. In such cases one must also note the iris-wreath, which is compressed inwards towards the pupil in that area.

If the ovarian sectors are shown wide and dark, then it is probable that the menopause will occur prematurely. It is of interest here to note that women whose left ovary was removed usually cannot have any more children.

A white discharge-sign in the area for uterus, which generally extends to the iris rim, is the sign for an acute uterine catarrh and resultant discharge.

A dark discharge-sign indicates a condition of chronic uterine catarrh.

If one finds a dark line drawn through the middle of the uterus area, then the patient is likely to suffer from ‘flushes’, which usually first appear in the pre-climacterium and the climacterium. The sign may also be found in younger women, and this will confirm any question of the appearance of such ‘flushes’.

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It would be very useful if we could predict when we were going to start having periods and even better if we could be sure exactly when they were going to stop. But we can only make rough estimates.

As a general rule, the earlier you begin, the later you are likely to end, and vice versa. But they are rough rules and all sorts of variations are possible, just as the length of each woman’s monthly cycle will vary too; some will have a period every twenty-eight days; some every

thirty-five days; some every twenty-one days.

We vary too in the way we start our periods. Some girls start very easily and happily; others are distressed. Some have cramping pain from the very first period; some can actually suffer from the aching miseries for many months before their periods appear. The trouble is that because they are young, it often doesn’t occur to them or their parents that this is the first sign that periods are on the way. Their mothers are baffled by their sudden moodiness, bad temper, sulks or depression, especially if they have been even tempered and easy to handle up until then.

So if you have a nine- or ten-year-old daughter who seems to be changing before your very eyes into a moody, difficult creature, don’t take her to a psychiatrist — at least, not straightaway! Try keeping a chart together first. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if you found that the moods arrived in a distinct pattern, every four weeks or so. And if that’s the case, you’ll know what’s the matter. You’ll also know that she needs all the help and sympathy you can give her.

The change of life, on the other hand, however tricky it might be in other ways, will certainly call a halt to the cramps and the aching miseries —for good. Many women welcome it for that very reason. But change is very rarely simple and as your body is working its way towards a new and different balance you may find that you run into various difficulties. Through research it appears as though some of them are caused by a shortage of the female sex hormone, oestrogen. Of course wrinkles, greying hair and middle-aged spread are common to mankind and, apart from using creams or dyes, or going on a rigid diet, there’s not a lot you can do about ageing except learn to live with it and make a virtue of your grey hairs. But if you suffer from any really unpleasant symptoms, like severe hot flushes or night sweats, or a dry vagina, don’t suffer in silence. Go and see your doctor. There are all sorts of treatments available. Once you’re through the change and out the other side you may find, as so many women do, that you’ve been given a new lease of life and that you feel fitter and more active than you’ve felt for years. There are consolations for growing old!

This new lease of life is something many women hope for if they have a hysterectomy, an operation to remove the womb. Sadly, many of them are disappointed. Although a hysterectomy will certainly stop periods, it doesn’t switch off the production of hormones by the ovaries, unless these have had to be removed as well. These will go on functioning as they did before the operation, until they switch themselves off, or in other words until the time when the change of life would occur naturally. So if you suffered from the miseries before your operation, I am sorry to say you are likely to go on suffering even after your womb has gone. Only, like the girls who haven’t started their periods, you might not appreciate that your mood swings, bouts of fatigue or depression are part of a monthly pattern —until you keep a chart. Once you know what’s the matter, you’ll know how to treat it. It does seem extremely unfair that you can suffer from difficulties with your periods before they begin and after they have stopped. But that’s how it is. I don’t think we’re helped either by the fact that our society is not geared to assisting men or women through any of the physical crises many face in the course of their lives. In fact, as women we are supposed to ignore the sexual rhythm of our lives altogether. We have our first period in secret and usually keep quiet about it, almost as though it were something to be ashamed of. If we suffer from period pain we keep that hidden too. It’s still uncommon to read a novel or watch a play where the heroine admits to having a period, leave alone a painful one. Torrid love scenes are two-a-penny nowadays, but menstruation is still virtually taboo.

All in all, we lead rather odd and artificial lives. Many of us are schooled to ignore our bodies and mistrust our instincts, which is a great pity because they are usually very sound indeed. If we follow them we can adapt far more readily to whatever situation we’re in, and this makes for a far more comfortable life for ourselves and our families.

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