The presentation by psychotherapist Aggeliki Kostalou* entitled ‘What is Our Body Telling Us?’ commenced at 18.00 on Thursday, the 17th of January 2019, at the IANOS cultural chain Athens.
Most of us, to some degree, have experience of accepting that our body speaks to us. To begin with, Ms. Kostalou presented an in-depth exploration of historical evolution in relation to whether (in the course of time and change in eras) the body, spirit and mind were perceived as separate systems or as one, culminating in the present day assumption that man is a unified system where body, mind and soul constitute a whole which interacts with the environment.
She went on to explain how very common it is for many physical symptoms such as migraines, muscular tension, high blood pressure, allergies, ulcers and asthma to be dealt with as separate entities - bodily illnesses - whereas, in fact, they may be indicators of an unconscious, internal process/conflict which hinders the healing process.
She finished her speech with the conclusion that since man is a unified system, where body, mind and soul are a whole that interacts with the environment, by ‘listening’ to our bodies, we can explore and discover to what extent our emotions, thoughts, and repressed experiences disrupt the healthy functioning of our entire system. In doing so, we increase our self-awareness and promote our health as a whole.
The audience was fully engaged and reacted to the presentation with a torrent of personal experiences and apt questions, which Ms. Kostalou responded to both spontaneously and conscientiously.
*Gestalt psychotherapist, focusing on body process in the therapeutic relationship. BA Psychology (American College of Greece), MSc Psychology and Health (City University, London), Postgraduate Certificate in Counseling Skills (British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy, London), Degree in History of European Civilization (Hellenic Open University), member of the Greek and European Gestalt Psychotherapy Associations (HAGT & EAGT).
