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I had my very first osteopathy appointment this week. And the information I gained about my body was INCREDIBLE!!!
What Is Osteopathy?
Osteopathy is a complementary therapy that can be used alongside more usual Western medical treatments to increase the health of a person. It can treat issues in the nervous system, the circulatory system and the lymphatic system.
Osteopathy is a hands-on treatment that is both drug-free and non-invasive. Osteopaths use their hands to manipulate the joints, muscles and spine of a patient to improve functioning and wellbeing.
Osteopathy understands the body holistically, as a mind-body-soul system. All systems of the body are understood as interrelated.
My Experience of Osteopathy
Osteopathy definitely needs to be identified as an alternative therapy. I found it be wholly relaxing, lying on my back on a massage table as my osteopath proceeded to place her hands softly on various parts of my anatomy. To be honest, most of the time I was even unsure if anything effective was being undertaken! There was no manipulation of my joints or muscles.
I wasn’t even sure if anything was being done… Until I finished the treatment! At the end, I felt exhausted and a bit dizzy. I spent the rest of my day simply relaxing and resting on the sofa. I felt like I had undergone a really intensive energy process, not dissimilar to the feeling I have got from an emotionally-intensive psychotherapy session.
Making Sense of The Freeze Response
From the moment my osteopath put her hands on my feet, she told me with absolute certainty that I was in a freeze response. I was instantaneously fascinated! It was the piece of the puzzle that I was missing at this point in my healing journey.
I had been oscillating between conceptualising Type 1 Diabetes as a fight response and then as a freeze response and then back again. In my article on the fight-or-flight response, I discussed how I believed Type 1 Diabetes was a chronic fight-or-flight response brought on by traumatic experiences. At the time of writing that article, I had been suspecting that T1D was most likely to be a chronic fight response. This hunch came from my observations, and personal experience, of the high level of anger and rage that diabetics exhibit, as well as the terminology that is often used to describe the condition… ‘Diabetes is a daily battle’ or ‘Winning the fight against diabetes’.
However, in this article, I did also touch on how I felt that the fight-or-flight response became chronic because the person experiencing the trauma had no opportunity to process it. And this would be where the freeze response comes in. If the body has no outlet to process it, the experience has no option but to remain stored in the system, creating a chronic freeze state.
Evidence of a Freeze Response...?
When the body goes into a ‘freeze response’, a series of physiological changes cascade through the body. As I have thought about my body and the symptoms it has been exhibiting, I have concluded that my osteopath’s conclusion is most likely correct. I do seem to exhibit a wide range of ‘freeze’ symptoms…
Unthawing the Freeze Response...?
My osteopath feels that she can shift my freeze response within two to three sessions. To be honest, I feel skeptical right now that that is possible so I will wait to see what happens with that.
Another thought that is still nagging at my mind now that I know my body is in a freeze response comes about when I think about Daniel Darkes. Daniel is an ultra-marathon runner. One of the more usual responses to a threat is the flight response – running for your life. So, if I am in a freeze response, like my osteopath is suggesting, and if I am therefore extrapolating correctly that T1D is an extended, chronic freeze response, how did Daniel cure his T1D by using a flight response??
The only thing that I am wondering about is whether healing from T1D might be a staged approach. I suspect that, as you unfreeze from a freeze response, your body will then want to complete the unfinished fight-or-flight response. For example, a deer in the wild that has collapsed in a freeze response in front of a predator, will want to awaken and spring to life at the first opportunity then run away. If that is the case, I would expect to see a change in my physiology resulting from my osteopathic treatment, which exhibits more fight or flight responses. I’ll keep you posted on that!
Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.
