What Sigmund Freud Knew About Bilateral Stimulation

If I hadn’t read it, I never would have even thought about it. Sigmund Freud used bilateral stimulation in treating his patients. Its indisputable and if it wasn’t for the research of Thom Hartman at Air America I never would have put two and two together.

What Frued Did

During therapy Freud used, “his hand or watch to move the patient’s eyes from side to side, and occasionally stroked alternate sides of the patients body.” (Walking Your Blues Away, Thom Hartman). Freud used bilateral stimulation to help his patients process their emotions. If you’re interested in further reading, Hartman pulled this information out of a paper published by Freud and his mentor Josef Breur titled “On the Physical Mechanism of Hysterical Phenomena: Preliminary Communication“.

So What - Why This Matters?

Think about it. Sigmund Freud - the father of psychoanalysis - saw the power in bilateral stimulation. Now, mostly what we read about is Freuds theory of the Id, Ego and Superego, but what’s ignored is the mechanism. Bilateral Stimulation was a key component of what Frued’s therapy. Why did he feel compelled to use this technique?

Because It Worked

It helped his patients to better focus on dealing with their emotional issues. I’m not suggesting that just using Focus Stones can cure emotional issues. That would be silly. Freud obviously was a brilliant man who helped lead his patients toward their cure. What I am suggesting is why bilateral stimulation aided Freud.

When you’re sitting and not moving neither is your brain. To focus on the therapy, the patient needed to move his or her body which in turn stimulated the left and right hemisphere of the brain.

Bilateral stimulation helps you focus on something and understand it, even when its a painful emotion.

What This Has To Do With Work Or Mediation Or Golf

When you’re standing over a golf ball or sitting in mediation or hunched over your computer, your body is not moving, which is really no different than a patient laying on a couch and going through psychotherapy. Sometimes your body needs to move to help your mind focus.

Focus Stones help you to focus on the task at hand.

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