There are two may theories when it comes to disease: the germ theory and the stress theory. The germ theory states that germs are the culprits that make you sick. The stress theory states that germs are already inside of you, in bigger and larger numbers that you’ll ever know.

The germ theory states that germs are the culprits that make you sick. Get rid of them and health will return. It’s a multi-billion $ industry and the foundation of our current healthcare system. It’s also an easy way out because in that theory “I” am innocent. Always. If “I” get sick, it’s because of “them” (in 2009 terms: over 70% of all diseases in the USA are food related – the outcome of eating habits that can be changed – but nobody in power apparently wants to address that. It’s easier to keep eating poorly and dump more money into the system to be able to pay for more drugs).

The stress theory states that germs are already inside of you, in bigger and larger numbers that you’ll ever know. You only get sick when you create an internal environment that is conducive to their growth. Put crudely: no dung, no flies. This one is harder to swallow because it makes “you” responsible, always. Needless to say that it’s still not that popular.

Let me explain in a bit more details.

Life is all about tension. You need tension to stand erect, move, do anything. If you didn’t resist your own movement each time you drank a cup of water, the said cup would crash into your face. Life therefore is also all about balance, or rather learning to be balanced in our thoughts and actions. Just like we must learn to fine-tune the push and pull forces in all our movements to perform smooth actions, we must also learn to relax and slow down (or engage and speed up, depending) in our daily life. If we don’t the tensions we naturally experience will escalate and create pain.

Pain is good for you. So is anxiety and stress. It is the voice of the body calling for attention, saying that something is “out of balance”.

More specifically: any pain, anxiety or stress that prompts you to take action is good for you. Otherwise it’s just a waste of time and energy. It’s like sitting on a rocking chair. You’ll get the illusion of movement but you won’t be going anywhere.

Pretending that these do not exist is a bad idea. The second you have felt anything, it’s already too late. Your brain has already fired nerve impulses and created energy that has to go somewhere. My personal working hypothesis is that what you don’t express, you repress. It will be safely stored somewhere until you are ready to express it (and that may be decades later).

Here is what Dr Annette Goodheart said years ago on this subject:

“Emotions are a force from within. If we keep them inside they become feelings (a force kept within). If you repress eventually you will somatize (= manifest mental pain as pain in one’s body) and create a disease.”

Laughter is a powerful healing agent because pain, anxiety and stress constrict while laughter dilates. Blood is food, therefore blood is life. Blood flows better through dilated tissues. Laughter is also all about the outbreath, letting go, as well as allowing you to vocalize your pain or tension without having to verbalize it. It makes everything more manageable.