Page    1   2   3   4   5   6   of this article. Armoring  -  Man in the Trap   The Pelvic Segment General Description The seventh and last segment contains all the muscles of the pelvis and lower limbs. The pelvis is usually pulled back. The muscles above the symphysis are tense and painful and so are the superficial and deep adductors of the thighs. The anal sphincter is contracted and pulled up, as is the whole pelvic floor. The gluteal muscles are contracted and sensitive. The pelvis usually is rigid, immobile, and sexual. Sensations and excitations are absent.   Signs and Symptoms Symptoms from pelvis armoring are constipation, lumbago, growth in the rectum, ovarian cysts, polyps of the uterus, benign and malignant tumors, vaginal conditions, irritability of the bladder, irritation of the urethra, and vaginal and penis anesthesia. In the male, low energy), in the pelvis (anorgonia) leads to erective impotence or premature ejaculation, and in the female to anesthesia or vaginismus. The feet and legs may be cold and swollen, with numbness, tingling sensations, and varicosities. This segment contains anxiety and rage. The latter is of two types: anal or crushing, and phallic or piercing. (Examples: anal-kicking; phallic-striking with the pelvis.) Pleasure in the pelvis area is impossible until the anger is released. Also present man- be contempt of the sex act and of all the pelvis structures.   Therapeutic Principles The various spasms must be freed by mobilizing the pelvis and eliciting anxiety: and rage. This man be followed by having the patient repeatedly contract and relax the pelvic floor. "When this is accomplished the pelvis moves forward spontaneously at the end of each complete expiration, giving the orgasm reflex. It is then capable of reaching out and taking over during the orgasm with the complete surrender of the organism as a whole. This capacity gradually, develops into reality during the year or two following therapy. The patient's health must be structuralized.   The Layering of the Armor There are three basic layers in every armored individual: 1. The superficial veneer or social facade. 2. The secondary or great middle layer where the sum of all the repressions has built up, resulting in destructive forces such as rage, spite, hate, contempt, etc. There are usually many subsidiary layers here. 3. The healthy core, the rational Self-regulating protoplasmic movement and excitation, which expresses itself when all blocking has been removed. Here lies the simple, decent individual below all irrational training and environmental influences. Presumably the infant is born with a healthy emotional structure and without chronic armor. It has a basic energy charge and a natural aggressiveness depending on its freedom of growth in the uterus. The more spastic its developmental environment, the more its aggression is restricted. The higher the energy charge, the more the erect of the spastic environment is counteracted. Right after birth occurs, however, the organism is subjected to repeated restrictions of its natural and even secondary functioning. Each prohibition or inhibition becomes part of the character, through contraction due to anxiety (fear of punishment or rejection). Contraction causes an increase in inner ten-sion and the outward push of all repressed material under more pressure increases. This ever-increasing pressure produces harshness which expresses itself as hate. Hate must again be repressed, so only modified expressions such as contempt or disgust are allowed to come out. Each emotion or urge is originally repressed by prohibition (fear) from the environment, which eventually is incorporated in the organism as the superego. The energy behind the repressed feeling is utilized in the repressing by maintaining contraction of the muscles. The feeling is, as it were, split in two; part of the energy is used to hold back the other part, and thus immobility is established. If the repressing force is not equal to the push outward, then an alteration of the drive to a more acceptable, but less fulfilling, one is attempted. This is called reaction formation. Since the original feeling remains unexpressed and is still there, a constant pressure must be maintained to keep up the altered out-ward expression of the drive. The original drive itself absorbs energy, (libido) and becomes stronger, so that the reaction forma-tion gradually must spread to substitute for more feeling. To relieve the situation this equilibrium must be disturbed, either by reducing the holding of energy (breaking the muscle spasm) or by increasing the inner push (breathing) or both. The second or great middle layer is usually very complex; many sublayers pile one on another until a social adjustment has been reached which is presented as the social facade or personality. The personality is, then, the end result of all the social and educational restrictions placed upon the original healthy core. This may be a comparatively stable or unstable facade, depending on the effectiveness of the defenses in the middle layer and the degree of satisfaction the organism can still attain. The social facade contains one (sometimes more) basic char-acter trait as its means of meeting the environment. This trait carries throughout therapy and causes the patient to react con-sistently in the same way to each problem he meets. It becomes the main character defense. Reich calls this trait the red thread and it must be recognized to understand and evaluate the individual. The basic character trait is never dissolved but remains always an integral part of the personality, although it my may be modified. It may be socially acceptable -- kindness, modesty, reserve, shyness, correctness, righteousness; or socially unacceptable dishonesty, cunning, or cheating.   Therapeutic Principles The three layers are dealt with in each segment as it is mobilized and its armor dissolved until the final core of unitary vegetative functioning is reached. The most important thing is to mobilize and allow expression of hate. Each segment of the armor may contain a great number of subsidiary layers within the secondary layer. When a subsidiary layer yields, it is called a breakthrough. This may or may not be a dramatic event, but it is felt as a temporary relief. Sometimes a layer involving one segment cannot be removed or even discovered until other segments are freed. For example, some crying may come out with loosening of the first two segments, but deep sobbing comes only after freeing of the first four segments. In unlayering, one works from the outside in and from the head down to the pelvis. Even this cannot be held to rigidly. One must watch the needs of the organism. The depth of the layer on which one is working is recognized by the extent to which the organism is involved in the response (emotion) and the ability of the patient to function. If the first four segments are free one is always working at a deep layer. Every warded-off impulse also serves the function of warding off a more deeply repressed impulse. Blocking of the outward flow of energy by contraction from the surface (armoring) leads to frustration. This results in a forceful push of energy from within because of increased pressure and autonomic excitation, thus producing rage. Rage is a forceful push of energy occurring when the natural soft flow is blocked. If energy instead of pushing out is withdrawn, weakness of the part results. An organism may, after a long time, cease building up energy when outlet is blocked and then it rapidly becomes weakened. This occurs particularly in severe depressions and is known as shrinking. Where anxiety is felt, it means that there is an inefficient con-traction (armoring) against the outward push of energy and it signifies an unstable equilibrium. This state is deliberately produced during therapy in breaking down armoring. A patient gets well by standing or facing his anxiety. Anxiety occurs only where there is movement; that is, during the process of expansion or contraction. When contraction is complete and effective, anxiety ceases. An affect block 39 represents a successful armoring or contraction. Adiposity Excessive fat can be looked upon as a form of armoring. The fat soaks up energy (1 gm. fat equals 9 calories as compared to 1 gm. protein equals 4 calories) and also acts as a protection against stimuli. It interferes greatly with therapy. Behind it is a great deal of anxiety. Guilt Guilt is frequently a serious problem to overcome and has not been easy to understand from a bioenergetic viewpoint. We know of course that behind it is rage. Konia, in a personal discussion, has offered a possible explanation in that the energy carrying out the impulse remains stuck in the muscles short of completion. Excitation of this energy revives the feeling of guilt. For example, suppose a child is caught masturbating and commanded to stop immediately because it is felt he is doing some-thing bad. The energy behind this pleasurable experience is frozen in the muscles participating. Anything reviving a repetition of the act will reawaken the "verboten" and the guilt. Pressure is built up producing rage at the frustration. To overcome the guilt the muscles involved must be mobilized, expressing the rage, and the situation discussed, allowing a new guilt-free evaluation of the act. Anorgonia Anorgonia appears to be a condition alternate to that of armoring, and is a reaction by the organism to very emotionally charged situations. Perhaps it would be better to say that armoring produces an immobilization by muscular contraction, while in anorgonia it occurs through immobilization of the plasma system. Whether energy is actually withdrawn from the area, or merely lacks excitation, or receives too strong an excitation from the vegetative system is not clear. I believe that, in most cases at least, the last is the case and that it may result in paralysis of the vegetative system as well as of the tissue plasma generally. When very vigorous excitations which travel fully to the genital (natural pleasure impulses) meet and conflict with disruptions of the orgasm reflex that are equally strong, anorgonia follows. The organism responds to the conflict with a block in plasma motility to control the strong, unfamiliar plasma excitation. 40 The block is shown in weakness, falling anxiety, failing equilibrium, or collapsing. It is as if the expansion were to start and be unable to follow its natural course-as if the impulse itself were suddenly extinguished, and with that came loss of contact with the affected part. Anorgonia may be a chronic condition from a gradual plas-matic shrinking. That is what occurs in cancer 41 there is resignation, and also in depression; the result is a gradual lowering of the organismic energy level. It may also be an acute condition; an example is the falling anxiety which is a frequent complaint of orgasm anxiety. In any case, an anorgonia condition in an adult can be traced to a childhood need to repress pleasure, that is, to stop expan-sion. Possibly the infantile prerequisites for the condition were met when a strong desire for physical contact was left ungratified. In most cases, anorgonia is not severe and can be overcome with-out too much difficulty. At other times, especially in cancer, it may be an extremely grave symptom. Although in many cases of anorgonia there is undoubtedly a withdrawal of energy from the part affected, the basic mechanism seems to be that too strong an excitation produces paralysis of the plasma system. Much still needs to be learned about anorgonia, but I have the impression that it is primarily a muscular problem. People suffering from this condition have struck me as consisting largely of internal organs and skin. That is, the muscles seem to be passive or unable to anticipate an emotional of energy to the genital. Whether the organism cannot stand the flow of energy in the muscles themselves or whether this passivity allows too great a flow to the skin is not clear. In any case, the result is a severe vegetative contraction with resulting weakness, coldness, and collapse. In principle at least, the condition seems to be an inability to tolerate aggression; since where the organism can tolerate aggression but cannot express it, armoring occurs. One severe case of anorgonia occurred after intense feelings of hate followed by genital excitation. The area affected extended from the legs to the chest. The patient responded quickly when I had her dance to a record she was fond of. My rationale was that it would(I be beneficial to encourage excited energy to flow into the muscular system. Almost any activity that was safe, easily available and usually enjoyed by the individual concerned would likely have had the same effect. Page    1   2   3   4   5   6   of this article.   Footnotes 39.  See "Anal Character Types," especially the compulsive character, p.124.  back to text 40.  Plasma excitation comes from the vegetative system as a nerve impulse. The nerve impulse produces a movement of the plasma which is seen as a wavelike motion, but if the excitation is too strong paralysis may occur instead. Movement of the plasma is perceived as sensation or emotion.  back to text 41.  Cf. Wilhelm Reich, The Cancer Biopathy, (New York, Orgone Institute Press, 1948).  back to text