The SHN #78: German New Medicine: Revisited

November 7th, 2024: Greetings from Canggu, Bali!

In this edition, we’ll take another look at German New Medicine— the “pseudoscience” that is anything but that— and how it parallels with a recently explored topic-- psychophysiologic disorders.

After that, a look into black seed oil before sharing the usual list of things I’ve found particularly interesting recently.

🩺 German New Medicine: REVISITED

Throughout the history of this newsletter, we've explored the major impact of stress, trauma, and unresolved conflicts on our health. Today, I want to revisit German New Medicine (GNM), a paradigm that aligns closely with these discussions and offers a unique perspective on the mind-body connection.

GNM, developed by Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer, proposes that diseases are not random occurrences or simple results of pathogens, but meaningful biological programs triggered by acute stress or trauma. This view resonates with my frequent writings about the psychosomatic nature of many health issues.

As a reminder, Dr. Hamer’s theories are in no way accepted in modern medicine, just a FYI. The following are his findings and conclusions.

The Core Principles of GNM

• Every disease originates from a shock or trauma that catches us off guard.

• This shock affects three levels simultaneously: the psyche, the brain, and the organ.

• The body's response follows a predictable two-phase pattern: conflict-active phase and healing phase.

These principles highlight that symptoms are signs of our body’s intelligent response to stress or trauma— and NOT problems to be suppressed. Your shoulder pain is NOT a cortisone shot deficiency. Your arthritis is not a NSAID deficiency. Your flu is NOT a flu vaccine deficiency 😉 

The Two-Phase Nature of Disease

In GNM, disease processes unfold in two distinct phases:

• Conflict-Active Phase: This stress phase begins with the shock and continues as long as the conflict remains unresolved. Symptoms during this phase might include anxiety, trouble sleeping, and loss of appetite.

• Healing Phase: Once the conflict is resolved, the body enters a repair mode. Interestingly, many symptoms we typically associate with illness (like inflammation, fever, and fatigue) actually occur during this healing phase.

This two-phase understanding offers a new perspective on why we sometimes feel worse before we get better, and why addressing underlying emotional conflicts can lead to physical healing.

Biological Conflicts and Disease Specificity

GNM proposes that specific types of conflicts affect specific organs. For example:

• Lung issues might relate to a fear of death or suffocation

• Skin problems could stem from separation conflicts

• Breast cancer might be linked to nest-worry conflicts (concerns about loved ones)

This specificity invites us to look deeper into the emotional context of our physical symptoms, potentially uncovering insights that lead to more holistic healing.

Integrating GNM with Our Understanding of Stress and Trauma

As we've discussed in previous posts, chronic stress and unresolved trauma can have far-reaching effects on our health. GNM provides a framework for understanding these effects, suggesting that our body's symptoms are not random malfunctions, but meaningful responses to our lived experiences.

By viewing health through this lens, we're encouraged to:

• Pay attention to emotional shocks or conflicts preceding the onset of symptoms

• Understand that healing often involves addressing these underlying conflicts

• View symptoms as part of a larger healing process, rather than just problems to eliminate

Practical Applications

While GNM is absolutely not accepted in mainstream medicine, its principles can inform a more holistic approach to health:

• Emotional Awareness: Pay attention to significant emotional events and how they might relate to physical symptoms.

• Stress Resolution: Work on resolving ongoing stressors or conflicts in your life as part of living.

• Patience in Healing: Understand that symptoms during the healing phase are often signs of recovery, not necessarily of worsening condition.

I continue to be fascinated by the connections between stress, trauma, and illness, and frameworks like GNM provide insights into the body's innate wisdom. I wish more people would understand this gift we were born with and stop outsourcing your health to a broken system designed to extract money from you at every turn.

🤝 Bridging PPD and GNM: A New Understanding in Mind-Body Medicine

I recently wrote at length about Psychophysiologic Disorders (PPD) and their impact on our health. Today, I'd like to highlight how we can see similarities between PPD and GNM, two approaches that offer complementary perspectives on the origins and nature of physical symptoms, particularly chronic pain and illness.

PPD has gained scientific credibility, as more MD’s are diagnosing patients with the condition, while GNM is still branded as “pseudoscientific propaganda”.

By looking at these approaches together, we can uncover common threads in how emotional experiences and biological conflicts manifest as physical symptoms. Let's explore how these theories can be combined and what new insights this synthesis might offer.

Key Concepts: PPD and GNM

Psychophysiologic Disorders (PPD):

• Physical symptoms caused or amplified by psychological processes

• Often linked to unresolved emotional turmoil, stress, or trauma

• Emphasizes the mind-body connection in symptom development

German New Medicine (GNM):

• Views many symptoms as part of an active biological conflict or healing process

• Describes a two-phase process of conflict and healing for each symptom

• Believes in the body’s natural self-healing mechanisms

Merging PPD and GNM

By combining these approaches, we can propose that many cases of PPD might be understood as manifestations of specific biological conflicts described by GNM. The PPD framework provides insight into the psychological processes involved, while GNM offers an understanding of how these processes might translate into specific physical symptoms.

Let's explore some examples of how this integration might work:

Lower Back Pain

PPD perspective: Often linked to feeling unsupported or overwhelmed

GNM perspective: Associated with a "central self-devaluation conflict"

Integrated view: A person experiencing a lack of support (PPD trigger) might unconsciously interpret this as a central self-devaluation (GNM conflict), leading to lower back pain. The pain might persist or recur due to ongoing stress (PPD) or "hanging healing" (GNM).

Chronic Fatigue

PPD perspective: Often associated with prolonged stress or unresolved trauma

GNM perspective: Related to a specific biological program involving the Adrenal Cortex

Integrated view: Chronic fatigue, in the GNM framework, is linked to a biological conflict of "having chosen the wrong path" or "being thrown off course." This aligns with the PPD view of chronic fatigue as a response to prolonged stress but provides a more specific psychological context.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

PPD perspective: Frequently linked to anxiety and stress

GNM perspective: Could involve conflicts related to "indigestible anger" or "morsel conflicts"

Integrated view: Chronic stress or anxiety (PPD factors) might be interpreted biologically as recurring "indigestible" situations (GNM conflicts), leading to IBS symptoms.

New Understandings and Implications

Symptom Interpretation: By combining PPD and GNM perspectives, we can view symptoms not just as manifestations of psychological stress, but as specific biological responses to perceived conflicts.

Chronic Conditions: The concept of "hanging healing" in GNM could explain why some PPD symptoms become chronic. Unresolved psychological issues (PPD) might lead to recurring biological conflicts (GNM), preventing full resolution of symptoms.

Treatment Approaches: An integrated approach might involve addressing both underlying psychological stressors (PPD focus) and specific biological conflicts (GNM focus), potentially leading to more comprehensive healing strategies.

Predictive Patterns: Understanding the specific biological conflicts associated with different psychological stressors might allow us to more accurately predict what types of physical symptoms a person is likely to develop based on their emotional experiences.

Healing Process: The GNM perspective on symptoms as part of a healing process could be integrated into PPD treatment, potentially reducing fear and anxiety around symptoms and promoting a more positive outlook on recovery.

Integrating the concepts of Psychophysiologic Disorders and German New Medicine offers a novel approach to understanding pain, illness, and healing. This synthesis suggests that physical symptoms might be viewed as specific biological responses to perceived conflicts, which are themselves rooted in psychological experiences and interpretations.

With these new connections, we could be on the cusp of a paradigm shift in how we perceive, diagnose, and treat a wide range of health conditions. Unfortunately, the incentives of the medical industrial complex are not aligned with this model. I fear that there is an uphill battle in bringing this information to a wider audience.

❤️‍🩹 Black Seed Oil

One supplement that I've been itching to try is black seed oil - a favorite of many health researchers I follow online. This oil has been used worldwide for thousands of years, and there's loads of research that backs up the hype. While there are many options available, one of the health followers I like has released a version of this product, which is the one I would try out if I was in the US.

So what exactly is black seed oil, and why is it so special? It comes from a flowering plant called Nigella sativa (also known as black cumin), and its main active ingredient is a compound called thymoquinone. Think of it as nature's multi-tool for health.

Unlike many supplements that only do one thing well, black seed oil has been shown to help with several different aspects of health. The strongest evidence points to its benefits for blood sugar and heart health. Studies show it helps lower blood sugar levels and improves diabetes markers.

For heart health, it helps in ways that many expensive medications try to - it lowers bad cholesterol and raises good cholesterol, while potentially helping with blood pressure too. It even seems to help people lose a bit of weight, especially if they're overweight to begin with.

What's also impressive is how it works as a natural anti-inflammatory. Think of inflammation as a fire in your body that can cause all sorts of problems. Black seed oil helps calm this fire down by reducing inflammatory markers in your body. It's particularly good for liver health, helping reduce fat buildup and improving liver function.

Using it is pretty straightforward - most studies show benefits with 1-3 grams daily, with 2 grams being the sweet spot for most people. You can find it as an oil or ground seeds, but the oil version tends to work better because the active compounds are fat-soluble (meaning they dissolve better in oil than water).

If you're looking for a well-researched natural supplement, especially if you're concerned about blood sugar, heart health, or inflammation, black seed oil is worth considering. What I love about it is that it's not just backed by traditional use - modern science keeps finding new evidence for why our ancestors might have been onto something with this one.

If anyone gives it a try I’d love to hear the feedback!

Read the Examine.com article on black seed. (Examine.com is the best website to look up health supplement information)

𝕏 Thread of the Week

📱 Screens Cause Premature Skin Aging and Wrinkles: Has your dermatologist ever told you this? Or is it only the sun that gets the devil treatment? "Exposure to light emitted from electronic devices on human skin cells, even in case of short exposures, can increase the generation of reactive oxygen species.... Especially, extrinsic skin aging can be caused by oxidative stress." The research done maybe will get you to reduce that screen time.

💊 Vitamin K For Muscle Cramps: A recent study found that vitamin K2 (MK-7) significantly reduces nocturnal leg cramps (NLC), a common symptom of low thyroid function and chronic conditions. In an 8-week trial, participants taking 180mcg of K2 daily experienced a reduction to 0.96 cramp events per week, while the placebo group increased to 3.63 events. Vitamin K2 is one supplement I’ve consistently taken for years.

🦪 Foods to Reverse and Prevent Hair Loss: In this video, Paul Saladino discusses that several key compounds found primarily in animal foods play crucial roles in preventing and treating hair loss. Essential nutrients include zinc, copper, magnesium, selenium, vitamins B12, E, D, and folate. L-carnitine and taurine, found almost exclusively in meat, have also shown benefits for hair growth. While some plant foods contain these nutrients, their bioavailability is often compromised by compounds like phytic acid found in legumes and grains.

Research shows that androgenic alopecia (male pattern baldness) patients consistently show deficiencies in these nutrients. The most bioavailable sources are animal foods, particularly organ meats, red meat, and oysters, suggesting that animal-based diets are more effective for maintaining healthy hair growth.

🔗 One Hitters

💰 Science today has largely been corrupted by hyper-reductionism, red tape, and corporate influence (Video)

💆🏻‍♀️ Want to look 40 years younger? (Thyroid massage video)

💊 The biggest bang for your buck supplements for longevity (List)

🐇 Want to go down a rabbit hole of revisionist history? (MyLunchBreak YouTube Channel)

📚 Read my e-book, “Self-Development for Authentic Living” for free.

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📰 To read all past issues, go here.