# Reichian "Emotional Armoring", Good Science Or Hokum? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 9, 2015, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264 "2015-04-09T21:32:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/1 "2015-04-09T21:32:32Z")
Wilhelm Reich believed, among other things, that emotional trauma could result in a sort of permanent cramp. Correctly stimulating the affected muscle would bring out the emotions and memories of the trauma. He called this storing of trauma in muscles “armoring”. In this [thread on Reich](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=18275306), **Get Lives** maintains that armoring is real and backed by sound science. [QUOTE=Get Lives] There’s no question that there’s such a thing as emotional armoring, and that it presents itself as tension and sore trigger points. That’s pretty well-known in the massage community. When you work on a tight trigger point with a needle or finger/knuckle/etc., there can be all kinds of emotional releases. Laughter, rage, tears, etc… I’ve experienced it myself multiple times, and heard many stories from massage and posture work practitioners. [/QUOTE] I maintain that armoring is quackery, woo, and such. What say you? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/2 "2015-04-09T21:38:20Z")
Somatic experiencing is a therapy based on the idea that traumas are held in the muscles. The Psoas muscles are a big target. > **[ASSESSING THE EFFICACY OF SOMATIC EXPERIENCING FOR REDUCING SYMPTOMS OF...](https://www.slideshare.net/MCChangaris/assessing-the-efficacy-of-somatic-experiencing-for-reducing-symptoms-of-anxiety-and-depresssion)** > > Assessing the efficacy of Somatic Experiencing for reducing symptoms of PTSD Is Trauma: Pathology or an interruption on the path to Resilience? Q... > **[Somatic experiencing treatment with social service workers following...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19205253/)** > > In a disaster, social service workers are often survivors themselves.This study examines whether somatic intervention using a brief (one to two session) stabilization model now called the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM), which uses the skills of... > **[Psoas major muscle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psoas_major_muscle)** > > The psoas major (/ˈsoʊ.əs/ or /ˈsoʊ.æs/; from Ancient Greek: ψόᾱ, romanized: psóā, lit. 'muscles of the loins') is a long fusiform muscle located in the lateral lumbar region between the vertebral column and the brim of the lesser pelvis. It joins the iliacus muscle to form the iliopsoas. In animals, this muscle is equivalent to the tenderloin. > The psoas major is divided into a superficial and a deep part. The deep part originates from the transverse processes of lumbar vertebrae L1–L5. The su... ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/3 "2015-04-09T21:39:05Z")
Who am I to doubt the years of medical training and medical certification a massage therapist goes through? edited to add: So what if there are no double-blind studies in professional medical journals. The fact that is well-known in the massage community should more than make up for that little gaff. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/4 "2015-04-09T22:52:19Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Somatic experiencing is a therapy based on the idea that traumas are held in the muscles. The Psoas muscles are a big target. Are you saying that you believe in Somatic Experiencing or just pointing out that some people do? > [@](#): > > [ASSESSING THE EFFICACY OF SOMATIC EXPERIENCING FOR REDUCING SYMPTOMS OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSSION | PPT](http://www.slideshare.net/MCChangaris/assessing-the-efficacy-of-somatic-experiencing-for-reducing-symptoms-of-anxiety-and-depresssion) I couldn’t get past the first slide as I am on dial up and after twenty minutes or so, the second slide still wouldn’t load. I did look at Mike Changaris profile. He gives his current job titles. But if he states his qualifications and degrees, I didn’t see them. > [@](#): > > [Somatic experiencing treatment with social service workers following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita - PubMed](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19205253) Not really enough details or definitions for me to judge this one. > [@](#): > > [Psoas major muscle - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psoas_major_muscle) I am convinced of the existence of the psoas major muscle. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/5 "2015-04-09T23:03:15Z")
Of course it’s nonsense. This doesn’t begin to pass the sniff test, nor anything we know about biology. Memories are stored in neural pathways, in the brain. They are not stored in muscles, nor is there even the remotest hint of a mechanism by which they could be stored there (or mechanically released). Sure, manipulation of muscles can produce emotions (good and bad), but there’s no such thing as “emotion storage” in muscle mass, either. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/6 "2015-04-09T23:07:52Z")
Has amputation ever been shown to cause amnesia? Of course it’s woo. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/7 "2015-04-09T23:13:26Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Has amputation ever been shown to cause amnesia? > > Of course it’s woo. Marie Antoinette had an amputation, and couldn’t remember squat afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/8 "2015-04-09T23:21:34Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Are you saying that you believe in Somatic Experiencing or just pointing out that some people do? > > I couldn’t get past the first slide as I am on dial up and after twenty minutes or so, the second slide still wouldn’t load. I did look at Mike Changaris profile. He gives his current job titles. But if he states his qualifications and degrees, I didn’t see them. > > Not really enough details or definitions for me to judge this one. > > I am convinced of the existence of the psoas major muscle. I’m saying somatic experiencing is along the lines of the kind of therapy mentioned by the OP. I have tried it and not noticed much/any benefit. Looking online for studies on the subject I was not able to find many. I had far more benefit for PTSD/trauma from EMDR and EMDR offshoots anyway. I’m glad you are convinced the psoas muscle exists. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/9 "2015-04-09T23:39:00Z")
Anticipating the argument that Reich’s “emotional armoring” theory remains unproven because of 1) he was persecuted and thus his ideas didn’t get a fair hearing, 2) this conception cannot be evaluated via standard scientific analytical techniques, and 3) many people reported experiences in line with Reich’s idea and thus it _is_ proven, I say: 1. bullshit\* 2. bullshit\*\* 3. bullshit\*\*\* The cornucopia of Reich’s delusions includes one of my favorites - the idea that he discovered a “cancer bacillus” which has the power to change forms, and is visible only under extremely high magnification not possible with ordinary light microscopes (or even extraordinary ones). Others who’ve claimed to discover similar mysterious microscopic life forms which the medical world has ignored or outright suppressed\*\*\*\* and who similarly have legions (well, kinda small legions) of followers include Royal Rife, Gaston Naessens, Eleanor Alexander-Jackson and George Merkl. \*quacks always seem to be “persecuted”, but their legal troubles do not validate their quackiness. \*\*a typical dodge, but untrue. \*\*\*unsupported anecdotes are bullshit. \*\*\*\*in some cases, the A.M.A./government/Big Pharma/extraterrestrials actually murdered these scientific pioneers. ---
**Author:** ![Pedro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/919ad9/32.png) [@Pedro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pedro)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/10 "2015-04-10T00:49:28Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I maintain that armoring is quackery, woo, and such. What say you? Not convinced by the many stories **get lives** has heard. But I think there is some conflation here between Reichian quackery and massage therapy hokum. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/11 "2015-04-10T01:01:51Z")
I’d be willing to look at a very weak variety of this idea. Say a guy gets terrible psychosomatic spasms in his ankle every time he remembers his combat experience. A therapist who is massaging his ankle during such an event might help break the mental association. The psychological linkage could be weakened or softened. “See? Your ankle doesn’t hurt as bad now. Maybe the memories are starting to be slightly less painful.” There are ways the basic idea could function without being bull-woo. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/12 "2015-04-10T01:03:43Z")
> [@Pedro](#): > > Not convinced by the many stories **get lives** has heard. > > But I think there is some conflation here between Reichian quackery and massage therapy hokum. I tried to get him to define certain terms in the other thread. He insisted that I start this thread to define terms. For example, **get lives** used the term “trigger point”. Way back when, when I worked for a small company that sold medical sensors and software, we used that term. By “trigger point” we meant a spot on the body that when injured could cause pain somewhere else. EG If I stick a needle in this precise spot on the back of your neck, you’ll actually feel the pain in the side of your jaw. There was nothing woo about the “trigger points” we sold charts of. **Get lives** uses the term “trigger point”. I can’t say for certain, but he seems to mean spots on the muscles that when stimulated bring back a certain strong memory and the associated emotion. That sure sounds Reichian to me. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/13 "2015-04-10T01:10:56Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Not really enough details or definitions for me to judge this one. Here’s the abstract: > [@](#): > > Soc Work. 2009 Jan;54(1):9-18. > Somatic experiencing treatment with social service workers following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. > Leitch ML1, Vanslyke J, Allen M. > Author information > > ``` > 1 **Foundation of Human Enrichment** , Boulder, CO 80301, USA. l.leitch **@comcast.net** > > ``` > > Abstract > > In a disaster, social service workers are often survivors themselves.This study examines whether somatic intervention using a brief (one to two session) stabilization model now called the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM), which uses the skills of Somatic Experiencing (SE), can reduce the postdisaster symptoms of social service workers involved in postdisaster service delivery.The study was implemented with a **nonrandom sample** of 142 social service workers who were survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, two to three months after the disasters. Ninety-one participants received SE/TRM and were compared with a matched comparison group of 51 participants through the use of propensity score matching. All participants first received group psychoeducation. Results support the benefits of the brief intervention inspired by SE. The treatment group showed statistically significant gains in resiliency indicators and decreases in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Although psychological symptoms increased in both groups at the three to four month follow-up, the treatment group’s psychological symptoms were statistically lower than those of the comparison group. > > PMID: > 19205253 > [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] [My bold] Googling the Foundation of Human Enrichment gives this hit: > **[Home](https://traumahealing.org/)** > > TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH HEALING TRAUMA Dedicated to supporting trauma resolution and resilience through culturally responsive professional training and An @comcast.net author address is very unusual. And non-random samples are not ideal. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/14 "2015-04-10T01:11:11Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I’d be willing to look at a very weak variety of this idea. > > Say a guy gets terrible psychosomatic spasms in his ankle every time he remembers his combat experience. A therapist who is massaging his ankle during such an event might help break the mental association. The psychological linkage could be weakened or softened. > > “See? Your ankle doesn’t hurt as bad now. Maybe the memories are starting to be slightly less painful.” > > There are ways the basic idea could function without being bull-woo. AIUI (and I’m willing to be corrected) Reichian armoring is constant, and the sufferer is generally unaware that they do it or that there is a connection to trauma. The ankle spasms would be present all the time. The patient wouldn’t know what caused them and likely wouldn’t even know he had them. Then, a Reichian therapist pushes on the ankle just so in the right spot. Memories of combat experience come flooding back. The therapist and patient deal with the trauma. The spasms stop. That is my understanding of Reich’s idea of armoring. I also remember that when working on a patient’s armor, you always start at the top of the head. The ‘blocked energy’ flows up. If you start at the feet, the released energy flow will go up, hit more blockage and make things worse. ---
**Author:** ![Pedro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/919ad9/32.png) [@Pedro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pedro)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/15 "2015-04-10T01:13:01Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > **Get lives** uses the term “trigger point”. I can’t say for certain, but he seems to mean spots on the muscles that when stimulated bring back a certain strong memory and the associated emotion. That’s how I understood it too. > [@](#): > > That sure sounds Reichian to me. There’s some overlap but I think Reich’s theory of “armoring” is heavier on the crank pseudo-science. But I don’t have any knowledge to elaborate further than that. Maybe I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/16 "2015-04-10T01:24:52Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Here’s the abstract: > > [My bold] > > Googling the Foundation of Human Enrichment gives this hit: > > [http://www.traumahealing.org/](http://www.traumahealing.org/) > > An @comcast.net author address is very unusual. And non-random samples are not ideal. Oh, I noticed the nonrandom sample. I meant- I have no clue what Trauma Resiliency Model is or entails. I have no idea what resiliency indicators were used. Were they recorded by observers or self reported? What specific symptoms of PTSD were looked for? How was the severity of the symptoms judged? Exactly what “group psychoeducation” was given and how? Among my other problems is that rather than comparing an experimental group against a control group given a placebo, the control group was given nothing. IMO, they should have given the first group SE. The control group would receive a treatment that was like SE but that according to the tenets of SE wouldn’t do any good. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/17 "2015-04-10T01:35:31Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Oh, I noticed the nonrandom sample. > > I meant- > > I have no clue what Trauma Resiliency Model is or entails. > > I have no idea what resiliency indicators were used. Were they recorded by observers or self reported? > > What specific symptoms of PTSD were looked for? How was the severity of the symptoms judged? > > Exactly what “group psychoeducation” was given and how? > > Among my other problems is that rather than comparing an experimental group against a control group given a placebo, the control group was given nothing. IMO, they should have given the first group SE. The control group would receive a treatment that was like SE but that according to the tenets of SE wouldn’t do any good. I just downloaded the article. I have other priorities, but I’ll look at it when I have some time. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/18 "2015-04-10T11:36:47Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > The ‘blocked energy’ flows up. If you start at the feet, the released energy flow will go up, hit more blockage and make things worse. “Blocked energy” is not a real thing. Woo practices use woo concepts to explain their woo ideas. ---
**Author:** ![jezzaOZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@jezzaOZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jezzaOZ)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/19 "2015-04-10T11:48:16Z")
In my experience Cricopharyngeal spasm is very closely related to emotional state and I couldn’t say certainly which leads which. Certainly the spasm causes all sorts of side-effects such as headaches which seem to reinforce the mental state and probably the spasm again. I’m tempted to see some expert on this to relieve the spasm and the secondary neck muscle spasms and with luck sort out the mental state. ---
**Author:** ![Pedro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/919ad9/32.png) [@Pedro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pedro)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264/20 "2015-04-10T12:14:54Z")
> [@Pedro](#): > > There’s some overlap but I think Reich’s theory of “armoring” is heavier on the crank pseudo-science. A very quick perusal of the web suggests trigger points and armoring are indeed completely separate theories (may overlap) and **get lives** was using one to explain the other. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reichian-emotional-armoring-good-science-or-hokum/717264.md?page=2)