The Medicine in Biographic Messages

Author: by A. Pautz, M.D.
Issue: LILIPOH #36 - Summer 2004: Biography Emerges as a Tool For Therapy
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Life leaves traces ingrained in our biographies. Seen within an entire life, biographic events can appear as informative messages - messages we may read, understand, and act on. In taking a patient’s history, an anthroposophically-trained medical doctor listens to and evaluates such events. The two abbreviated cases here, based on real but fictitiously named people, are not a strictly scientific case study. However, the two do give a glimpse into the essential role biography plays in a medical setting.

Case I - Johnny
Johnny is a bit melancholic. At three years of age, he falls a lot while playing and eventually breaks a front tooth. Two years later at school, Johnny wanders into a rough tussle. He receives a well-placed blow and another broken tooth. Several years pass. Friends peer-pressure him into trying out for baseball. He’s unhappy about it, but can’t say no. At practice, a hardball hits him square in the mouth. He takes another trip to the dentist.

Johnny’s a smart but absent-minded kid. He struggles to protect himself. The reoccurring traumas to the same area of his body over seven years make his parents wonder: Is Johnny having difficulty translating his awareness into effective action?

Gleaning the message this repeating biographic event is sending, his parents take steps to help him focus and to improve his coordination. They involve him more in social events. He also starts martial arts training. At first, the activities overwhelm him, but he grows to enjoy them all. His self-esteem builds while his emotional strength and social skills increase. In time, his awareness becomes grounded and coordinated in his body - the seeming accidents stop.

Noticing the repeating pattern, his parents spotted this key message of his biography early enough. Acting out of awareness on life’s circumstances, Johnny gained the ability to maneuver clear of passive victimization later in life.

Accident-prone individuals, like Johnny, tend to draw themselves into accidents - until they get to the root of the tendency. The message contained in repeated circumstances may seem obvious at times, but the underlying issues can be hard to identify or resolve. Individuals with alcohol problems, for example, often pair up with others having the same problem. Or abused children may get into abusive relationships as adults. The more severe the life events, the more difficult it is to spot and act on the meaning in the message - as with Sara, our second case.

Case II - Sara
When Sara is two, her father leaves. At three, her 30-year-old mother is killed in a horrific accident. Her maternal grandparents raise Sara until she is a teenager, when both grandparents die within a few weeks of each other. The state wants to place Sara in foster care. Sara becomes a runaway, living a tough life in dubious places. As Sara approaches her 29th year, she embroils herself in a very bad scene. She could get herself and friends killed. Even if the outcome is not fatal, her entire fu