Dr. Charles Christiansen - 2006

Meyer Revisited: Connections Between Lifestyles, Resilience and Illness

Charles Christiansen, EdD, OTR, OT(C)), FAOTA
Professor and Dean
George T. Bryan Distinguished Professor
School of Allied Health Sciences
University of Texas Medical Branch
Galveston, TX

 

Adolf Meyer, whose theory of psychobiology represented one of the most perceptive and important approaches to understanding mental illness in the early 20 th century, largely has been forgotten by contemporary American psychiatry. Yet, Meyer insisted that humans could be understood best through consideration of their activities as experienced on a daily basis and over the life course.

During Meyer’s era, changes in society were occurring at an unprecedented pace and these included increased cultural diversity, social upheavals and technological advances. These, in turn, were associated with emotional, psychological, and behavioral problems that challenged American medicine’s ability to cope with them. In many ways, the changes wrought during the early twentieth century paralleled the challenges of our current age.

This paper argues that Meyer’s century-old framework, which was holistic, integrated, and life focused, provides a timeless context for viewing the inextricable nature of mind and body, particularly as these explain the links between stressors of the modern era and illness. I attempt to review the emerging literature on psychoneuroimmunology and make the compelling case that lifestyle and daily occupations remain, as Meyer envisioned a century ago, important determinants of health and illness. Further, I take the position that lifestyle related stress results from our inability, through daily activity, to meet important and perhaps universal human needs. I discuss empirical evidence that supports this case. I conclude with a call for public efforts to create conditions and opportunities that promote resilience and foster the life balance necessary to sustain health and well-being.