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I have been wrestling with the mind/body connection for some time. Indulge me
then as I toy with this issue, though to make sense out of making sense of
what it means to be fit, I have decided to compare and contrast personal
trainers with psychiatrists...
The chief difference between a psychiatrist and a personal trainer is that
a shrink will tell you to get on the couch, whereas the trainer will tell you
to get off that couch.
A shrink will force you to look backwards in time, to spool in reverse your
life in order to arrive at the present. A personal trainer will take the present
and make you look into the future.
A shrink will usually have a box of tissues by your chair or sofa to wipe away
tears, the body’s reaction to an upswelling of emotion. A personal trainer will
keep a towel nearby to wipe away your sweat, the body’s reaction to an upswelling
of exertion.
A good shrink will set you back $160 per hour, though it’s more like 50 minutes,
a psychiatric hour. A good trainer will set you back $80 an hour, and this hour
is 60 minutes long.
While Sigmund Freud is considered the father of the modern psychiatric profession,
there is really no singular godhead of personal trainers unless you consider Jack
LaLanne, who has been extolling the virtues of healthy exercise and nutrition since
the 1940s.
If you had the choice to spend a year undergoing psychoanalysis, which required
twice-a-week sessions, or spending a year with a personal trainer, whom would
choose?
Woody Allen sees his shrink twice a week. Nicolas Cage sees his personal trainer
at least twice a week.
There are many types, beliefs and practices of psychiatry. There are many types,
beliefs, and practices of personal training.
Psychiatry is a one-on-one experience. Personal training is also one on one.
The principle of transference in psychiatry involves projecting one’s fantasies
or desires or hopes onto your analyst. In other words, the analyst can be viewed
as a father, mother, or lover. The principle of transference with a trainer
often involves the envious desire to have his or her physique.
The tool of the trade for a shrink is the clinically trained mind. The tool of
the trade for the trainer is the gym-trained body.
Once your individual session is over with a shrink, protocol demands that you
leave immediately, especially before the next patient arrives. Once your individual
session is over with your trainer, protocol demands that you hang out afterwards,
usually at a juice or coffee bar until the next client arrives.
It’s okay to brag to others about having a personal trainer; it shows that you
are committed. It’s not okay to brag to others about seeing a shrink because it
suggests to others that you are vulnerable to being committed.
In certain circles in New York City in the 60s, it was chic to have shrink. In
certain circles in New York City in the 90s, it is chic to have a trainer.
A shrink will hope to train you in how to cope with your mind; a trainer will
hope to train you in how to cope with your body.
The goal of both is to make you feel well adjusted, well balanced, and feel good
about yourself. Different means for the same goal. A convergence of mind
over matter.
A columnist who currently may need the services of both types of professions will
compare and contrast one thing to another for eternity; another type will come
right out and tell you what they think. I think I’ll just leave it like
this.
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