German New Medicine’s View of Migraine: Frontal Fear & Powerless Conflicts

As much as I love what I do and adore minerals, I admit that I’ve often fantasized about the day when I will hit upon a solution to migraine so elegant and simple, that my work will become obsolete. While at times I’ve thought that this fantasy is simply an immature and unrealistic hope that comes from the cultural programming based in a pharmaceutical paradigm that seeks quick fixes at the expense of personal responsibility, I ALSO think that there has got to be a solution that is simpler, more foundational, and more elegant than that of taking so many supplements.

While minerals can and do work to alleviate migraine symptoms, it is also true that to the degree migraine and most chronic health conditions are stress-induced (and yes, stress interferes with our ability to absorb nutrients), supplements cannot address the emotional psychological nervous sytem layer, beyond their ability to provide more nourishment to be more resourced in stress. The combination of mineral nutrition alongside deep inner work to address nervous system dys-regulation, is real leverage.

It appears to me that German New Medicine may be a framework that is capable of addressing that underlying nervous-system level imbalance, creating the potential for the “silver bullet” we’ve all been looking for (listen to the podcast at the end of the page for a case report of a woman cured of migraine using German New Medicine). To the extent that German New Medicine provides this silver bullet, it does so by way of a very sophisticated and specific understanding of the core emotional and psychic “conflict shocks” (causes) that give rise to the physical symptoms (ie, biological effects) of migraine.

In German New Medicine, physical symptoms are seen an expression of the body’s attempt at healing a deeper core level imbalance. This is another way of saying that not only are the symptoms (effects) not the imbalance (cause) itself, the symptoms are intelligent. It should go without saying that trying to get rid of the body’s intelligent symptoms without understanding that they are intelligent isn’t an intelligent response, but it’s really all we have until we really truly understand the root cause. Symptom suppression is the basis for allopathic medicine’s approach to healing – which is why it doesn’t work to actually cure migraine for good.

German New Medicine gives us a refreshing new understanding of both the physical and psychological origins of migraine. On the biological level, German New Medicine looks at the manifestation of physical symptoms as being a reflection of shock to the particular embryological tissue it originated from. This approach sits very well with me, as I underwent extensive studies into embryology as part of my training in craniosacral therapy.

On the biological level, migraine headaches in German New Medicine are associated with the ectoderm, and the pharyngeal ducts/arches. We will discuss ectoderm and pharyngeal arches further down in this article.

On the psychic, energetic, and emotional level, German New Medicine sees all physical problems as a manifestation of a “conflict shock”. The shock in the psyche, which is a subjective experience, is relayed to the brain, and the region of the brain that experiences the shock seeks to reconcile that shock by manifesting it as symptoms in the corresponding organs that relate to the embryological layer being triggered.

There are different kinds of conflict shocks, and migraine is (most often, though not always) a manifestation primarily of a “frontal fear”, or “powerlessness” conflict shock (though it can also be a “biting” or “stink” conflict).

Let’s dive deeper into some very intricate biology of the human nervous system and the body’s tissues responses to the “conflict shocks” that are the defining diagnostic framework of German New Medicine.

The Origins of German New Medicine

To my mind, the condescending label of “quack” actually serves as a green flag and permission slip to investigate the so-called “quack” with more curiosity. Despite being called a quack, and having his medical license taken away later on, Ryke Hamer was a doctor trained in Western Medicine, specializing in cancer. He was also a prolific and successful inventor.

The political harassment that Ryke Hamer went through as a result of his unique approach to disease is beyond the scope of this article, but I’ll share a little bit of the context for how he developed what was originally called New Medicine, now known as German New Medicine.

“On August 18th, 1978, while in Rome, the Hamers received the shocking news that their son Dirk had been accidentally shot by the Italian Crown Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy. On December 7th, 1978, Dirk succumbed to the injuries and died in his father’s arms. Shortly after Dirk’s death, Dr. Hamer was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Since he had never been seriously ill, he postulated that the development of his cancer could be directly related to the unexpected loss of his son.

At the time head internist of a cancer clinic at the University of Munich, he began to investigate his cancer patients’ histories and soon learned that, like him, they all had experienced an unexpected shock of one sort or another. Pursuing the hypothesis that all bodily processes are controlled from the brain, he analyzed his patients’ brain scans and compared them with their medical records and personal histories. To his amazement, he found a clear correlation between certain types of ‘conflict shocks’, how these shocks manifest themselves on the organ level as specific symptoms and how all this is connected to the brain” (source).

Over many years, Dr. Hamer showed the efficacy of his approach with over 40,000 case studies. While controversial, German New Medicine presents a fresh take on the root cause of disease, often able to address extremely complex and advanced cases often swiftly and without toxic interventions.

German New Medicine is Based in Embryology

In German New Medicine, the pattern of chronic migraine is associated with the “pharyngeal ducts.” You have probably never heard of pharyngeal ducts at all, or ectoderm tissue, in discussions on migraine. This is because so-called “pharyingeal ducts” are not even a widely recognized anatomical term, used almost exclusively in embryology, and because the study of different embryological tissues like mesoderm, ectoderm (from which pharyngeal ducts arise), and endoderm, are not considered to have clinical relevance in mainstream allopathic medicine.

Evolutionarily, this ectoderm tissue that gave rise to the pharyngeal ducts that later formed the anatomy of our head and neck, is a result of millions of years of biological adaptation as we changed from fish with gills to humans with lungs.

The terms ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm are used to describe the primary germ layers that form during embryological development (aka, organogenesis), giving rise to all tissues and organs in the body.

“The blastula . . . undergoes a process called gastrulation, during which the three germ layers form . . . Cells in each germ layer differentiate into tissues and embryonic organs. The ectoderm gives rise to the nervous system and the epidermis, among other tissues. The mesoderm gives rise to the muscle cells and connective tissue in the body. The endoderm gives rise to the gut and many internal organs” (source).

But what are these pharyngeal ducts that arise from the ectoderm tissue?

In her article, BIOLOGICAL SPECIAL PROGRAMS PHARYNGEAL DUCTS, Caroline Markolin, Ph.D, explains that:

“The pharyngeal ducts are descendants of the pharyngeal arches ([along with the] coronary arteries, coronary veins, aorta, carotid arteries and subclavian arteries that derive from the pharyngeal arch arteries). In the embryo, the pharyngeal arches, or branchial arches (Greek branchial = gill), give rise to structures of the head and neck (see also thyroid ducts). In humans, the pharyngeal ducts develop during the fourth week of gestation. . . . The pharyngeal ducts reach from the front and back of the ears into both sides of the neck further into the mediastinum, which is the middle section of the chest cavity containing the lungs, the heart, the esophagus, and the trachea” (source).

So, German New Medicine effectively hones in on the base germ layer tissue and embryological anatomy that later gives rise to all of the anatomy directly implicated in migraine. Indeed, many migraineurs have issues with their ears and thyroid gland, may have poor respiratory capacity in the lungs resulting in reduced oxygenation of blood to the brain, and this is further affected by the health, or lack thereof, of their vascular system and the arterial blood flow to the neck and head.

The 5 Biological Laws of GNM

Before we get into an explanation of conflict shocks, and those seen in people with migraine, it’s important to note that German New Medicine is not saying that ALL physical problems come from biological conflict shocks. While most symptoms do, exceptions include poisoning, physical injury, or malnutrition.

Dr. Hamer eventually developed his findings into an over-arching philosophy of German New Medicine medicine, characterized by five biological laws. These findings were gleaned from extensive study of individuals and their ailments, alongside their brainscans revealing brain lesions corresponding to the region of the brain implicated in the embryological tissue layer associated with the organ system where the disease manifested.

The Five Biological Laws of the New Medicine are:

• The First Biological Law: Every Significant Biological Special Program (SBS) starts with a Dirk Hamer Syndrom (DHS), affecting the psyche, brain, and corresponding organ simultaneously.
  – 1st Criterion: Every “disease” – hereinafter called Significant Biological Special Program (SBS) – originates from a DHS (Dirk Hamer Syndrome), which is an unexpected, highly acute, and isolating conflict shock that occurs simultaneously in the psyche, the brain, and on the corresponding organ.
  – 2nd Criterion: The content of the conflict determines which organ will be affected and from which area of the brain the SBS will be controlled. 
  – 3rd Criterion: Every SBS runs synchronously on the level of the psyche, the brain, and the organ.
• The Law of Two Phases: Every SBS runs in two phases: the conflict-active phase and the healing phase. Symptoms are minimal in the conflict-active phase, while changes occur in the brain and organ. The healing phase, which begins after conflict resolution, may involve symptoms like fever, swelling, and pain.
• The Ontogenetic System of Disease: Each SBS is a specific biological response to the nature of the emotional conflict. The organ and tissue type affected are determined by the specific emotional conflict during the DHS.
• The Ontogenetic System of Microbes: Microbes play a role in the healing process. Their activity is linked to the emotional conflict, the initiated SBS, the organs and tissues involved, and the active healing phase.
• The Quintessence of the Healing Phases: Every disease has a meaningful purpose in nature, as part of a system for the body’s healing. 

Disease as a Manifestation of “Biological Conflict Shocks”

What is a biological conflict shock? German New Medicine recognizes that “a psychological problem can become a biological problem, and we [then] react allergically with physical symptoms as a ‘program’ to deal with conflicts that arise from ‘shock or trauma that catches an individual completely by surprise.'”

How does the brain mediate the shock, and how and why does it show up as a “Hamer Focus” brain lesion seen on the scans?

“The brain cells that receive the shock (DHS) send a biochemical signal to the corresponding body cells causing a . . . functional loss, depending on which part of the brain is involved. The reason why specific conflicts are irrefutably tied to specific areas in the brain is that during the development of the human organism each brain area was programmed to respond instantly to situations that could threaten survival.  While the brainstem, the oldest part of the brain, is programmed with primordial conflicts related to breathing (death-fright conflicts), reproduction (procreation conflicts), and food (morsel conflicts), the cerebrum, the youngest part of the brain, correlates to more advanced matters (separation conflicts, territorial conflicts)” (source).

The conflict shocks manifesting as Hamer Focus brain lesions will present in one of the following areas of the brain, and arise from their respective embryological germ layer.

• All organs that derive from the endoderm are controlled from the brainstem. Primitive life forms such as bacteria have only endodermal functions. In the brainstem, the control centers of the organs of the intestinal canal and its descendants are arranged in a ring-form order, starting on the right hemisphere with the brain relays of the mouth and pharynx, lung alveoli, esophagus, stomach, liver parenchyma, pancreas gland, duodenum, small intestine, continuing counter-clockwise with the brain relays of the appendix, cecum, colon, rectum and bladder on the left side of the brainstem.
• All organs that derive from the old mesoderm are controlled from the cerebellum. The cerebellum, next to the brainstem, controls the “skins” (corium skin, pleura, peritoneum, pericardium) that protect the body and the vital organs, as well as the breast glands.
• All organs that derive from the new mesoderm are controlled from the cerebral medulla. In the cerebral medulla, the brain relays of the skull, arms, shoulders, vertebrae (spine), pelvis, hip, knees, and feet are orderly arranged from head to toe.
• All organs that derive from the ectoderm are controlled from the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex is divided into a pre-motor sensory cortex (frontal: thyroid ducts, pharyngeal ducts), motor cortex (skeletal muscles; laryngeal muscles, bronchial muscles), sensory cortex (epidermis, laryngeal mucosa, bronchial mucosa), post-sensory cortex (periosteum, coronary arteries, coronary veins, cervix uteri, rectum surface mucosa, stomach (small curvature), bile ducts, gallbladder, pancreatic ducts, renal pelvis, ureters, bladder and urethra), visual cortex (retina, vitreous body). NOTE: The glucose center is controlled from the diencephalon. (Source)

Types of Conflict Shocks

The goal of all organisms is to reproduce and survive. Conflict shocks arise from sudden shocking and isolating events that threaten reproduction and survival needs.

German New Medicine has identified many different types of biological conflict shocks, each corresponding to different brain regions, and the organ systems that arose from the associated layer of embryological tissue that correlates to both.

• The endoderm is the oldest germ layer. Organs that derive from the endoderm correlate to the oldest biological conflicts related to breathing (death-fright conflict), food (morsel conflicts), and reproduction (procreation conflict). The tissues that arise from endoderm are made up of intestinal cylinder epithelium.
• Organs that derive from the old mesoderm are primarily responsible for protection. The main conflict theme relates to “attack conflicts”.
• Organs that derive from the new mesoderm give stability to the body and allow mobility. The main conflict theme related to new mesodermal tissues are “self-devaluation conflicts”.
• Ectodermal tissue covers the endodermal submucosa of most organs and lines the ducts within an organ. Organs that derive from the ectoderm correlate to more advanced conflicts, primarily to conflicts concerned with social contacts (separation conflicts, sexual conflicts, territorial conflicts). Ectodermal tissues consist of squamous epithelium (source).

Common Biological Conflict Shocks in Migraine

Chronic migraine headaches, and any chronic disease, are seen in GNM as “hanging healing”, ie, a situation where the healing phase cannot be completed because of recurrent conflict relapses. Conflict relapses happen when we are retriggered by a conflict “track” (ie, sound, context, association that reminds us of the original conflict) while the body is in the healing phase, and the original conflict is reactivated, interrupting and prolonging the healing process.

Let’s review a detailed outline of the core conflict and phases of migraine headache, as outlined by Caroline Markolin, Ph.D, in her article, BIOLOGICAL SPECIAL PROGRAMS PHARYNGEAL DUCTS:

• Biological Conflict: The biological conflict linked to the pharyngeal ducts is a male frontal-fear conflict or female
  powerless conflict, depending on a person’s gender, laterality, and hormone status
• Conflict Active Phase: ulceration in the lining of the pharyngeal duct proportional to the degree and duration of
  conflict activity. The biological purpose of the cell loss is to widen the ducts to allow more oxygen intake, even though in humans the pharyngeal ducts have no longer a respiratory function. Symptoms: mild to severe pain in the neck area.
• Healing Phase: During the first part of the healing phase (PCL-A) the tissue loss is replenished through cell proliferation with swelling due to the edema (fluid accumulation) in the healing area. The swelling might be diagnosed as mononucleosis or Pfeiffer’s disease (compare with mononucleosis related to the lymph nodes). Whether the swelling occurs in the pharyngeal ducts or in the lymph nodes can be easily established with the help of a brain CT that shows the impact of the related conflict in the corresponding brain relay. In addition, if the lymph nodes are affected the lymphocyte count is elevated, which is not the case with a healing process in the pharyngeal ducts.

There are many situations in life, that are very varied, which may present as a frontal fear conflict in a person’s life. This could present as a head-on car accident or an attack to the head by a person, or an injury to the head from an oncoming object that was unexpected, leading to a pattern of fear in the future that another situation may arise in which the person is unprepared to take something on. A frontal fear conflict may also result from receiving shocking news, or anything perceived as a “blow to the face.” Medical procedures of all kinds can trigger a frontal fear conflict, especially those that were emergency procedures, unexpected, or performed on the face, head, or in the mouth.

One client of mine had been born sunny-side up, and had compression to the head at birth from the use of forceps. Her head pain made her extra careful as a child playing soccer, not wanting to hit her head directly on the soccer ball.

With migraines happening mostly during menstruation, it makes sense that with lower energy, most women would have a frontal fear conflict around having to face the responsibilities of their lives while bleeding.

In a “powerlessness conflict shock”, the person is activated by situations in which they feel their “hands are tied.” Many mothers may relate to the feeling of being invisible, or lacking the resources and support needed to show up for the demands of motherhood, although many situations and frontal fear shock’s can be coupled with a feeling of powerlessness.

Migraine can also be part of a biting conflict (not being able to bite back or defend oneself, part of powerlessness), or a stink conflict (conflict around not having smelled a threat in time to respond).

In either case, the whole thing is repaired under swelling in the healing phase. This is consistent with the idea that migraine is actually an adaptive protective mechanism, cause by the pain of the swelling of edema in the brain, designed by the body to protect precious neurons from oxidative stress and damage.

It is interesting to note that low estrogen, which is recognized as a cause of migraine by Western Medicine, is associated in German New Medicine with a frontal fear conflict.

Conclusion

My personal conclusion is that German New Medicine is a compelling approach to all diseases, one I’d personally like to explore for other challenges I face. It makes sense that shocks to our system cause a program designed to help us survive, and that looking deeper to ask what those shocks and programs are can help us to unravel the deeply entangled set of root-cause energies (physical, mental, emotional) involved in this complex disease.

Ask yourself: what kind of shocks have you experienced in your life that could have played a role in your migraine pattern, creating frontal conflicts, feelings of powerlessness, biting or territorial conflicts?

Resources:

German New Medicine Stories – EP17 A Decade of Migraines GONE

This video below gives an interesting overview of how biological conflict shocks can be resolved using GNM:

https://youtu.be/vZN6WRsZAMk?si=1DjnYYXLEurZCjMB