A base definition of ‘healing.’ (Part III)

A base definition of “healing.”
When asking the question, “What does it mean to heal trauma?” it seems fitting to include a basic definition and understanding of the root word of “healing” itself, “heal.” Perhaps ironically as we seek to establish a root understanding, Merriam-Webster’s dictionary provides five different possible definitions of the word “heal” as a transitive verb (a verb that requires an object to receive the action), and one definition as an intransitive verb.

The first definition is “to make free from injury or disease : to make sound or whole,” as in to “heal a wound.” The second definition, “to make well again : to restore to health,” refers to an action one might do towards or with another, such as to “heal the sick.” The third, “to cause (an undesirable condition) to be overcome” relates to the idea of to “mend.” The example given might be that someone’s sufferings “had not been forgotten, but they had been healed.” A fourth definition is, “to patch up or correct (a breach or division),” as in to “heal a breach between friends.” Finally, the fifth definition of “heal” as a transitive verb is, “to restore to original purity or integrity,” for example, if someone is, “healed of sin.”

As an intransitive verb, the dictionary offers, “to become free from injury or disease : to return to a sound state,” as in, “The cut has already healed” (Merriam-Webster, 2022).

Attempting a synthesis of these offerings, I suggest that regardless of which idea of “heal” or “healing” we look at, fundamentally “healing” entails a change. There is or was a state, and somehow the process of healing results in that state changing. In every single definition there is movement: to make free, to make sound or whole, to mend, to make well again, to restore to health, to overcome, to patch up or correct, to restore to original purity or integrity. In many of these definitions, there even seems to be a sense of there being a (desirable) pre-existing state, followed by an undesirable state, and then the restoration or “healing” of this undesirable state so that the more desirable pre-existing state can be had, experienced, or returned to once again. The story of Humpty-Dumpty comes to mind. At one point, he seemed to be doing just fine. Then he broke. If all the king’s horses and all the king’s men had been able to put him back together again, that would have been healing Humpty-Dumpty. Unfortunately for our dear protagonist of this children’s story, all their efforts were in vain, and Humpty-Dumpty was never healed.

Before proceeding to the next exploration, I will, for simplicity’s sake, root us in the first definition offered by Merriam-Webster: “to make whole.” The idea of wholeness appears to be part of the root’s etymology, which, according to the same source, comes from the Middle English helen, from the Old English hǣlan, and is akin to the Old High German heilen meaning ‘to heal,’ as well as the Old English word hāl, meaning “whole.”

One final note – while it is beyond the scope of this exploration, I would also offer that this movement or desire or impulse to return to a state in the past that seems more desirable than the current state feels like a description of the human condition. From the idea of “the Fall” to sin to spiritual disorientation to fragmentation and existential angst, perhaps this movement or change that we describe as “healing” is a fundamental aspect of the human condition.

This exploration continues in Part IV of “What does it mean to heal trauma?”

REFERENCES

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Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Heal. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved November 23, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heal

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