The strength of the healing wound depends on collagen, the fibrous protein that becomes scar tissue. When collagen is first produced, the immature fibrils exist in a random gel, without purposeful orientation or polarity. As the scar develops, the fibers become thicker and develop a patterned organization of cross-links, lacing wound edges together in a three dimensional weave. While the collagen provides strength to the wound, it also impairs tissue function, since collagen density and strength impair tissue elasticity. Our emotional defenses become stronger and stronger, but more and more rigid, limiting the full range of emotional expressiveness.
Healing depends on purposeful orientation of thoughts and feelings.
Production of collagen is dependent on the presence of healthy ground substance , the mysterious, amorphous matrix from which all formed elements of connective tissue are believed to originate. Ground substance may be the most contributor in the phenomenon of healing, since it is related to both how collagen is formed and how it changes over time. If our ground substance is unhealthy, the wound may never fully heal, causing vulnerability to recurrent injury. Conversely, with certain wounds, inflamed ground substance my contribute to hypertrophic scarring, causing us see ourselves as ugly, as deformed, as unlovable. While it is necessary to scar in order to heal, scarring is not healing.