IX/77. Mind/Body
The trend is to increase the mind’s control over the body.
Of all the medical sciences, neurology is the most infant and offers the greatest potential for human development.
––John Roberts
Today, a consortium of 38 medical schools, including most of the major ones, is working to integrate Complementary and Alternative Medicine into mainstream medicine while maintaining Western standards of care….Guided imagery, meditation and other practices that harness the mind to promote health and healing have been adopted by conventional medicine as a means of managing stress and pain. While a recent analysis of 813 studies concluded that “no compelling evidence” exists yet to prove the therapeutic value of meditation, some studies have suggested that mind/body exercises, in conjunction with conventional methods, can help treat cardiovascular disease and even bolster the immune system. That these methods pose no physical or psychological risk to the patient and are inexpensive adds to their appeal.
––Jennifer Huget, “Earning a Spot in the Curriculum,”
Washington Post, July 17, 2007
I think of mind/body approaches as techniques that tap into the body’s own pharmacy. Things like mindfulness and biofeedback and cognitive behavioral retraining, or guided imagery, even self-hypnosis. Things like acupuncture and massage. We don’t know how these things work but we’re certain they’re helpful.
––Scott M. Fishman, M.D., “Painful Conversation,” Web MD Magazine
Contrary to the beliefs held by most scientists until very recently, new nerve cells (neurons) are born in the brain as long as we live. The birth of new neurons and where in the brain they end up are regulated by mental activity. The more we use our brain, the more new neurons we grow, and these new neurons end up in the most-used parts of the brain.
––Elkhonon Goldberg, Ph.D., The Wisdom Paradox, 2005
There is no longer any doubt that an individual can control thoughts and emotions to the extent that beneficial physiological changes occur in the body. This is still in the early stages of analysis by neurologists and other parts of the medical profession. Modern research is accumulating reliable statistical evidence that control and repetition of some kinds of thinking can result in improvements in health and well-being.
This has direct application to the cancer patient. Not only is the quality of life improved, but the early evidence suggests that the quantity of life can also be increased. Indeed, it may be that, in some cases, an improvement in quality can have a direct impact on the quantity.
•
I have personally practiced and improved my mental discipline in several areas to the extent that I have absolutely no doubt that by my controlled thinking I have created new neuron groups and caused changes in my brain with the intended beneficial results.
•Eastern practitioners, such as Hindus and Buddhists, have carried the idea to greater understanding through many generations of practice and development.
•Cognitive therapy, a major development in psychology over the past 40 years, has led to much success in increasing positive attitudes to reduce serious depression and cause other improvements in thinking and behavior.
•Early studies show that positive, optimistic, and active thinking can lengthen life. Whether and how this can prolong the survival of cancer patients is difficult to prove, but this is an important direction of research.
The immune system is critical to curing or slowing the spread or fatality of cancer. Recent studies now show that our mental condition can affect the immune system which in turn affects our health. This means that the individual may participate in treating the disease by improving exercise, diet and other physical activity, and by working to control thinking and emotions.
