The Science of Healing Thoughts
February 04, 2016
Story at-a-glance
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Positive thoughts are able to prompt changes in your
body that strengthen your immune system, decrease pain
and chronic disease, and provide stress relief
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Burn patients experienced more than 50 percent less pain
during their burn treatments when playing a virtual
reality game
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Inert placebo painkillers exert real biological effects,
including an increase in endorphins, your body’s natural
pain-relieving chemicals
By Dr. Mercola
Can your mind heal your body? It may sound far-fetched that the
power of your thoughts and emotions could exert physical, biological
changes, but there are countless examples, both scientific and
anecdotal, showing this possibility is very real.
Science journalist Jo Marchant shared numerous such examples,
from Iraq war veterans and many others, in her book “Cure.” She told
Scientific American:1
“There are now several lines of research suggesting that
our mental perception of the world constantly informs and guides
our immune system in a way that makes us better able to respond
to future threats.
That was a sort of ‘aha’ moment for me — where the idea
of an entwined mind and body suddenly made more scientific sense
than an ephemeral consciousness that’s somehow separated from
our physical selves.”
Your State of Mind Influences the State of Your Immune System
Your mind wields incredible power over the health of your immune
system, for good or for bad. Stress, for instance, has a major
negative influence on the function of your immune system, which is
why you've probably noticed you're more likely to catch a
cold when you're under a lot of stress.
When researchers from Carnegie Mellon University infected study
participants with a common cold virus, those who had reported being
under
stress were twice as likely to get sick.2
And, in the event you do get sick, emotional stressors can
actually make your cold and flu symptoms worse. As lead author
Sheldon Cohen, Ph.D. a professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon
University, noted:3
"Inflammation is partly regulated by the hormone cortisol
and when cortisol is not allowed to serve this function,
inflammation can get out of control …
The immune system's ability to regulate inflammation
predicts who will develop a cold, but more importantly it
provides an explanation of how stress can promote disease.
When under stress, cells of the immune system are unable
to respond to hormonal control, and consequently, produce levels
of inflammation that promote disease.
Because inflammation plays a role in many diseases such
as cardiovascular, asthma and autoimmune disorders, this model
suggests why stress impacts them as well."
The opposite also holds true in that positive thoughts and
attitudes are able to prompt changes in your body that strengthen
your immune system, boost positive emotions, decrease pain and
chronic disease, and provide stress relief.
One study found, for instance, that happiness, optimism, life
satisfaction, and other positive psychological attributes are
associated with a lower risk of heart disease.4
It's even been scientifically shown that happiness can alter your
genes! A team of researchers at UCLA showed that people with a deep
sense of happiness and well-being had lower levels of inflammatory
gene expression and stronger antiviral and antibody responses.5
The Placebo Effect Once Again Proves ‘Mind Over Matter’
By definition, a placebo is an inert, innocuous substance that
has no effect on your body. However, the placebo effect, in which a
patient believes he or she is getting an actual drug and
subsequently feels better, despite receiving no “active” treatment
at all, has become a well-recognized phenomenon.
As Marchant noted, there are many examples of the placebo effect
in action:6
“Placebo painkillers can trigger the release of natural
pain-relieving chemicals called endorphins. Patients with
Parkinson’s disease respond to placebos with a flood of
dopamine.
Fake oxygen, given to someone at altitude, has been shown
to cut levels of neurotransmitters called prostaglandins (which
dilate blood vessels, among other things, and are responsible
for many of the symptoms of altitude sickness).”
As she explained, “none of these biological effects are caused by
placebos themselves … they are triggered by our psychological
response to those fake treatments.”7
The
placebo effect was even found to produce marked effects even
when no deception was involved at all.
In one trial, nearly 60 percent of patients given a placebo pill,
who were told they were receiving a placebo, reported
adequate relief from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms. Only
35 percent of those who received no treatment at all reported
adequate relief.8
The exact mechanisms behind the placebo effect are still being
explored, but there’s no denying that the effect is real.
And, most likely, the placebo effect takes on many different forms,
impacting brain mechanisms involved in expectation, anxiety and
rewards.
In short, a placebo really does change your physical body,
including your brain, in a number of different ways. Writing in the
journal Neuropsychopharmacology, researchers noted:9
“First, as the placebo effect is basically a psychosocial
context effect, these data indicate that different social
stimuli, such as words and rituals of the therapeutic act, may
change the chemistry and circuitry of the patient's brain.
Second, the mechanisms that are activated by placebos are
the same as those activated by drugs, which suggests a
cognitive/affective interference with drug action.
Third, if prefrontal functioning is impaired, placebo
responses are reduced or totally lacking, as occurs in dementia
of the Alzheimer's type.”
Virtual Reality Games and Distraction Help Relieve Pain
Your
pain pathways are plastic — they can be molded and transformed
using a variety of approaches, because so many areas of your brain
and nervous system are at play.
This is another avenue by which your mind has incredible power
over your physical symptoms, as you may be able to drastically
reduce your experience of pain by distracting your mind.
Researchers on the burn unit at Seattle's Harborview Medical
Center, for instance, have capitalized on the fact that the brain's
attention centers can be "distracted away" from a painful
experience. Burn victims frequently undergo painful wound care
procedures and debridement.
Since we all respond strongly to visual stimuli, even the
mere sight of wound care instruments can amplify pain for burn
victims. So researchers developed an action video game, called "Snow
World," that burn patients could engage in during wound care.
The results have been astonishing — burn patients experienced
more than 50 percent less pain during their burn treatments when
playing Snow World. Your brain has limits to its processing power,
so if you're highly engaged in an activity, your brain will not be
able to process all of the pain signals.
The net result is that you experience less pain. Similar studies
show that when your mind is encouraged to "wander" away from painful
stimuli, an opiate-rich region of your brain is stimulated,
resulting in pain suppression.10
Marchant told Scientific American:11
“This is just one of many lines of research telling us
that the brain plays a big role in determining the level of pain
we feel. Of course any physical damage is important, but it is
neither sufficient nor necessary for us to feel pain. So I think
we’ve got our approach to pain all wrong.
… Our focus is almost exclusively on trying to banish it
with drugs, which is incredibly costly and causes huge problems
with side effects and addiction.
Research like Snow World shows the potential of
psychological approaches for treating pain: both to maximize the
effectiveness of drugs and perhaps in some cases to replace
them.”
How to Heal a Broken Heart
Most people have suffered from a “broken heart” or two during
their lifetime. This may occur after a romantic breakup, a death in
your family or anytime an important relationship is cut short. The
extreme emotional stress can lead to stress cardiomyopathy, which
triggers symptoms that are very similar to those of a typical
heart attack, including chest pain, shortness of breath, low
blood pressure, and even congestive heart failure.
In most cases, a typical heart attack occurs due to blockages in
the coronary arteries that stop blood flow and cause heart cells to
die, leading to irreversible damage. But people with broken heart
syndrome often have normal arteries without significant blockages.
The symptoms occur due to the emotional stress, so when the
stress begins to die down, your heart is able to recover. In this
case, your mind once again can play a powerful role in helping your
broken heart to recover. Lifehack compiled several useful steps to
employ toward this end:12
- Deal With Your Feelings Head-On: You may be
tempted to run from your pain or hide from it (think overworking
or substance abuse). A better option is to face your feelings,
accept them and feel them. Only then will you be able
to move past them.
- Let Go of Guilt. If you made mistakes in
your past relationship, say your apologies, if necessary. Then,
let go of the guilt and move on. The
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) can be very effective in
helping you to do this.
- Be Easy on Yourself: Understand that going
through a breakup or loss is hard. Allow yourself to fully
experience all the emotions that come along with it and don’t
judge yourself when you need extra time to process them.
- Immerse Yourself in Your Creative Passions:
If you love to write, sing, dance or create in another way,
allow yourself to become lost in the creative process. It will
help you to express your thoughts and emotions in a healthy,
productive way.
- Choose a Positive Mindset: Remaining
negative won’t help you in the long run. Make a choice each day
to look on the bright side and be open to positive new
beginnings.
When your broken heart begins to mend, you can help yourself to
further feel better by focusing on the following positive habits:13
Lead a healthy lifestyle |
Focus on your ambitions and goals |
Surround yourself with positive, supportive people |
Forgive yourself and others |
Get in touch with your spiritual side via nature,
meditation and/or prayer |
Continue going to the places you love, even if they
remind you of your past; make new experiences there |
Open yourself to starting new relationships |
Do something completely for yourself, by yourself |
Break any harmful patterns (i.e., recognize if you tend
to date the same type of person that is not right for you) |
Learn from your mistakes |
Uncontrolled Anger May Be Deadly
Anger is a universal emotion felt across all ages, genders and
cultures. It’s not necessarily bad, as anger prepares your body to
fight off a threat, which can be life-saving in the appropriate
circumstances. However, if anger isn’t managed and expressed
properly, it can lead to serious consequences to your health,
relationships, work and more.
Letting your anger out explosively may be harmful because it
triggers surges in stress hormones and injures blood vessel linings.
One study from Washington State University found that people over
the age of 50 who express their anger by lashing out are more likely
to have calcium deposits in their coronary arteries — an indication
that you’re at a high risk for a heart attack — than their mellower
peers.14
A systematic review involving data on 5,000 heart attacks, 800
strokes and 300 cases of arrhythmia also revealed that anger
increases your risk of heart attack, arrhythmia and stroke — and the
risk increases with frequent anger episodes.15
So how do you know if your anger is crossing the line in terms of
your health? The Epoch Times suggested:16
“If you begin to notice that you are on edge quite a lot,
do things that you later regret, are quick to react instead of
respond, and that you have people in your life who have told you
that you tend to get angry, it might be helpful to do something
about it.”
Tips for Healthy Anger Management
Anger management can take on many forms, including cognitive
behavior therapy or a newer technique called compassion-focused
therapy. The latter helps you to self-soothe and deal with the
negative feelings fueling your anger.17
To manage anger that comes along with everyday life, you can also
try these tips from the Australian Psychological Society:18
- Identify your anger triggers (people, different
environments, etc.)
- Notice the physical warning signs of anger (shoulder
tightness, increased heart rate, hot face, etc.)
- Engage in an anger-management strategy that works for you
(breathing techniques, changing your environment, relaxation
strategies, EFT, etc.)
- Practice your anger-management strategies (imagine being in
a situation that makes you angry and using one of your
strategies to control your feelings)
If you have a short fuse when it comes to anger, I recommend
using energy psychology techniques such as the
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). EFT can reprogram your
body’s reactions to the unavoidable stressors of everyday life by
stimulating different energy meridian points in your body. It’s done
by tapping on specific key locations with your fingertips while
custom-made verbal affirmations are said repeatedly.
This can be done alone or under the supervision of a qualified
therapist. Making a point to be more mindful — focusing on what
you’re doing and the sensations you’re experiencing right now
— can also be helpful in improving your mental and emotional
outlook. When you’re in the present moment, your mind will have less
chance to wander and ruminate on stressful or anger-provoking
incidents, which can help you to let go of your angry feelings.
For times when you do get angry, try to see a light at the end of
the tunnel. Can you work out this misunderstanding with the other
party? Will you learn more about yourself and your own faults? Be
sure to also express the anger in a constructive manner, channeling
your angry energy into exercise or cleaning your house, for
instance.
Work on Accepting Yourself for Increased Health and Happiness
Whether you’re facing health challenges, want to manifest healing
or simply want to increase your well-being, channeling positive
emotions is in your best interest. To a large extent,
being happy is a choice you need to make, much like
choosing to exercise or eat right. Happiness comes from within —
it’s not dictated by circumstance alone. This is why, if you
truly want to be happy, you need to work on yourself first.
And the health benefits mentioned above, like a significantly
reduced risk of heart attack and other cardiac events or the ability
to help your body heal, should provide ample motivation for doing
so. Interestingly, self-acceptance appears to be one of the
most important factors that can produce a more consistent sense of
happiness.
In a survey of 5,000 people by the charity Action for Happiness,
people were asked to rate themselves between 1 and 10 on 10 habits
that are scientifically linked to happiness.19
While all 10 habits were strongly linked to overall life
satisfaction, acceptance was the strongest predictor. In
all, the survey resulted in the following “10 Keys to Happier
Living,” which together spell out the acronym GREAT DREAM:
- Giving: do things for others
- Relating: connect with people
- Exercising: take care of your body
- Appreciating: notice the world around you
- Trying out: keep learning new things
- Direction: have goals to look forward to
- Resilience: find ways to bounce back
- Emotion: take a positive approach
- Acceptance: be comfortable with who you are
- Meaning: be part of something bigger
© Copyright 1997-2016 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/02/04/healing-thoughts.aspx
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