Optimism and your health
There is a not-so-new area of medical study that most people probably have heard nothing or little about. It is called “psychoneuroimmunology.” If you break that word down, it goes like this: “psycho” refers to the mind, “neuro” refers to the nerve network within the body, and “immunology” is all about how our bodies fight disease.
That’s quite a mouthful, but it refers to something that most of us probably know intuitively, but often don’t take the time to consider: our attitudes, thoughts, and feelings affect our health, specifically our ability to resist disease and heal.
For years, people associated the expression “it’s all in your head” with being a hypochondriac, or someone who only thought they were sick but really were not. However, medical doctors and scientists now understand that the stuff “in your head” can not only make you sick but can make you more susceptible to infection and keep you from healing as quickly as you otherwise could.
Psychoneuroimmunology is a science that has developed over the last 40 years or so, but it’s not something that the conventional medical community talks about very much. Why? Simply put, it’s easier to discuss treatment with drugs, or even to discuss diet and exercise with a patient, than it is to talk to them about how their mental and emotional states can impact their healing.
Think about it. Besides their usual fouryear undergrad degrees, doctors attend another four years of medical school. The average amount of time spent on nutrition during those four years of medical school is 20 hours. Studies show that fewer than half of U.S. medical schools include exercise and health as part of their curriculum. But no medical schools require psychology as a part of their curriculum for becoming an MD, and psychology is that branch of science that deals with our mental and emotional states of being.
The focus in conventional medical school is on diagnosis and the use of pharmacological treatments and medical/surgical procedures, to treat and prevent disease.
And there is nothing wrong with using drugs and vaccines to help prevent and treat disease. But neglecting the impact of a patient’s mental and emotional states is a mistake. The good news is that helpful non-invasive, non-addictive activities can be taught to an individual to use on their own. According to research that is more than twenty years old, as well as more recent research, having an optimistic attitude can have as much of a positive effect as good diet and reasonable exercise.
Our thoughts become our body chemistry. What a person thinks and believes turns into the chemistry, biology, and the immunity of his or her body, explains Barry Bittman, MD, neurologist and mind-body wellness specialist. He advocates the use of complementary therapies such as yoga, Tai Chi, guided imagery, and meditation, as ways of assisting conventional medical therapy and aiding in the process of healing, while not advising people to simply abandon conventional medical treatment.
According to Sharon Stout-Shaffer, RN, PhD, “If people think they are going to do well, they are more likely to do so. If people believe they are going to be able to manage their pain, they will do better.”
What can you do to help yourself heal more quickly and resist infection? Here are a few things, although the list is not by any means complete.
Meditate. Meditation does not require you to violate any rules about self-isolation or quarantine. You can meditate completely on your own, and if you have a smartphone, there are free apps that will help you do it.
Practice yoga. While attendance at a live yoga class is best (and we have some great yoga instructors in Gordon County!), if you are stuck at home and have Internet access, you can find many places where online yoga is offered. Even having a game console such as the Wii will allow you to study and practice yoga in privacy.
Guided imagery. Guided imagery is a way of relaxing, closing your eyes, and allowing someone, often in a recording, to take you on a verbal “journey” of sorts, whether they are describing relaxing on a sunlit beach, or a walk through a peaceful forest.
Sound and music therapy. I have discussed these in my column before but need to mention them again as ways to strengthen your body’s defenses against infection, as well as your ability to heal.
These methods, as well as others, can help you improve your attitude, increase your optimism, and thereby boost your body’s physical health and resistance to disease. If you have any questions or would like to know more, please feel free to contact me. I’ll be happy to help if I can!