It is worth to follow the route that my thoughts took me to realise their impact. As i started above, the website referred in the twitter account gave me a start a spark to follow through. There were some thoughts triggered at the very moment which I am now trying to trace which were interesting though it is like a cold meal by now despite being happening just a few minutes ago. If I was somehow able to record the thoughts while they happen without stopping their unravelling to record them down they would have developed a lot further .. so I think. On top of that I have to deal with other matters of daily life which puts pressure on me.
His website talks about EFT, acronym which translates into Emotional Freedom Techniques. Free Yourself from negative emotions. Within it, it includes Chi evaluations. A reference to Chinese medicine.
from his twitter account I was directed to the Emotional Freedom Techniques website where there was an extended account of what the whole case is about. Though there was a clear connection of emotions and well-being the vocabulary used and the notions developed did not bring out a lucid framework, one That I could and can abide with. It find a niche within my thoughts that brought some connections but not a solid and stable link.
But its reference of what is EFT provided a link to look at, further.
"EFT is a powerful new discovery that combines two well established sciences so you can benefit from both at the same time:
- Mind Body Medicine
- Acupuncture (without needles).
In essence, EFT is an emotional version of acupuncture wherein we stimulate certain meridian points by tapping on them with our fingertips. This addresses a new cause for emotional issues (unbalanced energy meridians). Properly done, this frequently reduces the therapeutic process from months or years down to hours or minutes. And, since emotional stress can contribute to pain, disease and physical ailments, we often find that EFT provides astonishing physical relief."
Mind body Medicine combined with Acupuncture … my thoughts have got fatigued. I need to continue later … quickly the links to follow is what is Mind Body medicine and how has all these started. Robert Ader the father of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)"Mind-body medicine is an approach to healing that uses the power of
thoughts and emotions to positively influence physical health."
"The key to any mind-body technique is to "train" the mind to focus on
the body without distraction. It is in this state of "focused
concentration" that an individual may be able to change their health."
"Biofeedback:
Biofeedback is a technique in which people are trained to improve their
health by learning to control certain internal bodily processes that
normally occur involuntarily, such as heart rate or blood pressure.
These activities can be measured with electrodes and displayed on a
monitor viewable to the patient and their health care provider. The
monitor provides feedback to the participant about the internal
workings of their body. This person can then be taught to use this
information to gain control over these "involuntary" activities.
Biofeedback is an effective therapy for many conditions, but it is
primarily used to treat tension headache, migraine headache, and
chronic pain."
Mind-body medicine
Overview:
What is mind-body medicine?
Mind-body
medicine is an approach to healing that uses the power of thoughts and
emotions to positively influence physical health. As Hippocrates once
wrote, "The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest
force in getting well." This is the essence of mind-body medicine.
What is the history of mind-body medicine?
Most
ancient healing practices, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine and
ayurvedic medicine, emphasize the important links between the mind and
the body. Western medical views were shaped by systems of thought that
emphasized the opposite — the mind and body are separate. As science
developed and with Louis Pasteur’s discovery of germs, the notion of a
connection between mind and body was thought to be superstition.
In
1964, psychiatrist George Solomon saw that rheumatoid arthritis
worsened when people were depressed. This led him to investigate the
impact of emotions on inflammation and immune function in general. Thus
began the new field of psychoneuroimmunology ("psycho" for psychology;
"neuro" for neurology, or nervous system; and "immunology" for
immunity).
In the 1960s
and early 1970s, a physician named Herbert Benson, who coined the term
"relaxation response," studied the effects of meditation on blood
pressure. Further understanding of the mind-body link came in 1975,
when psychologist Robert Ader showed that mental and emotional cues
affect immunity.
Today,
there is renewed interest in age-old traditions such as yoga and
meditation. No longer viewed with suspicion, mind-body programs are now
established at prestigious medical schools in the United States and
around the world.
What are mind-body techniques?
The
key to any mind-body technique is to "train" the mind to focus on the
body without distraction. It is in this state of "focused
concentration" that an individual may be able to change their health.
The following are some of the most commonly practiced techniques.
Biofeedback:
Biofeedback is a technique in which people are trained to improve their
health by learning to control certain internal bodily processes that
normally occur involuntarily, such as heart rate or blood pressure.
These activities can be measured with electrodes and displayed on a
monitor viewable to the patient and their health care provider. The
monitor provides feedback to the participant about the internal
workings of their body. This person can then be taught to use this
information to gain control over these "involuntary" activities.
Biofeedback is an effective therapy for many conditions, but it is
primarily used to treat tension headache, migraine headache, and
chronic pain.
Cognitive behavioral therapy:
This technique is used to help people recognize and change
dysfunctional thought patterns. For example, people with phobias might
deliberately expose themselves, under the direction and guidance of the
therapist, to what they are afraid of. Brain scans show that over time
this therapy can actually change how the brain functions.
Relaxation Techniques: There are three major types of relaxation techniques:
- Autogenic
training. This technique uses both visual imagery and body awareness to
move a person into a deep state of relaxation. The person imagines a
peaceful place and then focuses on different physical sensations,
moving from the feet to the head. For example, one might focus on
warmth and heaviness in the limbs, easy, natural breathing,or a calm
heartbeat. - Progressive muscle
relaxation. This technique involves slowly tensing and then releasing
each muscle group individually, starting with the muscles in the toes
and finishing with those in the head. - Meditation.
The two most popular forms of meditation in the U.S. are transcendental
meditation [students repeat a mantra (a single word or phrase)] and
mindfulness meditation (students focus their attention on their
moment-by-moment thoughts and sensations).
Hypnosis:
During hypnosis (taken from the Greek term hypnos, meaning "sleep") a
person’s body relaxes while their thoughts become more focused and
attentive. It is in this state of deep concentration that people are
highly responsive to a hypnotherapist’s suggestions. Today, many mental
health professionals use hypnosis to treat people with addictions,
pain, anxiety disorders, and phobias.
Spirituality:
Many researchers have been studying how spiritual beliefs, attitudes,
and practices influence health. In a recent study on people with human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), for example, people who had faith in God,
compassion toward others, a sense of inner peace, and were religious
had a better chance of surviving for a long time with acquired immune
deficiency syndrome (AIDS) than those who did not have such faith or
practices. Research suggests that qualities like faith, hope, and
forgiveness and the use of social support and prayer have a noticeable
effect on health and healing.
Does mind-body medicine work?
While
phrases such as "mind over matter" have been around for years, only
recently have scientists found solid evidence that mind-body techniques
actually do combat disease and promote health. In 1989, for example, a
landmark clinical study by David Spiegel, M.D. at Stanford University
School of Medicine dramatically demonstrated the power of the mind to
heal. Of 86 women with late-stage breast cancer, half received standard
medical care while the other half received the standard care plus
weekly support sessions in which the women were able to share both
their grief and their triumphs. Spiegel discovered that the women who
participated in the social support group lived twice as long as the
women who did not. A similar clinical study in 1999 showed that in
breast cancer patients, helplessness and hopelessness are linked to
lesser chances of survival.
Other
clinical studies also document the effect of meditation on mood and
symptoms in people with different types of conditions (such as high
blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome, and cancer) as well as
improve quality of life.
How does mind-body medicine work?
Researchers
have found that stress hormones are associated with particular
unhealthy emotions. These hormones affect systems and organs throughout
the body. For example, stress related to hostility and anxiety can
result in disruptions in heart and immune function. Similarly,
depression and distress may diminish the body’s natural capacity to
heal. In contrast, emotional expression that encourages openness and
active coping with problems helps stabilize the immune system.
Certain
emotions have been linked to disease. For example, hostile attitudes
may increase your risk for coronary heart disease, obesity
(particularly having excess fat around the waist), insulin resistance
(which can lead to diabetes), and abnormal cholesterol (specifically,
high triglycerides and low levels of high density lipoprotein or HDL —
the good kind of cholesterol).
Generally,
research shows that being stressed and having negative emotions is
unhealthy. One study found that unconsciously being defensive or
stifling feelings resulted in serious medical consequences, such as
high blood pressure. High blood pressure is also associated with
feelings of hopelessness. How a person processes emotions also affects
how long they may survive a chronic illness.
The
goal of mind-body techniques is to activate the relaxation response and
reduce the stress response. When you are relaxed, the levels of
hormones related to stress are reduced and your immune system is more
efficient. High levels of stress hormones circulating in the body may
actually prove to increase one’s susceptibility to infection as well.
What is mind-body medicine good for?
Mind-body
techniques are helpful for many conditions because they promote
relaxation, improve coping skills, reduce tension and pain, and lessen
the need for medication. For example, many mind-body techniques are
used (along with medication) to treat acute pain. Symptoms of anxiety
and depression also respond well to mind-body techniques.
Because
they improve coping skills and give a feeling of control over symptoms,
mind-body techniques may help treat many different diseases, including:
- High blood pressure
- Asthma
- Coronary heart disease
- Obesity
- Cancer, such as pain and nausea/vomiting related to chemotherapy
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
- Diabetes
- Stomach
and intestinal disorders [including indigestion (dyspepsia), irritable
bowel syndrome, constipation, diarrhea, ulcerative colitis, heartburn,
and Crohn’s disease] - Fibromyalgia
- Menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, depression, and irritability
In
an analysis of mind-body studies, researchers found that cognitive
behavioral therapy is the most long-lasting treatment for tinnitus
(ringing in the ears), but relaxation techniques, hypnosis, and
biofeedback were all also effective treatments. Some researchers
believe that chronic fatigue syndrome, which affects the immune system,
is best understood and treated with mind-body medicine.
Is there anything I should watch out for?
There
is a danger that mind-body medicine might encourage you to feel that
you caused your illness because you lacked a healthy mental attitude.
This incorrect idea can lead to blame, and blame only causes feelings
of distress and guilt.
Mind-body
medicine is generally very safe and works well as an adjunct to usual
medical care. Each mind-body technique may have its own risks and side
effects associated with the practice. Talk with your health care
provider about any concerns you may have.
How can I find more information on mind-body medicine?
Biofeedback:
Specialists who provide biofeedback training range from psychiatrists
and psychologists to nurses, dentists, and physicians. The Association
for Applied Psychology and Biofeedback (www.aapb.org)
is the national membership association for professionals using
biofeedback and is a good resource for finding qualified biofeedback
practitioners in your area.
Relaxation:
Numerous clinics and hospitals around the country have integrated
relaxation techniques into their health care programs. To learn more
about relaxation techniques and to locate healthcare facilities that
include them as part of their practice, contact the Stress Reduction
Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in
Worcester, Mass. ( http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/mbsr) to find a list of the health care facilities in 38 states that offer information on and training in relaxation techniques.
Hypnosis:
Most hypnotherapists are licensed medical doctors, registered nurses,
social workers, or family counselors who have received additional
training in hypnotherapy. For example, members of the American Society
of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) must hold a doctorate in medicine,
dentistry, podiatry, or psychology, or a master’s level degree in
nursing, social work, psychology, or marital/family therapy with at
least 20 hours of ASCH-approved training in hypnotherapy. To receive a
directory of professionals practicing hypnotherapy near you, contact:
- The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis: http://www.asch.net
- The Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis: http://www.sceh.us/index.htm
- Reviewed last on: 8/10/2007
- Ernest
B. Hawkins, MS, BSPharm, RPh, Health Education Resources; Steven D.
Ehrlich, N.M.D., private practice specializing in complementary and
alternative medicine, Phoenix, AZ. Review provided by VeriMed
Healthcare Network.
Father of PNI reflects on the field’s growth
Robert Ader finds the rise in popularity of psychoneuro-immunology gratifying and frightening.
By Beth Azar
Monitor staff
Robert Ader–the father of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)–is proud of
the basic research that has grown out of key studies he and several
other pioneers conducted in the 1970s.
But he fears the term he coined will be undermined by
"so-called-friends"–clinicians and researchers who embrace the idea of
holistic or alternative medicine too zealously and use PNI data to
legitimize claims for all types of alternative therapies.
PNI, as Ader defines it, is the study of the connection between the
brain and the immune system. The theoretical consequence of that link
is that psychological experiences, such as stress and anxiety, can
influence immune function, which in turn may have an effect on disease
course. There are data to show that psychosocial factors influence
susceptibility to disease, and studies have begun to show a link
between the mind and the immune system, but there is no definitive
evidence that psychosocial factors influence disease via changes in the
immune system, says Ader, director of the Center for
Psychoneuroimmunology Research in the department of psychiatry at the
University of Rochester Medical Center.
And while he is dismayed at some premature claims that the mind can
cure cancer and other diseases, he bristles at the mention that many
medical researchers continue to deny a connection between the brain and
the immune system, despite many replicated studies that find such a
link. The problem, critics contend, is that researchers have yet to
find a biological mechanism linking the two systems.
Not having found a mechanism doesn’t bother Ader, he says, because
"there are many psychological phenomena, and medical phenomena for that
matter, for which we have not yet defined the precise mechanisms. It
doesn’t mean it’s not a real phenomenon."
The beginnings of PNI
Ader himself was "forced" to recognize the connection between the
brain and the immune system–and eventually coin the word
psychoneuroimmunology–by his data. It was the early 1970s and he was
studying taste aversion learning in rats: When he paired a
saccharin-flavored drink with the transient stomach upset caused by a
dose of the drug cyclophosphamide, animals learned in one trial to
avoid saccharin-flavored drinks. The drink was the conditioned stimulus
and the taste aversion was the conditioned response.
Ader and his colleagues found that the volume of saccharin consumed
before the animals were injected with the drug predicted the strength
of the conditioned response. It also predicted how long it took for the
animals to lose the conditioned response and begin drinking
saccharin-flavored drinks again. And, the more saccharin an animal
consumed on the one conditioning trial, the stronger its aversion to
saccharin and the longer it took to extinguish the aversion (by giving
the animal a saccharin-flavored drink without an injection of the
drug).
A troublesome finding was that over the course of the extinction
trials, some animals began to die. In fact, death, like the strength of
the animals’ taste aversion, varied directly with the volume of
saccharin consumed during conditioning.
To explain this orderly relationship, Ader hypothesized that along
with conditioning the animal to avoid saccharin, he was also
conditioning a suppression of the animals’ immune systems–an effect of
cyclophosphamide. So every time the animals were re-exposed to the
saccharin solution, their immune systems would be suppressed, leaving
them more susceptible to any germs that may exist in the laboratory.
And the stronger the taste aversion and the more exposures it took to
extinguish the aversion, the more susceptible the animals would be to
infection, he theorized.
Further evidence
The potential was enormous–if they could modify immune responses
through environmental stimulation, they might have the potential to
activate the immune system against disease, including cancer.
"People listened politely," recalls Ader in a recent book chapter,
"but I did not have much luck in generating any interest in this
hypothesis."
At least not until he met Nicholas Cohen, PhD, an immunologist with the techniques required to test Ader’s theory.
In 1975, they published "Behaviorally conditioned immunosuppression"
(Psychosomatic Medicine, Vol. 37, No. 4, p. 333_340), in which they
presented evidence that immune responses could be modified by classical
conditioning. Then, a study that set out to prove them wrong replicated
the finding.
Other researchers before Ader and even more so after have found
equally consistent evidence for a link between the brain and the immune
system. And that work has led to the now booming field of PNI. Several
prominent research journals publish PNI studies and the U.S. Public
Health Service is funding hundreds of research grants in the area. The
rise in PNI’s popularity is both gratifying and frightening for Ader.
"The basic research isn’t a fad," he says. "But the way some people
are using the term could turn it into a fad. Some of our biggest
followers and fans are trashing it" by claiming that every type of
psychosocial therapy and relaxation technique can boost the immune system.
"If you’re an immunologist and you read a lay magazine about how
psychoneuroimmunology means you can boost your immune system and make
you healthy, wealthy and wise, you’re not going to want any part of
it," says Ader, who will present the Neal Miller lecture at this year’s
APA Annual Convention. "In the long run, the rush to apply the findings
of psychoneuroimmunology could be doing the field a disservice."
ChaosandOrder 