Scientifically demonstrating that the mind can produce effective and short-term changes in the body is difficult to prove: statistical or physiological studies that try to show some correlation between a person's beliefs and their state of health have many prejudices to leave behind. However, there are some members of the scientific community who are willing to consider alternative explanations for treating and curing diseases (and not just cancer or HIV but even depression and stress in general) in order to lessen the suffering of the disease. people. Here are some examples.
1. Believing is creating
"I talk with my pills," says Dan Moerman, an anthropologist at the University of Michigan-Dearborn; "I say: Come on girls, I know you will do a magnificent job."
The placebo effect is part of almost any serious documentation on the effects of a drug. But what would happen if this effect was not the product of an external discourse but of an internal, subjective belief? Believing in the treatment you use, no matter if it is medical or otherwise, in turn creates the conditions for the body to receive it. This effect has been proven in cases of depression, Parkinson's, osteoarthritis and multiple sclerosis.
The placebo effect is not a selective suggestion, but simply maintaining a "healing attitude": believing that you are healing can release natural painkillers and alter negative neural patterns teaching them to calm down, lower blood pressure and activate the immune system response.
2. Think positive
We realise that hope is something our pessimistic and unenchanted days lack often; the challenge (or the answer, depending on your perspective) is that it can be an issue for your wellbeing to remain practical.
Optimists recover better from clinical heart operations, have a better immune system, and live longer. That is why doctors recommend some type of psychological therapy to cancer patients, as the patient's attitude towards treatment can greatly improve their chances of healing.
Positive thinking not only relaxes you and reduces stress, but your body could benefit from that optimism. A good attitude lowers the level of cortisol, the stress hormone, in addition to reducing susceptibility to new diseases. Basically, if you think positive, you are empowering your body to heal itself.
3. Trust people
When we talk about a positive attitude, we do not only do it in relation to yourself, but also in your dealings with others. It turns out that loneliness (or the perception of loneliness) increases the risk of heart attacks, dementia and depression. On the other hand, people who are content with their social lives tend to sleep better, age more slowly, and respond better to vaccines. Doctors like John Cacioppo from the University of Chicago claim that curing loneliness is just as good for your health as quitting smoking.
Cacioppo has spent many years studying the effects of loneliness on people. Its discovery can come down to the fact that people who have warm social lives and meaningful relationships get sick less and live longer; This is explained because people who are in contact with other people tend to take better care of themselves, while chronically lonely people forget themselves.
Cacioppo believes that when we are isolated for a long time (or if our lifestyle is one of considerable isolation), our nervous system behaves as if it were injured, activating to heal wounds and fight infections that do not exist. Paradoxically, although contact with other people could make us susceptible to the spread of bacteria, our immune system learns to activate more quickly if we have a rich social life, perhaps because it knows that we are more exposed to contracting diseases in the company of others.
An interesting detail is that it does not matter how many contacts you have on Facebook but how you perceive yourself: lonely people do not live on the top of a mountain or in the middle of the forest, but they feel lonely to see the rest of people as a potential threat. A 2010 study claims that attacking that perceived loneliness may be more helpful to lonely people than, say, inviting them to a party or teaching them socialization skills.
4. Meditate
Monks of all religions have dedicated much of their lives to meditating and there is evidence that this practice helps improve the immune system response, protects against relapses into depression, slows the progression of HIV and even softens the skin. , due to better oxygenation of the body.
People who meditate have lower levels of cortisol and better cope with stress, possibly because of changes in amygdala, in the region of the brain which causes fear and threats. Transcendental therapy of war victims will potentially help to reverse post-traumatic stress.
But if you think that your life is too busy and complicated to spend three months on a Vipassana, some doctors believe that intention can generate more miracles than an expensive retreat in the mountains : spending a few minutes meditating in the middle of your occupations can have structural effects on the brain even 11 hours after practicing.
5. Self-hypnosis
Peter Whorwell is a physician at the University of Manchester who has tried his whole life to build a body of evidence relevant enough to support hypnosis as a diagnosis in patients with inflammation of the intestinal lining. Whorwell's method is unorthodox, but it seems to work.
He first creates a mental picture of the functioning of the intestines that his patients can understand, and then has them use visual or tactile sensations (such as heat or the synaesthetic sensation of the body itself) to imagine what the "normal" or healthy functioning of the body would be like. . According to Whorwell, who entered hypnosis because many of her patients were disappointed in the medical profession, this image of health seems to produce health itself. Their work has made lining inflammation syndrome the only disease for which the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence in Great Britain prescribes hypnosis.
The credibility problem with hypnosis is that no one knows how it works - on the other hand, many of us don't know how a car or computer works inside, but we are still able to use them. In reality, the only compelling reason not to experience some kind of health-enhancing option is to not believe in it. A second problem with hypnosis is that the lack of scientific evidence of its methods and achievements makes it difficult to regulate the profession, so finding a good hypnotist can be a source of stress in itself ...
6. Know your purpose
Knowing the purpose of our life and living it according to it can be an experience equivalent to being born again. Viktor Frankl is probably one of the most famous concentration camp survivors of World War II; In his book Man's Search for Meaning, Frankl details how those prisoners who had something to live for could maintain a good attitude and endure excruciating suffering, while those who give up in the face of circumstances are more likely to be defeated by them. Primo Levi, another famous concentration camp survivor, made a similar claim in If This Is A Man.
According to the doctors, in a study of 50 advanced cancer patients, those with greater "spiritual faith" responded better to chemotherapy and lived longer. Of the former, more than 40% were still alive after three years, compared with less than 10% of those living with "little faith."
Many people find a "purpose" in religion: praying and going to church can, in itself, make people feel better. This may be due to divine intervention or the placebo effect; in any case, the positive emotions associated with spirituality promote positive physiological responses. "Healthy mind in healthy body" may not be a vague gym slogan, but the fruitful and healthy relationship between elements of the being that, in reality, are artificially separated by dichotomous thinking but are inseparable from each other.
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