Win the battle with Autoimmune Disease with Mind-Body Medicine -- (Article provided by Shan You Counselling Centre)

"The mind in addition to medicine has powers to turn the immune system around."------Jonas Salk

Our immune system which is extremely complex, plays a central role in our ability to resist disease. Its responsibility is to defend the body against foreign invaders intent on destroying or taking over the body. Its is made up of organs like the lymph nodes, the thymus and others. This literary helps to keep us alive, and is important, given the many possible openings in our bodies (e.g., the nose, mouth, ear etc) that allow all sorts of nasties to invade, including bacteria and viruses. The immune system operates on a very simple principle and recognizes what belongs to the body, what are invaders, and keeps tabs on and kills the "illegal immigrants". In good health, our immune system also remembers every "foreigner" that it has ever destroyed.

Autoimmune disease happens when

1. the immune system's recognition system fails and it labels organs and systems of the body as invaders and then sets out to destroy itself, and,

2. the immune system actually fails to label an intruder as dangerous and does not eliminate it.

Autoimmune disease has been known to bring tremendous suffering to victim of it. Not only does it cause physical and emotional pain, it is also expensive in terms of the financial and social costs. For those who have suffered more severely, statements like "I don't know it's worth fighting it anymore", "If I'd known that my life was going to be like this, I would have ended it sooner? are not uncommon.

Unfortunately, to date, there isn't a magic bullet or single pill to alleviate the symptoms and cure the disease. What is known is that the disease and symptoms are aggravated by

1. one's loss of sense of control over the disease and one's life,

2. the unpredictability of the disease and life, and,

3. negative emotions e.g., fear, anxiety, worry.

This implicates the huge role that one's emotion e.g., fears, anxiety, worry plays in how one experiences and manages.

On a positive note, scientists have found that our thoughts, feelings and action (collectively called psycho-) can influence our brain and nervous system (neuro-) and resistance to illness (immunology). These three close partners for our total health embrace each other in a perpetual dance.

This implies, firstly, that how we think about and cope with a stressful situation can affect the strength of our immunity. Secondly, this means that we can actually influence our immune system's function with our own thoughts and actions. More importantly, we have learnt from research evidence that people with autoimmune disease can take charge of their health and life through managing their thoughts, feelings and actions. Isn't that great news?

The use of this mind-body connection is called Mind-Body Medicine (MBM). Research shows that people using mental and behavioral activities, like guided imagery whereby one listens to a set of instructions and construct pictures in his/her mind, progressive relaxation, meditation, hypnosis and other stress management therapies are able to consciously better manage their immune response. Generally, Mind-Body Medicine techniques can be classified as:

1. thought techniques (guided imagery, visualization, autogenics),

2. behavioral techniques (time management, exercise),

3. physical/ physiological techniques (breathing techniques, postural alignment, exercise),

4. dietary habits (herbal tea, certain vitamins),

5. social support (getting social and emotional support from family and friends), and,

6. spiritual-existential factors (concentrative and mindfulness meditation, prayer, self-observation).

As an example, hypnotherapy or self-hypnosis is a useful technique that has been applied to boost immune functioning by activating nerve connections in the brain that release out body's natural defense mechanism. For example, it helps to alleviate pain from arthritis.

Can hypnosis improve immunological functions as meditation does? Studies have shown positive results when it is used as an adjunctive treatment. Significant changes in white blood cell activity and increase in certain salivary immune substances have been found.

While research evidence clearly supports the benefits of hypnotherapy and self-hypnosis, the way one performs the relaxation and hypnotic suggestion is important. Success also depends on one's own true desire to change his/her lifestyle behaviors. Importantly, just as with all techniques briefly discussed, it is important that you also work with only properly trained practitioners of hypnosis who preferably have a graduate degree in psychology, psychiatry, dentistry or medicine.

What's really great about Mind-Body techniques is its portability and ease of use. You don't have to contort your body, sit on needles and chant incantations just to get the right effects. You just have to use your own resources, which you have already been doing. This would undoubtedly enhance the power of hope i.e., shifting from helpless to hopeful. Research shows that this is crucial for successful healing, as the individual's sense of how the condition is going to turn out is often a major factor in terms of how it actually turns out. Convinced of the utility of Mind-Body Medicine, Shan You Counselling Centre has been showing clients how to use and even develop their own unique packages of Mind-Body techniques. This aims to help them deal with stress-related physical health problems and/or mental health problem, to give them a greater sense of control over their well-being, while working in complement with medical professionals.

References

Lahita, R.G. (2004). Women and Autoimmune Disease: The Mysterious Ways Your Body Betrays Itself. NY: HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

Taylor, S.E. (2003). Health Psychology. NY: McGraw. Hill.

@ http://www.4woman.gov/faq/autoimmune.htm#5

@ http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/beaton.html

@ http://www.itzarion.com/lupusandstress.html

@ http://www.rosecroixjournal.org/issues/2004_vol_01/articles/vol1_6176_edwards.pdf#search=%22mindbody%20medicine%2C%20autoimmune%20diseases%22