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Win the battle with Autoimmune Disease with
-- Mind-Body Medicine By Tan Wee Chong, April Lin & Wong Mei Yin 揟he 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. It 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 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抯 recognition system fails, whereby it labels organs and systems of the body as invaders and then sets out to destroy them and (2) the immune system fails to label an intruder as dangerous and does not eliminate it. Autoimmune disease has been known to bring tremendous suffering to victims 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 揑 don抰 know if it抯 worth fighting it anymore” and “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抰 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抯 loss of sense of control over the disease and one抯 life, 2. the unpredictability of the disease and life, and 3. negative emotions e.g., fear, anxiety, worry. This implies the huge role that one抯 emotions play in how one experiences and manages this disease. 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 embrace one another in a perpetual dance, affecting our total health. PSYCHO (Thoughts, Feeling, Action) NEURO (Brain, Nervous System) IMMUNOLOGY (Resistance to illness) What does it mean? Firstly it implies 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抯 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抰 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 constructs pictures in his/her mind, progressive relaxation, meditation, hypnosis and other stress management therapies are able to consciously better manage their immune response. 6 TYPES OF MIND-BODY MEDICINE TECHNIQUES (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 teas, certain vitamins (5) SOCIAL SUPPORT getting social and emotional support from family and friends (6) SPIRITUAL-EXISTENTIAL FACTORS concentrative and mindfulness meditation, prayer, self-observation For 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 body抯 natural defense mechanism, such as alleviating 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抯 own true desire to change his/her lifestyle behaviors. Importantly, just as with all the techniques mentioned, it is important that you only work with properly trained hypnosis practitioners who preferably have a graduate degree in psychology, psychiatry, dentistry or medicine. What抯 really great about Mind-Body techniques is its portability and ease of use. You don抰 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抯 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. Shan You Counselling Centre is at: Block 5, Upper Boon Keng Road, #02-15, Singapore 380005 Please contact us at 6741 9293 or visit http://www.shanyou.org.sg Miss Wong Mei Yin (MPhil, MA(AP)) is Clinical Director of Shan You Counselling Centre and a registered psychologist in the Singapore Register of Psychologists. 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 |
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