It’s All In Your Head: Healing the Body Through the Mind
By David B. Bohl | March 28, 2008 | 9 Responses
We’ve all heard the term “mind over matter.” Have you ever thought about how that applies to your health? We’ve also heard about psychosomatic illness or mind/body illness. Have you ever been told it’s all in your head when you were ill and there was no apparent cause?
Although it’s a rapidly expanding field of study today, advancements in mind-body medicine have been slow to evolve. The concept of the mind affecting the body has been in existence in the East for thousands of years, dating back to the early belief that the integration of the body, mind, and spirit could prevent and treat disease. Healing modalities like meditation, massage, and yoga were practiced as a means to create a state of mental relaxation which would then translate into healing energy for the body.
This concept, however, was not as well accepted in the Western world, and it wasn’t until the 1920s when experiments were conducted involving the “fight or flight” response and other body-mind connections. During World War II, the “placebo effect” was tested on ailing soldiers, re-examining the importance of the effect of belief on the body.
Since the 1960s, mind-body interactions have become an increasingly researched field of study. Evidence has shown the benefits of biofeedback, cognitive-behavioral interventions, and hypnosis as means of using the mind to heal the body. Research into the powers of the mind to affect the body is making great strides in the 21st century.
The primary premise is this: the mind (considered by some separate from the brain) produces thoughts, which produce energy, which affect matter (the body). Remember Einstein’s e=mc²? It states that energy and mass are interchangeable; that mass or matter is a form of energy and each can be converted into the other. Therefore the energy of thought can be turned into matter, and in the case of the physical body, it can create disease.
The Law of Attraction states that what you focus on is what you attract to you. Everything in our universe is made up of energy, and what we think about attracts similar vibrational energy in the form of tangible results. So when we combine these two laws we see that if we have negative thoughts, such as those of a hypochondriac, we will attract the physical manifestations of ill health.
Although this sounds ominous, it’s actually quite liberating. For if we know our thoughts are creative and powerful, all we need to do is direct them toward what we want, in this case good health. So if that chronic headache or backache has been baffling you and your doctor as to its cause and its cure, you might want to start looking in your head. Here are some suggestions for healing your body through your mind:
1. LISTEN–sit quietly and engage in a dialogue with the part of your body that is ailing. Ask it what is going on with it, does it have any complaints, is there some emotional energy tied up with it. There are a lot methods for doing this, and you might want to do some research to find out what works best for you.
2. AFFIRMATIONS–statements of truth repeated over and over can often condition the mind toward positive thought. If you find your mind focusing more on the negative, practice some affirmations such as “My body enjoys excellent health” and see how you feel. Create affirmations that ring true for you as possibilities even if you’re not quite there yet.
3. PRACTITIONERS–find alternative health providers like Reiki masters, meditation instructors, or health coaches to guide you toward strengthening your mind/body connection for optimum results.
4. BE HAPPY–scientific evidence has proven that laughter, exercise, and pure joy release endorphins which have a healing effect on the body. If you focus on the good in your life, offer daily gratitude, and practice the art of happiness, your healthy body will be your reward.
Copyright 2008 David Bohl and SlowDownFast.com. All rights reserved.
Thanks to Positive and Successful Lifestyle Tips for including this post in the Carnival of Inspiration and Motivation, and to FitBuff.com for featuring this post in the Total Mind and Body Fitness Carnival, to Brain Blogging for inclusion in the Brain Blogging blog carnival, to We Are One World Healing for including this post in the Carnival of Healing, and to Your Health Guide for featuring this post in the Carnival of Inspiration and Motivation.
Copyright 2008 David Bohl and SlowDownFast.com. All rights reserved.
About the Author:
Husband, father, friend, Life Coach and Lifestyle Designer David B. Bohl is the creator of Slow Down FAST at www.slowdownfast.com.
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Categories: Self Improvement, Life Coach, Slow Down Fast, Life Coaching, Motivation, Life Strategies, Fulfillment, Happiness, Inspiration, Knowing Yourself, Creativity
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9 Responses to “It’s All In Your Head:
Healing the Body Through the Mind
”Comments
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March 28th, 2008 at 8:15 am
David,
A timely reminder in your wonderful post. The fascinating science called Neuropsychological Immunology (I wish they had chosen a shorter name for it) which is a study of the relationship between mind, body & spirit shows that when these three elements are in complete alignment physical, mental and spiritual health is maximised. Louise L Hay applied these techniques to aid her own recovery when she had cancer and Drs Carl & Stephanie Simonton also carried out ground breaking work some years ago with amazing results for cancer patients. The feeling is that these techniques can be applied to anything. Albert Schweitzer said “The greatest discovery of any generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind” this is my mantra. As for what you say David under point 4 “Be Happy” I can vouch for that, being in that state produces a deep deep endless sense of lovingness which permeates every cell of your being and is the most wonderful place to be. I am not trying to say that as long as all this prevails we are all going to be in optimum health all the time, never get sick etc., but I do believe that very deep changes in our attitude of mind go a long way to achieving optimum health.
March 28th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Susanna,
You said a mouthful. hank you for bringing your experience and successes to the table.
You’ve caused me a bit of trepidation in that I thought the quote you referenced belonged to William James. I now have some research to do.
David
March 28th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Very interesting! Our minds do most definately have an effect on our bodies. I’m very convinced of that.
I was recently refered to this website about EFT (emotional freedom technique) that I think everyone will find interesting. http://www.emofree.com
I’m in the middle of doing some research on it now so I don’t know if it really works or not, but they have some free info. I don’t think it’s the cure all because it doesn’t teach you to change your thinking, but it certainly may help.
Eric Robins, MD says, “Some day the medical profession will wake up and realize that unresolved emotional issues are the main cause of 85% of all illnesses.” WOW!!
I work with a program that teaches people how to change their thinking. Now that is powerful!!!!
This is a great article with some scientific evidence about how changing thinking affects the body.
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/2007/12/12/get-healthier-and-happier.html?PageNr=2
March 29th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
I am a clinical assistant professor of medicine at Oregon Health & Science University. My book on stress-related illness, written for the public, was published last year. Readers of this site may benefit from reading the book’s many stories about how hidden stresses were uncovered and treated in order to relieve mind-body symptoms. The book has been endorsed by leading medical school professors across the U.S.
March 29th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I neglected to add that the web site for the book is www.stressillness.com and the title is “They Can’t Find Anything Wrong”.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Hi!
I am collecting like-minded blogs for link exchange and my future e-zine.
If you’re interested, please post your link in html on my blog: http://zodiactimes.blogspot.com
Thanks
April 1st, 2008 at 9:31 am
Ella,
Thank you for your interest and support. But, alas, I do not trade links.
David
April 5th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
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June 12th, 2008 at 4:58 am
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