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Mind Body Illnesses
Chronic Back Pain
The problem: Millions of Americans suffer from back pain, whether it's the result of aging, sitting in a desk chair or lifting a heavy load. Our most-beloved solution: intensive, expensive and often-unsuccessful spinal fusion surgery. But for all the money we pour into these operations, back pain remains a mysterious ailment with many possible causes and few definitive ways to gauge the true source of the sufferer's pain. One practitioner, John E. Sarno, M.D., a professor at New York University School of Medicine and a physician at the
Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine has long insisted that unconscious emotional tension cascades into the muscles and over time causes back pain, which he contends is a muscular, not skeletal, problem. While his theory is controversial, his patients have publicly praised his techniques, which include a psychotherapeutic approach that leads the patient to recognize the connection between internal agony and physical pain. Other practitioners are exploring a more holistic approach to back pain, in an attempt to cut down on the tens of thousands of risky surgeries performed each year.
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Mind-Body Connection
Chronic Back Pain
The problem: Millions of Americans suffer from back pain, whether it's the result of aging, sitting in a desk chair or lifting a heavy load. Our most-beloved solution: intensive, expensive and often-unsuccessful spinal fusion surgery. But for all the money we pour into these operations, back pain remains a mysterious ailment with many possible causes and few definitive ways to gauge the true source of the sufferer's pain. One practitioner, John E. Sarno, M.D., a professor at New York University School of Medicine and a physician at the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine has long insisted that unconscious emotional tension cascades into the muscles and over time causes back pain, which he contends is a muscular, not skeletal, problem. While his theory is controversial, his patients have publicly praised his techniques, which include a psychotherapeutic approach that leads the patient to recognize the connection between internal agony and physical pain. Other practitioners are exploring a more holistic approach to back pain, in an attempt to cut down on the tens of thousands of risky surgeries performed each year.
Mind-Body Connection
Skin Issues
The problem: Anyone who has ever had a pimple before a mid-term exam knows that stress can trigger acne. But it can also trigger eczema, rosacea and psoriasis. Indeed, mental anguish has been proven to translate into anguish of the epidermis, even decades after the initial trauma: From 1958-1965, Israeli researchers studied dermatology patients who were also survivors of Nazi concentration camps. They found that 27 percent developed psychosomatic dermatological disorders, including psoriasis and eczema. In a 2005 study of 545 dermatology patients in Italy and the U.S., 36 percent had mood and anxiety disorders and 48 percent were believed to have skin issues related to psychological problems. Still, the field of psychodermatology, which examines the link between emotional turmoil and skin disorders, is not officially recognized by the medical community.
Mind-Body Connection
Skin Issues
The solution: While some psychodermatologists treat severe cases (such as rashes exacerbated by obsessive-compulsive itching) with traditional mental health therapies, others find that guided imagery, meditation and hypnosis help relieve itching, rashes, and outbreaks. An all-around healthy lifestyle also helps: "The skin is an organ of elimination, so when other organs of elimination, like the kidney, colon, and lungs, are compromised, problems show up in the skin," explains Gordon. He suggests that in addition to practicing relaxation techniques, those dealing with skin problems should engage in vigorous, sweat-inducing exercise and eat high-fiber whole foods to aid in daily elimination.
Mind-Body Connection
Chronic Back Pain
The solution: Whatever the cause of the pain, the use of relaxation techniques and self-hypnosis have proven enormously helpful to many people in controlling their pain. Gordon recommends a simple relaxation exercise, during which you breathe deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth, allowing your belly to soften. "Imagine an arrow pointing to your level of pain on a scale of one to ten," he says. "If your pain is at a seven, imagine it going down to a six, a five, and a four." Massage also works for lower back pain, a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found. Subjects who received a weekly hour of massage for 10 weeks reported dramatically decreased levels of pain. Theories on the efficacy of massage vary, but one study reported that massage releases endorphins, the body's natural pain relievers.
Mind-Body Connection
Heart Disease
The problem: Heart disease is the number one cause of death in American men and women. While some cardiovascular diseases are genetic, many are directly linked to an unhealthy, high-stress lifestyle. Since the publication of groundbreaking research in 1981, multiple controversial studies have shown that Type-A personalities are at increased risk for coronary heart disease. In October 2009, a German study presented a significant link between post traumatic stress disorder and multiple health problems, including angina and heart failure.
Mind-Body Connection
Heart Disease
The solution: "Cardiac disease is complex and serious," says Gordon. "We must take a truly integrative approach to it." If you need help making such a significant change, join a support group or attend a program. Many mind-body centers across the United States offer cardiac wellness programs. For example, at Massachusetts General Hospital's Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, participants attend three-hour customized sessions once a week for 13 weeks, during which medical advice about exercise, blood pressure and more is combined with stress-management techniques. Sound like a major time commitment? If you're prone to heart disease, it may be lifesaving: A study by the Preventative Medicine Research Institute showed that patients enrolled in such lifestyle-changing programs showed great longterm improvement in coronary artery health.
Mind-Body Connection
Shingles
The problem: A combination of medical and lifestyle interventions has been found to stave off the onset of Herpes Zoster (the technical term for shingles), a virus that translates into painful lesions and affects 20 percent of people over age 50. The virus typically affects older people because their immune systems are weakened, but it can also flare up in those whose immune systems are weakened due to stress or other illness. While the blisters usually disappear after a week, the pain can last for years.
Mind-Body Connection
Shingles
The solution: The key to dealing with shingles? Prevention, now available in the unexpected form of an ancient Chinese martial art. A National Institute of Health study of 112 adults between the ages of 59 and 86 found that regular practice of Tai Chi -- which melds elements of meditation, gentle exercise and stretching -- decreased vulnerability to shingles. The group of adults who attended 120 minutes of Tai Chi instruction weekly had double the immunity than that of the control group. When doctors administered a Herpes Zoster vaccine, those who practiced Tai Chi had 40 percent higher immunity than those who merely received the vaccine. They also reported an increased sense of vitality and less general bodily pain. If an outbreak does occur, Gordon suggests another Eastern approach: "Acupuncture is a commonplace treatment for Herpes Zoster," says Gordon. "It seems to be helpful in speeding up recovery."
Mind-Body Connection
Digestive Disorders
The problem: Ever feel so anxious that you think you're going to be sick? That's because the gut, which has more nerve centers than the spinal cord, is extremely sensitive to your mental state. "When you are in a state of fight or flight, your digestive system shuts down and all your blood goes to your large muscles, heart and lungs," says Gordon. "If you have long-term stress, you can have problems the whole length of your digestive system." It makes sense that many GI disorders, like acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers and diarrhea, are related to our moods, and multiple studies have found links between psychological suffering and intestinal problems: Of nearly 700 people who helped with the post-9/11 clean-up, 41 percent suffered from gastroesophageal reflux disease, which causes stomach contents to travel up to the esophagus -- that's 21 percent more than the general population. Military personnel were also found to suffer from increased levels of gastrointestinal distress -- likely a combination of less-than-ideal environments and stress. Most recently, a study of Chinese University students found that those suffering from irritable bowel syndrome had higher rates of anxiety and depression than those who were healthy.
Mind-Body Connection
Digestive Disorders
The solution: Doctors are beginning to understand the necessity of treating underlying mental disorders as a way to help treat some types of digestive issues, especially for those in high-pressure professions. This includes adequate psychotherapy and support groups, though talking with a trusted friend or relative can help. Hypnotherapy -- during which a trained therapist hypnotizes a patient in order to modify a wide range of behaviors, habits, and attitudes, as well as to manage pain and illness -- has been shown to help relieve symptoms in IBS sufferers, according to multiple studies.
Of course, gastrointestinal issues, whether brought on by psychological or biological disorders, can knock the digestive system out of balance. To get it back in sync, Gordon suggests staying away from processed foods and taking a daily multi-vitamin, multi-mineral (unless you're anemic, stay away from iron, which in large doses can be toxic to the liver and the heart). According to Gordon, patients with GI problems who have switched from diets high in inflammatory foods like sugars and red meats to simple diets of brown rice, cooked vegetables and fish, have seen major changes in as little as a week.
Mind-Body Connection
