When you’re sick, it’s easy to point the finger elsewhere. Maybe the fault is in your genes; maybe it was that lady sitting on the bus; what about the last thing you ate? In fact, it could have been many things. Don’t get us wrong, genes have a lot to answer for – as do dodgy burritos – but our brains may be wired for it all.
A growing body of research seems to suggest that the way we think and feel can affect our health. But is it so? And, if so, can we misuse it to “think right”?
Body vs brain
It’s easy to think of the body and the brain as very different, but far from separate entities. In fact, they are incredibly connected, as Dr. Monty Lyman, a researcher at the University of Oxford and author of The Immune Mind, recently told IFScience on CURIOUS Live. Lyman works in the emerging field of immunopsychiatry, which examines how the immune system can affect mental health — but also how mental health can affect the immune system.
“[Previously] the idea was that the brain is focused on protecting us against big threats – big threats – like a lion or […] someone trying to attack you, and the immune system was for very small threats. But actually, over the last 10 years or so, we’ve found out that’s not entirely the case and there’s some really cool science. […] that shows how completely connected they are. You could say it’s an integrated security system. ”
In an informal way, Lyman refers to his own experience with eczema, which can develop during periods of extreme stress, as an example of how the mind can affect the immune system. It’s well known that stress can have major effects on the body, affecting everything from the respiratory and cardiovascular systems to the gut and fertility.
There are also studies that show that personality can play a role. Back in 2003, another study suggested this. In a group of more than 300 healthy volunteers who were infected with the flu, those with positive attitudes showed greater resistance to the flu.
It is becoming abundantly clear that there is no mental health that is not physical and there is no state of physical health that does not have a mental component.
Dr. Monty Lyman
This relationship between personality and health is something that C. Robert Cloninger, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis, who studied it extensively. As he told IFScience about his latest research, “We discovered that our humanity has strong records. [for] the way our brain and other organs of our body work by controlling our genes and adapting to the changing conditions of life.”
“Specifically, we found that our level of self-awareness—an understanding of what habits, goals, and values provide satisfaction and purpose in our lives—predicts our ability to control the process of ‘ how our bodies and minds, and health and well-being.”
In addition, our outlook on life can be important and, according to Cloninger, “affects all aspects of health, including physical, emotional, social, and psychological health.” mind. […] It affects our longevity and risk of many physical and mental illnesses.”
But it’s a two-way street, and just as the brain can affect the body, the body can affect the brain. “It is becoming increasingly clear that there is no mental health that is not physical and there is no physical health that does not have a mental component,” Lyman added.
Are you thinking about medicine?
Because our bodies and brains are so intimate, the way we think, feel and act can certainly influence the way our bodies work, but that What does it mean to “think well”?
“We can all realize that when we are stressed and anxious, we experience mental problems and negative emotions such as anxiety, depression and anger. Then we’re also more likely to have physical problems, like catching a cold or the flu,” Cloninger told IFLScience.
People don’t realize that their thoughts and feelings also put them at risk of many serious chronic diseases as they age, including cardiovascular disease, chronic lung diseases, cancer, diabetes and arthritis.”
Now, medical professionals tend to be very divided: if your problem is hormonal you might want to see an endocrinologist; if you are struggling mentally, you may want to see a psychiatrist. But perhaps, given what we now know about the connection between mental and physical health, the best solution may be somewhere in the middle.
There is a growing amount of research, where scientists are trying to research how we can use the power of the mind to help treat other physical health conditions and vice versa.
For example, therapy can benefit more than just our brains. Promising research has shown that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help relieve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, and thus can be a useful addition to current treatment programs.
There are others who say that meditation is optional. Although this method has been said to help reduce chronic pain and improve blood pressure, there are only a few high-quality studies that support this.
Despite these limitations, other studies have shown a potential impact beyond the brain: it has been suggested that meditation can reduce stress at the cellular level and that Tibetan Buddhist monks those who use it daily can have healthier microbiomes as a result. It’s still early days, but with more rigorous research, such techniques may have a place in medicine.
“Because we can learn to understand ourselves better, we can change our personality and improve our lives,” Cloninger added. “As a result, psychotherapy with meditation techniques can improve personal organization, as well as health and well-being. In other words, health is a creative learning process.”
Realize the power of positivity
But that doesn’t mean that you can fight the disease just by volunteering. While there is undoubtedly power in positivity – research suggests that the lives of sick people can be improved with positive thinking, and even optimists are more likely to receive treatment – some things are simply unimaginable.
This concept of having a complete mind and body will hopefully see its way into medicine going forward.
Dr. Monty Lyman
And in some cases, reinforcing the expectation of positivity can be harmful to patients. In a 2013 piece for The Conversation, Dr Michael Vagg, now Associate Professor at Deakin University School of Medicine, makes the point that cancer survivors can be made to feel worried unnecessarily if they ever had that language. they are forced to, when – rightly – they feel scared, sad, or anything less than normal about their behavior.
Likewise, no patient should be made to feel that the condition is “all in their head” or that their diagnosis was their fault in the first place.
“You don’t need to feel like you have to be completely positive 100 percent of the time, because that’s not only not happening, it’s not healthy. Dealing that way the best you know how to do is all you have to be willing to do,” writes Vagg.
At the end of the day, positivity is only part of the picture. “Having a positive attitude is another part of the personality that is necessary to improve health,” Cloninger told us. However, there are many other factors that influence our susceptibility to disease: for example, our genes, lifestyle and environment, should not be ignored.
However, from a physician’s point of view, adopting psychological therapies as part of a physical intervention can have many benefits for certain conditions. In that sense, it may be possible to “think right”, at least to some extent, even with the help of medical professionals – and it may be the future, Lyman hopes.
“This idea of having a holistic mind and body will hopefully see its way into medicine going forward.”
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