In my previous post, I discussed how mindful-based activities can replenish our control over our minds and allow our minds to rest. In this TEDx talk, Lissa Rankin, MD explains that our thoughts can powerfully affect our physiology when we believe we can get well.
New Age information suggests that we can heal ourselves by directing our mind with healing thoughts. Rankin provides the scientific research to satisfy the analytical, logical, and objective left brain. Rankin is a NY Times bestselling author, physician, speaker, mystic, and the founder of the Whole Health Medicine Institute.
She starts by presenting two case studies.
#1: Mr.Wright had advanced lymphosarcoma, fluid filling in his lungs daily, and his time was running short. Mr Wright heard of a wonder drug called Krebiozen and begged his doctor, Dr.West, to give it to him. Dr.West was hesitant since Mr.Wright was not expected to live much longer but, he finally gave in. Three days after receiving Krebiozen Mr.Wright was up and walking, and his tumors began to shrink. Ten days later they were gone. Reports were released saying Krebiozen wasn’t working very well and his tumors returned along with deep depression.
Dr.West convinced Mr.Wright that the Krebiozen they had was tainted and that he had a highly concentrated version to give him. Dr.West injected Mr.Wright with distilled water and his tumors went and the fluid in his lungs went away again
#2: Three babies were born one Friday the 13th. The midwife pronounced that all three babies were hexed; the first would die before her 16th birthday; the second, before her 21st; the third, before her 23rd birthday. The first two girls dies the days before their birthdays. And the third panicked and committed herself to a hospital, begging them to make sure she survived. She died that night.
Case #1 is illustrates the placebo effect and case #2 shows the nocebo effect. Our thoughts manifest measurable results in our physiology everyday. Our mind has the power to assist in our healing or destruction.
In order to heal ourselves, we need health in all dimensions of wellness. Rankin studies dimensions of wellness in her wellness model, the Whole Health Cairn (below).
Photo courtesy of LissaRankin.com
Diving Deeper
Implementing the Whole Health Cairn into your life means healing your body as well as your life.
The brain communicates with the body through the endocrine system. This is “a series of glands that produce and secrete hormones that the body uses for a wide range of functions”, according to the Hormone Health Network.
Rankin states that we have an average of more than 50 stress responses per day, and that number can double, or even triple, if the health of any dimension of wellness is stressed. Stress responses activate our sympathetic nervous systems and put our bodies in “fight-or-flight” mode. Three major hormones are released during stress responses: adrenaline, cortisol, and norepinephrine.
The opposite of a stress response is a relaxation response, coined by Dr. Herbert Benson, professor, author, cardiologist, and founder of Harvard’s Mind/Body Medical Institute. Psychology Today reports that “the response is defined as your personal ability to encourage your body to release chemicals and brain signals that make your muscles and organs slow down and increase blood flow to the brain.”
Natural self-repair mechanisms of the body are only active when the nervous system is relaxed; self-repair mechanisms are not on when the body is in stress mode. The relaxation response explains/supports the placebo effect.
How do we turn on relaxation responses? Meditation. Express yourself creatively. Dance. Get a massage. Socialize. Laugh. Exercise. Have sex. Be in nature. Play with animals. Our brains release dopamine and serotonin when we do things that make us feel good.
What prescription will you write for yourself? How will you start healing your life today??If you like Dr. Lissa Rankin’s lecture/ideas, check out her book Mind Over Matter: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself or her awesome blog.
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