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Up until the mid 1970’s the immune system was studied as an isolated unit. During the past 20-plus years there has been an increasing appreciation of the interaction between emotions, the brain and hormone circulation. This new discipline is called psychoneuroimmunology.
By breaking down the word psychoneuroimmunology in three parts, we can perhaps understand the meaning of the word. “Psycho”, as you remember, refers to the mind; “Neuro”, the nervous system; and “immunology” the study of the immune system. Psychoneuroimmunology is a new and important frontier of medicine – the scientific data linking the mind and body is relatively new, yet the understanding of the connection between the mind and body is not.
Historically Western and Eastern philosophers and religions emphasized the impact of the mind on the body. Hippocrates taught that the body has its own inner healing power, called “physis”, which became the root word for physician. In his view the physician was to help a patient strengthen the natural inner power in order to maintain health, and help release inner strength when illness occurred.
Plato made a sharp distinction between mind and body. He believed that the mind could exist before and after. Rene Descartes, in the 17th century, distinguished the mind as separate from body, the philosophical position known as dualism. As recently as 1984 (New England Journal of Medicine, May 3) British doctor Paul C.S. Hoaken wrote, “We [physicians] seem unable to transcend Cartesian dualism. While paying lip service to a comprehensive approach, we separate the mind, person and social environment from physiology, biochemistry and organic pathology.”
In the 19th century Sigmund Freud demonstrated that physical symptoms may develop in response to prolonged emotional conflicts. In the 20th century Carl Jung, pupil of Freud, believed that people’s emotions and thoughts are intimately connected to the basic life energies in their bodies. In the 1940’s psychosomatic medicine was another attempt to bring the mind and body into one science. In the 1950’s behavioral medicine succeeded psychosomatic medicine, as scientists working with laboratory animals attempted to demonstrate that experimental stress could produce organic disease.
In the early 1950’s, Dr. Hans Selye, the father of the concept of “fight or flight”, did ground breaking research on stress. He demonstrated that the adrenal gland releases greater than normal amounts of hormones when a person experiences stress, which can be harmful.
There are more than 20,000 biochemical reactions occurring simultaneously, with 1,000 known separate chemicals in the brain. More than a trillion cells in the immune system work in concert with the nervous system. The hypothalamus and the pituitary gland secrete hormones, neurotransmitters, and endorphins, just to name a few. These hormones are called neuropeptides and travel through the system to the thyroid, liver, spleen, heart, kidneys, digestive tract and sex organs. It is known that these same chemical messengers also activate, instruct and regulate our immune system. There are nerves which respond directly to emotions, and recently nerves were discovered that may influence the function of the immune system.
Some immune cells are sensitive to specific neurotransmitters, producing interferon, or interleukin-2, which boost certain immune functions. Other neuropeptides affect mood and pain perception, and attract macrophages to damaged tissue, such as cancer cells.
From the hypothalamus and pituitary glands biochemical action can stimulate the thymus gland to produce more T-cells. Prolactin helps regulate B-cells. It is known that immune cells make peptide molecules in order to send their own messages back to the central nervous system.
Upon closer inspection, it becomes obvious that our immune system is sensitive to some conscious and emotional control. The brain then appears to play the central administrative role in translating the content of the mind, attitude and perceptions into nerve impulses and effects on biochemistry. This is communicated throughout the body via the nervous system.
The ANS (autonomic nervous system) is composed of two types of nerves that oppose each other in their actions. One, the sympathetic, increases respiratory or cardiac rates. The other, the parasympathetic, counteracts by slowing down the body. Under stress the sympathetic system becomes activated. The parasympathetic system, on the other hand, is in play when we are relaxing.
The CNS (central nervous system) sends the electrical impulses. As mentioned the neuropeptide and chemical messenger system can affect certain moods. There are approximately 60 known neuropeptides at this point in time. These chemicals circulate in the blood stream, lock onto receptors throughout the body and cause physiological changes in most of the cells, particularly the hormonal cells and the cells of our immune system. The neuropeptides are produced throughout the body and there is documentation showing communication from the brain to the body and vice versa. What researchers are seeing is the extraordinary intercommunication system between brain and body.
It has been found that these chemicals can be directly impacted by certain mental states. For example, stress, depression, anger, hostility, or helplessness appear to affect the production of these chemicals. Conversely, peace, confidence, joy, sleep, exercise, and obesity affect the neuropeptide production. Essentially these results imply that an individual can choose to self-regulate the enhancement or suppression of the immune system. According to Steven Schleiffer and colleagues at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, men whose wives had recently died had a detectable suppression of the immune system during bereavement.
To illustrate the flow of mind to body, we will take a hypothetical case of Josie and her boyfriend. Everything begins with one’s perception, and it has been said, from some philosophical perspectives, that perception is reality.
In our illustration, Josie perceives that her boyfriend disapproves of her way of dealing with anger. Her second reaction consists of thoughts, feelings, sensations, and images, and the perceived disapproval leads to suppressed anger by Josie. She is reminded of her old feelings and thoughts deep in her memory resulting in “parental disapproval” of her boyfriend.
From here, stress is triggered resulting in inner conflict and emotional distress. Next the stimulus hits the brain – the neuropeptides, ANS, and CNS communication pathways – which responds to the emotional stress and activates the its communication system. It is here that the neuropeptides or the hormonal cells are activated, informing the body of the emotional stress. Next, the immune cells, hormonal components and other body systems shift and respond to the state of stress. The body then responds to the changes with adaptation, either negative or positive. Remember, this is based on the initial perception.
The negative changes can put one at risk for acute stress disorders, premature chronic disease or increased cancer risk. Consequently, when rage, anxiety, depression and grief occurs, the brain undergoes biochemical changes which affect organs throughout the body. Meditation, mental imaging, positive expectations and a strong will to live helps to readjust chemical balances and may produce positive biochemical changes.
The mind or the imagination can have a powerful effect on the physiological responses. This means that through our personal will we can perceive or imagine how we want to be, and create it. Our actions have consequences. The mind is a vast frontier for which we are just beginning to gain some scientific understanding.
What is “consciousness”? It’s a word that we use all the time, yet its meaning remains elusive. Can consciousness be found at cellular and sub-cellular levels?
According to the spiritual teachers throughout the ages, we are basically asleep and dreaming that we are awake. The normal neurotic state of humanity is part of this metaphysical sleep. War would have to come from this sleep state for being awake would probably create a non-neurotic state which is blissful, loving, peaceful, and intensely alive. These spiritual teachers believed that the inner subjective world has its own objective reality, its own flows and leaps of energy and consciousness, and that sleep is a metaphysical sleep and awakening is possible.
It appears that awakening of humans might be an essential part of the evolutionary process. People all over the world are just beginning to awaken in many ways, politically, socially, scientifically, and spiritually.
As previously discussed, stress stimulates the adrenal gland and creates an effect on the autonomic nervous system. Whether caused by physical or emotional trauma, (dis)stress plays a big part in the development or exacerbation of illness.
Signs of stress could be trouble sleeping, inability to concentrate, feelings of tension and anxiety, headaches, mental and physical fatigue, racing thoughts, irritability, and so on. Without relief from stress-inducers – bad relationships, poor diet, high pressure work, undiagnosed allergies, alcohol, drugs, poor self-esteem, etc. – we can diminish the strength of the immune system. In addition, we can aggravate cardiac symptoms, such as high blood pressure.
Lifestyle changes aimed at reducing stress can help one’s general well being. Making the time to relax, exercise, sleep restfully is critical, and practicing dietary changes are not an instant cure, they can help.
The mind can be discussed in terms of mindfulness, or consciousness, and mind gibberish and superficial chatter. The mind is active at any moment with one or the other. Mind-chatter or mental clutter is an automatic activity. Mindfulness, or consciousness, on the other hand, is a chosen or self-initiated activity, and requires focused and conscious effort.
Conscious living relies on and uses the capacity of the mind to establish new habits when exposed to change, an openness allowing the “reprogramming” of the mind according to changing circumstances and perceptions. Conscious living is an important first step toward regulating the mind and creating a healthy life.
Balance which results from avoiding extremes of behavior and maintaining a harmonious and synchronized life are examples of conscious living. Contentment results from a mental attitude that finds satisfaction in what is given in life. Maintaining simplicity, knowing the difference between need and want, practicing honesty, and experiencing solitude are other examples of living consciously.
Mind-chatter, which is the predominant activity of the mind, is the end result of the interaction of the sensory system with the outer world. A specialized part of the brain records and transmits after the experience of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch, and is the intermediary between ourselves and the outside world.
We could say mind chatter acts as a certain filtration system between factual information, and subjective information such as impressions, perceptions, and interpretations of personal experiences. Self image is usually formed here. Hence mind chatter is the activation and recollection of factual and psychological information with the associated thoughts, feelings, images, and sensations.
In mind chatter the subjective information can be misinterpreted which can result in unhealthy behavior. Essentially, mind chatter relies on stored information recollected from the past. The more lost in mind chatter, the less one lives in the present time. Thoughts and feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and victimization are a result of mind gibberish about powerlessness. As a result, one feels trapped and self condemning.
The opposite of these feelings of powerlessness is an inner feeling of competence, confidence, and adequacy. This form of inner power is energizing, quiet and permanent and arises from a mind free of the restlessness and negative mind chatter. A person, for example, may have these positive feelings when an accomplishment of a difficult task is achieved.
In mindfulness, or consciousness, the shift is an absorption of chatter and an attention of the present moment. Consciousness is a precise, direct, ongoing observation of the inner and outer experiences as they occur.
Consciousness, or being awake, has two major components, attention and concentration. Attention, the continuous uninterrupted experience of the chosen object, such as playing a musical instrument. Concentration is the second aspect of consciousness or mindfulness. Meditation is the sustained practice of attention and consciousness. During meditation feelings of clarity, tranquility and peace occur, and mind chatter abates.
Eastern philosophers have practiced mindfulness by establishing self understanding and insight, while cultivating the peaceful and silent mind, which does not face the stress of anxieties.
Love, Loneliness, and the Immune System
The link between loneliness, loss, stress, depression and illness is emerging. Human beings need love, and it is a necessity for healthy living. Growth and development can be fostered through love, as well as feelings of hopefulness and an opportunity to feel ourselves as whole.
The attitude of loneliness is a mental perspective which associates being alone with feelings of sadness and emptiness. Loneliness results from not living in the present with ourselves. Sometimes we are so busy looking to the outside world or the right person to fulfill everything. Love comes from within.
Relationships are interactive, and may or may not have anything to do with love. They teach us about our own love, which we often see in the mirror from the receptive eyes of the beloved. Relationships can nurture and heal. To maintain a relationship learned skills are necessary, such as having and practicing open communication. A healthy relationship can diminish the susceptibilities to stress and enhance the capacity for a healthy mind and life style. The result is a relaxation, providing more opportunities for joy and physiological balance.
Consequently, feeling lonely and powerless, and perceived deprivation appears to be related to the development of distress and disease. Practicing conscious living and applying mindfulness or directed energy allows for enhancing control and healthy living.
There is a growing amount of evidence to suggest that the body’s immune system is linked to the development of many destructive diseases of the 20th century. These include rheumatoid arthritis, and some forms of cancer. The evidence linking personality to cancer goes back a long way. In the second century AD the Roman physician Galen noticed that women who were depressed were far more likely to develop cancer than women who were happy.
Cancer sufferers often have unhappy childhoods and frequently grow up suffering from a lack of love, and senses of loneliness and abandonment. Cancer victims tend to give more than they take, and repress their own desires and emotional feelings. I personally heard one physician say, “It seems the people who get cancer are the nicest people....they are such nice people.”
Clinical depression combines biochemical and psychological influences. The factor corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) is released in the hypothalamus, specifically, in a bundle of neurons known as the locus coeruleus. Depressed patients generally have elevated levels of the adrenal hormone cortisol.
Suicide victims have been found to have specific abnormalities in their brain chemistry. It has been found that those attempting suicide by violent means have a low serotonin amount.
Pain is a prime example of the mind-body connection. Research on pain show how the brain biochemistry modifies one’s subjective experience of reality, and how emotional states can affect brain biochemistry. It is known that the pain sensation is due to the secretion of neurotransmitters. Endorphins and enkephalins are also involved, the former with dampening pain, the latter with pain reception.
Anger, is a common response to anything which produces physical or mental pain. It can be produced by perceived shortcomings, disappointments, frustrations, or injustices. Many diseases are produced by anger, and it has been shown that high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes may be consequences of uncontrolled anger. Research shows that any individual who suppresses anger will be more likely to develop cancer than an individual who acknowledges his anger.
Boredom is a form of stress. Self expression in a growing techno-computer world is diminishing for many, who’s “job” may be repetitive and meaningless. Boredom is found in all walks of life, employed or unemployed. As a stressor, it too can lead to disease.
Sadness is an emotional response to pressure and stress. Crying is an excellent way of dealing with sadness and sorrow, and fear of crying due to socialized responses can cause damage. Individuals who suppress their natural instinct to cry are increasing their chances of acquiring a stress related disorder.
Fear which is born of the anxieties and pain experienced in childhood, coupled with guilt feelings, produces a distorted attitude which can affect the ability to communicate. The result of fear is the impairment of a sense of well-being. It can hinder a well functioning immune system. Fear can also immobilize, and keep one psychologically “trapped” in a situation. This clearly would not enhance self esteem.
Psychic suffering of the soul or the psyche, our powers of sensing, feeling and thought, is insidious, but powerful. If one goes through life with unfulfilled needs they can impair their abilities to form healthy relationships. Illness or a weakened immune system can result from unhealthy relationships.
Relationships with other people have a tremendous influence on our lives, and consequently on our health. When a close relationship crumbles it can affect a person’s well being.
Guilt is an emotion that is difficult to define precisely, but it is the sense that we have done something wrong, a gnawing feeling of failure. Laughter, love, purpose, optimism, and assertiveness are also powerful imaginative conditions which affect health. Hence, if the mind can help produce these dread diseases, its power too must be used to heal. Exercising the mind might be a way of helping the body. With the mind’s power control of negative forces can be adjusted.
A study done several years ago at the University of California in San Francisco examined the link between disease and emotions among a group of people with malignant melanoma. This study was reported in conjunction with the American Cancer Society. It showed that the patients who had died had double the amount of negative emotions, including anger, frustration, depression, dejection, anxiety and general psychic distress. The survivors had hope, a fighting spirit, and less psychic feelings of impending doom. Nurses, and physicians have seen the connection between attitude and illness. I know that I have.
A once vigorous patient when diagnosed with a serious disease sealed off his inner strength, accepting the “sentence” without a fight, and died. He was under 40-years old with a broken hip from a motorcycle accident. Inspired individuals continue living out their lives, drawing upon their inner strength when faced with death, and many times these people have complete remissions and live for many years.
Just as there is a growing array of documentation suggesting that our attitudes affect the course of disease, there is a growing body of information which suggests that the same attitude may work as a preventative modality in getting sick. A great deal of work has been done with cancer and mind links.
At the University of Rochester, a group of healthy looking women with slightly abnormal pap smears were rated upon whether they had “hopelessness-prone” personalities or had recently experienced intense feelings of hopelessness. With this criteria the physicians accurately predicted, within 75%, which patients would be found to have confirmed cases of cervical cancer.
Psychiatric researchers at Yale University followed more than 2,000 men for a period of 17 years and found that those who were depressed at the beginning of the study were twice as likely to die from some form of cancer. They concluded that depression raises the cancer risk.
In the Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine, a study involving 232 patients found a “highly significant correlation” between the magnitude of disruptive events and the onset of cancer, heart attacks, strokes and hepatitis. It was found that in over a third of the people who got sick, major life changes had happened within 6 months of their illness.
Some studies indicate that there may be some relationship to our childhood experiences and later development of certain diseases or conditions. British scientists tested a group of twenty-two women suffering from chronic, severe rheumatoid arthritis and found that more than half of them had had bad relationships with their mothers during childhood.
Many researchers have concluded that if our childhood relationships could have such an effect on our immune system, then so can our adult relationships. Researchers at the Institute of Applied Biology in New York found that when a spouse dies the damage occurs to the immune system.
Hence, how we feel about what happens to us, our sense of personal threat, loss, grief, our hope or lack, appears to be the common thread in determining how and whether sickness will occur. Several years ago a man named Norman Cousins fell ill with a mysterious disease, later diagnosed as ankylosing spondylitis, a degenerative, crippling and irreversible disease. Cousins did not accept the dreary diagnosis, and instead created his own treatment plan by using positive imaging, laughter, and vitamin C. He watched a lot of Laurel and Hardy movies, and survived.
Healing has distinct stages. The first stage is characterized by focus and attention to the external manifestations of distress, when there has been an obvious breakdown. It may be slow and subtle such as with a period of increasing stress or psychic pain, or it may be more dramatic, such as a stroke. The trigger of the breakdown may be the loss of a loved one or the end of a valued relationship.
When there is breakdown, we awaken. A crisis is taking place in our lives which is unavoidable and we go into every relationship with this pain or distress. Control gives way to fear and everything in our life seems suspended. Movement goes from the unknown to the known.
The second stage is to shift focus from the outer aspects of distress to its inner source. It has been termed as the “separation”, a focus on the underlying aspect of the disorder. Most people remain within the first stage, and it is only the brave who move on to the second stage of separation. Healing in stage two can take seconds or a lifetime.
The third stage is of healing is about uncovering and transcending to another level that which we knew to be, peace and the desire to reach out to others. There is movement away from the preoccupation with appearance and forms of the outside world. The new plateau is movement toward an inner experience, an elemental wholeness with all of life.
There is something mystical, physical, and irreversible about the healing process. Knowledge, growth and healing have a compelling quality that once experienced becomes undeniable. Those who choose to awaken will lessen the chances of disease and be free to lead a directed life of choice.
Thoughts can be controlled by the thinker. Thoughts come from perceptions which are based on experience and individual interpretation and become beliefs. Some thoughts come from external circumstances while others are from the good and bad memories we replay in our minds. It is better to forget the bad memories rather than keep playing them in our heads.
Positive and negative messages are sent from the brain and translate into activities at the cellular level, particularly the immune system.
Rage and anger result in the production of adrenaline and other powerful chemicals. Long term anger can lead to elevated blood pressure, heart disease, ulcers and other problems.
Depression and self-doubt spur the synthesis of cortisone. Cortisone is an important and necessary substance, but too much cortisone release can be carcinogenic. The better messages to spread through the CNS are those of health and happiness, as this is when the endorphins are released. It has been postulated that chronic pain and depression are related to a deficiency of endorphins in the body.
Endorphins work with the immune system to fight off disease. One way to keep endorphins flowing is to be rich with love, to be in love with someone, or with a cause, or with some occupation or hobby.
The power of the mind is well illustrated with the concept of love. When there is someone “special”, or something special (such as a hobby), in one’s life internal chemistry changes keeping energy levels high and enthusiasm about to burst. Being in love, then, not only raises the endorphin levels, but acts to strengthen the immune system. Love of something or someone can be among the strongest of positive thoughts. Affirmation may also be an immune system builder. One way to let go of the past injustices and start feeding your immune system is by positive thoughts exercised on a frequent basis.
Here are some sample affirmations which may be recorded and played back in your own voice so that you may hear them. An affirmation for self-respect might go something like this: “ I am an interesting, energetic person who radiates positive energy and warmth.” An affirmation sample for serenity might go like this, “I am calm, serene and have peace of mind. My positive thoughts are loving and they give me strength and confidence happiness and peace. I have the energy and wisdom right now to make my world a place of happiness.” Try it. Tape it. Create your own affirmations. Change can happen with desire, focus, and action.
Most people who fail do so because they’ve predisposed themselves to failure, stuffing their minds with “I’m not good enough”, “I don’t know how”, “I can’t”, “ I don’t have time now”. Negative thinking is crippling. Remember, perception is reality.
Evidence is ample, although unclear, which demonstrates that a healthy network of friends and loved ones enhances the function of the immune system. Resistance to stress and depression goes a long way in enhancing the immune system.
Carl Simonton found a link between visualization and improved health, even in cancer patients. At George Washington University a neuroimmunologist worked with 10 cancer patients, and found that by using imagery patients were able to increase T-lymphocytes. In the British journal The Lancet, there was reported a study where 14 people with high blood pressure used meditation to reduce the frequency of heart rhythm abnormalities. It worked successfully.
Here is a sample meditation imaging sequence for you to try on yourself or your patients. Jose Silva, a leader in the imaging field helped to develop these principles:
This exercise is one of many and is intended to be used in conjunction with other methods under physician guidance.
Another exercise is one which is directly related to the immune system. This exercise is based on Carl Simonton’s visualization technique:
Sit comfortably in a chair, close your eyes and imagine yourself to be a white cell. Become a helper T cell, visualizing the thymus gland. See yourself circulating within the blood stream surrounded by red blood cells. You can see the micronutrients flowing by. Watch out.
Navigate yourself into lymph nodes and lymphoid-like tissue – notice the abnormal cells, bacteria, toxins, or unidentified strange looking viruses. Inform the B cells of the presence of invaders. You hear the sound of a screaming macrophage and see clearly a bacterial invader approaching your surface. Quickly you send out a specific chemical label sending out a signal to the killer T cell. You can see the strong killer T cell surrounding the bacteria just to destroy it.
Now you call the B cells to produce antibodies. With the T-cells and B-cells doing chemical battle, you stand guard. See the cells? Your blood pressure increases as stress related chemicals are released. These swirl at you like a wave breaking at full force. Finally your body seems relaxed and in balance which allows you to feel fully alive and capable of responding and reacting to any and all cries.
You feel yourself floating, remembering that you’re still on guard. You know that you can communicate anytime with the brain, warning it about specific chemical messengers. The neuropeptides ooze out of the cell reaching the brain to warn it about the presence of foreign invaders. The brain then alerts other neuropeptides. You feel the wave of the neuropeptides comfort your surface and increase your strength.
This two way communication system allows you to respond to emotions arising in the brain through stress. It is now time to leave this system. Slowly open your eyes and return your awareness to the immediate surroundings of your room.
This exercise might be performed on a regular basis, particularly if there has been chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a prolonged illness. It can be modified to visualize the engulfment of cancer cells. Imagine their color, and shape. This exercise is aimed at a visual form of relaxation which counteracts the suppression of the immune system. Relaxation neutralizes corticosteroids, epinephrine, and norepinephrine, and some secreted stress hormones.
The following exercise will illustrate enhanced awareness of the possible range of muscle tension and relaxation while promoting general relaxation through relaxing the body. Record these words on a cassette. Begin by finding a comfortable reclining position and allow about 30 minutes.
Follow these simple steps: Take a deep breath, close your eyes. Begin with the muscles of your feet. Contract them tightly for about 20 seconds, (pause). Quickly release the tension and feel the relaxation moving into your feet. Notice the difference between tension and relaxation. (Pause). Now, shift to the calves and repeat. Follow this same pattern (tense up for 20 seconds, relax) until you get to your shoulders.
Look at your mind through your closed eyes. Has it become more quiet?
Many people know things are “bad” for them, yet they continue to indulge in the negative, staying in denial. For example, notice all those who smoke in the face of the countless documented studies stating what smoking does to the system. You’ve probably seen patients who have been unwilling to make necessary changes, or choices, to improve their health.
We’ll take the effect of the delicate respiratory flow on the immune system as an example of a negative choice. The poor air quality in many cities, combined with air conditioned air which we breathe can affect our well orchestrated movements of breathing. Choosing to constantly indulge in an unhealthy habit such as smoking saturates incoming air with carbon monoxide. Hemoglobin carries oxygen, but when carbon monoxide is present, it attaches to the hemoglobin more firmly than to oxygen. Carbon monoxide reduces the quantity of oxygen which is available for the production of body energy. The cilia are unable to work. Excessive mucous falls back into the stomach and respiratory tree. In the lungs this can lead to asthmatic symptoms and chronic cough. This taxes the immune system, adding to the workload of T and B cells.
The power lies within you to strengthen your immune system. Each of the headings in this manual could have been a book unto itself. However, I’ve included bits and pieces which when put together could be a spark to create a life of wealth in health. Living within the moment, eating right and exercising, while consciously avoiding the poisons, is a beginning along this path.
Making changes are only frightening if one’s world is filled with fear. Fear can be immobilizing, but it does not have to be – for yourself, imagine detaching from fear.
Starting this process must be slow. Changes in the mind begin with desire, and physical changes take time. Review daily steps of improvement in your life or your patient’s life. Has the diet improved, or are toxic foods still being ingested? How about moments of happiness? How does one imagine how he could create it to be better?
We’ve discussed that among some methods of keeping the immune system healthy is to avoid additional irritations, such as toxic substances – alcohol, food allergies, polluted air and water, and smoke. Lack of sleep, adds not only a sluggish feeling but actually does not allow cellular revitalization, making one more vulnerable to a decreased immune system function. The choice is up to an individual to take. By understanding what foods to stay away from, and supplementing the diets with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and amino acids, if necessary, we are taking a proactive choice.
Exercise is also essential as a stress release, but for metabolic enhancement which has been shown to strengthen immunity.
As medical knowledge increases so does our knowledge of how the immune system works. It is a rapidly evolving science, and is rather complicated to date. Hearing scientists finally confirm that the mind, filled with feelings, can impact the health of the immune system is very exciting.
When the mind is filled with gibberish, shallow and inadequate breathing can occur which does not use the diaphragmatic muscles. On the other hand, when the mind is balanced and focused, breathing is full, the diaphragm is fully utilized.
Although the mind has its illusions and distortions, love is within us and we have the power exercise it. There is no healing without love, not for ourselves and not for others. The mind can choose to awaken, and make healthy choices. Being mere victims in the sea of flying microbes, growing toxins, and a changing environment, does not need to happen.
Taking time to evaluate the journey, removing as many stresses as possible, and taking moments of quiet solitude allows one to tap into the power within. This lets balance flourish. Balance is a key to being in health.
Balance is necessary for a still mind. A mind filled with negative chatter of powerless victimization is not in balance with its deeper self. It has given away its own power, and is on the road to giving up the choice of being healthy.
Choice is very powerful. By choosing to strengthen the immune system, you can make a difference, a difference for your patients, or a personal difference with most positive rewards.