You Are What You Think: Health and the Mind Body Connection

1. You Are What You Think: Health and the Mind Body Connection

2. Effects of the Mind on the Body Effects of Stress Elderly people & learning Chronic stress & abnormal body tissues Optimum level of stress Pain & emotions Perceived Control Rat studies Dog study

3. Placebos/Remembered Wellness Originally thought to be 30% Recently shown to be as high as70% Regularity of taking �medicine� is more effective than what kind of medicine Personality Traits Type A vs Type H Laughter Some physiological effects Not a new idea

4. Effect of the Body on the Mind James-Lange Theory: Facial expressions can be precursors to the emotion

5. Exercise and Mental Health Releases endorphins (the body�s own morphine ) lowers depression and anxiety Must be aerobic to get the effect The more prolonged the program the better the effect

6. Neurophysiology of Stress

7. Effects of Long Term Release of Cortisol Increased blood pressure Inhibits growth in children Inhibits the inflammatory response Suppresses the immune system Damages brain cells

8. So What? Meditation Research at Harvard Medical School Social Support, Intimacy & Love Breast Cancer Support Groups Good Marriages Close Parent/Child Relationships

9. Spirituality/Faith Relaxation Response Patients Effects of Religious Beliefs on Health The Effect of Prayer on Health Cardiac Patients in the prayer group required significantly less ventilatory assistance, antibiotics and diuretics 18 Children with leukemia, 10 prayer group, 8 non-prayer group ten months later 7 out of the 10 were still alive while only 2 of the 8 were still alive.

10. Health Care Patient/Doctor Relationship is very important Chiropractors are as good as other more traditional doctors for alleviating back pain but with less medication Little research of chiropractic and stress but a great deal with regard to alleviating pain

11. Sympathetic Nervous System

12. Parasympathetic Nervous System