What the mind does not heal, the body turns into dis-ease.
– Anonymous
Keep a grasp on your life by living in the present
The past is gone and the future has not yet arrived
By living your life one day at a time, you live your life to its fullest.
– Anonymous
When it comes to physical health, the power of thought has always been regarded with skepticism. However, some scientists have started to reconsider the role of the mind when it comes to healing.
Many now accept and believe that not only does our mental health play a part in our overall level of health, but the way we think about our own physical activity can actually shape outcomes.
In the recent past, an ingrained bias existed in the medical world that viewed physical matter as more ‘real’ than subjective emotions and beliefs. It was held that because thoughts aren’t ‘real’ they can’t influence the physical body. If you have ever known a nervous flier or someone with a fear of spiders, you will know all too well that the fears the mind can produce manifest themselves as very physical results – sweaty palms, fast breathing and a racing heart, and a very focused attention on the issue at hand.
Such thoughts and perceptions also affect our physiology.
Even sexual arousal produces key hormones that we need to boost fertility. So if stress kills, could the opposite also be true? Could positivity really help the body heal?
“‘Mind over matter’ is not simply a catchphrase. It is a truth based on what we know to be fact: that the brain, given the right set of directions, the right environment and the proper stimuli, will always choose healing over disease.”
“Naturally, the ability to fend off illness and disease depends on several factors, some of which are beyond our control, but the way we react to stress and general health when it comes to our immune systems are things we can influence,”
“If we’re not able to change our response to stressors, we’ll find ourselves in a constant hormonal battle that will lead to serious health issues like hypertension, diabetes and heart disease. The brain and the immune system are in constant communication in this delicate balance that can be disrupted by any kind of physical or emotional stress.”
Dr. Andrew Goliszek, Ph.D.
North Carolina A&T State University
The connection between how we think and how we feel continues to be the subject of many research papers and it is it is becoming more and more clear that a true mind-body link can be established.
Imagining that the power of the mind can affect our physical well being is no longer a form of misguided thinking – it is a previously unexplored and important avenue now worthy of consideration in the quest to feel and get better.
As a complimentary therapy, hypnosis addresses the mind-body connection of personal trauma and physical illness.
Hypnosis is endorsed by the Canadian Cancer Society
