The new mind/body medicine extends beyond the parameters of psychoneuroimmunology to include the fields of psychology and physics in a new "science of consciousness," a view which sees energy as the underlying pattern of the universe. This view sees human beings as part of an interconnected, universal energy field. These Eastern traditions (Ayurveda, qigong, yoga) have for centuries believed that consciousness plays an essential role in governing physical and psychological health.

  Mind/body medicine encompasses the following basic principles, which are often ignored or unrecognized by contemporary Western medicine:

 

  No two people are alike, so even if they have the same disease, the paths to recovery may be different. The same disease can be the result of different factors with different people. Although these principles have been long recognized in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine, it is a relatively new concept in Western medicine. One person, for example, may contract pneumonia as a result of a serious infection or cold, while someone else may come down with the same disease as a result of psychological stress. Yet a third person could become susceptible due to a nutritional or biochemical imbalance. Roger Williams, Ph.D., a pioneer in biochemistry, called this phenomenon "biochemical individuality," for he recognized that each of us is genetically unique, requiring slight variations in nutrient intake in order to function optimally.

 

 

  A basic premise in mind/body medicine is that chronic stress and lack of balance contribute to illness. Likewise, relaxation, positive methods of coping with stress, and restoration of balance lead to health. More important than the stressors themselves is the person's ability to cope. When stressors are met as a challenge and the individual feels competent to cope effectively, health may be enhanced. On the other hand, stress can also cause people to turn to desperate measures to try to cope, as in the case of substance abuse.

  Hans Selye, a pioneering stress researcher, developed the general adaptation syndrome model, in which chronic activation of the fight or flight response leads to strain on an organ system over time, and interferes with its ability to adapt. Ultimately, the system breaks down and illness can set in.

  British cardiologist Peter Nixon explains that increased stress and arousal causes numerous changes in body functioning that eventually interfere with immune function, protein synthesis, and cardiac functioning. Repetitive stress also uses up the body's reserves, leading to increased stress on other physiological functions. This, in turn, can result in heart disease, cancer, or depression.

  If stress contributes to illness, then stress reduction should promote curing. This is the basis of numerous curing modalities such as progressive relaxation, guided imagery, and biofeedback. Herbert Benson, M.D., of Harvard University, developed the relaxation response technique. It is a distillation of basic meditative practice, which decreases heart rate and blood pressure, enhance health, and reduce the incidence of illness. These basic stress reduction practices can be learned and practiced by anyone.

 

  The phenomenon of the multiple personality patient may offer evidence of how mental states directly affect physiology. Often a multiple will switch medical conditions when another personality takes over. By changing personalities, a multiple can switch physiological states, going from drunk to sober, sedated to alert, or left to right handed.

  John Sward, Ph.D., of the Center for the Improvement of Human Functioning Inter-national in Wichita, Kansas, experienced this several years ago when a female patient he was working with manifested allergies while in a different personality state. Working along with an allergist who would first test the woman for a certain allergy, Dr. Sward would then hypnotize her into a different personality state and the reaction would cease. Additionally, Dr. Sward found that the allergist could send the person into a different personality merely by placing different antigens on her skin.

  The ability for a multiple personality patient to substitute personalities when in pain is an example of how mind/body medicine can accelerate the curing process.

 

  Mind/body medicine supports the view that the patient is an active partner in all stages of treatment, rather than a passive recipient of medical intervention. Lawrence Le Shan, Ph.D., was a pioneer in mind/body medicine for the treatment of cancer. He has documented that cancer patients who took charge of their life directions were more likely to recover than those who passively accepted their diagnosis.

  Taking action also decreases the fear and depression that so often accompanies life-threatening illness. By becoming actively involved in self-healing, one shifts from the feelings of helplessness and hopelessness that have been shown to increase depression and the risk of death to a sense of control.

  Immune functions are also affected by the experiences of helplessness or control. In one study, rats that were conditioned to experience helplessness were more likely to develop cancer from injected tumor cells and die than other rats. Rats that were trained to have a sense of control were best able to reject the tumor cells.

 

  The body has a natural, biological tendency to move toward health and balance, a phenomenon that can be observed in the simple curing of a cut in which the body automatically closes the wound and repairs the damage.

  The well-known "placebo effect" (in which a neutral substance is found to effectively cure an ailment or disease) also demonstrates the body's capacity to cure itself. Erik Peper, Ph.D., Associate Director of the Institute for Holistic Healing Studies at San Francisco State University, suggests that the placebo effect can decrease or remove the constraints that are interfering with the body's intrinsic drive toward wholeness. These constraints can include feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, negative beliefs about the illness, and negative self-/images.

  Jeanne Achterberg, Ph.D., President of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology, adds that the effectiveness of the placebo varies depending upon how much the patient expects to benefit. In other words, those who think they will get better have a significantly greater recovery rate than those who think they will not get better, or think they will get worse.

 

  The relationship between the client and the physician can strongly influence the curing process. For example, when a physician is perceived as powerful and trustworthy, the client gets better faster, and one study has even shown that physician reassurance and support raises the threshold of pain tolerance in hospital patients.

  Mind/body medicine recognizes that the practitioner is constantly communicating (consciously and unconsciously) with the client. Just as the placebo is seen as a way of promoting curing through the patient's belief system, the positive attitude of the doctor can influence the outcome of a given treatment, while discouraging statements or prejudices can evoke what some call a "nocebo" effect by undermining the patient's confidence and hindering the curing process.

  Unfortunately, this dimension of the curing process is rarely noticed or addressed. Thus, a doctor who thinks of a patient as hopeless will convey this to the patient even if the thought is unspoken. In the ideal client/provider relationship, the curing process is viewed as a working partnership in which both parties respect the knowledge and intuition of the other. In this respect, the health care provider seeks to convey the potential for wholeness in each client.

 

  Mind/body medicine is based upon a systems perspective that recognizes that human lives are influenced by many interrelated factors, including genetics, family and socioeconomic background, diet, exercise, social support, risk-taking behaviors, attitudes, and spiritual practices. An illness may be only a manifestation of imbalance on the physical level, but the imbalance may also originate in other aspects of the self, such as the mental or emotional state.

  Any movement toward health mobilizes the other curing potentials of the body. As a person makes a change in one area, other areas tend to change as well. For example, if a person begins to exercise, the person may feel more socially confident and might spontaneously change his eating habits, thus improving overall physical and emotional health. While any disease may be a problem in but a small part of the total person, the factors that influence its manifestation and subsequent healing can be extraordinarily complex.

 

  In human body, there are various fields of energy that can be measured instrumentally with an EKG (electrocardiograph), an EEG, (electroencephalograph), or electroacupuncture biofeedback testing, a method of testing based on measurement of the electrical properties of acupuncture points. These energy fields are continuously affected by changes in physical or psychological health, and can even be influenced by the energy fields of others.

  Robert Becker, M.D., a pioneer in the study of the effects of electromagnetism on health, found that small electric currents can stimulate cells to regenerate, fractures to cure faster, and tissue to repair itself. Research in neuropsychiatry over the past few decades has also shown that small electric currents between specific points in the brain give rise to the same behavioral changes that are observed with the injection of certain brain-stimulating chemicals.

  The energy field perspective can even be applied to hospital settings. Dolores Krieger, Ph.D., R.N., a former Professor of Nursing at New York University, has developed a Therapeutic Touch, a technique which has been proven to be effective in treating a variety of medical conditions. Therapeutic Touch is a contemporary interpretation of several ancient healing practices in which the practioner consciously directs or sensitively modulates human energies.

  The proper use of Therapeutic Touch can increase hemoglobin and decrease anxiety, reduce pain, accelerate the healing of surgical wounds, and help correct dysfunctions of the autonomic nervous system. This technique has been taught to more than 37,000 nurses, doctors, and health practitioners.

  In mind/body medicine, the importance of human touch is greatly emphasized,  especially for children. Dr. Borysenko says, in a child, absence of touch can cause the pituitary gland not to secrete enough growth hormone. The child will dwarf, developing so called ''failure to thrive'' syndrome. The child can't assimilate nutrients and may actually sicken and die.

  Handling and physical affection help to increase the survival rate of infants, improve psychological skills and functioning, promote physical growth and immune function, and, most importantly, enable a person to respond effectively to stress. Also, autopsies on rats that were given extra handling and care showed much less damage to their cardiovascular and intestinal systems than those who were not handled.

 

  In many ways, contemporary medicine carries the notion of all-out war against disease, in which illness is seen as an enemy and death as a failure. Mind/body medicine sees an illness as a communication from the body, a warning signal that something needs attention. People can use this "message" to review the entire mind/body system and see how it is functioning as a whole. If a person experiences back pain, he might ask, "Am I carrying too much emotional weight? Am I under too much stress? Am I using my body properly or exercising it well?"

  In mind/body medicine, one looks beyond the immediate problem to include a larger dimension of one's life. For example, a heart attack may be a signal for a person to become less defensive and hostile, to become less competitive at work, and to give more attention to relaxation, hobbies, family, and the enjoyment of life. In this process a person's heart will cure both literally and symbolically.