The Forgotten Dialect: Our Body Language

Part 3: Mindbody Research

* Sharing our attitudes and emotional baggage may be as important in spreading disease as germs and genes are.

The unwavering influence that the puppeteer exerts on our health has been supported by countless studies. In this section, we will look at the body systems that cause most diseases. We will review some of the landmark studies which confirm that the mindbody connection plays a role in the functioning of these systems. Our culture traditionally looks at these body systems as separate, mechanical and operating outside of our control. That concept is useful in a “symptom control” context, however it is limiting when we are attempting to understand our health as a whole. For example, we traditionally view infections as the result of “catching a bug” or allergies as an “exposure to an offending agent”. Cancer, heart disease and vascular problems are often blamed on bad “genes”, bad “habits” or bad “luck”. Pain disorders are believed to be due to aging, deconditioning or overused bodies. This section will illustrate a different perspective.

Lets start by asking some important questions. Is the health of our immune system influenced by our perspectives and beliefs? And if our immune system was healthy, would we have the same problems with infections and allergies? What determines how our genes are expressed and do we have any control over them? Could we be healthy even if we were born with a “bad” gene? Why do we continually engage in non-nourishing habits, even when we know they are literally killing us? And what about our pain threshold, is it adjustable? If so, how do we improve it?

The Immune System

If our unconscious mind can make us sick because of a mistaken identity, then how important are bugs when it comes to causing the common cold? It turns out that intentionally introducing a virus into a person doesn't reliably make them sick. One study tried to make 276 people sick with a common cold virus. After being inoculated, 84% of the people showed evidence of a viral infection on lab work. However, only 47% of those that had the virus growing in their body, actually developed the symptoms of the common cold (12).

Another study looked at a more serious virus, HIV. Getting diagnosed with HIV has fatal implications. Many patients become more spiritually interested after discovering they have the virus. This study noted that those who became more spiritually interested had a much healthier immune system than those who had a decrease in spirituality. Those with decreased spirituality had a decline in their immune function (measured by CD4 cell counts) 4.5 times faster over a 4 year period than those that were more optimistic (13).

If an under-active immune system can be caused by the mindbody connection, is it possible that an over-active immune system, such as in allergies, can be as well? If an individual had a more balanced inner state, would they be as sensitive to developing allergies when exposed to an offending agent? Based on numerous case reports it appears that allergic reactions can be influenced by the mindbody connection. Dr. Jose Silva, a pioneer of mindbody medicine, used hypnosis as a striking way to show that physical conditions could be quickly manifested through the power of the unconscious mind. Dr. Silva placed an individual in a trance and suggested he had an allergy to pencils. Later the individual was given a pencil and sure enough he developed a swollen red rash on his fingers. Through hypnosis Dr. Silva then suggested that he no longer had the allergy. Within moments the allergy subsided (14)!

Daniel Goleman reported similar unusual allergic reactions in a boy with multiple personalities. The boy had an orange juice allergy when embodying one personality, but not another. If he happened to have the allergy and then switched to the allergy free personality, the allergy would subside in moments (15).

There are also numerous reports of allergies spontaneously and permanently resolving in people who were undertaking emotional awareness work. Gary Craig, the founder of an emotional release technique called Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), describes countless cases where people were working on their emotional issues and suddenly noticed that long-term allergies were gone (16). Dr. John Sarno also noted similar improvements in patients that were doing emotional work as part of his mindbody pain program (17). Those people that were motivated to come to terms with there emotional state, found that their bodies reflected a new found peace in unexpected ways.

This doesn't mean that allergies are not real. The immune system is clearly over-reacting to a environmental agent. Pretending that an allergy is “all in the head”, could be a serious and even fatal mistake. However, it is worthwhile to consider that the reason the immune system struggles to adapt to its outer environment is because we struggle to adapt to our inner environment.

10. Adler R et al; Behaviorally conditioned immunosuppression; Psychosomatic Med. 1975; 37: 333-340.

11. Goebel MU; Behavioral conditioning of immunosuppression is possible in humans; FASEB J. 2002; 16: 1869-73.

12. Cohen et al; Social ties and the susceptibility to the common cold. JAMA. 1997: 277: 1940-44.

13. Ironson G et al; An increase in religiousness/spirituality occurs after HIV diagnosis and predicts slower disease progression over four years in people with HIV. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2006; 21, S62-S68.

14. Silva Ultra Mind System. www.silvaultramindsystem.com15. Chopra D; Quantum Healing, Exploring the Frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine, Bantam Books 1989.

16. Craig G; Case study reports of allergy relief with EFT. http://www.emofree.com/articles.aspx?id=4.

17. Sarno J; The Divided Mind, The Epidemic of Mindbody Disorders; HarperCollins Publishing 2006.