Treatment of illness, particularly of chronic illness requires a real holistic approach which means focusing on all levels of the persons being – the physical, the emotional, the spiritual and most importantly the mental level. Without supporting the healing process with positive thoughts and also changing negative patterns of thinking into nourishing patterns, it is almost impossible to have a real, long lasting break-through in the healing process.
Unfortunately in our daily life and in regular conventional medicine this important factor is too often overlooked and not taken seriously. When I explain to my clients, how important their thoughts and their belief systems are in the process of healing, they mostly look at me in a way that I think that as soon as I say it, they discard it. Therefore in this article I can not emphasize enough the importance of practicing “hygiene” of thoughts.
In the first step in difficult life situations, like illness, there has to be acceptance. Whatever happened, it is necessary to accept the situation. This works like creating a solid foundation on which changes can be developed and can grow.
When somebody has to deal with a chronic illness, acceptance might be a very difficult step. Understandably, resistance, hate (“I hate this body, I hate this pain”), anger or desperation may be the predominant feelings. But these feelings do not help at all. They act like blockages in the system, create tension and lack of circulation, like mud slides in a stream. But for healing we need a free flow in our circulatory, hormone, lymphatic and nerve system. The “boss” or the governor of all this functions is our brain, where our thoughts –negative or positive – and belief patterns are generated.
Our belief system is based upon the accumulation of verbal and non-verbal suggestions that have been gathered throughout our life experience. Through patterns of repetition (“pain comes with aging, diabetes runs in my family, there is nothing I can do about it“ etc.), we learn to create our own perception of reality. In essence, we therefore become what we think.
In healing, repetitive use of positive thoughts, suggestions, visualizations (literally seeing how the bones of a fracture grow together) and trust in our self healing capacity and with confidence in our immune system, we allow access to the mind-body connection. This lets the mind and body work together to support the healing process of the body on a physical level.
What is the mind-body connection and how does it work? When we have an emotion it generates a feeling that turns into a physical sensation. For example: You are watching a horror movie, you feel frightened and then you feel tense and your heart rate increases. In this case you were getting a negative suggestion through your sensory perception (sight and sound), that produced an emotion of fear which turned into the physical sensation.
It works also with positive thoughts; positive images produce positive emotions that manifest into constructive physical changes in the body. Wherever a thought goes, there is a body chemical reaction.
Can what we think actually have an effect on healing? Bodies do react to the thoughts we make. Our psychological/emotional state affects the endocrine system. For example, the emotion of fear is related to adrenaline. If no feeling of fear or stress exists, there is a normal balance of adrenaline in the system. They work in conjunction with each other.
The hypothalamus, the emotional center of the brain, transforms emotions into physical response. As the receptor of neuropeptides, the hypothalamus also controls the body’s appetite, blood sugar levels, body temperature, adrenal and pituitary glands, heart, lung, digestive and circulatory systems. Neuropeptides, the chemical messenger hormones, carry emotions back and forth between the mind and body. They link perception in the brain to the body via organs, hormones and cellular activity.
Neuropeptides influence every major section of the immune system, so we see how the body and mind do work together as one unit. The brain is a highly efficient system that is connected to every cell in our body by billions of connections.
Positive thoughts are essential to producing positive results. Negative thoughts and emotions lower the immune system, while positive thought and emotions actually boost the immune system.
As I mentioned before, in a difficult painful situation it is not easy to generate positive thoughts. But it can be learned and with daily repetitive practice it becomes a very exciting process of evolving into more consciousness of life itself. Creating positive patterns of thoughts are very productive in all parts of our life.
As we experience emotion-management by managing our thoughts, we will begin to feel empowered. As we consciously choose what we want to dwell on and thus become, we live in the present moment, free of past burdens and future worries, we learn the true value of constructive management of our emotions.
For more information: Barbara Rotthaler, German licensed Holistic Practitioner and Naturopath can be reached at
01 376 766 1987, by email: barbararotthaler@gmail.com or visit http://www. ChapalaHealth.com