Italian psychologist
Dr. Roberto Assagioli left us two remarkable
pieces of writing, Psychosynthesis and The Act of Will. In those
books, Assagioli brought his remarkable intelligence to bear on
the entire subject of human potential and human happiness. He
studied the mind and personality for his entire lifetime, and he
came up with several ideas that are profoundly simple and
powerfully effective in helping you and me to lead happier, more
satisfying lives.
In The Act of Will, he laid out a series of
psychological principles, or laws, that can be very helpful to you
in understanding the way your mind works and how you can take
control of it.
The
third of Assagioli's laws is that
images or pictures, either from within or from the outside, will
trigger thoughts and feelings consistent with them. In turn, those
thoughts and feelings will trigger behaviors that lead to the
realization of the pictures.
For example,
when you become absolutely convinced that you are a total winner
and you are meant to be a complete success in anything that you
really want to do, every picture or image that you see that
somehow represents winning to you will trigger thoughts of what
you could do to achieve that same state. The picture will also
trigger the feeling of excitement that will motivate you to take
action.
Assagioli's fourth law is that thoughts, feelings and
images trigger the words and actions consistent with them. This is
another way of saying that your inner impressions will motivate
you to pursue the outer activities that will move you toward the
achievement of your goals.
Assagioli's fifth law is that your actions will trigger
thoughts, emotions and images consistent with them. That has been
referred to as the Law of Reversibility. It is one of the most
important success principles ever discovered.
After a certain number of sessions, the goal is for patients to
achieve relaxation without the use of technology. For example, an
EEG (electroencephalogram) monitors the brain waves associated
with different mental states, such as restless sleep or deep
sleep.
Cognitive behavioral therapy uses the cognitive process to shape
experience. It implies that difficult emotions such as anxiety or
depression are the result of faulty thinking. For example,
patients with phobias believe they are in danger when they aren’t.
A therapist would teach patients to restructure their fearful
thought patterns, allowing them to see a less biased view of the
world.
Use of several mind-body therapies to treat one condition is quite
common and there tends to be overlap between the different
therapies. Meditation can involve the use of guided imagery, or
biofeedback training can include relaxation techniques. Regardless
of the condition, a multi-therapy approach seems to provide the
greatest benefit.
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Heart attack patients experienced success using mind-body
therapies, in combination with nutrition and exercise, as part of
a cardiac rehabilitation program. Research involving over 12,000
patients focused on self-regulation skills such as relaxation and
management of anger or hostility.
Over 6,000 cancer patients dealing with disease- and
treatment-related symptoms showed positive results when using
relaxation, hypnosis and supportive group therapy. These mind-body
therapies improved mood, quality of life and coping skills.
Patients who are apprehensive about upcoming surgery can calm
down. Mind-body therapies such as relaxation, guided imagery and
instructional interventions can be used as part of presurgical
preparation. These techniques were most effective in decreasing
medication use, length of stay in hospital and recovery time.
Insomniacs can find relief through muscle relaxation and
behavioural therapies, such as stimulus control. Mind-body
therapies can also be helpful in late-life insomnia (difficulty
staying asleep).
A study found that cognitive-behavioural therapy
reduced the number of awakenings and time spent awake. This
therapy was more successful than medication, as the effects lasted
up to two years following treatment.
Recurrent migraine headaches respond to a combination of
relaxation and thermal biofeedback. Tension headaches benefit from
relaxation or muscle biofeedback. These therapies can be combined
with pain medication or work on their own.
Chronic low back pain works well with multi-component mind-body
therapies such as stress management, coping skills or cognitive
restructuring. Results on 1,300 patients support these therapies
in combination with medical management.
Additional references:
Rational integration of pharmacologic, behavioural and
rehabilitation strategies in the treatment of chronic pain by
Gallagher RM. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. March 2005;
84(3Suppl):S64-76.
Integrative oncology: complementary therapies for pain, anxiety,
and mood disturbance by Deng G, and Cassileth BR. CA Cancer J Clin.
2005 Mar-Apr; 55(2):109-16.
Mind-Body Medicine: state of the science, implications for
practice by John A. Astin et al. J Am Board Fam Pract 16, 131-147
(2003).
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Mind
influence on Physical Health
Sandra Donaldson clinical background is in kinesiology where she
worked in orthopaedics for 5 years. She then crossed over to work
in clinical research where she has been working for over 10 years.
Sandra has worked at University Hospital (London), Princess
Margaret and Women's College Hospitals. She is now working as a
clinical research project manager in paediatric orthopaedic
clinical trials in Toronto.
Anyone who wants to learn more about mind-body medicine, and other
complementary and alternative health care, should check out the
Integrative Health Institute (IHI) at Mount Royal College in
Calgary.
The Institute
opened on Feb. 2, 2005, and is Canada’s first post-secondary
institute dedicated to advancing complementary and alternative
health education and research, and integrating treatments into
existing health practices.
Mind-body medicine uses the power of the mind to influence
physical health. It’s not what you think. There are no
granola-crunching hippies here. Researchers are confirming the
beneficial effects of these healing practices, some that date back
more than 2,000 years.
Mind-body medicine has had a positive influence on patients with
heart attacks, cancer, insomnia, surgery, headaches and chronic
low back pain. The goal of this alternative medicine is to
complement conventional care, not replace it. Mind-body therapies
include guided imagery, hypnosis, biofeedback, cognitive
behavioral therapy and meditation.
In this 24-7 world, multi-tasking has become a way of life. In
contrast, meditation focuses on simplicity, the here and now. The
two most common types of meditation are transcendental, repeating
a silent word, and mindfulness, observing thoughts and emotions as
they arise.
A guru in this field, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn PhD, has recently
published Coming to Our Senses, Healing Ourselves and the World
through Meditation. Kabat-Zinn emphasizes that lack of attention
to the body’s signs and symptoms can lead to disease, or dis-ease.
Meditation sessions frequently start with body scanning to
identify areas of tension or pain, and use breathing exercises to
bring relief.
Guided imagery uses visualization and imagination to produce a
state of relaxation. Using as many senses as possible improves the
effect. For example, picture yourself lying on a beach, feeling
the warmth of the sun, listening to the waves as they wash ashore,
the scent of cocoa butter sunscreen rising from your skin.
The mind responds to what it sees. In reality, you may be sitting
at a computer in a windowless office. But if your mind truly
believes you are on a beach somewhere, your body will respond,
your heart rate will slow and breathing will deepen.
Hypnosis speaks to the sub-conscious and involves three stages:
* Absorption, or intense concentration on an object.
* Dissociation – experiences are interpreted outside the normal
conscious awareness (due to absorption in first stage).
* Suggestibility, or accepting input from the therapist without
censor or criticism.
Once under hypnosis, the therapist can suggest ways of achieving
specific goals such as reducing anxiety or fear. Preliminary
research on childbirth shows that hypnosis is useful in treating
pain and reducing the length of labor.
Biofeedback uses devices that monitor physiologic response such as
heart rate or muscle activity. While being guided through
relaxation exercises, patients are able to monitor their progress
visually or auditorily, using flashing lights or beeping sounds.
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