[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s a skeptic herself, Dr. Lissa Rankin makes an irrefutable case, documenting with cold, hard science that the medical establishment has been proving that the mind can heal the body for over 50 years.
Loads of data proves that the mind can believe itself well. In clinical trials, we call it “the placebo effect.” Patients treated with placebos don’t just feel better. It’s not just “in their heads.” They’ve actually had warts disappear, bronchi dilate, colons become less inflamed, hair growth on the heads of bald men, ulcers heal, and other measurable physiological phenomena. We also know that the opposite is true, and the mind can think itself sick, which researchers call “the nocebo effect.” When patients are given injections with saline and told it is chemotherapy, they vomit and lose their hair.
How do such things happen physiologically? In her book Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof You Can Heal Yourself, Lissa Rankin, MD, explains the science behind how a positive or negative thought or emotion in the mind translates into spontaneous repair in the body. As it turns out, the body has built in self-repair mechanisms that fix damaged proteins, repair DNA, correct hormonal imbalances, and gobble up cancer cells, infectious agents, and foreign bodies that our bodies are exposed to everyday. These mechanisms explain the spontaneous remissions that are reported in the medical literature from seemingly “incurable” diseases like Stage 4 cancer, HIV, hypothyroidism, diabetes, and even an untreated gunshot wound to the head. Yet patients often feel powerless to harness these natural self-repair mechanisms.
But here’s the kicker. The body can only repair itself when the body is in a state of physiological rest. Whenever the body thinks it’s time to run away from the lion (or whatever chronic, repetitive perceived threat it believes itself to be under), it shuts down self-repair. After all, who cares about long term maintenance like killing unwanted cancer cells if you’re about to be eaten by a lion? In Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof You Can Heal Yourself, Dr. Rankin shares not just the scientific proof that you can heal yourself, but also tips for using the power of the mind to optimize the body’s natural self-repair mechanisms, so disease prevention and spontaneous remissions aren’t just something that happens randomly, but something you might be able to experience for yourself.
“We need patients to stop thinking that your body is not your business -Taking your power and handing it over to other healthcare provider. Your body is your business” – Dr. Lissa Rankin.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Lissa Rankin, launched the Whole Health Medicine Institute to train doctors, nurses, alternative and other health care providers, and life coaches about mind-body medicine. She is the author of several books including the New York Times bestseller Mind Over Medicine.
Article credit to: The Mind Unleashed
