Alternative Care for the Mind and Body

ALTERNATIVE CARE FOR THE MIND AND

BODYSession 1

Mind/Body Modalities

By Jennifer KitchenJuly 1, 2013

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“Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease.” Hippocrates

• The Staff of Asclepius

• The Hippocratic Oath

(Tyson, 2001)

(Blayney, 2005)

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Overview

• Mind and Body Connection

• Stress

• Relaxation

• Meditation

• Talk therapy

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The Mind/Body Connection

Philosophies and Beliefs Throughout the Ages

Healing by “tapping the Natural Forces”

Dreams give clairvoyance

A spiritual center within each human being

The mind rules over the body• (Micozzi, 2011)

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The Mind/Body Connection

Fundamental Tenets of Mind/Body Medicine

Concept of treating the whole person

Patients are active participants

By managing own mental processes patients

○ may prevent disease

○ shorten course of disease• (Micozzi, 2011)

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The Mind/Body Connection

• A person has a body and a mind.

• Bodies are intact, damaged, or destroyed.

• Minds are active, impaired, or inactive.• (Gordon and Hobbs, 2011)

(Gordon and Hobbs, 2011)

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Stress

“The Rate of Wear and Tear on the Body”

• People respond to stress

Emotionally

Mentally

Physically • (Micozzi, 2011)

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Stress

Causes of Stress

Change

Challenges

Frustrations

Conflicting demands

Loss and grief

Suffering• (Micozzi, 2011)

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Stress “Fight or Flight Response”

• Accelerated heartbeat

• Most blood vessels constrict

• Blood vessels in the skeletal muscle dilate

• Digestion decreases

• Body sweat increases

• Epinephrine secretion increases• (Thibodeau and Patton, 2008)

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Stress

Stress Management Techniques

• Relaxation

• Meditation

• Talk therapy

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Relaxation

Ways to Reach Relaxation

• Meditation

• Yoga

• Progressive Relaxation

• Hypnosis• (Micozzi, 2011)

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Relaxation Four Common Elements of Relaxation

• Quiet environment

• Focus (object, visualization, breath)

• Passive attitude

• Comfortable position • (Micozzi, 2011)

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Relaxation

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

• Tense up a specific muscle

• Then relax the same muscle

• Works by working through a sequence of body parts

• Train your body to respond differently to stress• (Center for Clinical Interventions, n.d.)

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Meditation

Mind and Body are One

• Meditation is used to

Realign the mind and body

Create a harmonious mind/body interaction

Relieve stress on the body and the mind• (Micozzi, 2011)

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Meditation

Common Objective of Meditation

• Still the restlessness of the mind

• Inward focus to heal and stay healthy

Types of Meditation

• Transcendental Meditation (TM)

• Mindfulness• (Micozzi, 2011)

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Meditation

The Benefits of Meditation

• Relieve symptoms of chronic pain

• Better control of alpha rhythms

• Better focus

• Cultivation of internal awareness

• Better control of stress• (Trafton, 2011)

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Talk Therapy

Why we talk…

“Talking things out” assists in finding solutions

To strengthen relationships

Helps maintain good mental health

Being listened to

Allows a person to feel cared about• (Mental Health Foundation, 2009)

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Talk Therapy

Many Kinds of Talk Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

Psychodynamic therapy

Humanistic therapy• (Mental Health Foundation, 2009)

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Talk Therapy

A Good Therapist

Listens and values the individual

Assists them in learning to change

Challenges negative thoughts

Reinforces positive thoughts• (Mental Health Foundation, 2009)

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Questions

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Time to Relax

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References Blayney, K., (2005). The Caduceus vs. the Staff of Asclepius. Retrieved

from http://drblayney.com/Asclepius.html Gordon, A.S. and Hobbs, J.R., (2011). A Commonsense Theory of

Mind-Body Interaction. http://isi.usc.edu/~hobbs/cs11-body-interaction.pdf

Mental Health Foundation, (2009). Talking therapies explained. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/content/assets/PDF/publications/talking_therapies_explained.pdf

Micozzi, M.S., (2011). Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (fourth edition). Missouri; Saunders Elsevier.

Trafton, A., (2011). The Benefits of Meditation; MIT and Harvard neuroscientists explain why the practice helps tune out distractions and relieve pain. http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/meditation-0505.html

Tyson, P. (2001). The Hippocratic Oath Today. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/hippocratic-oath-today.html