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