By Barbara Rotthaler
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 (376) 7661987 or by
email barbararotthaler@gmail.com www.chapalahealth.com.