Mind-Body Health and Healing. Andrew Goliszek
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
Music Therapy
Naturopathy
Orthomolecular Medicine
Tai Chi
Therapeutic Humor
Therapeutic Touch
Yoga
CHAPTER ELEVEN The Mind-Body Connection in Children and Adolescents
The Stress of Growing Up
Warning Signs and Symptoms
Effects of Toxic Stress on Brain Development
The Teenage Brain and the Mind-Body Connection
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Child and Adolescent Depression
Child and Adolescent Bipolar Disorder
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Stress Management for Young Children
Praise and Self-Esteem
Coping with School
Coping with Grief and Death
Talking About War and Terrorism
Dealing with Anger
Stress Management with Preteens
Stress Management for Adolescents
Signs and Symptoms of Suicidal Behavior
APPENDIX A Time Management and Stress
Time Management Skills Test
Time Wasters That Create Stress
Tips for Students
Time Management Plan of Action
Effective Time Management Strategies
APPENDIX B Health Assessment Quiz
APPENDIX C Family Stress Assessment Quiz
APPENDIX D Health Screening Checklist
ENDNOTES
REFERENCES
A book like this is not possible without the input and expertise of researchers and healthcare professionals who spend their lives helping us learn more about the connection between the mind and body. I would like to thank my former colleagues at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and particularly Dr. Joan Robinson and Dr. William Sonntag, who mentored me during my early years and helped guide me in my research.
As researchers continually discover more about the amazing extent to which the brain has power over the body and may even control healing, we continually marvel at what has become known as the mind-body connection. The premise of this book is that by using a variety of simple techniques and tools we can harness and direct that power for optimum physical, emotional, and behavioral health. These include diet, exercise, attitude adjustment, and, perhaps most importantly, stress reduction.
Mind-body specialists posit that the mind and body are essentially inseparable—that the brain and peripheral nervous system, the endocrine and immune systems, all of our organs and all of our emotional responses, are in constant communication with one another through a common chemical language. Indeed, many of our most deeply felt emotions may be considered by some simply as chemical reactions that take place in the brain and manifest in the body as the states we recognize as love or hate.
Mental states can be fully conscious or unconscious. We can have emotional reactions to situations without being aware of why we are reacting (think “triggers,” or “having one’s ‘buttons’ pushed”). Each mental state has a physiology associated with it—a positive or negative effect felt in the physical body. And so, many mind-body therapies focus on becoming more conscious of mental states and using this increased awareness to guide our mental states in a better, less destructive direction.
Scientific studies show that severe prolonged stress and chronic negative thinking can compromise the immune system, laying the groundwork for disease to take hold. One way that many mind-body therapies work is by reducing stress. So it is helpful to understand what stress is and the role it plays in health and well-being.
Studies have also revealed that individuals with a positive attitude toward life tend to become sick less often than those with a negative attitude.
Even though these concepts may be new to you, studies in the mind-body connection are showing us that our minds play a major role in influencing our level of wellness. By using the simple techniques I outline in this book to condition your brain, you will be able to harness and direct your own brain power to boost immunity and effect healing.
It is my hope that after reading this book, you’ll be better equipped to take charge of your mind as well as your body and condition yourself to remain healthy throughout life.
The mind-body concept is defined as the interaction that takes place among our thoughts, our body, and our external world. A new science that studies this link is called psychoneuroimmunology (PNI). PNI describes ways in which our emotions and attitude, both positive and negative, can affect our health and also the outcome of medical treatment.
The Brain: Where It All Starts
Psychologists, philosophers, researchers, and others postulate that it is the physical brain that creates, or gives rise to, the ephemeral mind. This is in contrast to the ancients, who thought that the heart was the seat, not only of emotion, but thinking as well. It’s important to note that the mind is not synonymous with the brain. Instead, in our definition, the mind consists of mental states that include thoughts, emotions, beliefs, attitudes, and images. The brain is the hardware that allows us to experience these mental states.
The human brain is an exceedingly complex and marvelous organ comprising a network of neural connections and approximately 100 billion nerve cells known as neurons.
But the human brain is much more than a collection of neurons. If that’s all it were, we wouldn’t be nearly as smart as an octopus, the brain of which can have as many as 150 billion neurons. And if numbers of neurons were the criterion, we certainly would not be as intelligent as dolphins, elephants, or sperm whales, the latter having brains almost five times the size of ours. Weighing in at a mere 2 percent of our total body weight, the human brain is one of the marvels of evolution. Within its many folds is an organic computer that rivals anything we may have on our desktop. It was the human brain, after all, that invented the computer.
Why