Читать книгу The Mind-Body Cure - Bal Pawa - Страница 7

MANY OF US are sick and tired. We run from one task to the next, checking off items on a to-do list. We eat snack food on the run. We get heartburn, so we take a pill and keep running. We end each day feeling exhausted, yet sleep does not come easily. We wake up feeling anxious. Chronic pain haunts us. We go on diets and gain weight. In numbers never seen before, we seek medical intervention for anxiety, depression, insomnia, gut problems, and immune diseases such as thyroid, joint, and skin problems. No matter what we do, the symptoms seem to get worse. Each prescription adds to the growing list of side effects.

Imagine if you no longer felt exhausted going from one errand to another. What if, after eating, you felt energized instead of fatigued or in discomfort? What if you woke up each morning feeling joyful, energetic, and healthy? What if you felt vibrant and in control of your symptoms and your health? All of this is possible. Many of our symptoms are connected. Our fatigue may be related to our insomnia, and our gut problems may put us at risk for autoimmune disease. Stress is a normal part of living, but when it gets out of control, it can negatively affect our health and well-being. Yet we can change that by learning to manage our unconscious reactions. Integrative medicine looks at how the body works as a unit and addresses the role of stress hormones as a major contributor to disease.

While our body can usually handle short-term stress, the effects of excessive, prolonged stress can lead to serious and life-threatening disease. Diabetes, depression, heart attacks, immune problems, respiratory problems, and even cancer are all associated with high levels of chronic stress. Data shows the deleterious effects of chronic inflammation resulting from years of stress on our brain and even our DNA. Globally, there is a trend to throw a “pill at every ill” without going to the root cause of the problem. If 75 percent of the symptoms that show up at doctors’ offices can be attributed to chronic stress, then it makes sense to go to the root cause of the problem.

I was originally trained as a pharmacist and taught that drugs could treat most disease symptoms. Advil stops the pain. Pepto-Bismol helps settle upset stomachs. Vasotec lowers blood pressure. I soon realized these were stop-gap measures and I wanted to make more of a difference in people’s lives, so I became a doctor. However, instead of filling prescriptions, I found myself writing them. With disease, doctors become proficient at “naming it, taming it, and blaming it.” I recognized this type of medicine was very effective to manage symptoms but not the best approach to heal patients. Yet whenever I tried to use a holistic, whole-health approach, it resulted in longer wait times in my clinic.

I soon realized that the current medical system does not support physicians with the time, resources, or training required to address the root cause of the problem. We are so driven to cure a symptom with the latest technology or drug that we forget healing begins with the patient fully taking part in their care. But it wasn’t until I experienced these deficits as a patient in the health-care system that I was really motivated to make integrative care the core of my practice as a doctor. What I learned from applying a mind-body approach to my own healing, and what I have subsequently confirmed while using an integrative approach with my patients, is that external solutions can help manage symptoms but long-lasting healing begins in the mind. Pain, anxiety, and fatigue are but a few of the symptoms of stress.

To ensure our survival as a species, the primitive human brain was designed to protect us at all costs: to scan for threats, avoid pain and seek pleasure, find the path of least resistance, and maximize efficiency. While humans and daily life have evolved over the millennia, our core preprogrammed neurological pathways remain the same. Though most of us no longer need to be wary of predators and fear for our lives daily, our quotidian fears and anxieties still travel the same pathways in the brain, provoking the same response as those original life-threatening situations. The constant triggering of this system creates disease.

Integrative medicine makes an important distinction between the mind and the brain. The brain—the collection of nerves and neurons centered in the skull that sends and receives chemical messages throughout the body—simply follows the program set out by our mind. The mind is the emotional, intellectual, and intuitive awareness that allows humans to feel, perceive, think, will, and especially reason. If our mind is our best friend and advocate, we are more resilient. If our mind is sabotaging us with beliefs of fear, alienation, or rejection, it becomes our biggest enemy.

When physicians do not investigate the multisystem causes of illness and tackle the true source of a symptom, we end up with patients who require more diagnostic tests and suffer side effects from drugs, both of which drive up the costs of health care. We just have to look at the staggering cost of health care in North America to see the impact of treating the symptom rather than the person. Instead, we need to change from this illness model to a wellness model. This is a radical shift in health care, and it is time for that change. All of us—doctors and patients—need to participate, and this book is an excellent start for those who want to take charge of their health and change their lives by changing their mindset.

In an illness model, doctors typically ask their patients, “How are you?” To which patients automatically reply, “I’m fine.” This approach is easy, but it avoids any discussion of actual issues. What if doctors asked instead, “How did you sleep last night?” Invariably, we’d get a much more colorful answer that tells a deeper truth about how our patient feels. “My son has a cold and the new baby has been crying nonstop.” Or “I can’t stop thinking about when my heart will give out again.” Suddenly, a concern replaces a standard answer, and doctors gain specific clues to support their patients’ wellness. This is the first step in transitioning from the illness model to the wellness model of health.

In the past few years, I’ve furthered my own research and study in functional medicine and hormone health, become a Board Certified Menopause Clinician, and with Dr. Nishi Dhawan, co-founded the Westcoast Women’s Clinic for Hormone Health, where we have provided holistic and integrative care to thousands of patients. In our practice, we promote a wellness model, and today I continue to pass on this knowledge and the tools I use to both my medical students and the community at large.

What you find in this book reflects my formal education, my research, and my clinical experience, including patient success stories, as well as my personal experience as a patient. You will learn why the autonomic nervous system (ANS) was the key to survival for our ancient ancestors and how this primitive defense system now works against us. You will learn how stress hormones attack the very organ that triggered their production: the brain.

A stressed brain triggers stress responses throughout the body, from our respiratory system to our gut, from our muscles to our immune system. The result is illness and disease throughout the body. The first eight chapters of the book describe how stress affects each of our body systems and the types of damage that result. Each of those chapters also explains how to cultivate a health mindset and provides practical tools that engage the mind and use it to short-circuit our stress response and allow the body to heal. The final chapter brings together seven practical tools in one place, providing a whole-body REFRAME toolkit to beat chronic stress. I firmly believe that all our body systems are interrelated. When we address the root cause of illness—the stress in our mind, our brain, and our body—we begin to heal and set the foundation for long-lasting health.

My purpose in this book is not to discredit modern medical practice, nor is it to discount the role of diet, genetics, and other factors in disease. We can still address all these elements. But simple, realistic changes to mindset and lifestyle can bring positive changes to your health right now. I want to give you the tools to bring accountability for health into your own hands. I want you to understand how chronic emotional stress is connected to physical symptoms. And more importantly, I want you to learn why it is important to regulate your emotions so that your nervous system works for you and not against you.

When I now think back to my accident, I believe something phenomenal came out of something terrible. By learning to regulate my nervous system, I transformed my personal health. I reprogrammed my mind to obtain a better response in the body. As a physician, I became better equipped to optimize health for others, and I have dramatically changed the way I practice medicine. My patients heal! I feel compelled to share my message with others, and I hope this book is the start of your own health journey. What you learn will ask you to acknowledge the inner dialogue and embedded beliefs that dictate how you make decisions for your health. Be prepared to make up your mind to create a healthier body! Are you ready to get started?