Coping With Cancer: Using the Power of the Mind to Heal
Although traditional medicine has produced many innovations in the treatment of cancer, and has created many physical miracles for several decades, it is time to look at the newest star in the galaxy of behavioural medicine, called psychoneuroimmunology (PNI). PNI, founded in 1981, is essentially the study of the connection between the mind, the central nervous system, and the immune system. There is now plentiful scientific evidence indicating that there are direct communication pathways between each of these body systems. This means that what we feel, think, and see (using images) affects the functioning of our nervous and immune systems.
Following from this discovery is the exciting possibility that our mind plays a significant role in the genesis of disease. Evidence to this effect is accumulating though without controversy.
Researcher and psychologist Lydia Temoshok has proposed in 1992, that cancer patients reveal a common Type C "behavior pattern" that may predispose them to their disease. This behavior is marked by the non-expression of anger and other "negative emotions", compliance with external authority, a lack of assertiveness in relationships, and an over concern for meeting the needs of others and insufficiently reaching one's own needs. It seems that the Type C individuals' repression of feelings and self-sacrificing behaviors may produce some biological changes such as the suppression of the immune system, which can open the door to opportunistic disease.
There exists a great debate among cancer researchers as to the exact role the mind plays in the etiology and in the treatment of cancer. Reviewing the literature on the causal factors of cancer extends far beyond the scope of this article. Nevertheless, psychological interventions can significantly impact the adjustment of the person and the course of the cancer once it strikes.
Can your mind help you recover from cancer?
For thousands of years, imagery, intentions, rituals, and other mental/emotional processes have been used by shamans and other such healers. In these traditions, the mind has been greatly respected and considered a powerful tool in the healing of the person of disease. There are many ways that the mind can be used to help the adjustment to cancer, and facilitate healing. Here are some key psychological ingredients that have been found to be vital to promote healing:
Social Support
David Spiegel and his colleagues at Stanford University combined supportive group therapy with hypnosis and relaxation in weekly sessions over a year for a group of women with advanced breast cancer. These women in the support groups lived an average of 18 months longer than women who were not in the groups.
It has been documented that people who lack social support have a higher death rate from all diseases including cancer than others of the same age. A long-term study in Alameda County, California, by researchers at the California Department of Health Sciences found that people who were socially isolated were more likely to get cancer than others and had a higher death rate from cancer.
Therefore, learning to ask for help or support is often a skill that cancer patients must learn in order to cope more effectively with the stresses and demands of the illness they are facing.
Stress Management
Being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness is a stressor of immense magnitude. Previous stress-coping skills may no longer be effective in dealing with the stresses imposed by cancer. Learning new coping strategies such as relaxation, meditation, or biofeedback can help a great deal. These easy-to-learn techniques can reduce anxiety, reduce tension or pain, help sleep, restore energy, return the perception of control and see things from a more peaceful perspective.
Emotional Expression
As stated earlier, many cancer patients have difficulty in acknowledging and expressing negative emotions such as anger, resentment, sadness, and fear.
These people have bottled up the emotions for years and now faced with a tidal wave of these feelings. Learning how to accept and express these feelings in an effective and safe way can be extremely therapeutic. The mediums of art therapy, imagery, music, journaling and counselling can be used for those purposes.
Positive Attitude
In a long term prospective study, it was found that women with breast cancer who demonstrated 'fighting spirit' lived significantly longer than those women who were experiencing helplessness and hopelessness with their fate. It is known that possessing a fighting spirit increases a patient's compliance with a medical regimen.
However, this does not mean that a patient should only have positive thoughts. Many cancer patients are afraid to have negative thoughts or feel depressed, as they believe that their malignancies will grow faster. A more effective coping strategy is to experience the real emotion, even the negative ones, and deal with them before going back to a hopeful attitude.
Hope and the Energy of Intent
For many people, spiritual or religious beliefs are core to coping with cancer and helping them find meaning in having the disease. Typically, these beliefs involve the existence of a higher power or a conviction that life has order and meaning beyond the rational and observable daily perceptions. Being connected to a higher source can provide reassurance, support and may even prolong survival. The power of group prayer has been demonstrated in a landmark 1988 study. A group of nearly 200 heart patients that were prayed for by large groups of people turned out to experience significantly less complications than another group that was not prayed for. In essence, the intention of hope and wanting to heal is a positive energy that effect the person's will and course of disease. Cancer psychotherapist Larry LeShan has gone as far as saying that the language of hope mobilizes a person's immune system to battle, whereas despair seems to tell the immune system that the battle is not worth continuing to fight.
Imagery
Creative imagery has proven effective in many instances as a way of using the mind to battle cancer. The reason imagery seems to work is still unclear. Some say that it works by helping patients gain a sense of personal control by doing something for themselves when they are in a situation of helplessness. Other, bolder claims are that imagery directly affects the chemical messengers of the brain, the nervous, endocrine and immune systems, which can then influence the course of the disease.
Imagery can also be a powerful way to gain access into a person's unconscious world. As a result, it becomes possible to tap into the important repressed memories, help to release deep-seated feelings, and access the person's inner guide or healer.
Holistic Health Counselling/Psychotherapy
Some people consider it a weakness to ask for help. On the contrary, reaching out requires a great deal of courage and offers enormous rewards. Counselling is especially necessary when the person with cancer, or loved one become very depressed, hopeless, or is too anxious to carry on everyday tasks. Furthermore, psychotherapy can now be considered an essential tool for healing in conjunction with conventional medical treatment. Seek a therapist who is experienced in treating your particular problem, who you feel comfortable with, and who will make use of the different therapeutic techniques listed above. Remember that spending a few more dollars and getting the therapist that will make a difference is worth the investment.
© Stephane Bensoussan, M.A., Holistic Psychologist
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Mieux vivre avec le cancer
Les solutions naturelles pour atténuer les symptômes
Prix : 29.95 $ CAD
ISBN 13 : 9782761924573