Which Medical Treatment Plan is Best for You? Ask Yourself that Question!

Which Medical Treatment Plan is Best for You? Ask Yourself that Question!

New Evidence Shows that Emotional Type Can Reveal Which Therapy Will Work Best for You

Did you know that your personality type could help determine which type of therapy is best for you? 

Some of us are "thick skinned" and some of us are "thin skinned". The "skin" refers not to our external skin covering, but rather to an expression of our personality or psychological composition. 

Thin-skinned folks are typically open-minded, sensitive, vulnerable, creative, and artistic. They usually cannot separate fantasy from reality. In addition, they tend to lose themselves when around others, due to a lack of separate identity. 

Thick-skinned folks are opposite since they know they are separate from others. They like well-defined situations and are uncomfortable with vagueness. These terms, thick or thin-skinned, have been around for a long time. 

Only recently, have some researchers determined that being thick or thin skinned can predict which alternative or complementary therapy might work best.

 

The book "Your Emotional Type: Key to the Therapies That Will Work for You" describes the process for determining what emotional boundary type you are. Furthermore, it shows how to match boundary type with a treatment method. For example, thin-skinned people with asthma might benefit best from hypnosis. Thick-skinned people with hypertension might best be helped by biofeedback. 

This book describes a questionnaire method to determine boundary type. This subjective method, based on patient's answers, is one method to determine emotional boundary type.

Standard biofeedback equipment could also be used, however, to determine emotional type in a scientific, objective, and empirical manner. 

The reasoning behind this is that polygraphs, lie- detectors, and skin-conductance biofeedback devices all measure emotional response. These devices reveal the true emotional response to questions, despite the patient's answers. For example, some people might answer questions to "save face" or "keep up a tough guy image". The patient's body might give a different answer than the patient's conscious mind. The "body answer" is probably more near the truth. 

If a person can be emotionally aroused easily, it makes sense they are thin-skinned. On the other hand, it must take a considerable amount of emotional stimuli to evoke an emotional response from thick-skinned people. 

To test this theory, one could use a skin-conductance biofeedback device, such as those listed below, following these guidelines:

1. Connect the biofeedback device to the patient according to the supplied instructions.
2. Evoke emotional response by showing patient emotional pictures, such as those in the Thematic Apperception Test.
3. Observe and track the emotional responses on the biofeedback device.
4. Compare the results above with standard Mind Boundary Questionnaire results. Include also common sense observations whether the patient seems thick or thin-skinned.
5. Develop a working testing modality for this new technique that at least equals the results of standard Mind Boundary Questionnaires. Refine as needed.
6. After proven, use this new technique since the results are objective and independent of how the patient thinks. In a way, the patient's body answers the questions as to whether they are thick or thin-skinned.
7. Use the results from this new test method to determine the best therapy for the patient's malady.
8. Advanced users could also use the computer to pre-test the receptivity of a treatment method on a patient using a computer and a biofeedback device. For example, the computer could determine the ability to hypnotize a patient based on skin-conductance.

Takeaways:

• Each of us has an emotional type. This type determines the best therapy approach.
• Questionnaires have been traditionally used to determine emotional type, subjectively.
• Biofeedback devices, using skin conductance, could be used to determine emotional type in a scientific, objective, and empirical manner.

For more information:

• Your Emotional Type: Key to the Therapies That Will Work for You by Michael A. Jawer et al., Inner Traditions/Bear, 2011
• Boundaries of the Mind
• Boundaries in the Mind: Past Research and Future Directions by Ernest Hartmann et al.
• Psychosomatic Plasticity: An "Emergent Property" Of Personality Research? By Michael Jawer
• Thematic Apperception Test

Some Biofeedback Tools available to the public:

· Mindplace Thoughtstream USB Personal Biofeedback

· GSR2 Home Biofeedback Unit

· CalmLink Biofeedback Software

· Wearable 'Q Sensor' Helps Monitor Stress Levels

 

Disclaimer - Article is for information only and is not medical advice.

Three Proven Tips for Mind, Brain, and Body Healing

Three Proven Tips for Mind, Brain, and Body Healing

Exercise is Healing My Mind, Brain, and Body. How About You?

Little did I know when I started taking step aerobics classes again that I was healing my brain. My brain had gotten a little slow over the last 15 years since I had taken an exercise class of this kind. I definitely see how I cannot do what I did when I was in my fifties - yet!

 

By exercising, my mind is becoming sharper and quicker, as I try to keep up with the instructor's commands. It is benefiting me greatly, both physically and mentally.

Coincidentally, I recently read two books on Neuroplasticity. Now I understand how my brain is being "tuned up" in the exercise class. I can imagine how my little neurons are shaping up and toning up, just like my body. 

Even at standstill, my neurons are learning how to balance my body better. I can see how this will help prevent falls in the wintertime. 

I am not where I want to be, but I am improving. I am learning all the time.

 

As I exercise more, I find it particularly helpful to enlist my mind in my body and brain repair. I consider my brain as "hardware" and my mind as "software". My brain, mind, and body work in unison. My mind is the action initiator. My brain sends out signals to perform that action. My body fulfills that action, with my brain supervising the action. My mind decides if the action was good or not. If not, this mental-physical process is repeated, modified, or stopped. 

Here are some tips to that might help you promote mind-brain-body healing:

1. Start moving and the brain will follow. It might be slow at first, but keep moving, even a little. See the progress each day. If a part of your body is difficult to move, perhaps the brain is re-routing the mental circuits to perform this function. This takes time. Be patient.
2. Start moving and the mind will follow. As you exercise, endorphins are produced that make you "feel good". The mind gets used to feeling good and you begin to want to exercise.
3. Start moving, even in your mind's eye. Athletes use this trick to prepare to do difficult functions. Golfers imagine hitting the ball in the hole. Basketball players imagine slam-dunking. Therefore, you, too, can imagine yourself doing what you want to do. Imagine as often as you can. Your mind loves to work on a problem. Give it something to do. "Where there's a will, there's a way" is a commonly used phrase. Even if you are paralyzed or have a debilitating illness, do not give up hope. Find others who have overcome the limitations you have. Learn from them.

Takeaways:

• The mind, brain, and body are very resilient.
• We really do not know about healing much, especially from the inside out.
• Any movement or exercise will aid in overall health improvement.

For More Information:

• "The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science" by Norman Doidge, Penguin, 2007
• "The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force" by Jeffrey M. Schwartz et al., HarperCollins, 2003
• "Exercise and neuroplasticity in persons living with Parkinson's disease" by M. A. HIRSCH et al.

Disclaimer - Article is for informational use only and is not medical advice.

Are You “Sick and Tired” of Being “Sick and Tired”?

Are You “Sick and Tired” of Being “Sick and Tired”?

Usually people go to the doctor expecting, or at least hoping, for relief. Many times relief occurs. 

Sometimes things do not get better, though. After repeated doctor visits, the doctor labels your condition as chronic. The doctor might even say "it is all in your head" and that "you have to learn to live with it". The doctors are doing their best….or are they?

 

Another word for Doctor is Physician. Physicians mainly deal with physical symptoms. That is what they do. 

Whether you and/or your doctor like it, the mind is connected to the body. Your mind affects your body. Your body affects your mind. That is just how it works. 

Practical examples of mind-body interaction are stress headaches, stress stomachaches, depression after amputation, etc. Has your doctor considered how your mind is affecting your symptoms?

 

Think about this for a minute. Doesn't it make sense to consider your whole mind-body system instead of just physical symptoms? 

Yes, doctors now use the term "stress", but do little to help patients find what the patient's stressors are, and much less, what to do about them. 

Some doctors really do want to help you but many are constrained in their efforts. Performance quotas have to be met, employer restrictions, and peer pressure are just some of the obstacles preventing your doctor from doing what they might want to, or should, do. In addition, most patients just do not want to consider mind-body interaction. Thus, doctors give patients what they want and maybe not, what they need. That might work for others but you want better. You are just "sick and tired" of being "sick and tired". 

Okay, by now, it might make sense to you that the body and mind are connected. Now, please consider your physical symptoms might be related to your mind. Maybe your doctor was partially right in saying that "It's all in your head." The head is where science thinks a good share of the mind exists. 

The mind is seldom logical. A good example of the mind at work is dreaming. Seldom can we make sense and logic out of dreams. The mind knows what it is doing though. Whether you know it or not, much of your body functions are controlled by the subconscious part of you, which might be viewed as your mind. Examples of subconscious or autonomic body functions are breathing, heart function, digestive action, etc. 

Physicians typically do not deal with the subconscious part of you. However, maybe your subconscious mind is making you sick or keeping you sick. Doctors are trained to deal with facts and logic, so do not expect typical doctors to consider mind-body interaction. Today, there are but a few doctors utilizing Mind-Body Medicine or Psychoneuroimmunology. Research has been slow in this area, probably due to lack of interest by the public and health care businesses. In the future, Mind-Body Medical Doctors might be the norm, however. 

Dr. Albert Schweitzer wrote of his medical profession, "We are at our best when we give the doctor who resides within each patient a chance to go to work."

 

You have tried to get better with Physicians and maybe even Specialists. Maybe it is time to check with your own "Doctor Within" to see what is going on.

 

If you are ready to do something radically different, consider answering the following questions. 

• It is important to answer honestly, as your life, or quality of life, might very well depend on your honesty. 
• Take some time before you answer each question. Do not answer how you SHOULD answer. 
• Answer honestly. Tell it like it is and not how you were taught to respond. 
• Give your "gut answers" and not your "head answers". 
• Your answers are yours and yours alone. 
• Your answers are your truth. 
• It is time to get real and honestly face up to some tough questions. 
• What do you have to lose?

You do not have to answer all the questions at once. Take your time. This works best if you are relaxed and not rushed. Even one question a day would be good. It took a long time to get a chronic condition. A few more days will not make that much difference. You can do it. 

You might even feel better just by "doing something", especially when you feel hopeless.

If you do not want to answer all the questions, just answer the one(s) that you do not want to answer. As you scan the questions, which ones make your stomach jump? These are the most important questions to answer. Please continue though, since your answers to the other questions help fill in the big picture of what is really going on. 

Are you ready? 

First, get in a comfortable position in a quiet spot where you will not be interrupted. Take a few deep breaths to relax and calm your mind. Relax your body as best as you can. Quiet your mind as best as you can. Let everything else go for now. 

Here are the questions:

1. Do you want to live? Do you really want to live anymore?
2. How long do you want to live? Are you willing to make lifestyle changes to live longer or feel better?
3. If you want to live, what do you have to live for?
4. Do you want to get better? Do you really want to get better? Are you getting anything from remaining sick, e.g. extra attention, money or benefits, exemption from duties, penance, sickness "badge of honor", etc.?
5. Why do you want to get better? If you had the health you desire, what would you do with it?
6. Do you have an inner conflict that is affecting your physical health? Do you have a lot of anger? Do you have a big resentment? Have you been hurt big-time? Are you keeping a secret? Are you fearful of your life or well-being? Generally, what is bugging you that might be affecting your health?
7. Do you need to forgive someone? Do you need to forgive yourself? Are you grieving?
8. Do you think you have sickness as a punishment for something? Do you deserve to get better? Do you think your suffering is good for you or for someone else? Are you sick because someone else is sick? Are you consciously or unconsciously choosing to wither away and die?
9. Is there anything else you know is adversely affecting your health that you have not acknowledged up to now? Now is the time to say so. Your good health and maybe even your life depend on your answers.
10. Do you trust your doctor? Are you following the doctor's recommendations? Are you honest with your doctor? Are you telling your doctor one thing and doing something else? Are you willing to share your answers to these questions with your doctor? Are you afraid to show these answers to your doctor?

Take a rest. Review your answers. Believe it or not, you are healing already. At least you know what you are dealing with now. You might even have a sense of peace, as if you have taken a big load off your shoulders.

Decide what you want to do about your answers. Maybe resolve the issues or just accept them. You might very well be surprised how your health improves, now that you are in the action mode. 

Before, you were in the reaction mode. Your symptoms were controlling you. You are in control of your symptoms now. You are going to decide what to do next. You might even seek help to do what it is that you want to do. You do not have to ask anyone else what is bothering you and making you sick because now you know. The answers were inside of you. 

Consider discussing these answers with your doctor. If you do not trust your doctor, find someone you do trust. Also, try to find a doctor you are not afraid of, or at least not as much. Everyone is afraid of their doctor, since they are an authority figure. Help is out there. All you have to do is ask around. 

If you are reading this as a doctor, please consider some of these questions in your practice of medicine. Most importantly, please listen to your patient. Ask them what they think the problem is. Ask them what they think they need to get better. You might be surprised at your patient's insight. 

Doctors or Patients of the future might have better tools or knowledge to access the "Doctor Within". For now, though, much can be done by just asking your "self" questions and answering honestly. 

TAKEAWAYS -

1. Ms. Fannie Lou Hamer's tombstone reads, "I am sick and tired of being sick and tired." Maybe you can do better.
2. Your subconscious mind might be making you sick or keeping you sick.
3. Resolving inner conflict might very well improve your health. Facing up to your inner truths can help you heal.
4. Once you know what you are really dealing with, you can decide what to do about it.
5. You can seek help, as needed or wanted.
6. The future might have better tools or techniques to help find symptom triggers, thus improving overall health and lower health care costs.

For more information:

• Psychoneuroimmunology
• Mind-Body Medicine: A Clinician's Guide to Psychoneuroimmunology by Alan Watkins, Elsevier Health Sciences, 1997  
• Tension myositis syndromeTension myositis syndrome
• Primary and secondary gain
• Will to Live
• Accompanying Video - also show how to use Biofeedback to better answer questions above.

Disclaimer - Article is for information only and is not medical advice. Seek professional help, if needed.