1. You Are What You Think: Health and the Mind Body Connection

2. Effects of the Mind on the Body  Effects of Stress  Elderly people & learning  Chronic stress & abnormal body tissues  Optimum level of stress  Pain & emotions  Perceived Control  Rat studies  Dog study

3.  Placebos/Remembered Wellness  Originally thought to be 30%  Recently shown to be as high as70%  Regularity of taking “medicine” is more effective than what kind of medicine  Personality Traits  Type A vs Type H  Laughter  Some physiological effects  Not a new idea

4. Effect of the Body on the Mind  James-Lange Theory:  Facial expressions can be precursors to the emotion

5.  Exercise and Mental Health  Releases endorphins (the body’s own morphine )  lowers depression and anxiety  Must be aerobic to get the effect  The more prolonged the program the better the effect

6. Neurophysiology of Stress

7.  Effects of Long Term Release of Cortisol  Increased blood pressure  Inhibits growth in children  Inhibits the inflammatory response  Suppresses the immune system  Damages brain cells

8. So What?  Meditation  Research at Harvard Medical School  Social Support, Intimacy & Love  Breast Cancer Support Groups  Good Marriages  Close Parent/Child Relationships

9.  Spirituality/Faith  Relaxation Response Patients  Effects of Religious Beliefs on Health  The Effect of Prayer on Health  Cardiac Patients in the prayer group required significantly less ventilatory assistance, antibiotics and diuretics  18 Children with leukemia, 10 prayer group, 8 non-prayer group ten months later 7 out of the 10 were still alive while only 2 of the 8 were still alive.

10.  Health Care  Patient/Doctor Relationship is very important  Chiropractors are as good as other more traditional doctors for alleviating back pain but with less medication  Little research of chiropractic and stress but a great deal with regard to alleviating pain

11. Sympathetic Nervous System

12. Parasympathetic Nervous System