Mind/Body Medicine
The Stress Effect
Mind/Body Medicine is an evolving science on how to bring about physical and biochemical changes in the body by altering our thoughts, our emotions, and our behaviors. The mind and the body are intimately connected, and because of this relationship affect each other profoundly.
When you get stressed several changes occur within your body. Your heart rate and blood pressure go up, your body releases adrenaline and cortisol, your attention sharpens at first then dulls if the stress continues, and your immune system similarly becomes fatigued when stressed over a long term period. These are examples of biochemical events that are a part of your overall response to a stressful event. If we alter your stress response and enhance your coping mechanisms all these health changes go in the opposite direction.
Think Positive, Reduce Stress Effect
Researchers are finding a that neurotransmitters and other chemical messengers in the body are used in many ways and are directly influenced by positive and negative thought processes. This puts a twist on the axiom " I think therefore I am". The very thoughts you have, whether negative or positive, not only affect who you are mentally, spiritually, and emotionally, but also physically. This new information tells us we are capable of controlling our own biochemistry with what and how we think. Negative thoughts, emotions, and health behaviors produce negative health. Positive thoughts, health behaviors and stimulus produce good health.
Dr. Johnson trained with the Hypnosis and Motivation Institute in Los Angeles. For the last year, he has treated patients' stress and anxiety using Mind/Body Techniques. He has worked extensively with altering negative health behaviors and replacing them with positive, healthy behaviors.
"When I really started getting into Preventative Healthcare, I realized that a patient's knowledge of what to do wasn't a good predictor of whether or not they were going to succeed. They could know anything and everything about health but it didn't mean they were going to succeed. What was a better predictor of whether they were going to succeed or not, was how well-practiced they were in modifying their own health behaviors. Since I've been working in this area, my patients have had a much higher degree of success with their lifestyle modifications, and the good health that follows."
Mind/Body Medicine covers a wide range of techniques and strategies. Some of them are as simple as taking deep breaths when you're feeling nervous or stressed. Others involve the use of sophisticated biofeedback devices to train a person's mind to regulate their breathing, heart-rate, and "heart-rate coherence."
In addition to the Mind/Body Treatment we deliver in the office, the following list of activities will help a person relax, reduce stress, re-focus the mind, and manage negative behaviors.
emWave
We train people to use the emWave Personal Stress Reliever. This scientifically validated, handheld stress reliever was carefully developed by Doc Childre, founder of the Institute of HeartMath (IHM) and CEO of Quantum Intech, and a team of top scientists and engineers, using the Institute's 15 years of innovative research on the relationship between the heart, stress and emotions.
Stress creates incoherence in our heart rhythms. However, when we are in a state of high heart rhythm coherence the nervous system, heart, hormonal and immune systems are working efficiently and we feel good emotionally. emWave Personal Stress Reliever helps you reduce your emotional stress by displaying your level of heart rhythm coherence in real time. But emWave does more than just display coherence levels. It guides you toward stress relief by training you to shift into a coherent, high performance state.
emWave PC Stress Relief System (formerly known as Freeze Framer)
The emWave PC Stress Relief System with Patented Heart Rhythm Monitor will help you transform stress and anxiety into vibrant energy. Much more than a heart monitor this revolutionary technology guides you on how to achieve higher, more creative energy levels, less stress, and optimal health.
HeartMath research has shown that emotions are reflected in our heart rhythm patterns. The analysis of Heart Rate Variability (HRV), or heart rhythms, is recognized as a powerful, non-invasive measure that reflects heart-brain interactions and autonomic nervous system dynamics, which are particularly sensitive to changes in the emotional state.
emWave PC is a software and hardware program which collects pulse data through a finger or ear sensor which plugs into your computer. The program translates the information from your heart rhythms into user friendly graphics displayed on your computer screen.
- Watch your heart rhythms in real time.
- See how emotions affect your heart rhythms.
- Discover which emotions you can activate to more effectively manage stress and boost vitality.
With emWave PC, you learn to build a buffer against stress by accessing a high performance state called "coherence." Coherence is a mental and emotional state that people experience when they are "in-sync" or in the "zone"--when the heart, brain and nervous system are working in harmony. Simply stated, more coherence equals more energy and less wear and tear from stress.
Other Clinic Mind/Body Services:
- Clinical Hypnotherapy
- Physician-Directed Progressive Relaxation
- Health Behavior Modification
- Hemi-SyncTM Relaxation Sessions
Self-care Mind/Body Exercises:
- Prayer
- Deep-Breathing
- Progressive Relaxation
- Self-hypnosis
Exercises that have Mind/Body effects:
Mind/Body Medicine Resources: