My Philosophy at Reclaiming Life is research and implementation of the
latest leading-edge breakthrougH mind/body therapies.
The Reclaiming Life Programme evolved from the concept that beliefs,
feelings, attitudes and lifestyle are important factors affecting health.
Psychoneuroimmunology is the study of this principle.
Psychoneuroimmunology in itself describes the process - (Psycho) Thoughts,
affect (Neuro) the nervous system, and then affects (Immunology) the immune
system.
Central to our Philosophy is the process of releasing past emotional pain and trauma. Unresolved and repressed trauma manifest in the body as disease. Illness is the body's way of allerting the patient to their inner state. Reclaiming Life specialises in implementing Healing and Relapse Prevention Techniques pioneered by the leading researchers of our era.
Mind/Body Communication
Our thoughts and feelings influence the body via two kinds of mechanisms:
the nervous system and the circulatory system. These are the pathways of
communication between the brain and the rest of the body. The brain reaches
into the body via the nervous system. This allows it to send nerve impulses
into all the body's tissues and influence their behavior.
The brain can thus affect the behavior of the immune system with its nerve
endings extending into the bone marrow (the birthplace of all white cells),
the thymus, the spleen, and the lymph nodes.
It also reaches into all the glands of the endocrine system, all the bones,
muscles, all the internal organs, and even the walls of veins and arteries.
It can influence the behavior of the heart with its nerves penetrating the
heart tissue, affecting heart rate and other aspects of the heart's
functioning. The entire body is literally "wired" by the brain controlling
the immune system.
The brain is also a gland. It manufactures thousands of different kinds of
chemicals and releases them into the bloodstream. These chemicals circulate
throughout the body and influence the activity and behavior of all the
body's tissues. The brain could be described as the ultimate apothecary,
producing many more drugs than science has ever invented.
The cells of the body have receptors on their surfaces that function
somewhat like satellite dishes. These receptors receive the chemical
messages being released by the brain and respond accordingly.
Finally, the mind/body connection is a two-way street. In addition to
sending messages into the body's tissues, it also receives feedback, both in
the form of nerve impulses and its own receptors that sense what chemicals
are being released by other tissues in the body.
Research into how the brain can influence immune system responses has given
rise to the new field called psycho-neuro-immunology (PNI). Findings in this
field have brought great hope to people dealing with such difficult
illnesses as cancer, AIDS, CFIDS (chronic fatigue immune dysfunction
syndrome), and other immune-related diseases. It is only a matter of time
before similar acronyms are defined for other fields such as
psycho-neuro-cardiology (PNC), the study of the mind-heart connection, or
psycho-neuro-hematology (PNH), the study of how the mind can influence
bloodrelated disorders, such as clotting problems in hemophilia.
Turning Down the Dial on Pain
Jim is a forty-six-year-old assembly line worker who received a disc injury
in his neck and developed a chronic pain syndrome involving head, neck, arm,
and shoulder pain. He was referred by his physiatrist to Karen Carroll, a
biofeedback clinician practicing in Waterloo, Iowa, for pain control.
Carroll used EMG, first for general muscular tension and then for muscular
tension around the upper body and neck. Jim was able to discover a direct
connection between his thoughts, his level of nervous system arousal,
muscular tension, and eventually his pain level.
After eight sessions spaced progressively further apart and accompanied by
home practice of breathing exercises and progressive relaxation, his
headaches and neck pain completely disappeared. He was then able to use
physical therapy to further strengthen his neck and shoulders, and
subsequently returned to work. He stated, "I never really knew what it felt
like to relax until now." According to Carroll, this case illustrates the
benefits of commitment to self-regulation and daily practice at home for
someone who was motivated to avoid medication and surgery if possible.
