WELLNESS: HOW TO REDUCE ILLNESS AND ITS EFFECTS
by Monica A. Frank, Ph.D.

Wellness is not only a state of physical health, it is also a state of mind. The mind and body are completely integrated. The mind and body cannot be separated into "This is a physical illness" and "This is a mental illness," although we do just that in our classification schemes. Research has shown more and more that mental illness often has a physical component, and that many physical illnesses can be addressed, at least partially, through behavioral means.

Let's look at this through logical analysis. We use medications for many different kinds of problems: to relieve pain, to reduce depression and/or anxiety, to lower blood pressure, to reduce cholesterol, to fight infections, etc. Have you ever wondered why medications work? In the simplest terms possible, medications primarily work because they either mimic or stimulate natural processes. We are chemical beings. Everything that we do, that we think, is through chemical processes. Therefore, when we use medications, we are aiding a natural bodily process.

However, what we often fail to recognize is that frequently we have a behavioral means available to us to alter our chemical processes. You probably already know this, but may not have really thought about it. For instance, you may have heard that when you exercise, endorphins are released. Endorphins are a group of chemicals in our bodies that help to reduce pain, improve sleep, and improve mood, among other things. Endorphins are a natural morphine. The reason morphine is an effective pain reliever, is that it mimics this natural chemical. However, when we use behavioral means such as exercise to release this chemical, the effects of the substance are more controlled through the natural mechanisms of the body.

Another example of controlling the body through behavioral means is using diet to reduce the risk of heart disease. Are you careful about the amount of cholesterol or fats that you ingest? If so, you are engaged in behaviorally controlling physical processes.

As you already know, we have a behavioral means of controlling illness. But you may not know the extent of your control. The following will provide you with some ideas. First, however, I will discuss the relationship between stress and illness.

The Stress/Illness Relationship

More than 30 years ago, a moderate relationship was discovered between heart disease and stressful life events. A moderate relationship in research terms means that stress appeared to contribute to heart disease, but did not appear to be a factor in every individual with heart disease. But it was enough of a relationship to warrant further inspection. As a result of the findings of this investigation, thousands of research studies have been conducted to understand the relationship between stress and illness further.

To summarize the outcome of all this research, the relationship between stress and illness was fairly consistently present even when different types of physical and psychological illnesses were examined and when different definitions of stress were used. However, the relationship remained a moderate one which vexed researchers. In particular, they wondered how two people could have the same stress factors in their lives, and yet, one developed illness and the other did not.

This question led to research examining other factors that moderate, or reduce, the effects of stress so that in some people the same stressors may not contribute to illness. These factors became known as "stress buffers" and this research has aided in the understanding of wellness. As stress itself is not easy to eliminate from a person's life, what are the things a person can do that can buffer, or reduce, the impact of stress?

A Comment About Time

Many times in my clinical practice I hear, "I'm too busy to relax," or " I just don't have the time to exercise." These individuals come to me reporting symptoms related to stress, sometimes psychological symptoms and sometimes physical symptoms. What they often fail to realize is that these symptoms themselves take time. In other words, how much time is the person wasting by having the symptom? First of all, they are in my office and that takes time. They also may be seeing a physician for related physical problems. They may be taking medication which means the time getting the prescription and getting it filled. A common symptom from stress is poor concentration, so they may be taking much more time making decisions and understanding situations than they did previously. People are unlikely to become more productive when they are stressed. As you see, not caring for yourself can be very time-consuming.

Relaxation

A basic gauge for relaxation is to spend at least a half hour a day engaging in some type of relaxation. Such relaxation does not include television or sleeping. However, it may include listening to music, non-productive reading (in other words, not work-related), guided imagery, meditation, prayer, or sitting and enjoying nature, to name a few things. The most important criteria for the activity you do for relaxation is that you find it enjoyable and relaxing.

Exercise

Exercise provides us with many benefits that can improve health and prevent the negative effects of stress. Generally, twenty to thirty minutes of aerobic exercise three to five times a week is recommended to benefit your heart. However, for stress management each individual may find different levels of exercise that provide the greatest benefit.

Many people don't exercise because they set expectations for themselves that are unreasonable. For instance, they may resolve to exercise for an hour a day. Then the first time they are unable to meet their resolution, they quit. However, if they set a reasonable expectation, they may be more likely to meet it such as resolving to exercise, on the average, three times a week.

Regular exercise helps to improve sleep, concentration, and attitude. In addition, it helps with weight loss and it helps reduce the risk factors associated with many physical illnesses.

Attitude

How we think about situations and problems contributes to reducing the impact of stress. Research shows that people who view themselves as having little means to affect their lives, will suffer more consequences from stress. For instance, an individual who doesn't believe s/he has any control in his/her life will more frequently give up and not try to do anything that can change a situation.

Therefore, it is important to believe that we can change our lives through the choices we make and the activities we undertake.

I call this a "realistic" attitude and distinguish it from a "positive" attitude. Thinking positively can be just as unrealistic and thinking negatively. The reason people often say that positive thinking doesn't work for them is that when we think overly positive, we don't believe it and are unlikely then to act on it. In order to believe something, it has to be realistic. For example, are you more will to accept "Everything is going to be okay" or "This may be difficult, but I can handle it." Learn to cultivate a realistic attitude that focuses on your ability to cope with the problems that come your way.

Nutrition

Not only is nutrition important in preventing or reducing the impact of physical illness, but research is also accumulating that shows the impact of nutrition certain foods on moods and emotional well-being. Again, you may recognize this by paying attention to your own moods and behavior related to particular foods. How many times have you felt tired and sluggish after eating certain foods while other foods have contributed to increased energy? How often do you turn to food to make you feel better? How often do you have cravings for certain foods? Our relationship to food may not be just psychological, but also chemically based.

The above provides an overview of some of the issues in the area of wellness and your ability to control the impact of stress. Stress is a fact of life in our society, but we have the means to learn to cope with it.

See also: Power of the Mind

Wellness Books

The following are books that we recommend because they are solution-focused using a cognitive-behavioral approach. If you are interested in purchasing a book, click on the icon and you can obtain it through Amazon.com.

Wellness Book: The Comprehensive Guide to Maintaining Health and Treating Stress-Related Illness
by Herbert Benson & Eileen M. Stuart (Editors)

Millions of readers are familiar with the work of Dr. Herbert Benson and the Mind/Body Medical Institute from the mega-bestselling book The Relaxation Response. With over three million copies in print, it is a classic in the field of mind/body medicine. Now, in The Wellness Book, Dr. Benson, Eileen Stuart, and their colleagues at the Institute have created the definitive resource that shows you how to maintain your health and treat stress-related illnesses, including: high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, infertility, insomnia, women's health concerns, anxiety, cancer. The Wellness Book reflects the cutting edge of health care, giving you the opportunity to gain more control over your own well-being. Use of the book, in combination with modern medical treatments, will aid in prevention and treatment of a number of illnesses and, according to USA Today, "legitimizes the mind/body connection in traditional medicine."

The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook
by Martha Davis, Matthew McKay, Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman

Although the sheer size of this dense workbook might cause initial hyperventilation--280 full-size sheets of text--take heart (and a deep breath!): the many self-assessment tools and calming techniques presented in this fifth edition can help overcome anxiety and promote physical and emotional well-being. First introduced in 1980, the book received praise for presenting a comprehensive look at stress, its physical manifestations, and the multiple ways it can be managed. Twenty years later, its well-organized chapters on breathing, relaxation, meditation, thought stopping, and body awareness still guide the reader through copious self-help techniques to try and, eventually, master. Other chapters, including job stress management, goal setting and time management, and assertiveness training, focus on daily scenarios people often find distressing. Lessons in identifying key elements that trigger unpleasant responses and in reacting differently to these elements are designed to defuse perceived conflicts. For this edition, coauthors Martha Davis (psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry of Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Santa Clara, CA), Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman (licensed clinical social worker with Kaiser Permanente Online), and Matthew McKay (clinical director of Haight-Ashbury Psychological Services, San Francisco, CA) have added topics on worry control, anger management, and eye-movement therapy. New diagrams and a more reader-friendly format should appeal to readers, despite a few typos and graphical mishaps. This is a valuable tool for therapists, their patients, and the stressed-at-large.

Natural Health, Natural Medicine: A Comprehensive Manual for Wellness and Self-Care
by Andrew Weil

Health can be defined in any number of ways, from the simple fact that you're not lying on a hospital bed to an overall sense of well-being and connectedness. One person may not feel healthy unless he's carrying around mounds of gym-built muscle, while another doesn't feel healthy unless she's eating an intestine-scrubbing macrobiotic diet and practicing an hour of yoga each day. Dr. Andrew Weil looks at every aspect of health in Natural Health, Natural Medicine. He's quite cynical about bodybuilding and the emphasis on protein in our diets, while making a strong case for paying more attention to the way we breathe and the degree to which we interact with family, community, and nature. An interesting--but, unfortunately, short--section on loving says that most people have no idea what to do when they fall out of romantic love with a partner, which helps explain the high divorce rate. Other sections of the book focus on healthy self-care practices ("nasal douching" is recommended for sinus sufferers), supplements (he believes most benefits that seem to come from these are placebo responses), and natural home remedies for an A-to-Z list of problems (the section on depression states that people experience low mood because they constantly seek highs; eliminate the quest for highs, and you eliminate the rebound experience of lows). Many regard this book as the bible of natural healing; but even those who are on the fence about alternative medicine should find it to be an entertaining, informative, and highly opinionated beginner's guide to achieving better health without conventional medicine.

Wellness Links

Children and Health
Improving Health
Nutrition
Smoking Cessation
Weight Loss

Note: Clicking on a link below will open a new window. To return to this page close out the window.

Children and Health

Take Charge of Your Health: A Teenager's Guide to Better Health

Helping Your Overweight Child

Improving Health

Take Two Laps and Call Me in the Morning

Can Anger Predict Heart Disease Risk?

    The NIH Goes New Age: Experts Probe Link Between Emotions and Health

    Does a Religious Heart Make for a Healthy Mind?

    Level of Mental Stress May Help Doctors Predict Heart Attack

    Using Mind Power for Healing