Empowering Your Innate Capacity to Heal

1. Empowering Your Innate Capacity to Heal Osher Lifelong Learning Institute College for Seniors Spring 2014 Class 5

2. ONE GOOD MOMENT

3. Where Are We? Discussion: ~ EFT ~ Feedback about class so far

4. Mind Over Medicineby Lissa Rankin, MD “What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind.” ~THE DHAMMAPADA  (a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures)

5. How We Came to This Moment My story of accidentally(?) finding Dr. Lissa Rankin and realizing we were on to the same idea! Dr. Rankin’s story of her mounting health issues and disillusionment with practicing medicine.

6. Our Shared Fascination After withdrawing from medical practice, Dr. Rankin began studying how the body heals itself, led by her fascination with, and research on, the Placebo effect and mind/body medicine. Placebo – Latin for “I shall please.” On average, 1/3 of patients given inert substances and told it will help them heal, have complete physiological recoveries. Why???

7. The Placebo and Contemporary Medicine 1955 – Dr. Henry Beecher published a seminal article called “The Powerful Placebo” in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Modern chemical trials were born. Scientific studies must prove that the healing effect of the drug or surgery being tested transcends the potent healing power of the placebo. If it can be demonstrated that it more effective than the placebo, it is deemed “effective.”

8. The Placebo: What it Really Demonstrates It is proof that the mind can affect the body. It is proof that the body can heal itself in powerful ways.

9. Medical Journal Research ~ Nearly ½ of asthma patients get relief from a fake inhaler or sham acupuncture. (1) ~ Approximately 40% of people with headaches get relief from placebo medications. (2) ~ Half of people with colitis feel better after placebo treatments. (3) ~ More than half of patients with ulcer pain have relief of symptoms when given a placebo. (4)

10. More Journal Research ~ As many as 40% of infertility patients get pregnant while taking placebo “fertility drugs.”(5) ~ When compared with morphine, placebos are almost equally effective in treating pain. (6) ~ Multiple studies demonstrate that almost all of the happy-making responses patients experience as a result of antidepressants can be attributed to the Placebo Effect. (7)

11. The Physiology of the Placebo Effect: One Theory What are the physiological mechanisms by which thoughts, feelings, and beliefs may be translated into physiological change? Thinking positively about getting well may stimulate natural endorphins that help ameliorate symptoms, alleviate pain, and improve mood. Researchers found that when patients who responded to placebos were given the opioid blocker, naloxone, which blocks endorphins as well, the placebo effect stopped being effective (8).

12. Enter the Parasympathetic Nervous System Believing you’ll get better and being cared for by attentive clinical researchers or a trusted physician may relieve physiological stress, known to predispose the body to illness, and initiate physiological relaxation, which is necessary for the body’s self-healing mechanisms to operate properly.

13. When the relaxation response is elicited, stress hormones drop, health-inducing relaxation hormones are released, the parasympathetic nervous system takes over, and the body returns to homeostasis. Only in this rested, relaxed state can the body repair itself.

14. Think Sick, Be Sick “Never affirm or repeat about you health what you do not wish to be true.” ~ Ralph Waldo Trine ~ Excessive knowledge about what can go wrong with the body can actually harm you. ~ Nocebo – Latin for “I shall harm.” Demonstrates the power of negative belief. Usually associated with side-effects warnings. ~ Wrongly diagnosed patients who were given only a few months to live, died within that time frame, even when autopsy findings revealed no physiological reasons for an early death. (9)

15. Dr. Rankin’s Conclusions “We all know that stress is bad for us in a vague what-do-you-expect-me-to-do-about-it sort of way. But after my initial research, I understood the clear link between the stress the mind experiences and the way the body breaks down. I observed how emotional stressors like loneliness, frustration at work, anger about past trauma, money worries, and fear could result in illness.”

16. 9 Requirements In order to live a vital life, prevent disease, or optimize the chances for disease remission, one needs: ~ Healthy Relationships including a strong network of family, friends, loved ones, and colleagues. ~ A healthy, meaningful way to spend your days

17. 9 Requirements ~ A healthy, fully expressed creative life that allows your soul to sing its song ~ A healthy spiritual life including a sense of connection to the sacred in life ~ A healthy sexual life ~ A healthy financial life free of undue financial stress, which ensures that the essential needs of your body are met ~ A healthy environment free of toxins, natural disaster hazards, radiation, and other unhealthy factors

18. 9 Requirements ~ A healthy mental and emotional life characterized by optimism and happiness, and free of fear, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues ~ A healthy lifestyle that supports the physical health of the body such as good nutrition, regular exercise, adequate sleep, and avoidance of unhealthy addictions.

19. Meaning of Healing Definition of the word “heal”: to become whole. Difference between curing and this definition of healing: you can become cured without being healed and you can be healed without being cured. “The process of being sick can become an opportunity for spiritual awakening.” ~Lissa Rankin, MD

20. Dr. Rankin’s Wellness Model Based upon the concept of lifestyle changes that activate the Parasympathetic Nervous System such that the body can return to homeostasis (balance) and heal itself.

21. Cairn

22. Whole Health Cairn

23. Radical Self-Care ~ Like a cairn, the body is awe inspiringly strong and resilient, while at the same time fragile and easy to tip out of balance. ~ The foundation stone is called the “Inner Pilot Light” – that inner knowing, the healing wisdom of your body and soul that knows what is true for you, and guides you, in your own unique way, back to better health.

24. Radical Self-Care ~ Atop the Inner Pilot Light are all the other contributing factors that affect health. ~ The whole cairn is surrounded by a “healing bubble” of love, gratitude, service, and pleasure. It is the glue that holds everything in balance. ~ Keep in mind how important it is to keep the “inner chatter” positive during the journey of radical self-care. The only way to truly heal is to engage in radical self-care with love and compassion for yourself.

25. 6 Steps to Healing Yourself “If you’re fearless enough to face the truth about yourself, your life, and your illness, you’ll have the opportunity to awaken to the bliss that comes from living in alignment with your Inner Pilot Light. And when you do, you relax your body, flip on your self-repair mechanisms, and make your body ripe for miracles. Remember, Anything is Possible.” ~ Lissa Rankin, MD

26. Step One: Believe You Can Heal Yourself ~ What the placebo and nocebo data reveal is that if you’re plagued by negative, self-sabotaging beliefs about yourself and/or your health, either consciously or subconsciously, any attempt to heal yourself may be limited. ~ What you believe, manifests in the body.

27. Step One: Believe You Can Heal Yourself ~ Meditate – Quieting your mind makes it more receptive to changing beliefs. Plus, consciously relaxing activates the Parasympathetic nervous system. ~ A guided meditation can be found at mindovermedicinebook.com ~ Create statements that affirm how you want to feel like “I am whole, healthy, and free of symptoms.” Say them out loud often.

28. Step One: Believe You Can Heal Yourself ~ Be the guardian of your brain. You may not realize the power of the messages you allow into your brain. Turn off the TV! ~ In your mind, focus on what you want, not what you don’t want. The subconscious mind doesn’t process negation. If you focus on lack (even if you don’t want it), you will attract it. ~ To go deeper into changing subconscious beliefs, explore hypnotherapy, Psych-K, EFT, and Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP).

29. Step Two: Find the Right Support ~ When embarking on a healing journey, it takes a village. ~ Feeling supported and cared about activates the PNS. Take time to consider which practitioners you believe might be able to help, and interview them, to see if they are a fit for the team you want to build around your effort to heal.

30. Step Two: Find the Right Support Find health care providers who believe in you. Ask them, “Do you believe I can get better?” and pay close attention to the answer. If they are discouraging, you might want to consider someone else. Seek health care providers who truly care. Put your body in the hands of providers willing to collaborate. If your homeopath hates doctors, or your doctor thinks your Reiki master is a quack, it’s going to be hard to get everyone on the same page. Look for practitioners who have openness to all modalities as possibilities for healing.

31. Step Two: Find the Right Support Listen to the wisdom of your body. What does your gut say when you’re with your health care provider? Feelings of weirdness, tightness, or concern may be your body trying to tell you something. Look for feelings of openness, warmth, relaxation, and calmness in your body as your best guide.

32. Step Two: Find the Right Support Make sure your health care provider respects your intuition. If you question a treatment and express your opinion in a respectful manner and your intuition isn’t respected, you might think twice about whether this is the best provider for you. The right practitioner will welcome your feedback, understand that you know your body better than anyone else, and respect your wishes.

33. Step Two: Find the Right Support Be willing to sign a waiver. If you choose not to have a recommended treatment, because of our litigious society, a conventional doctor may need you to sign a waiver stating that you are rejecting the recommended treatment. This is only to cover their butts. Don’t feel offended, or let it intimidate you, if you believe you are right.

34. Step Two: Find the Right Support Know that you deserve the best care possible. Don’t go telling yourself stories about how you’re not good enough/smart enough/young enough/rich enough/ (fill in the blank) enough to get the best medical care. Believe in yourself, your inner wisdom, and your growing capacity for self-care.

35. Step Three: Listen to Your Body and Intuition Our culture does not encourage us to listen to our inner wise healer, our Inner Pilot Light. Instead of living embodied lives, heeding the wisdom of our intuition, we dissociate. Without that guidance, we wander without knowing where we are going. Exercise: “Let Your Body Be Your Guide” If you let them, physical symptoms can build a bridge between you and your inner wisdom.

36. Step Four: Diagnose the Root Causes of Your Illness Almost every illness is either caused by or exacerbated by triggering the stress response, which happens in the body, but starts in the mind. While you can mitigate some of the stress response without understanding what’s triggering it, you’re better off digging deep and diagnosing the root cause of what is triggering the stress response in the first place.

37. Step Four: Diagnose the Root Causes of Your Illness When you diagnose the root causes of what is triggering your stress responses, you gain insight into how your body may be suffering as the result of your mind. If you can heal the problem from the root and stop the stress response at its origin, you’re much more likely to wind up cured.

38. Step Four: Diagnose the Root Causes of Your Illness When you begin to explore the root causes triggering your stress response, and you realize that something within your control may be causing a health problem, you may find yourself engaging in blame, shame, or guilt. There’s no point in berating yourself for past behaviors (ex. Smoking, over-eating, drinking, excessive worrying). Doing so will only trigger the stress response and make things worse.

39. Step Four: Diagnose the Root Causes of Your Illness Illness offers us a precious opportunity to investigate our lives without judgment, diagnose the root cause of what might be contributing to an illness, realign ourselves spiritually, and do what we can to make our bodies ripe for miracles. When viewed with compassion and without judgment, illness can be a potent opportunity for personal growth and spiritual awakening.

40. Step Four: Diagnose the Root Causes of Your Illness Exercise #1: What Does Your Body Need in Order to Heal? (To download a guided meditation to lead you through this process, go to mindovermedicinebook.com) Exercise #2: How Balanced is Your Whole Health Cairn?

41. Step Four: Diagnose the Root Causes of Your Illness Diagnostic Exercise #3 Make the Diagnosis for Yourself This is the most vital of all the steps in the six-step process. It is designed to help you identify limiting or self-sabotaging beliefs, determine whether you feel supported by the right health care providers, and help you get a feel for what activities in your life might activate the Parasympathetic nervous system as a part of your treatment.

42. Step Four: Diagnose the Root Causes of Your Illness Ask yourself this series of questions and go at your own speed. Take breaks, if needed. You can either write down your answers, or talk them through with yourself or a trusted friend or loved one. Make sure to be radically nurturing with yourself. Focus on gratitude, fill your life with pleasure, and be your own best friend. Keep focusing on what’s working in your life so you can be fearless enough to face and change what isn’t.

43. Step Four: Diagnose the Root Causes of Your Illness Class exercise with questions Using the answers to these questions, can you identify the root causes associated with your illness? Are negative beliefs sabotaging you? Do you have the right support? Are there imbalances in your Whole Health Cairn? Are there activities that would elicit the relaxation response that you’re not utilizing?

44. Step Four: Diagnose the Root Causes of Your Illness Within each category also write down anything you’ve identified that you believe is benefiting your health that you might want to ramp up in your life as a part of your plan of self-care. Congratulations! What you have created is your interpretation of what may be harming and benefiting your health.

45. Step Five: Write the Prescription for Yourself It is not enough for you to just know why you might not be optimally healthy, you want to do something about it, and only you know best what that something might be. Your doctor might be able to prescribe your pills but only you can write The Prescription for how your life needs to change in order to optimize your whole health.

46. Step Five: Write the Prescription for Yourself A Therapeutic Exercise: Write the Prescription for Yourself • Look at the Diagnosis you have written down. • Take a moment to close your eyes and tap into the healing wisdom of your Inner Pilot Light. Remind yourself to stay open, loving, and compassionate with yourself. When you feel centered, relaxed, and intuitively open, open your eyes.

47. Step Five: Write the Prescription for Yourself 3. For each of the items you listed in the Diagnosis, ask yourself what you can do to take action in order to treat any root cause of illness you have identified. Trust your intuition and try not to judge what comes up. You don’t actually have to do anything yet, but you do need to be honest with yourself. Don’t censor anything. This is your personal prescription for healing. Nobody has to ever read this but you!

48. Step Five: Write the Prescription for Yourself If you’ve identified an issue and don’t quite know how to heal it, go to LissaRankin.com where the author writes practical prescriptions for living and loving fearlessly, as well as other techniques for healing yourself and living your best life.

49. Step Five: Write the Prescription for Yourself Take Action This is the beginning of your healing journey. It can be scary. If you are not willing to take action, are you choosing to be sick? It is good to “fess up” to the choices you make in life. Go easy with yourself. Take baby steps. Reward yourself often. Give yourself a lot of acceptance, gratitude and love.

50. Step Six: Surrender Attachments to Outcomes There comes a time, after you’ve shifted to positive belief, found the right support, tapped into the wisdom of your body and your Inner Pilot Light, made the Diagnosis, written the Prescription, and taken action on it, to simply surrender and let go of attaching to any particular outcome.