Emotions In The News
This
segment is a list of links to research about the relationship between the
mind and the body. Western society as a whole is becoming increasingly aware
of the mind/body link, and we hear more and more about prevention in the form
of stress management and relaxation techniques. Holosync brain entrainment
is an almost effortless (well, you do have to turn the cd player on and find
an hour to listen!) way to dissolve your emotional blockages that may be keeping
you from optimal health. To help you understand how solving long-standing
emotional issues is beneficial to your physical health, I have compiled the
following summaries.
BBC is a british news channel. This news report about post partum depression suggests that it would be better to call it Maternal Anxiety and Mood Imbalance because most of the mothers who have it don't even feel depressed, they feel angry.
Childbirth left me feeling angry BBC, October 2006
Through research of my own, I have found out that a deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids in the mother may cause her to feel depressed, anxious, or out of sorts after childbirth. The baby takes all the available omega-3 while in vitro, depleting the mother's stores. Great Britain is not known for its high consumption of fish, and neither is the USA. I highly suggest supplementing the diet with pre- and post-natal omega-3 formulations during and after pregnancy. The cost is completely worth the benefit, since it boosts baby's brain development and makes mommy feel calmer.
Here is an article that outlines a study of the link between anger and lung functions. The eight year study concluded that of 670 military men, “those with high levels of hostility had poorer lung function than their happier peers.” The following is a quote from Dr John Moore-Gillon, a lung specialist and spokesman for the British Thoracic Society. "The research highlights our growing awareness of the close links between the mind and the body, and the years to come may lead to further important insights."
Anger 'compromises lung function' at BBC News; August 30, 2006
Newsweek's article on the mind-body connection brings neurotechnology to the public eye. Newsweek investigates the placebo effect's relationship to actual healing. "Mind-body medicine offers a saner starting place. If it fulfills half its promise, it could reduce medical costs while improving our health and our lives. And whatever its limitations, it has the advantage of doing no harm."
Brain Check at Newsweek; September 27, 2004 issue
A doctor who specializes in panic treatment outlines how patients' depression and anxiety actually effect their emotions. She found that depressed patients tend to remember negative events and forget positive ones. Normal people are the opposite. Patients with panic attacks also behave in ways that exacerbate their propensity for panic.
Susan Mineka, Ph.D. Panel: Encountering Daily Life: How Our Emotions Affect Us, "Anxiety Disorders." Project on the Decade of the Brain, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
The long-term abuse of alcohol can cause confusion in recognizing the difference between certain emotional facial expressions, because of the damage done to the part of the brain used in differentiating expressions. This will result in misinterpretation or exaggeration of others' actions, and emotional strain ensues.
New
research reveals the emotional costs of alcoholism March 2002
Brightsurf.com, The Resource for Science Information
HealthEmotions Research Institute, founded 1996, at the University of Wisconsin, has the largest concentration of researchers interested in finding out how emotions influence our health. Below are links to some short abstracts on their research projects.
Effects of Stress and Mood on Disease Progression and Mortality in Free Ranging Monkeys
"Individual responses to stressful events appear to be more complexly related to disease progression than was earlier thought."
It is noted that there is a direct link between how we cope with negative stressors and disease progression. This study aims to find out the biological factors that promote resilience.
The Biological Bases of Positive Affective Styles
People who have a positive outlook on life use a part of their brain called the left prefrontal cortex. It has been noted in monkeys that those individuals who use their left prefrontal region of the brain more also have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.