Spring Break
Speaker illuminates path to happiness, health
Kate Jacobs
Issue date: 11/17/08 Section: News
The keys to happiness and health were unveiled last Thursday in a lecture covering "The Power of the Mind and Spirit to Heal."
Psychologist and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Joan Borysenko focused on enlightening students to the impact a person's emotions and spirituality can have on their physical health as conveyed in her book "Minding the Body, Mending the Mind."
After graduating from Harvard Medical School with a doctorate in medical sciences, Borysenko utilized her cancer cell biology training in an attempt to find a cure.
Borysenko discussed the existence of three eras in the field of medicine. The first era marked an understanding of drug treatment.
Era two, categorized as the mind/body effect, brought initial studies on a person's behavioral patterns and spirituality in connection with their body.
We are currently in an era that studies not only how each person's mind affects their own body, but also the link between one person's mind and another person's body.
"Medicine is at its greatest potential when all three eras are incorporated into each patient's treatment," Borysenko said.
The death of Boysenko's father was a turning point in her career. He had been battling cancer and ended up committing suicide in a final effort to end the out of character personality traits he was experiencing with his drug treatment.
This tragic incident steered Borysenko to a postdoctoral fellowship in behavior medicine. She then left her lab research job and began working with patients instead of the disease.
With a new perspective on illness, Borysenko learned of another variable to a person's health. "People who have a spiritual connection to something greater than themselves get sick less often," Borysenko said. "Spirituality is an experience, not a belief."
The lecture revealed that emotions are the primary link between the mind and the body.
"Ninety percent of all doctor visits are not for anything people need medication for - it's from stress," Borysenko said.
Psychologist and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Joan Borysenko focused on enlightening students to the impact a person's emotions and spirituality can have on their physical health as conveyed in her book "Minding the Body, Mending the Mind."
After graduating from Harvard Medical School with a doctorate in medical sciences, Borysenko utilized her cancer cell biology training in an attempt to find a cure.
Borysenko discussed the existence of three eras in the field of medicine. The first era marked an understanding of drug treatment.
Era two, categorized as the mind/body effect, brought initial studies on a person's behavioral patterns and spirituality in connection with their body.
We are currently in an era that studies not only how each person's mind affects their own body, but also the link between one person's mind and another person's body.
"Medicine is at its greatest potential when all three eras are incorporated into each patient's treatment," Borysenko said.
The death of Boysenko's father was a turning point in her career. He had been battling cancer and ended up committing suicide in a final effort to end the out of character personality traits he was experiencing with his drug treatment.
This tragic incident steered Borysenko to a postdoctoral fellowship in behavior medicine. She then left her lab research job and began working with patients instead of the disease.
With a new perspective on illness, Borysenko learned of another variable to a person's health. "People who have a spiritual connection to something greater than themselves get sick less often," Borysenko said. "Spirituality is an experience, not a belief."
The lecture revealed that emotions are the primary link between the mind and the body.
"Ninety percent of all doctor visits are not for anything people need medication for - it's from stress," Borysenko said.
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raidz
posted 11/18/08 @ 10:27 PM CST
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