Scanning electron micrograph of a white blood cell
Dr Siegel Talks About Emotions and the Immune System
In his book, Love Medicine and Miracles, Dr Bernie Siegel has some important things to say about modern medicine and the immune system:
“The modern medicine man has gained so much power over certain diseases through drugs that he has forgotten about the potential strength within the patient… Contentment used to be considered a prerequisite for health.“
Dr Siegel also makes the point, “We can change the body by dealing with how we feel. If we ignore our despair, the body receives a ‘die’ message. If we deal with our pain and seek help, then the message is ‘Living is difficult but desirable’ and the immune system works to keep us alive.“
Stress is Also a Factor
On the subject of stress, Dr Siegel tells us that “The way we react to stress appears to be more important than the stress itself… Stresses that we choose evoke a response totally different from those we’d like to avoid but cannot. Helplessness is worse than the stress itself.“
I believe this is borne out by the statistics that tell us that in the U.S. the cancer rate is higher for those of African American descent than for the white population.
Grief and the Immune System
Dr Siegel says “Recent studies have confirmed that grieving spouses have depressed immune systems for over a year… Additional work has shown that within one day any uncontrollable stress lowers the efficiency of the body’s disease fighting killer cells.”
To me, all of the above just illustrates the importance of eliminating stress from our lives. Find out about the benefits of meditation and get a handle on those stress levels! In the lead-up to my breast cancer diagnosis, I had a huge amount of mis-handled stress and I know it was partially responsible for my having breast cancer. Meditation is one of the healing tools I used, it helped me immensely. So much, in fact, that I created a downloadable how-to-meditate course specifically for cancer patients. I hope it helps you.
If you would like my help with getting through breast cancer in an inspiring and ultra-healthy way, please sign up for my free e-newsletters on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (MarnieClark.com). It is my honor to help you through this.
