What is Mind Body Medicine?
Mind body medicine addresses health and well-being by considering the interactions that occur between a person’s thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and physical health. It empowers people by teaching them the skills to cultivate relaxation, reduce stress, minimize pain, and improve overall physical and emotional well-being.
Too often conditions are approached looking only at the body system presenting the symptoms, rather than considering the whole person. Yet the body and mind are inextricably linked. Looking at health and medicine from this perspective, we understand that we must treat the whole person, rather than treating the mind and body in isolation from one another.
Recall the phrase “butterflies in my stomach” to depict the nervous flutter that occurs in our gut when we feel certain anticipatory emotions. That is an example of emotions causing a physical sensation. We have psychological responses to physiologic processes and vice versa. In understanding this relationship we can begin to grasp how we can use our minds and bodies to influence one another in a positive way.
Mind body medicine can help in many ways. Here are a few examples:
There are a variety of techniques associated with mind body medicine. Each is employed at different times and with different patients based upon their unique situation and needs. A trained practitioner can assess what techniques are best for you. Here are a few examples of what might be suggested for your treatment protocol:
Think momentarily about what occurs when you feel angry. Your face flushes, palms sweat, and breathing becomes rapid, and shallow, high in your chest. In mind body medicine we explore the connections between mind and body to discover ways to help you maintain balance in your body and your emotional state, regardless of what physical or emotional disruptions may arise.
Through this exploration we illuminate connections that show us ways to reduce pain, anxiety, high blood pressure, digestive distress, and more.
In a mind body medicine appointment your unique way of processing distress will be evaluated so that we can understand how best to address this experience and resolve it. While it takes time and dedication to develop this relationship within yourself, it is incredibly beneficial. This relationship allows you to develop whole-being harmony.
What is Biofeedback?
Biofeedback is a form of mind-body medicine that utilizes body signals to give us information that we can use to shape our experience from one that is distressing to one that is desired. In person, biofeedback can be done with sensors to monitor biological signals like breathing, heart rate, heart rate variability, sweat, temperature, and muscle tension.
We can learn to recognize subtle changes in these signals and practice ways to bring them from an elevated state back to homeostasis. We use the information gathered by these sensors to guide treatment and track progress. However, these skills can be learned without tools. Ultimately, the goal is to learn to recognize what our body is telling us when faced with physical or emotional distress.
For example, take a moment and think of tasting a lemon. What happens in your mouth? Did it pucker and water? Our bodies respond to our minds. In biofeedback we learn how to recognize these signals and use the power of the mind to change them.
What happens in a Mind-Body Medicine appointment?
In mind body medicine sessions, we review the how’s and why’s of your body’s physiological and emotional processes. You will learn how to influence your nervous system, enabling it to adapt to stressors. Together, we will collaborate to establish personalized goals, and will use these to guide your unique treatment plan.
As listed above, a wide variety of conditions can be treated with this healing modality. These conditions include but are not limited to: stress, anxiety, depression, ADHD/ADD, hypertension/high blood pressure, tension headache, chronic pain, insomnia, muscle tension, TMJ, digestive distress, and more.