Considerable medical research has been conducted in the field of psychoneuro-immunology—the mind/body connection—in particular, the effects of stress reduction on the immune system. For example, studies at the University of Miami have shown that maintaining an optimistic attitude is positively correlated with optimal adjustment and less distress during the period following breast cancer surgery. Relaxation training and other stress-management techniques employed over a ten-week period after the surgery resulted in improved psychological and biological functioning. These improvements lasted up to one year or longer after the ten-week trial period ended. The women who participated in the stress-reduction and relaxation protocol showed decreases in depression, “an increased sense of meaning in life, improved social relationships, and a general re-prioritizing of life matters.”
According to Dr. Michael Antoni, the director of the Center for Psycho-Oncology Research at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami:
“In parallel with these psychological changes, we have observed that … participants show decreases in adrenal ‘stress’ hormones such as cortisol. These cortisol reductions were greatest in women who reported the largest psychological changes. … Reductions in cortisol may be important for women with breast cancer, as elevated cortisol levels are associated with decreases in several aspects of immune system functioning. This is relevant since immune surveillance of new cancer cells may protect against the development of metastatic disease.”
A patient of mine, a woman in her 40s who had breast cancer and a subsequent lumpectomy, could not tolerate chemotherapy because of overwhelming and disabling side effects. We practiced deep relaxation techniques and healing visualizations, and her threshold for pain and discomfort was altered by these practices. She learned to concentrate very deeply and learned how to shut out the discomfort of chemotherapy. Her oncologist was then able to raise her dosage into the therapeutic range, and her cancer went into remission.
Did the remission result from the chemotherapy, from the relaxation techniques and the healing visualization exercises, or from the combination? It really doesn’t matter. She improved dramatically, and remains well 14 years after the initial surgery.
Medical-research studies on cardiac disease have found that a combination of moderate exercise, proper diet, and the practice of stress-reduction techniques can actually reverse blockages in coronary artery disease. Interestingly, when diet and exercise regimens were followed, but a stress-reduction approach was not practiced, there was a diminution in the progression of the heart disease, but the coronary blockages were not reversed. When stress-reduction techniques were added, a real reversal of the cardiac damage occurred.
Studies such as these provide profound implications for the role of stress-reduction practices in the prevention and the reversal of serious medical illnesses. If reversal of illness can occur, then it is never too late to begin learning techniques to minimize and eliminate stress.
Twelve years ago, a prominent cardiologist referred one of his patients to me. The year before, the patient had suffered a severe heart attack. Ed was only 51 years old. Because the cardiac damage was extensive, the leisure activities he liked to engage in were mostly forbidden now. He loved to scuba dive, but his cardiologist prohibited him from diving because of underwater pressure gradients. Ed was an avid deep-sea boater and fisherman, but his cardiologist restricted this, too, concerned that Ed might be too far from a hospital in case the need for emergency treatment arose.
Ed was understandably anxious about another myocardial infarction because he barely had enough cardiac function to live. He tired quickly when walking. Previously a heavy smoker, he considered resuming his smoking habit to relieve his omnipresent anxiety. Ed was becoming more and more depressed, and he had a sense of impending doom. Small stressors were magnified, both at home and at work. He was short-tempered with his wife and his colleagues at work, and they were becoming more and more frustrated with him. The antianxiety medicines his doctors had prescribed were not really helping. His cardiac medications seemed only to stem the tide. He was not recuperating well at all. When I first saw him, Ed was a wreck.
We began therapy, scheduling weekly sessions in my office. I gave Ed a stress-reduction CD and asked him to use it daily at home. He began using the CD twice daily, rather quickly mastering the physical-relaxation component. Soon he even began light exercise on a stationary bicycle, pedaling as he listened to the CD. When he finished exercising, he’d listen again.
Within weeks, Ed’s exercise tolerance had noticeably increased. Within months, his cardiac disease had begun to reverse. His anxiety had virtually disappeared, and the urge to smoke had vanished. His relationships at home and at work dramatically improved.
Ed’s cardiologist was amazed at his progress and lifted the boating restrictions. He began to refer many of his patients to me, looking for similar miracles. But I knew that Ed’s progress was not a miracle. By practicing diligently, he had learned how to enter a deep level of relaxation, how to eliminate stress and anxiety, and how to allow the natural healing power of his body and mind to cure his illness.
Twelve years later, Ed remains in excellent health, without any recurrence of his previously progressive coronary artery disease. A significant portion of his heart muscle has regenerated. In addition, he has been able to achieve and maintain a sense of inner peace and calm in his everyday consciousness, even when he’s not meditating or practicing with the CD. His perspective about life—what is important and what is not—has changed for the better. He is much happier now.
Smoking cessation is another important area that benefits from the practice of stress-reduction techniques. It is not necessary to enumerate the harmful effects of primary and secondhand tobacco use. Lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease, and premature aging of the skin are only a few of the serious medical consequences of chronic smoking. In helping smokers kick the habit, the success rate of stress-reduction techniques is significant. Not only are people freed of their addictions, but the health benefits are enormous, both to the smoker and to those around them.
