"By comprehending that human beings are energy, one can begin to compre hend new ways of viewing

health and illness." -Richard Gerber, M.D The Nature of Disease and Illness: A little history o Western medicine was forged by the Cartesian Principle o Louis Pasteur: All diseases are the cause of microbes. This later became known as "The Germ Theory" o Claude Bernard: Disease manifests in a poor environment ranging from poo r eating habits to emotional distress o Western medicine never bought into Bernard's theory o In the 1930's the term "psychosomatic" was coined to describe diseases a nd illnesses precipitated by mental/emotional aspects The Nature of Disease and Illness o Western science has not been able to fully demonstrate a concrete connec tion between stress and disease, though closer steps are slowly being made in mi nd-body medicine Stress and Disease Connection o Roughly 80% of all doctor's office visits are related to stress o Current research indicates that between 70-80% of all health-related pro blems are either precipitated or aggravated by emotional stress (e.g., type II d iabetes, colds, flu, migraines, lupus, cancer, etc.) "The body is the battlefield for the war games of the mind." -Brian Luke Seaward The Dynamics Between Stress and Disease o To understand the relationship between stress and disease, one needs to understand that several factors act in unison to create a pathological outcome i ncluding: Cognitive perceptions of a threatening stimuli Activation of the sympathetic nervous system Engagement of the endocrine system Engagement of the immune system Psychoneuroimmunology o A term coined by Robert Ader around 1980 to explain the integrative dyna mics of mind and body o Pelletier defines psychoneuroimmunology as the study of the intricate in teraction of consciousness (psycho), brain and central nervous system (neuro) an d body's defense against external infection and internal aberrant cell division (immunology) Changing Paradigms in Health and Disease o While today there are many who still ascribe to the Germ Theory (and var iations of it with DNA defects), new research continues to reveal that the biome dical model of health and disease is incomplete. o Research into various forms of complementary and alternative medicine (C AM) reveal that the dynamics of illness and healing cannot be confined to the bi omedical model (the body is a machine with parts to be fixed or replaced) o The body is not comprised of many physiological systems, it's one system ! Four Theoretical Models o The Borysenko Model (immune system) o The Pert Model (nervous system) o The Gerber Model (psycho-mind)

The Pellitier Pre-Model (piecing things together)

The Borysenko Model o Borysenko outlined a dichotomy of stress-induced dysregulation and a mat rix describing the immune balance regarding four classifications of diseases. o "Stress alters the vulnerability of the immune system to both exogenous and endogenous antigens (cortisol destroys white blood cells)" o Further research reveals that acute psychological stress decreases NK ce ll activity through a profound effect on cytokine production. A Brief Exposure to the Immune System o The immune system is a network of several organs throughout the body (e. g., bone marrow, thymus, spleen). o Lymphocytes are one of many Leukocytes. Most noteworthy are the T-lymph ocytes and B-lymphocytes. o Only about 2% of lymphocytes are in circulation at any one time. A Brief Exposure to the Immune System The family of leukocytes T Cytotoxic cells (T-cells that release cytokines) T-Helpers (CD4) T-Suppressors (CD8) Borysenko's Stress and Disease Dichotomy Autonomic Dysregulation (overresponsive ANS) Immune Dysregulation Migraines Infection (virus) Peptic ulcers All allergies Irritable bowel syndrome AIDS Hypertension Cancer Coronary heart disease Lupus Asthma Arthritis

Borysenko's Immune Activity Matrix Overreaction Underreaction Exogenous activity Allergies Herpes Endogenous activity Arthritis Lupus Cancer

Infections (colds and flu)

The Pert Model o Pert's model, based on her research and others', strongly links the nerv ous system with the immune system. o Various cell tissues comprising the immune system can synthesize neurope ptides to alter (- or +) immune function. o Various cells throughout the body (stomach, spleen, etc.) can also synth esize neuropeptides. o Positive emotions can enhance immune function ("molecules of emotion") o The Pert Model is supported and enhanced by other researchers including

the work of Kiecolt-Glaser (Ohio State University). o Medical students, stress and decreased immune response o Stress and the decreased rate of wound healing o Stress and the acceleration of the aging process o Many other studies on stress neurophysiology o Whereas before Pert's findings, it was believed that cortisol played the crucial role in immuno-suppression, it is now thought that structural changes i n neuropeptides, influenced by emotional thought, play the most significant role in immuno-incompetence. The Gerber Model o Gerber's Model uses a holistic approach or systems-theory approach to he alth o The mind is not a series of biochemical reactions in the gray matter of the brain. Rather, the mind is an energy comprised of both conscious and unconsc ious thoughts, that uses the brain as its primary organ of choice. o This energy, a subtle energy, surrounds and permeates the body. o Changes in energy, through changes in thoughts, affect the physical body o Disease is a disturbance in the human energy field, which cascades throu gh the levels of subtle energy to the body, via meridians and chakras. o Disease doesn't begin in the body, it ends up in the body. o We don't have a mind in a body, we have a body in the mind. The Gerber Model (diagram) A brief lesson in Subtle Anatomy: 1. The Human Energy Field (the human aura-electromagnetic energy) 2. The meridian energy system (based on Chinese medicine) 3. The Chakra energy system (based on Ayurvedic medicine) o Stress-related symptoms that appear in the physical body are the manifes tation of unresolved issues that have occurred earlier, as a result of disturban ces at a higher energy level. o Thoughts and perceptions and emotions which originate in the various lay ers of subtle energy cascade through the mind-body interface and are decoded at the molecular level to cause biological changes (disease) in the body. o What puzzles health experts is why two people experiencing the same stre ssor can end up having different illnesses. When looked at though the Gerber Mod el, based on ageless wisdom of energy healing, perhaps this begins to make more sense. o Gerber's model is also based on the contemporary work of Carylyn Myss, D onna Eden, Mietek Wirkus, Roslynn Bruere and others. o Gerber's Model is now the primary focus of research involving various fo rms of CAM. A Brief Lesson on the Chakra System Chakra Body Region Emotional Aspect 1. Crown Chakra Crown Spirtual issues 2. Brow Chakra Head Cognitive issues 3. Throat Chakra Thyroid Self-expression/Assertiveness A Brief Lesson on the Chakra System Chakra Body Region

Emotional Aspect

4. 5. 6. 7.

Heart Chakra Heart Anger issues Solar Plexus Chakra Adrenals Anxiety issues Naval Chakra GI Tract Self-esteem issues Root Chakra Sex Organs Security issues

Support for the Gerber Model o Electromagnetic pollution affects one's health o MRIs are based on electromagnetic energy, quantum physics and the law of entrainment o Military design of weapons based on human energy field o CIA use of remote viewing based on non-local mind o Scientific studies validate many aspects of Subtle Anatomy Gerber's Model of Stress and Disease "Thoughts are particles of energy. (Negative) thoughts are accompanied by emotio ns which also begin at the energy levels. As these particles of energy filter th rough from the etheric level to the physical level, the end result is immunoinco mpetence." -Richard Gerber, M.D The Pellitier Pre-Model o In 2003, 15 years after he first created this pre-model, Pellieter state d that the Western medical model is still stuck in the old paradigm, not fully e mbracing the tenet of mind-body-spirit holism. o Pellitier believes that a number of issues must be fully addressed and u nderstood before a complete stress and disease model can be understood. o Facts which fly in the face of the premise that "the body is a machine" and "consciousness is a epiphenomenon of neurochemicals in the brain." o These phenomena are commonly known as the "Ghost in the Machine." Ghosts o in the Bio-Medical Model Machine These events leave people scratching their "biomedical" heads Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) Spontaneous remissions (e.g., cancerous tumors, etc.) Placebos & nocebos (belief systems) Cell memory Subtle energy healings & non local prayer healings Immunoenhancement

Conclusion Drawn from Pellieter o The only logical approach to understanding the stress-disease/mind-body phenomenon is an approach in which the individual is considered greater than the sum of its physiological parts. One must consider the spiritual dimension of he alth and disease as well. Target Organs and Their Disorders o Initially or ultimately one or more organs in the body is the recipient of stress-based neurological and hormonal activity that causes wear and tear, to the point where it no longer functions optimally. o Disorders, at the present time, appear to fall into two categories: Nervous system disorders and Immune system disorders Nervous o o o o o System-Related Disorders Bronchial asthma Tension headaches Migraine headaches TMJD (temporomandibular joint disorder) IBS

o Immune o o o o o o

Coronary heart disease System-Related Disorders The common cold and influenza Allergies Rheumatoid arthritis Ulcers and colitis Lupus Cancer