PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS - Foundation For …

1 Fnd. Infinite Survival, Inc. - Manual of Principles & Procedures ( ). PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS . INTRODUCTION. All of the previous, Phase I Modalities are very clearly physical and biological in nature. In addition to those areas, there are certain PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS which are known to have an impact on physical health; and here, we will be concerned with those FACTORS . It should be emphasized that those aspects of psychology which are beyond or remote from having a direct biological impact are not discussed here but, instead, will be the subject of the chapter on Psychology. As a general statement, it is true that any PSYCHOLOGICAL problem or malfunction, of sufficient intensity and duration, can jeopardize physical health; but it is also true that the body is "buffered". to a great extent from the mind and that a great deal of the PSYCHOLOGICAL content (even negative content) does not have any observable consequences on the body.

2 Also, there is an extremely high, individual variability in psycho-somatic relationships, with the important variables being such things as: the proper patterning of individual PSYCHOLOGICAL content, the stability of individual biochemistry, and the degree of stress which is caused by one's environmental circumstances. Differentiating the mind from the body can be difficult because of their mutual impact on each other. Mistakes can be made in both directions ( , a person's symptoms can be diagnosed has having a biological etiology when, in fact, the cause is PSYCHOLOGICAL ; on the other hand, a person can be diagnosed as being neurotic, when, in fact, the etiology is a biological malfunction). Depression is a prime example. Depression is a very common problem, and usually it is thought to be a PSYCHOLOGICAL phenomenon caused by interpersonal and circumstantial FACTORS ( , family relationships, economic hardship, early childhood experiences, etc.)

3 However, many metabolic malfunctions can cause PSYCHOLOGICAL depression; and a depressed state can easily lead one into abusive types of behaviour with such things as food, smoking, and alcohol. Then, excess food, smoking, and alcohol can easily cause further metabolic disruption as well as PSYCHOLOGICAL and social problems, all of which further exacerbate the depression. Frequently, it is impossible to diagnosis whether it is the PSYCHOLOGICAL patterning, the social matrix, or the metabolic instability which is the most important; and successful correction almost always requires working on all three aspects simultaneously. Making an attempt to describe the great diversity of the ways in which psychology can effect biological health and vice versa would be far beyond the scope of this section. If, in your Testing & Evaluation Data, you report significant PSYCHOLOGICAL problems, then an evaluation should be made of your particular situation; and that is a process of your own introspection and the evalua- tion of any counselors who might be working with you.

4 Beside the strictly personal, PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS which might be impinging on the health of a particular individual, there is a more generalized psychologically phenomenon which has come to be known as "stress" and which affects everyone to some degree and can affect certain individuals 7/23/99 Chapter II - Biology - 261. Fnd. Infinite Survival, Inc. - Manual of Principles & Procedures ( ). to a very significant extent. A considerable body of knowledge exists on the subject of psycho- logical stress 1, 2; and in this section, we will deal mostly with this particular condition. PSYCHOLOGICAL stress, vis a vis its precise relationship to health and disease, is a highly debated subject within scientific and medical circles; and the issues are by no means resolved at this time. However, apart from details and nuances of that controversy, it is generally agreed that perhaps 30% or more of all medical complaints are either purely psycho-somatic or, to a signifi- cant degree, psychologically induced.

5 Consider the following basic facts. In the United States, the three most prescribed medications in the 1980's (Tagamet for ulcers, Valium for muscle tension, and Aldomet for hypertension) all relate to conditions which have a significant element of PSYCHOLOGICAL stress. Those simple observations alone attest to the significance of stress in terms of general physical health. Further, there is evidence which links PSYCHOLOGICAL stress as a causal element in the major sources of the morbidity and mortality, such as: heart disease 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. ; cancer 8, 9, 10, 11, 12; hypertension 13, 14;. 1. Goldberger L and Breznitz S (Eds.), 1982; Handbook Of Stress : Theoretical And Clinical Aspects; Collier Macmillan, 1982. 2. Bieliausk LA, 1982; Stress And Its Relationship To Health And Illness; Westview Press, 1982. 3. Armstrong G and Friis R, 1981; The Stress-Heart Disease Connection.

6 4. De Faire U and Theorell T, 1984; Life Stress And Coronary Heart Disease. 5. International Symposium On Stress And Heart Disease (1984 : Winnipeg, Man.) Pathogenesis Of Stress-Induced Heart Disease : Proceedings Of The International Symposium On Stress And Heart Disease, June 26-29, 1984, Winnipeg, Canada;edited by Robert E. Beamish, et al.;1985. 6. Psychophysiological Risk FACTORS Of Cardiovascular Diseases : Psychosocial Stress, Personality, And Occupational Specificity : International Symposium; and , editors; 1982 #33. 7. Steptoe A, 1981; PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS In Cardiovascular Disorders;by; Academic Press, 1981. 8. Cancer, Stress, And Death;edited by Jean Tache, Hans Selye, and Stacey B. Day; Plenum Medical Book Co., c1979. 9. Simmons HE, 1979; The Psychogenic Biochemical Aspects Of Cancer; Psychogenic Disease Pub. Co., 1979.

7 10. Psychosocial Stress And Cancer;edited by Cary L. Cooper; Wiley, c1984. 11. Stress And Cancer; edited by Kurt Bammer and Benjamin H. Newberry; Hogrefe, 1981. 12. Symposium on behavioral biology and cancer (1981 : national institutes of health) biological mediators of behavior and disease, neoplasia : proceedings of a symposium on behavioral biology and cancer, held may 15, 1981 at the national institutes of health, bethesda, maryland, usa; Elsevieor Biomedical,1982. 13. Stress And Hypertension; editors, J. Bahlmann, H. Liebau; Karger, 1982. 14. Sudakov KV et al., 1983; Emotional Stress And Arterial Hypertension : Review Of Experimental Data;. Published for the National Library of Medicine and the National Science Foundation , 262 - Biology - Chapter II 7/23/99. Fnd. Infinite Survival, Inc. - Manual of Principles & Procedures ( ).

8 Gastrointestinal disorders 1; back pain 2; alcoholism 3; and psycho-pathologies 4. Although the scientific evidence which associates stress and biological disease is impressive, some people go to the extreme and tend to believe that most everything is in the mind; and that is clearly wrong. Most serious disease is strictly physiologic and biochemical in nature; and many diseases take their course, for the most part, independently of any real influence of the mind. Indeed, it is much easier to make the case that biological diseases cause negative states of mind rather than the reverse. Suffice it to say that the relationship between stress and ill health and disease is complex with many inter-dependent variables; and with that general qualification in mind, the position which we will be taking here can be summarized as follows. Stress-inducing, environmental stimuli causes PSYCHOLOGICAL anxiety which, in turn, can create biological states which, if they continue over sufficient time and are of sufficient intensity, will erode biological vitality, thus causing disease and/or making a person more susceptible to disease.

9 The negative effects of these stress reactions can be mitigated by following the Phase I recommendations which were made in the previous sections; and further, they can be controlled more directly by learning how to voluntarily induce the relaxation response and by controlling environmental stimuli. Once again, keep in mind that we are not concerned here with all PSYCHOLOGICAL irregularities but rather only with general PSYCHOLOGICAL stress, which affects everyone to some extend and which is associated more directly with diminishing biological vitality. In this section, we will first define stress and discuss some of the basic mechanisms which are involved. A good conceptual understanding of how PSYCHOLOGICAL stress affects biological states is probably the single most important therapy in and of itself because such an understanding gives a person the means to personally and directly observe the phenomenon and thereby begin manag- ing the condition by oneself.

10 Such management is largely a process of internal control, and the basis of internal control is understanding. After the general discussion about basic mechanisms, you will then be asked to review your own Testing & Evaluation Data for elements of stress; and after that, we will explain the general methods for dealing with stress causing FACTORS . Washington, , by Amerind Pub. Co., 1983. 1. Dotevall G, 1985; Stress And Common Gastrointestinal Disorders : A Comprehensive Approach;. Praeger, 1985. 2. Sarno J, 1984; Mind Over Back Pain : A Radically New Approach To The Diagnosis And Treatment Of Back Pain; W. Morrow 1984. 3. Poulos CJ , 1976; Alcoholism, Stress, Hypoglycemia, With Diets; Davis Pub. Co., 1976. 4. PSYCHOLOGICAL Stress And Psychopathology; edited by Richard Neufeld ; McGraw-Hill, 1982. 7/23/99 Chapter II - Biology - 263.