Body-mind treatment and HIV / AIDS

by Jeffrey Leiphart, Ph.D.

Body-Mind Medicine (Mind-Body Medicine) is a new approach to health and disease that recognizes that the emotional and psychological problems can affect the condition of our body.

Body and mind research has shown that emotions, beliefs and our relationships with other people's behavior and habits we can affect our immune system, making it stronger or melemak, which directs the body to the sick or healthy. As contah, we now know that high levels of stress and sadness and depression can weaken the ongoing immune system, and that peer support, self-motivation and physical exercise all contribute contributes to a strong immune system and healthy body.

The researchers mind-body medicine since the mid-1980s have been studying how the relationship between body and mind work in relation to HIV / AIDS. They have studied why some people fell ill and died because of HIV, while others remain symptom free and healthy. So some of the things they find, according to medical research:

• Trust: trust that you will die because of HIV infection can trigger fear, the decline in immunity, this reluctance to behave well and will eventually lead to the shorter life.
• Stress: stuck in "survival stress" for months - where you feel unsafe or threatened - can lead to fatigue immune system function and accelerate the development of AIDS.
• Sadness: feeling sad is normal after losing a person, pet or ideals that are important in life. If sadness is "saved" and not expressed for many months, it could trigger a decline in immune response and accelerate the development of the disease.
• Disclosure to a trusted supporters: science has discovered that talking about your problems honestly to the person who you believe can provide support and contribution to the function of your immune system.
• The purpose of life and ideals: the scientific study of people with HIV + who remain healthy for a long time shows that people with HIV + is generally a "reason to stay alive", whether in general ( "I want to spend time with friends and family ") or a specific goal (" I want to join the cooking class next month "). It seems that "reason for living" was able to give support and contribution to the immune system and survival.
• People who have a position defined as people who can say "no" to something he did not want to do, and "yes" to something he wants or likes. Medical research shows that a stand can boost the strength and quantity of cells, Natural Killer (NK) immune system. This is very important because NK cells can kill HIV in the body and can occur in people with CD4 count is very low.
• Body care means that you do the right thing on a regular basis to ensure your body remains healthy. This could include an understanding of the rhythm of your breathing and improve all the existing problems (such as respiratory or less in the habit of holding your breath without notice). You should drink water as much as eight glasses of water every day and eat solid food nutrition and healthy eating so that your entire body, including immune cells of the body, getting all the nutrients they need. Regular sleep can make you wake up with a "fresh feeling" every morning is also important. Finally, you should physical exercise with a moderate level (at least 3 times a week). Examples of moderate physical exercise is brisk walking for 20 minutes that makes you breathe faster and may also spend a little sweat. Remember that Natural Killer cells (NK) can also be amplified and reproduced with exercise.

How can you take advantage of new information about the relationship of this body and mind to improve the health of HIV + you? Your self-worth for each of the above issues, if you do these things well, OK, or less. Then, create a list of things that you are still "less" and select someone to honestly discuss it together. You may want to choose a different person for each issue. After discussion, create a plan to improve each of the "shortcomings" and begin to fix it.