Glossary

Acceptance

• Is a person's assent to the reality of a situation, recognizing a process or condition

Amygdala(e)

• Shown in research to perform a primary role in the processing of memory, decision-making, and emotional reactions
• The amygdalae are considered part of the limbic system
• Are almond-shaped groups of nuclei located deep and medially within the temporal lobes of the brain 

Anxiety

• An unpleasant state of inner turmoil, nervous behaviour, somatic complaints and rumination
• Is the expectation of future threat
• Is a feeling of fear, worry, and uneasiness, usually generalized and unfocused as an overreaction to a situation that is only subjectively seen as menacing
• It is often accompanied by muscular tension, restlessness, fatigue, and problems in concentration
• Anxiety can be appropriate, but when it is too much and continues for too long, the individual may suffer from an anxiety disorder

Auto Immune Disorders

• When one has an autoimmune disorder, the immune system does not distinguish between healthy tissue and antigens and the body sets off a reaction that destroys normal tissues
• The exact cause of autoimmune disorders is unknown:
  • One theory is that some microorganisms (such as bacteria or viruses) or drugs may trigger changes that confuse the immune system
  • This may happen more often in people who have genes that make them more prone to autoimmune disorders
• An autoimmune disorder may result in:
  • The destruction of body tissue
  • Abnormal growth of an organ
  • Changes in organ function
  • May affect one or more organ or tissue types
• Areas often affected by autoimmune disorders include:
  • Blood vessels
  • Connective tissues
  • Endocrine glands such as the thyroid or pancreas
  • Joints
  • Muscles
  • Red blood cells
  • Skin
• A person may have more than one autoimmune disorder at the same time
• Common autoimmune disorders include:
  • Addison's disease
  • Celiac disease -  (gluten-sensitive enteropathy)
  • Dermatomyositis
  • Graves' disease
  • Hashimoto's thyroiditis
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Devic syndrome
  • Myasthenia gravis
  • Pernicious anemia
  • Reactive arthritis
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Sjogren syndrome
  • Systemic lupus erythematosus
  • Type I diabetes

Awareness

• Is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects, thoughts, emotions, or sensory patterns
• More broadly, it is the state or quality of being aware of something
• In biological psychology, awareness is defined as a human's or an animal's perception and cognitive reaction to a condition or event        
• Efforts to describe consciousness in neurological terms have focused on describing networks in the brain that develop awareness 

Behavior or behaviour

• Is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with themselves or their environment
• It is the response of the system or organism to various stimuli or inputs, whether internal or external, conscious or subconscious, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary

Belongingness

• Abraham Maslow suggested that the need to belong was a major source of human motivation along with physiological needs, safety, self-esteem, and self-actualization
• These needs are arranged on a hierarchy and must be satisfied in order
• After physiological and safety needs are met an individual can then work on meeting the need to belong and be loved
• According to Maslow, if the first two needs are not met, then an individual cannot completely love someone else

Biochemistry of Emotions

• In 1974 Candace Pert discovered the brain’s opiate receptor
• Pert is the author of Molecules of Emotion: Why You Feel the Way You Feel, (Scribner, 1997)
• According to Candice Pert, the vehicle that the mind and body use to communicate with each other is the chemistry of emotion
• The chemicals Pert refers to are molecules, short chains of amino acids called peptides and receptors, that she believes to be the "biochemical correlate of emotions"
• The peptides can be found in the brain, but also in the stomach, muscles, glands and all major organs, sending messages back and forth
• After decades of research, Pert was able to finally make clear how emotion creates the bridge between mind and body

Biomedical Model of Medicine

• Has been around since the mid-nineteenth century as the predominant model used by physicians in diagnosing diseases
• According to the biomedical model, health constitutes the freedom from disease, pain, or defect, thus making the normal human condition "healthy"
• The model's focus on the physical processes, such as the pathology, the biochemistry and the physiology of a disease
• Does not take into account the role of social factors or individual subjectivity
• The biomedical model of health focuses on purely biological factors, and excludes psychological, environmental, and social influences
• It is considered to be the leading modern way for health care professionals to diagnose and treat a condition in most Western countries

Body-Mind Connection

• In neuroscience, much has been learned about correlations between brain activity and subjective conscious experiences
• Many suggest that neuroscience will ultimately explain consciousness
• Cognitive science today gets increasingly interested in the embodiment of human perception, thinking, and action

Breathing Meditation

• The practice of focusing one's attention on breathing changes the brain; the brain grows in response to meditation
• Meditation can be thought of as mental training, similar to learning to ride a bike or play a piano
• Meditators experienced in focused attention may illustrate a lessening of emotionally reactive and automatic responding behavior
• It has been scientifically demonstrated that slows down the natural aging process of the brain

Bruxism

• Bruxism is a common problem as a stress related manifestation
• The causes of bruxism involve multiple factors
• Bruxism is the excessive grinding of the teeth 
• It is an oral Para functional activity
• It is unrelated to normal function such as eating or talking
• Several symptoms are commonly associated with bruxism;  hypersensitive teeth, aching jaw muscles, and headaches
• Bruxism may cause; tooth wear, damage of teeth and dental restorations such as crowns and fillings

Cancer

• Also known as a malignant tumour or malignant neoplasm
• Is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body
• Possible signs and symptoms include: a new lump, abnormal bleeding, unexplained weight loss
• There are over 100 different known cancers that affect humans

Cellular Memory

• Cellular memory is an additional hypothesis that memories can be stored outside the brain
• However, unlike body memory, the cellular memory hypothesis states that these memories are stored in all the cells of human bodies, not in the bodies’ organs

Chakras

• Chakras are energy channels through which the vital energy moves
• There are seven chakras that are considered to be the most important ones
• Their name derives from the Sanskrit word for "wheel" or "turning"

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)

• Is the common name for a group of significantly debilitating medical conditions characterized by persistent fatigue and other specific symptoms that lasts for a minimum of six months in adults (and 3 months in children or adolescents)
• The fatigue is not due to exertion, not significantly relieved by rest, and is not caused by other medical conditions
• Biological, genetic, infectious and psychological mechanisms have been proposed, but the etiology of CFS is not understood and it may have multiple causes

Chronic Condition

• Is a human health condition or disease that is persistent and long-lasting in its effects 
• The term chronic is usually applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three to six months
• Common chronic diseases include arthritis, asthma, cancer, diabetes and HIV/AIDS

Chronic pain

• Is defined as pain that has lasted longer than three to six months, though some theorists and researchers have placed the transition from acute to chronic pain at 12 months
• A popular alternative definition of chronic pain, involving no arbitrarily fixed duration, is "pain that extends beyond the expected period of healing"

Claustrophobia

• Is the fear of having no escape and being in closed or small spaces or rooms
• It is typically classified as an anxiety disorder
• Often results in panic attack
• Can be the result of many situations or stimuli, including elevators crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and even tight-necked clothing
• The onset of claustrophobia has been attributed to many factors, including a reduction in the size of the amygdala, classical conditioning, or a genetic predisposition to fear small spaces

Clinical Hypnotherapy

• Is a form of complementary psychotherapy used together with conventional medical treatment in order to create subconscious change in a patient in the form of new responses, thoughts, attitudes, behaviours or feelings

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

• Is a psychotherapeutic approach that addresses dysfunctional emotions, maladaptive behaviours and cognitive processes 
• CBT was primarily developed through an integration of behaviour therapy (the term "behaviour modification" by Edward Thorndike) with cognitive psychology research, first by Donald Meichenbaum and several other authors with the label of cognitive behaviour modification in the late 1970s
• This tradition thereafter merged with earlier work of a few clinicians, labelled as Cognitive Therapy (CT), developed first by Albert Ellis as Rational Emotive Therapy (RET) and later Aaron Beck
• Common features of CBT procedures are the focus on the "here and now", a directive or guidance role of the therapist, a structuring of the psychotherapy sessions and path, and on alleviating both symptoms and patients' vulnerability
• The name refers to behaviour therapy, cognitive therapy, and therapy based upon a combination of basic behavioral and cognitive principles and research
• This technique acknowledges that there may be behaviours that cannot be controlled through rational thought
• CBT is a "problem focused" (undertaken for specific problems) and "action oriented" (therapist tries to assist the client in selecting specific strategies to help address those problems)
• CBT has been demonstrated to be effective for the treatment of a variety of conditions, including mood, anxiety, personality, eating, substance abuse, tic, and psychotic disorders

Consciousness

• Is the quality or state of awareness, or of being aware of an external object or something within oneself
• It has been defined as: sentience, awareness, subjectivity, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind
• Despite the difficulty in definition, many philosophers believe that there is a broadly shared underlying intuition about what consciousness is
• Philosophers since the time of Descartes and Locke have struggled to comprehend the nature of consciousness and pin down its essential properties
• At one time consciousness was viewed with scepticism by many scientists, but in recent years it has become a significant topic of research in psychology, neuropsychology and neuroscience
• The primary focus is on understanding what it means biologically and psychologically for information to be present in consciousness—that is, on determining the neural and psychological correlates of consciousness
• In medicine, consciousness is assessed by observing a patient's arousal and responsiveness, and can be seen as a continuum of states ranging from full alertness and comprehension, through disorientation, delirium, loss of meaningful communication, and finally loss of movement in response to painful stimuli
• Issues of practical concern include how the presence of consciousness can be assessed in severely ill, comatose, or anesthetised people, and how to treat conditions in which consciousness is impaired or disrupted

Coping skills

• Is expending conscious effort to solve personal and interpersonal problems, and seeking to master, minimize or tolerate stress or conflict
• The effectiveness of the coping efforts depend on the type of stress and/or conflict, the particular individual, and the circumstances
• Psychological coping mechanisms are commonly termed coping strategies or coping skills
• The term coping generally refers to adaptive or constructive coping strategies
• Coping responses are partly controlled by personality (habitual traits), and also partly by the social environment, particularly the nature of the stressful environment

Creativity

• Is a phenomenon whereby something new and in some way valuable is created such as an idea, a joke, a literary work, painting or musical composition, a solution, an invention
• The range of scholarly interest in creativity includes a multitude of definitions and approaches involving several disciplines; psychology, cognitive science, education, philosophy and science, technology, theology, sociology, linguistics, business studies, song writing and economics
• It is influenced by general intelligence, mental and neurological processes, personality type and creative ability
• Creativity is fostered through education and training and is influenced by mental health

Dental Anxiety

• Anxiety is extremely common, and most people experience some degree of dental anxiety especially if they’re about to have something done which they’ve never experienced before
• Basically, it’s a fear of the unknown

Dental Phobia (Odontophobia, Dentophobia)

• The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) describes dental phobia as a “marked and persistent fear that is excessive or unreasonable
• Is basically the same as fear, only much stronger:
  • I know what happens when I go to the dentist 
  • There’s no way I’m going back if I can help it 
  • I’m so terrified I feel sick
• The fight-or-flight response occurs when just thinking about or being reminded of the threatening situation
• Someone with a dental phobia will avoid dental care at all costs until either a physical problem or the psychological burden of the phobia becomes overwhelming

Dental Fear

• Dental fear has been ranked fifth among the most common fears (DeJongh, Morris, Schoemakers, & Ter Horst, 1995)
• Those who start with dental fear when they are young and continue with it into adulthood can have total avoidance of all dental work, causing problems for their health

Dental Hypnotherapy (Hypnodontics)

• Is a branch of dental science which deals with the application of hypnosis to the practice of dentistry
• It is the art and science of using hypnosis (drug free alternative) in dentistry generating comfortable dental visits 
• Benefits:
  • Becoming a more calm, relaxed and centered person in the dental chair
  • Allowing you to un-wind and release the stress you associate with a trip to the dentist
  • Reduced pain, discomfort and tolerance of prosthetics (dentures)
  • Reduction of swelling post surgery
  • Improvement of oral hygiene habits
  • Accustoming you to orthodontic or prosthetic appliances after agreeing to accept them
  • More rapid recovery time from surgery or invasive dental work
  • Complement inhalation, intravenous or oral sedation
  • Overall patient satisfaction with dental services by its results with:
    • Preventing gum disease
    • Maintaining general well being through dental health
    • Receiving proper dental care
    • Having a smile you're proud of
    • Avoiding a much higher dental bill in the future
    • Reducing the need for chemical anaesthetic
    • Enhancing your willingness & cooperation for attending proper dental care
    • Maintenance of your comfort during long periods of dental work
    • Modification of unwanted dental habits, such as bruxism and clenching of teeth
    • Reduction of anaesthesia or analgesia during dental procedures
    • Create amnesia during extremely uncomfortable dental work
    • Control of pain, gagging, nausea, salivary flow and bleeding

Disease Model

• The concept of “disease” is central to the medical model
• In general, “disease” refers to some deviation from normal body functioning that has undesirable consequences for the affected individual
• According the medical model, medical treatment, wherever possible, should be directed at the underlying pathology in an attempt to correct the abnormality and cure the disease
• In regard to many mental illnesses, for example, the view is that the cause of the disorder lies in abnormalities within the affected individual’s brain, especially their brain neurochemistry
• According to the medical model, for treatment (such as drugs), to be effective, it should be directed as closely as possible at correcting the theorized chemical imbalance in the mentally ill person’s brain

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)

• Is a form of counselling intervention that draws on various theories of alternative medicine including:
  • Neuro-linguistic programming 
  • Energy Medicine
  • Thought Field Therapy (TFT)
• The technique may be used to treat:
  • A wide variety of physical and psychological disorders
  • Simple form of self-administered therapy
• It is best known through Gary Craig's EFT Handbook, published in the late 1990s

Emotional Well Being

• Emotional well-being is seen to contribute to upward spirals in increasing coping ability, self-esteem, performance and productivity at work, and even longevity
• Emotional well-being is also one of two aspects of personal well-being that can be measured in quantitative quality of life assessments

Energy Medicine

• Is a branch of alternative medicine holding the belief that a healer can channel healing energy into a patient
• The different methods may be classified as hands-on, hands-off, and distant or absent where the patient and healer are in different locations
• There are many schools of energy healing:
  • Biofield energy healing
  • Spiritual healing
  • Contact healing
  • Distant healing
  • Therapeutic touch
  • Reiki 
  • Qigong

Equanimity

• Latin: æquanimitas having an even mind; aequus even animus mind/soul
• Is a state of psychological stability and composure which is undisturbed by experience of or exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenomena that may cause others to lose the balance of their mind

Exhalation (or expiration)

• Is the flow of the respiratory current out of the organism
• In humans it is the movement of air out of the bronchial tubes, through the airways, to the external environment during breathing
• Exhaled air is rich in carbon dioxide, a waste product of cellular respiration during the production of energy
• Exhalation has a complementary relationship to inhalation; the cycling between these two efforts define respiration

Fear

• Is an emotion induced by a threat perceived by living entities, which causes a change in brain and organ function and ultimately a change in behavior, such as running away, hiding or freezing from traumatic events
• Fear may occur in response to a specific stimulus happening in the present, or to a future situation, which is perceived as risk to health or life, status, power, security, or in the case of humans wealth or anything held valuable
• The fear response arises from the perception of danger leading to confrontation with or escape from/avoiding the threat (also known as the fight-or-flight response), which in extreme cases of fear (horror and terror) can be a freeze response or paralysis
• In humans and animals, fear is modulated by the process of cognition and learning
• Fear is judged as rational or appropriate and irrational or inappropriate: an irrational fear is called a phobia
• Fear should be distinguished from anxiety, which occurs as the result of threats which are perceived to be uncontrollable or unavoidable
• The fear response serves survival by generating appropriate behavioral responses, as it has been preserved throughout evolution

Fibromyalgia (FM or FMS)

• Is characterised by chronic widespread pain and Allodynia (a heightened and painful response to pressure)
• Fibromyalgia symptoms are not restricted to pain, leading to the use of the alternative term fibromyalgia syndrome 
• Other symptoms include debilitating fatigue, sleep disturbance, and joint stiffness
• Some people also report difficulty with swallowing, bowel and bladder abnormalities, numbness and tingling, and cognitive dysfunction
• Fibromyalgia is frequently associated with depression and anxiety and stress-related disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder
• Its exact cause is unknown but is believed to involve psychological, genetic, neurobiological and environmental factors
• The central symptom of fibromyalgia, namely widespread pain, appears to result from neuro-chemical imbalances including activation of inflammatory pathways in the brain which results in abnormalities in pain processing

The Fight-or-Flight Response

• The fight-or-flight response (also called the fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response [in PTSD], hyperarousal, or the acute stress response
  • Physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival
  • First described by Walter Bradford Cannon

Focused Attention

• Is the behavioural and cognitive process of selectively concentrating information (subjective or objective), while ignoring other perceivable information
• Attention remains a major area of investigation within education, psychology, neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, and neuropsychology
• The relationships between attention and consciousness are complex enough that they have warranted perennial philosophical exploration

Formal Mindfulness Meditation

• Is "the intentional, accepting and non-judgmental focus of one's attention on the emotions, thoughts and sensations occurring in the present moment", which can be trained by meditational practices
• Mindfulness practice is being employed in psychology to alleviate a variety of mental and physical conditions, physical and emotional/psychological pain, anxiety, and in the prevention of relapse in depression and drug addiction
• It has gained worldwide popularity as a distinctive method to handle emotion

​Guided Imagery

• Considered a form of hypnotherapy
• Technique used by:
  • Natural or Alternative Medicine Practitioners 
  • Physicians
  • Psychologists
  • Dentists
• Benefits:
  • Promotes healing in Cancer Care    
  • Helps solving problems
  • Reducing stress
  • Support a person with career goals
  • Addresses
    • Physical problems
    • Health issues 
    • Emotional healing
    • Psychological issues
• Simple imagery suggestions are given to a client by a trained practitioner typically in a one-on-one fashion, however, it is sometimes done in group sessions
• The offering of a series of image suggestions depends upon the needs of the individual
• The image suggestions given to a client often involve effective breathing and relaxing techniques at the start of the session, and then progresses further through the main course of the patient's problem by providing a direction toward the solution

Holistic Coaching

• Also referred to as wellness coaching
• Is a process that facilitates healthy, sustainable behaviour change by challenging a client to listen to their inner wisdom, identify their values, and transform their goals into action
• Health coaching draws on the principles of positive psychology and the practices of motivational interviewing and goal setting
• The terms health coaching and wellness coaching are used interchangeably

Holistic Dentistry (Biologic Dentistry, Biocompatible Dentistry)

• The practice of dentistry that takes into account the effect of dental treatment and materials on the overall health of the individual
• The teeth are part of your body, and one cannot be as healthy as they are capable of being with an unhealthy mouth
• Many chronic disease have an orientation in the mouth
• Is the equivalent of integrative medicine for dentistry
• An approach to Dentistry that promotes health and wellness
• Encompasses both modern science and knowledge drawn from the worlds great traditions on natural healing
• Holistic Dentistry acknowledges and deals with the mind, body, and spirit of the patient, not just the teeth
• Lays out the following basic principles:
  • Prevention and treatment of gum disease at its biological basis
  • Prevention and treatment of dental malocclusion (bite problems / physical imbalance)
  • Avoidance and elimination of toxins from dental materials
  • Proper nutrition for the prevention and reversal of degenerative dental disease

Holistic Medicine

• Is a multi-disciplinary approach that includes specialized medical care
• It focuses on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain, and stress of a serious illness, whatever the diagnosis
• The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family
• This multidisciplinary approach allows the care team to address physical, emotional, spiritual and social concerns that arise with advanced illness

Holistic Nutritional Counseling

• Holistic nutritional counseling focuses on a natural approach to a healthy diet and considers the individual as a whole, including all aspects of his lifestyle (emotional, spiritual and physical health) in order to create a state of well being for optimum health
• A holistic approach to proper nutrition encourages education on basic nutrition to develop a holistic diet that incorporates natural and organic foods, natural holistic supplements and food treatments for chronic health conditions
• According to holisticnutrition.com, the fundamental principle of holistic nutrition is that food provides the energy needed to function properly and supplies the nutrients that are required to build and regenerate bone, muscle, fat and blood
• The nutrients obtained from food are essential for the natural processes that constantly take place inside the body
• Holistic nutrition involves three main components:
  • Macronutrients : Carbohydrate, Protein, Fats 
  • Micronutrients: Vitamins, Minerals
  • Fiber
• These components all play an important role in how the body functions and are essential to a complete, balanced diet
• Holistic nutrition requires a proper balance of protein, vitamins and other nutrients for optimum health to reach optimum energy levels, emotional well-being and the ability to fight infections 
• Following the guidelines of proper holistic nutrition can help prevent various health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer 

Holistic Stress Management

• Stress management can be defined as interventions designed to reduce the impact of stressors in one’s personal and professional life
• These can have an individual focus, aimed at increasing an individual’s ability to cope with stressors
• The goal of Stress Management is to help you manage the stresses of everyday life
• Many different methods may be employed, such as:
  • Biofeedback
  • Meditation
  • Positive Psychotherapy
  • Hypnotherapy
  • Emotional Freedom Technique
• Tips to stress management include calm, clear thoughts and quiet confidence in yourself and your ability to accomplish the goals set for yourself

Homeopathy In Dentistry

• Samuel Hahnemann has brought along with its technical and synthetic advances a resurgence of the understanding of human beings as a total entity body, mind, emotions, and soul: Holism
• The use of homeopathy is helping today's dentists give holistic care to their patients
• More dentists are recognizing that attached to the teeth is a human being, and in treating a localized manifestation of disease in the mouth implies consideration  to the general physical state of the patient
• Homeopathy is a system of healing that seeks to cure illness, utilizing remedies made from plants, minerals, or animal products 
• Homeopathy discovers the essence of disease through the symptom syndrome (the totality of the mental, emotional, and physical symptoms)
• By means of the totality of symptoms, the homeopathic practitioner treats the patient as a whole rather than treating the disease in its localized expression
• For the best treatment, individualized homeopathy is applied
• Homeopathy in holistic dentistry offers a combination of constitutional and pathological homeopathic remedies
• It is possible to prescribe one remedy to suit the general temperament of a patient and another for the particular problem the patient is experiencing
• There are many homeopathic remedies that have been found effective in treating various dental conditions

Hypnotherapy (Clinical Hypnotherapy)

• Simply speaking hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness
• Clinical Hypnosis or Hypnotherapy, therefore, is the use of an altered state of consciousness, or trance, for therapeutic purposes
• This means that people are not treated with hypnosis but are treated in hypnosis
• All hypnotic states are characterized by a tremendously pleasant state of relaxation, which individuals allow themselves to enter so that desired, beneficial suggestions may be given directly to the part of the mind known as the unconscious or the deeper mind
• Under hypnosis, the conscious, rational part of the brain is temporarily bypassed, making the unconscious part, which influences mental and physical functions, receptive to therapy
• During the trance state there is heightened concentration for the specific purpose of maximizing potential, changing limiting beliefs and behaviours and gaining insight and wisdom
• Although hypnosis may be light, medium or deep, a medium trance is usually used during which metabolism, breathing and heartbeat slow and the brain produces alpha waves
• Normal states of consciousness i.e. sleeping, dreaming, being awake, can be detected in the wave patterns produced by the brain
• The state of hypnosis differs from all three
• The brain waves associated with quiet, receptive states are called alpha waves, when the body gradually relaxes
• Hypnosis, meditation, day dreaming, being absorbed in a book or music or television, driving and arriving at your destination without recalling all the usual landmarks are good examples of alpha states
• The trance state is therefore a natural phenomenon

Intravenous (I.V.) Chemotherapy

• Chemotherapy (also called chemo) is a type of cancer treatment that uses drugs to destroy cancer cells
• Chemotherapy works by stopping or slowing down the growth of cancer cells, which grow and divide quickly
• Damage to healthy cells may cause side effects
• Often, side effects get better or go away after chemotherapy is over
• Sometimes, chemotherapy is used as the only cancer treatment or you will get chemotherapy along with surgery, radiation therapy, or biological therapy
• Depending on the type of cancer and how advanced it is, chemotherapy can:
  • Cure cancer - when chemotherapy destroys cancer cells
  • Ease cancer symptoms, also called palliative care 
  • Control cancer: 
    • When chemotherapy keeps cancer from spreading
    • Slows its growth
    • Destroys cancer cells that have spread to other parts of your body
  • Make a tumor smaller before surgery or radiation therapy (neo-adjuvant chemotherapy)
  • Destroy cancer cells that may remain after surgery or radiation therapy (adjuvant chemotherapy)
  • Help radiation therapy and biological therapy work better
  • Destroy cancer cells that have come back (recurrent cancer) or spread to other parts of your body (metastatic cancer)

Integrative medicine (Integrative Health)

• Is the combination of the practices and methods of alternative medicine with conventional medicine
• Takes into account the interactions between: 
  • Thoughts 
  • Feelings 
  • Behaviours
• Focuses on early detection, prevention and treatment of age and environmental related degeneration
• Evidenced based approach designed to restore general well being

Mainstream Cancer Treatments

• A system in which medical doctors and other health care professionals ( such as nurses, pharmacists and therapists) treat symptoms and diseases using drugs, radiation, or surgery
• Also called Allopathic medicine, Conventional medicine, Orthodox medicine and Western medicine

Myofascial Pain Syndrome

• Myofascial pain syndrome is a chronic pain disorder
• In myofascial pain syndrome, pressure on sensitive points in the muscles (trigger points) causes pain in seemingly unrelated parts of the body (referred pain)
• Myofascial pain syndrome typically occurs after a muscle has been contracted repetitively
• This can be caused by repetitive motions used in jobs or hobbies or by stress-related muscle tension
• While nearly everyone has experienced muscle tension pain, the discomfort associated with myofascial pain syndrome persists or worsens
• Treatment options for myofascial pain syndrome include:
  • Physical therapy
  • Trigger point injections
  • Pain medications 
  • Relaxation techniques
  • Clinical Hypnotherapy
  • Guided imagery
  • Visualization

Mind-Body Techniques

• Hypnotherapy for Pain Management
• EFT
• Mindful Meditation
• Biofeedback
• Progressive Muscle Relaxation
• Tai Chi
• Qi Gong
• Deep Breathing Exercises (Pranayama)
• Yoga
• Visualization
• Guided Imagery

Mindful Solution To Chronic Pain

• According to Dr. Jackie Gardener-Nix, the pioneer of this new modality:
  • Your mood, thoughts, and emotions can affect your perception of pain and even your ability to heal
  • Past life experiences influence your current physical challenges: "your biography influences your biology"
  • While treatments like medication and physical therapy can be enormously beneficial to the body, to maximize pain relief, it's necessary to take advantage of the mind's healing abilities
  • Mindfulness-based chronic pain management helps you harness your mind's power to quiet your pain and put you in control
  • Mindfulness practice, which includes stationary meditations, movement meditations, mindful art, and other strategies, will help you:
    • Understand how emotions and thoughts affect physical symptoms
    • Reverse the debilitating effects of some chronic pain conditions
    • Prevent pain from becoming chronic or long-term
    • Lift the anxiety and depression that may accompany chronic pain

Mindfulness Meditation

• Mindfulness has its origins in ancient meditation practices
• The founder of modern day Mindfulness Meditation is Jon Kabat-Zinn - the founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1970's
• The ABC of mindfulness
  • A is for awareness: Becoming more aware of what you are thinking and doing – what’s going on in your mind and body 
  • B is for "just Being" with your experience, avoiding the tendency to respond on auto-pilot and feed problems by creating your own story
  • C is for seeing things and responding more wisely by creating a gap between the experience and our reaction to, making wiser choices
• Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to, and seeing clearly whatever is happening in our lives  
• It will not eliminate life's pressures and it can help us respond to them in a calmer manner that benefits our heart, head, and body
• It helps us recognize and step away from habitual, often unconscious emotional and physiological reactions to everyday events 
• It provides us with a scientifically researched approach to cultivating clarity, insight, and understanding 
• Practicing mindfulness allows us to be fully present in our life and work, while improving the quality of life
• The benefits of Mindfulness include:
  • Recognize, slow down or stop automatic and habitual reactions
  • Respond more effectively to complex or difficult situations
  • See situations more clearly
  • Become more creative
  • Achieve balance and resilience at work and at home
• Since the late 1970's there have been more than 1000 publications documenting medical and psychological research on mindfulness which demonstrate its validity and breadth of application
• According to Jon Kabat-Zinn , "mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and non judgmentally."  
• With practice, practitioners learn to slow down or stop brain chatter and automatic or habitual reactions, experiencing the present moment as it really is
• When practicing mindfulness, everyone, however much they practice, will experience thoughts creeping in to their heads uninvited
• Acknowledge the thought and let it go without judgment, we retain our focus on being in the present moment
• As with all new skills, the more we practice it, the easier it becomes
• Canadian psychologist, Donald Hebb coined the phrase "neurons that fire together, wire together"
• The more we practice mindfulness, the more we develop neuro-pathways in the brain associated with being mindful, creating the forum for being fully in the present moment
• By learning to experience the present moment as it really is, we develop the ability to step away from habitual, often unconscious emotional and physiological reactions to everyday events, see things as they really are and respond to them wisely rather than on auto pilot
• Mindfulness is for everyone from all walks of life, young or old
• Mindfulness may have had its origins in the East
• The benefits of mindfulness and meditation are now relatively mainstream
• The scientific community has found data positively correlating mindfulness and meditation to stress reduction 
• In the last 30 years, the most widely recognized Mindfulness practices, MBSR & MBCT have been developed and researched in the West
• Recent neuroscience & clinical research has helped explain why mindfulness meditation practices work, which has accelerated its use within traditional medical circles as a powerful healing tool even further

Molecules of Emotions

• In her groundbreaking book Molecules of Emotion, Candace Pert provides startling and decisive answers challenging questions that scientists and philosophers have pondered for centuries
  • Why do we feel the way we feel?
  • How do our thoughts and emotions affect our health?
  • Are our bodies and minds distinct from each other?
  • Do they function together as parts of an interconnected system? 
  • Her pioneering research on how the chemicals inside our bodies form a dynamic information network, linking mind and body, is revolutionary
  • Candice Pert is establishing the biomolecular basis for our emotions and explaining these new scientific developments in a clear and accessible way
  • Pert empowers us to understand ourselves, our feelings, and the connection between our minds and our bodies -- body-minds -- in ways we could never possibly have imagined before 
  • Molecules of Emotion is a landmark work, full of insight and wisdom and possessing that rare power to change the way we see the world and ourselves

MRI

• An MRI scan is a painless diagnostic technique that has the advantage of avoiding x-ray radiation exposure
• There are no known side effects of an MRI scan
• The benefits of an MRI scan relate to its precise accuracy in detecting structural abnormalities of the body

Needle Phobia

• Needle phobia is a defined* medical condition that causes people to avoid needed medical care  
• Many cases of what is called needle phobia go far beyond a simple fear of needles   
• Needle phobia is a medical condition that deserves treatment just as much as any other medical condition  
• Whether your particular needle phobia is biological or psychological in origin, or both, in medical journals it is still called needle phobia 
• Many actually avoid the medical profession completely, even when they have a serious or potentially fatal condition
• Perceived fear is actually directed mostly toward the involuntary physical reaction of one's body to needle procedures, rather than the needle procedure itself

Pain Management

• Pain management, also called pain medicine is a branch of medicine employing an interdisciplinary approach for easing the suffering and improving the quality of life of those living with pain
• The typical pain management team includes medical practitioners, clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists
• The team may also include other mental-health specialists:
  • Psychotherapists
  • Hypnotherapists
  • Dentists
  • Facilitators of Meditation Solution to Physical and Emotional Pain Management
• Effective management of chronic pain frequently requires the coordinated efforts of the management team
• Medicine treats injury and pathology to support and speed healing; and treats distressing symptoms such as pain to relieve suffering during treatment and healing
• When a painful injury or pathology is resistant to treatment and persists, when pain persists after the injury or pathology has healed, and when medical science cannot identify the cause of pain, the task of medicine is to relieve suffering
• Treatment approaches to chronic pain include pharmacological measures, such as analgesics, tricyclic antidepressants and anticonvulsants, interventional procedures, physical therapy, physical exercise, application of ice and/or heat, and psychological measures, such as Pain Management (Pain Relief)

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)

• Is the study of the interaction between psychological processes and the nervous and immune systems of the human body
• PNI takes an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating: psychology, neuroscience, immunology, physiology, genetics, pharmacology, molecular biology, psychiatry, behavioral medicine, infectious diseases, endocrinology, and rheumatology
• The main interests of PNI are the interactions between the neuro-endocrine and immune systems and the relationships between emotional/mental processes and the health outcome
• PNI studies:
  • Disorders of the neuroimmune system
  • Autoimmune diseases
  • Hypersensitivities
  • Immune deficiency

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)

• Previously called Rational Therapy(RT) and Rational Emotive Therapy (RET)
• Is a comprehensive, active-directive, philosophically and empirically based psychotherapy
• REBT was created and developed by the American psychotherapist and psychologist Albert Ellis (mid-1950s; development continued until his death in 2007)
• Albert Ellis was inspired by many of the teachings of Asian, Greek, Roman and modern philosophers
• REBT is one form of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
• Focuses on resolving
  • Emotional and behavioral problems and disturbances
  • Enabling people to lead happier and more fulfilling lives

The Relaxation Response

• Is a book written in 1975 by Herbert Benson, a Harvard physician, and Miriam Z. Klipper
• The response is a simple version of Transcendental Meditation (TM) presented for people in the Western world
• The goal is to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which causes humans to relax
• Benson developed the response which counters the fight-or-flight response described during the 1920s by Walter Bradford Cannon at the Harvard Medical School
• According to Benson more than 60 percent of all visits to healthcare providers are related to stress
• It causes the “fight or flight” hormones, epinephrine and norepinephrine, to secrete into the bloodstream
• This incites or exacerbates a number of conditions:
  • Hypertension
  • Headaches
  • Insomnia
  • Irritable bowel syndrome
  • Chronic low back pain
  • Heart disease
  • Stroke
  • Cancer

Self-Actualization

• Self-actualization can be seen as similar to words and concepts such as self-discovery, self-reflection, self-realisation and self exploration
• The term was originally introduced by the organismic theorist Kurt Goldstein for the motive "to realize one's full potential".
• Expressing one's creativity, quest for spiritual enlightenment, pursuit of knowledge, and the desire to give to society are examples of self-actualization
• Carl Rogers similarly wrote of "the curative force in psychotherapy - man's tendency to actualize himself, to become his potentialities... to express and activate all the capacities of the organism".
• The concept was brought most fully to prominence in Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory as the final level of psychological development that can be achieved when all basic and mental needs are essentially fulfilled and the "actualization" of the full personal potential takes place, although he adapted this viewpoint later on in life, and saw it more flexibly
• As Abraham Maslow noted, the basic needs of humans must be met (e.g. food, shelter, warmth, security, sense of belongingness etc.) before a person can achieve self-actualization - the need to be good, to be fully alive and to find meaning in life
• Research shows that when people live lives that are different from their true nature and capabilities, they are less likely to be happy than those whose goals and lives match

Self-Hypnosis ("Autohypnosis")

• Is a form, process or result of hypnosis which is self-induced
• Normally makes use of self-suggestion; "autosuggestion"
• Self hypnosis makes one more flexible and allowing than normal
• Self-hypnosis is used extensively in modern hypnotherapy
• It can take the form of hypnosis carried out by means of a learned routine
• Allows one to gain the deep potential present in them
• May help the following:
  • Anxiety
  • Pain management
  • Depression
  • Sleep disorders
  • Obesity
  • Asthma
  • Skin conditions
• When this practice is mastered, it can improve:       
  • Recall
  • Concentration
  • Enhance problem solving
  • Alleviate headaches
  • Improve one's control of emotions
• Self-Hypnosis requires four distinct steps:
  • Motivation: Without proper motivation, an individual will find it difficult to practice self-hypnosis
  • Relaxation: The individual must be thoroughly relaxed and must set aside time to perform this act, as full attention is needed
  • Concentration: The individual needs to concentrate completely as energy is generated each time the mind focuses on a single image
  • Directing: This is an option used only when the individual wants to work on a specific goal (visualizing the desired result)

Stimulus

• Is an energy pattern (such as light or sound) which is registered by the senses
• In behaviourism and related stimulus–response theories, a stimulus constitutes the basis for behavior, whereas it constitutes the basis for perception in perceptual psychology
• In the second half of the 19th century, the conception had been established by psychophysics, the "scientific study of the relation between stimulus and sensation", together with the notion of the reflex arc constituting a foundational concept of scientific psychology
• In the context of perception, a distinction is made between the distal stimulus (the external, perceived object) and the proximal stimulus (the stimulation of sensory organs)

Stress

• Stress is the leading cause of mental and physical problems, therefore feeling relaxed is beneficial for a person's health
• When we are stressed, the sympathetic nervous system is activated because we are in a fight-or-flight response mode; over time, this could have negative effects on the human body
• Stress hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine are released by the body in situations that are interpreted as being potentially dangerous
• The hormone regulating system is known as the endocrine system
• Cortisol is believed to affect the metabolic system and epinephrine is believed to play a role in ADHD as well as depression and hypertension
• Stress hormones act by mobilizing energy from storage to muscles, increasing heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate and shutting down metabolic processes such as digestion, reproduction, growth and immunity
• Constant stress causes continual release of various stress hormones which can cause:
  • A depletion of energy storage
  • Stress-induced hypertension
  • Effects on metabolic processes
  • Ulcers of the digestive system
  • Hampered growth
  • Decrease in testosterone levels in males and irregular menstrual cycles in females
  • Increased likelihood of infectious diseases
  • Depression
  • Ghost symptoms of other acute health conditions 
  • Neurological disorders
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
  • Sleep deprivation
  • Addictions
  • Mental conditions such as compulsive disorders

• Techniques that may help reduce stress are:
  • Scheduling time off
  • Meditation
  • Self-Hypnosis
  • Hypnotherapy
  • Deep breathing (Pranayama) 
  • Progressive Muscle Relaxation
  • Yoga
  • Music
  • Physical exercise 
  • Humor 
  • Bath/or hot tub
  • Sleep

Relaxation

• In psychology, "is the emotional state of a living being, of low tension, in which there is an absence of arousal that could come from sources such as anger, anxiety, or fear"
• According to the Oxford dictionary "relaxation is when the body and mind is free from tension and anxiety"
• Relaxation is a form of mild ecstasy coming from the frontal lobe of the brain in which the backward cortex sends signals to the frontal cortex 
• Relaxation can be achieved through meditation, autogenic, and progressive muscle relaxation
• Relaxation helps improve coping with stress

Temporo-Mandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMD, TMJD, TMJDS)

• Is an umbrella term covering pain and dysfunction of the muscles of mastication; the muscles that move the jaw and the Temporo-Mandibular joints; the joints which connect the mandible to the skull
• The most important feature is pain, followed by restricted mandibular movement, and noises from the Temporo-Mandibular joints (TMJ) during jaw movement
• Although TMD is not life-threatening, it can be detrimental to quality of life, because the symptoms can become chronic and difficult to manage
• TMD is the second most frequent cause of oro-facial pain after dental pain; toothache
• TMD is a symptom complex rather than a single condition, and it is thought to be caused by multiple factors
• Common treatments that are used include:
  • Night guard or provision of occlusal splints
  • Psychosocial interventions like cognitive behavioural therapy
  • Medications like analgesics (Pain killers)
  • Relaxation techniques
  • Hypnodontics (Clinical hypnotherapy)
  • Magnesium
  • Stress management

Visualization In Cancer Care

• Visualization techniques or guided imagery can serve as an important tool to alleviate both, physical pain and depression by imagining being in “a better place”
• Research shows it can help with pain from cancer, osteoarthritis and childbirth by providing distraction and promoting a state of relaxation
• Ideally, you’ll want to immerse yourself as fully as you possibly can into your visualization, using all your senses: seeing, smelling, tasting, hearing, and feeling
• According to Dr. Schmidt: “Using all your senses changes levels of brain chemicals such as serotonin, epinephrine and endorphins, and with regular practice you’ll gain more of a sense of control, which is often lacking when you’re in pain or depressed”

Wellness Model

• A way of life oriented toward optimum physical, intellectual, social, occupational, emotional, and spiritual development for individuals within our society
• Wellness refers to the maximizing of human potential through positive life-style choices
• This holistic paradigm offers a philosophical base for counselling and development
• Emphasizes the uniqueness of this approach
• Draws on mental health, clinical, and life span developmental theories
• Promotes 6 ideals: autonomy, personal growth, self-acceptance, purpose in life, environmental mastery, and positive relations with others

Yoga: Meditation In Motion

• The therapeutic benefits of Yoga are explained by Bessel van der Kolk as:
  • Regulation of physical movement is a fundamental priority of the nervous system
  • Focusing on and developing an awareness of physical movement can lead to improved synchrony between mind and body
• This is beneficial especially for those suffering from psychological conditions such as depression and PTSD, because an improved sense of connectedness between mind and body give rise to enhanced control and understanding of their "inner sensations" and state of being
• A hatha "yoga boom" followed in the 1980s, as Dean Ornish, MD, a medical researcher and follower of Swami Satchidananda, connected hatha yoga to heart health, legitimizing hatha yoga as a purely physical system of health exercises
• Since then, hatha yoga has been used as supplementary therapy for diverse conditions:
  • Cancer
  • Diabetes
  • Asthma
  • AIDS
• Nearly all types of hatha yoga practices include asana, pranayama and savasana
• Specific Mental Health Conditions are benefiting from Hatha yoga and mindfulness maditation
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Dementia
  • Cancer