Unveiling Western Medicine’s Blind Spots
Can you recall your last visit to your general practitioner (GP) or another medical specialist? Were they curious about your symptoms, asking about their nature and duration?
Now, did they probe into your current private relationships or assess your job satisfaction? Or, did they inquire about your childhood stresses or possible traumas?
You might wonder, “What’s this got to do with my doctor’s visit?” Surprisingly, these questions could hold the key to understanding why you ended up in that doctor’s office in the first place. Let us explore the unexpected connections between your personal narrative and your health¹.
Mindbody connection
In Western medicine, the role of the body-mind connection is often overlooked. We commonly associate trauma and stress with its toll on our mind, yet what if I told you it extends its reach to our physical well-being too?
This holistic perspective is not new; Buddhism, for instance, has long recognized the unified nature of the mind and body².
All that we are arises from our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. — Buddha
For most of us, our instincts often hint at this relationship too, even though Western medicine artificially divides them.
An increasing amount of studies show that both physical and mental health could play a key role in the onset of (chronic) diseases¹.
Time to uncover some of these eye-opening studies:
Already as early as the 1990s, two neurologists at the Cleveland Clinic made an interesting observation; patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) exhibited extraordinary kindness³.
In 2012, a Harvard Medical School study revealed another staggering statistic; women facing high job strain were 67 percent more likely to experience a heart attack compared to those in less stressful professional environments⁴.
In Denmark, a study uncovered that grieving parents faced double the risk of multiple sclerosis⁵.
These are just three examples among the growing evidence. As autoimmune disorders continue to surge, it is crucial to address the gap in current medical training.
However, there may be an additional factor at play, one we have not explored thus far.
Beyond the Mindbody Connection: the Interplay of your Environment
You have likely encountered a plethora of news stories discussing the influence of environmental factors on the onset of diseases. What is less known is the impact of socioeconomic conditions on our physiology.
Step into the intriguing realm of Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn’s research as she unraveled the mysteries of telomeres. Telomeres are often regarded as a predictor of an individual's lifespan.
Blackburn’s groundbreaking findings revealed a connection between our genetics and the challenges we face in our environment — poverty, racism, and the gritty urban landscape⁶.
This study highlights that beyond the interplay of our mind with our physical health, there exists a complex relationship with our environment.
From Symptom Relief to Source Healing: a Paradigm Shift in Western Medicine
As we navigate the landscape of medical progress, it is impossible to ignore the alarming surge in autoimmune diseases despite the strides we have made.
It is like applying bandages to an open wound — the treatments address the symptoms, but the underlying cause remains elusive. Instead of perfecting the art of bandaging, perhaps it is time we delve deeper.
What intrinsic factors within us contribute to these open wounds, and how can we reshape our environment to prevent injury altogether? It requires not just the healing of wounds but also understanding the factors that lead to injury in the first place.
References
- Maté, G. (2022). The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture.
- Sivakumar, A. (2014). A Buddhist Approach to the Mind-Body Problem/Consciousness. Retrieved from: https://u.osu.edu/group5/2014/11/16/a-buddhist-approach-to-the-mind-body-problemconsciousness/
- Wilbourn, A. J. & Mitsumoto, H. (1998). Why are patients with ALS so nice. Paper presented at the Ninth International ALS Symposium on ALS/MND, Munich.
- Slopen et al. (2012). Job strain, job insecurity, and incident cardiovascular disease in the Women’s Health Study: Results from a 10-year prospective study. PLoS ONE, 7(7), e40512
- Li et al. (2004). The risk of multiple sclerosis in bereaved parents: A nationwide cohort study in Denmark. Neurology, 62(5), 726–729.
- Blackburn, E. (2017). The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer.