Stress and healing
Hi guys, we were having a discussion at work today and I thought I might bring it here.
I work with people who have learning disabilities; due to lower cognitive functioning they do not experience stress or develop negative feelings to the same set of stimuli that we do. There is research ongoing as there have been many cases where individuals, who have learning disabilities, have contracted cancer or other serious illnesses and yet they don't suffer or recover a lot quicker than those who are higher functioning. One sideof the argument is that the individual has no comprehension of their medical state and so has no stress or worry. This enables the body touse all of it's strength to fight the illness. The natural reaction from a diagnosis is stress and shock, this exhausts the body and magnifies the illness.
The counter argument is that due to the individual's different sensory processes and comprehension they may suffer the same pain and ailments,but they fail to represent with the symptoms. Theirbrain cannot process what they are feeling in order for them to express it.
And with some disabilities the genetic make-up may also be a large factor.
what are your thoughts?
Whoa, what you said about them not feeling stress so that the body fights the illness was mind blowing. I don't know if that's completely true, or even if I think it is, but I sure hope so.
Could you imagine, if that was true, how fighting illness would change? If we can make a person not stress or worry, then maybe they'll heal faster and better.
Whoa, I hope that can be real.
Exactly, at the same time it also highlights how debilitating stress is and the real impact it can have, yet in society it is so often undermined.
This is really interesting. I know that optimistic people usually have a higher chance of getting through cancer, because of the chemicals in their body that make them optimistic in the first place (I'd have to dig up the sources for this though, as I don't have them readily available). So I guess there could be some truth to this.
It's true how they always say it's about having a positive attitude, we had some of the research papers and I found it fascinating.
Interesting.
While I've known for awhile that higher stress levels impeeds healing, I have not heard of condtions that make one "immune" to stress. Can you link us to some more info?
Could it be that it's not Stress per say, but the attitude of how to handle it?
I have heard of cases, where a child healed himself from cancer simply by eating lots of chips as it was his 'dying wish' to simply eat those. His parents indulged him, and perhaps that made him happy.
I know also that having people who are supportive, even if it's one or two people, have healed better and faster even when the doctors said she's never going to recover. (she was in a coma due to a head injury caused by a car accident).
So perhaps, it is a mixture of internal loci and external loci of events which can support you into changing your reality. .. When it comes to learning disabilities and chronic mental health illnesses.. unfortunately all I can do is take a back seat and listen to what you guys have to say. :)
Thank you for this thread.
I think that's an interesting view. Though, I can only partly agree with it. :P