Finding Serenity in Your
Life
By Annette Kornblum
From
DISCOVERY HEALTH web site
In the event of tragedy, some have managed to bounce back and even to be serene
about it all.
Anything from turning to family to working out to finding a renewed purpose has
done the trick. For others, using a one-word mantra to get by has upped the odds
of finding tranquility in the face of disaster.
In the past decade, "mind-body medicine" has gained considerable legitimacy in
science and medicine in ways that we couldn't have imagined. A whole new wing of
exploration is centered on testing the efficacy of age-old remedies: slow-down
herbs, relaxation beads, copper bracelets, and other odes to tranquility that
live in the mind and play out on the body.
Richard Davidson, a professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of
Wisconsin in Madison, knows much about these chemicals and their effects. An
expert in the association between brain-wave activity and human emotion, he
heads one of five national research centers for the study of mind/body
interactions. Dr. Davidson and his team are studying how brainwave activity
relates to emotional style and stress-related illness. Researchers have
discovered distinct brain waves — alpha, beta, delta and theta — that relate to
specific mental activity. The frequency, extent and density of these brain waves
are measurable.
Dr. Davidson has found that positive emotions, such as peace of mind and
composure, appear to depend on the precise arousal of brain chemicals along a
network of neural circuits. EEG tests show that most people have more electrical
activation in one frontal lobe than in the other. His team discovered that
people with hyper-activation in the left frontal lobe may be more optimistic,
less susceptible to mood disorders, and more stress resilient. That network,
Davidson said, links both hemispheres of the prefrontal cortex with the amygdala
and the hippocampus, a chili-shaped region deep in the brain. For those of us
not necessarily blessed with hyper-activation in the left (or rather right)
frontal lobe, there is still hope for finding peace and maybe living longer and
happier, despite the onslaught.
To expel stress requires getting to its roots, pronounces Allen Elkin, PhD,
director of the Stress Management and Counseling Center in New York and author
of Stress Management for Dummies, though there is clearly more than one path to
nirvana.
Alice Domar, PhD, director of women's health at Boston's Deaconess Hospital,
(part of Harvard Medical School's Division of Behavioral Medicine) and co-author
with Henry Dreher of Healing Mind, Healthy Woman, found that while 20% of
infertile women got pregnant with standard medical treatment, a whopping 57% did
when their medical regimen included support groups, anger management skills, and
guided imagery.
Betsy Singh, Brian Berman, Victoria Hadhazy and Paul Creamer of the
Complementary Medicine Program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine
showed in a pilot study of 28 patients with fibromyalgia that patient education,
meditation and qigong movement therapy eased pain, fatigue, and sleeplessness
and improved mood, function and general health.
The essence of relaxation is to break the train of everyday thought, whether
with a rosary, meditation, musical instrument, Lamaze, shooting baskets, yoga,
tai chi, or qi-gong — Dr. Herbert Benson, president of the Mind/Body Medical
Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Mass. and author of
"Staying Healthy in a Stressful World."
Blair Justice, Mary Ann Richardson and their associates at the University of
Texas-Houston School of Public Health, conducted a pilot study to explore the
effects of imagery vs. support on coping, attitude, immune function and
emotional well-being after breast cancer. For all women, immune function and
quality of life improved. Both intervention groups showed better coping skills
than the standard care group, while the imagery group had less stress, more
stamina and better quality of life.
Beyond the value of antidepressants and other mood elevators, which are the
grist of another story, are some tried-and-true natural recipes for coping with
anguish:
Learn to relax: Dr. Elkin uges rapid relaxation. "Take a deep breath, deeper
than normal, and hold it in until there is slight discomfort. At the same time,
squeeze your thumb and first finger together (as if you were making the okay
sign) for six seconds. Exhale slowly through your mouth, release the pressure in
your fingers, allow the tension to drain out. Repeat three times. With each
breath, let your shoulders droop and drop your jaw
Forgive mistakes. Letting go of old hurts can lift your mind and spirit. A guest
on "Oprah" grew up to forgive his abusive mother, who had savagely mistreated
him as a child, and went on to triumph in his career and as a loving father and
husband.
Think positive thoughts. Happiness expert, University of Pennsylvania psychology
professor Martin Seligman, and author of Learned Optimism and The Optimistic
Child, says that optimistic people minimize their misfortunes, while pessimistic
people tend to blame themselves when things go wrong and attribute positive
experiences to chance.
Focus your mind. Researchers at Maharishi say relaxing and reducing stress
through transcendental meditation may reduce artery blockage and the risk of
heart attack and stroke, according to a study in the American Heart
Association's journal Stroke during meditation the brain acts to quiet the body
through concentrated breathing or word repetition, evoking a relaxation response
that minimizes the harmful effects of stress.
Sara Lazar, Ph.D., a Harvard research fellow in psychology at Massachusetts
General Hospital, in Boston, suggests meditation activates specific regions of
the brain that may influence heart and breathing rates. Using a brain imaging
technique known as functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, Lazar
measured blood flow changes in seasoned meditators. "We found significant
decrease in blood flow and activity in specific areas of the brain," says the
study's senior author Dr. Herbert Benson, president of the Mind/Body Medical
Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Mass. and author of
"Staying Healthy in a Stressful World."
Benson, who also wrote The Relaxation Response, has shown that simple exercises
can dramatically lower catecholamine levels in anxious and normal people to
reduce risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and ulcers. "The usual,
fight-or-flight brain response liberates adrenalin and is stressful to the body
but the relaxation response causes a decrease in activity for the entire brain,"
he says.
The essence of relaxation is to break the train of everyday thought, whether
with a rosary, meditation, musical instrument, Lamaze, shooting baskets, yoga,
tai chi, or qi-gong — Dr. Herbert Benson, president of the Mind/Body Medical
Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Mass. and author of
"Staying Healthy in a Stressful World."
Look for beauty all around you. When someone sent a friend a nasty birthday
card, she considered retaliating before taking another road. "I went out and
enjoyed the sunshine... it was a much sweeter revenge," she explained.
Smell the roses. Aromatherapy can help you find peace by working through the
brain — through the mind — and through the emotions. Aromas such as bergamot,
atlas cedar, cypress, jasmine, juniper, neroli, frankincense, clary sage,
vetiver, rosemary and ylang ylang may balance the nervous system, ease worry and
stress, lift melancholy, encourage restful sleep, relieve crying, guilt,
obsessions and compulsions, hostility, and panic.
Work your body. Aerobic exercise may lead to reduced output of fight-or-flight
hormones and may decrease heart rate in some people. This may be part of why
very fit people seem better able to tolerate stress. Aerobic exercise may also
increase natural "relaxation chemicals" in the brain, called endorphins, which
give you greater self-esteem, make you feel more in control, and better able to
handle stressful situations. Research has shown that they may also contribute to
clarity of mind. According to Dr. Larry Eckstein, a Boulder, Colo. internist who
specializes in acupuncture and nutrition, whether target shooting or skiing,
working out can make you feel less rattled by stressful situations and happier
overall. One theory, he explains, is that stress can cause complex changes in
the levels of "fight-or-flight" hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline, which
prepare us for emotional and physical threats.
The bottom line, according to Benson, is that all techniques that evoke the
relaxation response are of equal benefit as long as they combine the benefits of
breathing, muscle relaxation and meditation while toning and stretching the
muscles. "The essence of relaxation is to break the train of everyday thought,"
he says, "whether with a rosary, meditation, musical instrument, Lamaze,
shooting baskets, yoga, tai chi, or qi-gong."
Serenity through journaling. Nearly half the arthritis and asthma sufferers
participating in one study got better by writing about stressful/traumatic
things in their life, such as the death of a loved one or being raped. Keep a
diary reflecting upsetting or overwhelming situations, as well as rewarding
experiences that have made you feel serene and accomplished. Julia Cameron,
author of the national best-seller, "The Artist's Way," says that it is one way
to overcome internalized negativity and creativity myths and monsters."
Laugh and have fun. Research has shown that people who laugh intensely during
tragic events, such as the death of a loved one, remember this laughter as
helping them to endure the emotional pain.
Get a good snooze. During sleep, the subconscious works on problems, allowing
you to break the stress cycle. If you can't sleep, take a hot bath or drink hot
tea and milk to relax tense muscles.
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