The Mind-Body Connection

HED 770
Health Counseling
2/07/02
R. Mark Kelley, Ph.D.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Great men are they who see

that spiritual force is stronger
than any material force, that
thoughts rule the world
Arthur J. Barsky

We feel emotions in our bodies. We “burn”

with anger, “tremble” with fear, feel
“choked up” with sadness; our stomachs
“turn” with revulsion. Everyone tends to
experience unpleasant emotions as
unpleasant bodily symptoms an thus to
feel physically distressed when
emotionally distressed.
Thomas Sydenham

The arrival of a good clown

exercises a more beneficial
influence upon the health of a
town than the arrival of
twenty asses laden with
drugs.
Jonas Salk

“The mind, in addition, to

medicine, has powers to
turn the immune system
around.”
Diseases with emotional
connections

 Accidents
 Allergies & Asthma
 Angina & Heart Disease
 Arthritis
 Back Pain
 Cancer
 Dental Cavities
Diseases with emotional
connections

 Diabetes
 Stomach ulcers
 Hair& Scalp Problems
 Hypertension
 Insomnia
 Irritable bowel syndrome
 Pregnancy-related problems
 Sexual dysfunction
Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)

 The scientific investigation of how the brain

affects the body’s immune cells and how the
immune system can be affected by behavior
 Sometimes called behavioral medicine
History of PNI
 Rene Descartes – matter and spirit
 Robert Koch – anthrax germs
 Rudolf Virchow – diseases are complex & involve
factors such as
– Environment,
– Heredity
– Nutrition
– Psychological state
– Pre-existing health &
– stress
Current status of PNI

 CNS is linked to the immune system cell

production (bone marrow and thymus) and
storage (spleen and lymph nodes)
 Nerve ending exist in tissues of immune
system
 CNS is interrelated with immune response
Current status of PNI

 Lymphocytes respond to hormones and

neurotransmitter and can produce hormones
and neurotransmitters
 Immune response cells signal CNS
 Immune response is influenced by stress
 Immune response can be trained
 Immune response can be influenced and
changed by drugs
Principles of PNI

1. Mind-body medicine appears to wrok through

complex physiologic systems that are not
normally under voluntary control
2. Peptides carry not only information about the
nervous system and the body’s physical
functions but information about the emotions.
Components of Mind-Body Health
Endorphins – endogenous morphines
the body natural painkillers
may bind to the natural killer cells
Peptides – natural chemical messengers
Lymphoid organs
bone marrow,
thymus
lymph nodes
spleen
tonsils
appendix