• About
    • Biographie
    • Idee und Vision
    • Gedanken darüber eine Geschichte zu erzählen
    • Ethisches Statement
    • Sprache und Barrieren
    • Medien und Kooperationen
  • Krebsgeschichte
  • Ressourcen
    • Körper
    • Psyche & Geist
    • Gemeinschaft
    • Achtsamkeit & Meditation
    • ganzheitliche Medizin
    • Spiritualität
  • Gesellschaft
  • queer & gay
  • Angebot
  • Links
    • Impressum
    • Datenschutz
  • Kontakt

Mobile Menu

  • About
    • Biographie
    • Idee und Vision
    • Gedanken darüber eine Geschichte zu erzählen
    • Ethisches Statement
    • Sprache und Barrieren
    • Medien und Kooperationen
  • Krebsgeschichte
  • Ressourcen
    • Körper
    • Psyche & Geist
    • Gemeinschaft
    • Achtsamkeit & Meditation
    • ganzheitliche Medizin
    • Spiritualität
  • Gesellschaft
  • queer & gay
  • Angebot
  • Links
    • Impressum
    • Datenschutz
  • Kontakt
  • E-Mail
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Healing with Lukas

My WordPress Blog

  • About
    • Biographie
    • Idee und Vision
    • Gedanken darüber eine Geschichte zu erzählen
    • Ethisches Statement
    • Sprache und Barrieren
    • Medien und Kooperationen
  • Krebsgeschichte
  • Ressourcen
    • Körper
    • Psyche & Geist
    • Gemeinschaft
    • Achtsamkeit & Meditation
    • ganzheitliche Medizin
    • Spiritualität
  • Gesellschaft
  • queer & gay
  • Angebot
  • Links
    • Impressum
    • Datenschutz
  • Kontakt
Auf dem Bild ist eine Hängematte vor einem ruhigen See zu sehen. Die Sonne geht gerade unter und taucht den Himmel in orang-gelbes Licht.

Assisting the body in healing itself. Part 2

Less stress – more health. The stress and relaxation response – a basic mechanism in our body

You are here: Home / English / Assisting the body in healing itself. Part 2
Auf dem Bild ist eine Hängematte vor einem ruhigen See zu sehen. Die Sonne geht gerade unter und taucht den Himmel in orang-gelbes Licht.
(c) Christine Brameshuber

Januar 16, 2018 //  by lukas//  1 Comment

Auf dem Bild ist eine Hängematte vor einem ruhigen See zu sehen. Die Sonne geht gerade unter und taucht den Himmel in orang-gelbes Licht.
(c) Christine Brameshuber

(If you didn’t read part 1 of this article yet, click here)

It is common knowledge today that stress can make you sick. But that wasn’t always a truth that doctors agreed upon, at least in western/ academic medicine. The doctor and author of the book “mind over medicine” Lissa Rankin (2014) points out the work of people like Herbert Benson, a cardiologist in Harvard. He was one of the first people in western medicine that looked into what happens when people meditate. In this context he used the term “relaxation response” (p. 215).

Today we know that the body can turn on a relaxation response as well as a stress response, also called fight-or-flight-reaction/mode. In a situation of danger, the body activates a survival mechanism. It activates the so called sympathetic nervous system that triggers several physiological/chemical processes in our body. In reference to the organs and body parts that are active in this response, physicians also call it hypothalamus-pituitary gland-adrenal gland- axis (p.49). Through this complex system the body spills out hormones and substances like Cortisol, Adrenalin and Noradrenalin. These lead to following effects:

  • Pulse and blood pressure increase
  • Higher blood supply to the heart, big muscle groups and brain
  • Lower blood supply to the gastrointestinal tract
  • Metabolism increases. More glucose is released, to provide the body with more energy
  • Respiration / breathing becomes faster, so we can take in more oxygen
  • The muscle tone increase
  • Enzymes for digestion are reduced
  • The immune system and sexual organs shut down

All these reactions have the aim to make the body ready to fight or run away, to escape from life threatening situations and therefore survive.

The problem in our world today is the following: Although we most rarely are under life threatening circumstances, we have a lot of stressful life situations and conditions that activate this stress response. The reason for this can be found in our brains. Lissa Rankin (2014) explains that our rational mind is located in our fore brain. This part of the brain knows that feelings of insecurity, fear, disappointment, anger, resentment, bitterness or stress are feelings that are connected to a certain event or situation in our lives. But there is also another part of the brain, which is called brain stem or reptilian brain. This part of our brain can’t differentiate between a fearful thought and an actual threat for our life. It thinks that we are about to die and activates a stress response. It shuts down the immune system, so that we can use all our energy to fight or flee (p. 129).

On the other hand, the body can reverse this response by activating the so called parasympathetic nervous system. It brings us back into the “normal mode” and our immune system can come back to work. This is what I think I have learned through my cancer experience: The more my body is relaxed, the more things I do that activate my parasympathetic nervous system, the more my body can “clean up”, repair and heal.

An especially important point here is that positive thoughts or emotions such as love, belonging, emotional, physical or sexual intimate contact, time with friends, happiness, hope and so on do influence our brain and furthermore the relaxation response. For Lissa Rankin, there is in fact, no doubt that positive thoughts and a positive internal and external environment are therefore healing our body. It is not about magic, but about physiological processes in the body (p. 131).

~

Lissa Rankin created a model for holistic health that is founded on this principle. She invites the readers to think about how they can increase their health in different areas of life with the aim of creating a positive, nourishing and thus healing climate inside ourselves and also in our surroundings. Factors in this environment can be:

  • healthy, positive and supporting relationships with other human beings
  • creative expression, no matter what it is
  • a healthy and life affirming spirituality
  • a healthy and fulfilling sexual life
  • economic stability and security
  • a healthy environment
  • a healthy mental and emotional attitude, that enables us to deal with fear, sorrows and problems
  • a life / life style filled with gratitude, optimism and satisfaction
  • a healthy physical life style with good nutrition, sleep, physical activity and little or no consumption of toxins

It is amazing for me how only one point of the mix exclusively addresses the physical level. That is usually the only level so called academic medicine was referring to for a long time. Lissa Rankin offers a free “health kit” with additional material for the book. You have to sign up with your e-mail address and can download it here. You can write a diagnosis and prescription for yourself and your healing journey.

For me this is a very beautiful method to go deep into myself and ask what areas of my life need healing, and what is it that gives me power and joy. I will write about this tool more in detail in another blog post. By the way: This holistic approach to health is not really an “alternative minority, spiritual” approach of some strange people. The world health organization (WHO) defined health in 1948 already as „a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity1„

If I had to think about a model for health, it would probably look a bit different than that of Lissa Rankin, and yours would look different too. I would put mindfulness and meditation as big base for life for example. However, the point here is not to define what health and holistic medicine is. Only you can know that for yourself. My point here is to invite you to think about what brings joy, hope and happiness into your life and therefore the ground for physical and mental health.

~

After my chemotherapy, reading Lissa Rankin’s book motivated me to keep up with my practices of self-care, mindfulness and meditation. However I am still human. I feel stressed, anxious, depressed and all those human emotions regularly. Several people made me aware of the necessity to say that not all stress is equal. Sport for instance is also a kind of stress that is very healthy usually. Having a big challenge at work, can cause stress, but also creativity, joy and a sense of purpose or give meaning to your life. So what I am saying is not to avoid life in order to avoid stress. Or feel anxious when you feel stressed, as you are “supposed” to feel relaxed. I just want to invite you to look inside and see that living happy and joyful lives is what it is about. No matter if we have cancer, something else or if we are “completely healthy”.

Additionally, I see more clearly how important a community, support and cohesion of groups and societies are in this model. If we want to be healthy ourselves, we also need healthy communities, societies, a healthy environment and planet. We know for a fact, that discrimination, social exclusion, poverty, violence and shame have a structural impact and can make people sick or worse, even kill them.

In that respect, my experience with cancer convinced me that, we as humankind need to create a world that is welcoming and better for everybody. However, in order to be able to bring positive change into the world, we need to strengthen ourselves or survive first. I have two metaphors in mind when I write this: The first is from Waltraud Eggenberger, an energetic healer I worked with here in Vienna. She told me that we can only help people get out of the mud in a swamp, when we are outside of it. If I lay down next to the person, and am stuck myself, I can’t help anybody.

From trauma pedagogy and therapy, I know the metaphor of an oxygen mask in safety instructions in airplanes. If I want to support traumatized people, I need to put on the oxygen mask myself first and then I can offer help to another. I have to take care of myself before I can take care of others.
What I learned for myself is: If you have a serious illness or cancer. Now it is time to put on the oxygen mask! Take care of yourself first. This has nothing to do with being a narcissist but appreciation of yourself and self-worth. If I didn’t take care of myself these last two years, who knows if I was writing this lines today and therefore maybe impacting the lives of others in a positive way.

May this article and this blog give you inspirations for your journey!

Ressources

Rankin, Lissa Dr. med (2014): Mind over medicine. Warum Gedanken oft stärker sind als Medizin. Kösel-Verlag, München, 3. Auflage
(English version: Mind over medicine. Scientific proof that you can heal yourself)

Lissa Rankin – Ted Talk „scientific proof you can heal yourself“

Talk at google – you can heal yourself

mindovermedicinebook.com
Additional material/ downloads to the book „Mind over medicine“

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Kategorie: English

Related Posts

You may be interested in these posts from the same category.

Bild zeigt eine Buddhastatue,die auf einem kleinen Holzregal steht. Daneben ist eine kleine Zeichnung und ein Holzkastenfesnter zu sehen

A guided „deep relaxation“ meditation for queers, cancer warriors and other folks

Das Bild zeigt zwei Hände, die in Meditationshaltung zusammengefaltet sind

Acknowledging emotional and inner work as a cancer survivor and human being

Woop Woop – das Intro-Video zu mindfulsurvivor ist online

Das Bild zeigt einen Wald. Der Boden ist mit Laub bedeckt und durch Äste eines Tannesbaums kommen ein paar Sonnenstrahlen

Assisting the body in healing itself. Part 1

Vulnerabilities as a blogger. Never good enough?

Picture shows a path leading up a wineyard. Next to the path is a tree. The sky is blue

How having cancer became the start of my spiritual journey

Previous Post: «Das Bild zeigt einen Wald. Der Boden ist mit Laub bedeckt und durch Äste eines Tannesbaums kommen ein paar Sonnenstrahlen Assisting the body in healing itself. Part 1
Next Post: Wie kann mensch Krebsbetroffene unterstützen? Bild zeigt zwei Hände,die sich halten»

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. Assisting the body in healing itself. How does that actually work? Part 1 – Mindful Survivor sagt:
    Januar 16, 2018 um 1:39 pm Uhr

    […] For this reason, I want to try to explain this mechanism more in depth in the second part of this article. It helped me more to understand rationally, that all of the things that I had done, like meditation, mindfulness and self-compassion practice do have a real effect on my body. But not only do I understand it better, I also felt for the first time that there are scientists and doctors out there that value these practices also from a medical point of view. Something that I had never perceived in this way from any of my doctors! It inspires me to keep up with my way of life. Of course stress is not the only factor in health or disease. With all diseases multiple factors and complex processes or circumstances in the body and our surroundings come into play. However, I consider this as something very basic, fundamental and helpful and therefore will go more into detail in the next article! […]

    Antworten

Schreibe einen Kommentar Antworten abbrechen

Deine E-Mail-Adresse wird nicht veröffentlicht. Erforderliche Felder sind mit * markiert

Primary Sidebar

Verpasse keinen Beitrag

Trage dich auf die E-Mail Liste ein und bleib über neue Beiträge am Laufenden!

Schließe dich 90 anderen Abonnenten an

Translate page to


Warning: implode(): Invalid arguments passed in /home/customer/www/healingwithlukas.com/public_html/wp-content/plugins/facebook-pagelike-widget/fb_class.php on line 44
Facebook Pagelike Widget

Healingwithlukas auf Instagram

healingwithlukas

cancer survivor (06/2016), writer, HSP, spiritual queer. currently on a break from this "attention terrorism"
also @cuddlybodyworker

Lukas Brock
Bye bye spiritual bypassing or happy Christmas 202 Bye bye spiritual bypassing or happy Christmas 2020

Passend und just in time vor Weihnachten gibt es einen neuen Blogartikel auf www.healingwithlukas.com mit kritischen und bitchigen Kommentar zu einem wichtigen Thema für die Spiri-peoples unter uns... 

Ich habe gerade wenig Lust beim Instagram und Facebook Aufmerkamkeits Terror mitzumachen, deswegen gibt es hier keine Zusammenfassung. 

Ich werde über das Jahresende wie schon bisher auch wenig hier sein. Das tut meiner psychischen Gesundheit nämlich echt gut! 

Wenn ihr könnt: Im Artikel ist ein Link zu einer Spendenaktion für die Seenorrettung, an der ich mich beteiligt habe. 

Frohe Weihnachten my dear followers 🙏

#jesusisbrown #jesuswasarefugee #makechristmasgreatagain #spiritualitätleben #spiritualbypassing #conspirituality #instagramfatigue #weihnachtenoida #jesuswürdelinkswählen #christiansagainsttrump #spirituellermissbrauch #spitituellesverdrängen #feelyourfeelings #gefühlezulassen #achtsamkeit #hierundjetzt #socialmediaisbadformymentalheath
Cancer realness. Bad veins / Krebsrealität, schl Cancer realness. Bad veins / 
Krebsrealität, schlechte Venen 

Today I went to my marvellous and super empathetic, queer friendly urologist that does my oncological check up.

I realised that I haven't been thinking of my herstory as a cancer survivor that much in those last days and weeks but sitting there and taking blood made me remember that my body went through a lot.

It came to my mind when the needle enters my vein, the look of the nurse when nothing comes out, when they tried to shove the needle around in the vein and the plastic tube still stays dry. Taking deep breaths knowing that getting stressed makes it worse and telling myself that it will work out eventually, also this time. 

While usually taking blood is an easy thing from an 32 year old, I needed 3 tries today: pretty acceptable  though a reminder that just 4 years ago my life circumstances were so so much different, then they are now. And a moment to realise how lucky I was and am and how grateful that I survived 🙏

[The image shows my arms and three  white plasters] 
_______ 
Heute war ich bei der Nachsorge bei meinem wunderbar super empathischen und queer-freundlichen  Urologen. 

In letzter Zeit habe ich selten daran gedacht, dass ich noch immer theoretisch Krebspatient bin und beim Blutabnehmen kam es mir wieder in Erinnerung, dass mein Körper bzw. Ich einiges hinter sich hat. 

Es wurde mir bewusst als dieser wohlbekannte Stress in mir aufkam, als die Krankenpglegerin began mit der Nadel in meiner Vene herum zu fahren, in der Hoffnung, dass doch vielleicht noch Blut rauskommt, aber das Röhrchen blieb leer. Tief atmen, und mir in Erinnerung rufen, dass es doch immer klappt.

 So auch heute, beim dritten Mal. Für die meisten Menschen meines Alters ist eine Blutabnahme kein großes Ding. Ich hab mich wieder erinnert, was ich alles hinter mir habe und wie arg krass anders meine Lebebsumstände noch vor drei Jahren waren. In dem Moment fiel mir auf, wie glücklich und dankbar ich für mein Leben bin und dafür noch am Leben zu sein 🙏

[Das Bild zeigt meine Arme mit drei Pflastern] 

#krebsüberlebender
#krebsempowerment #hodenkrebs #nachsorge #blutabnahme #dankbar #cancersurvivorsrock
Radikal feministische Perspektive auf den #movembe Radikal feministische Perspektive auf den #movember Männer*gesundheitsmonat 

Im November kam viel Zusammen: der Terroranschlag in Wien, die US Wahl, das de facto Verbot von Schwangerschaftsabbruch in Polen, die Trans awareness week und #transdayofremembrance, bei dem der Ermordung von Transfrauen und trans und nicht binären, Geschlechter-nonkonformen Personen gedacht wurde und Tag zur Beendigung aller Gewalt gegen Frauen.
Ich wollte sowieso etwas zum Männergesundheits Monat posten und war dann von den ganzen Ereignissen überwältigt. 

Dann fiel mir (warum auch immer) die Ricola Werbung ein: "Wer hat's erfunden? Und ich sah das verbindende Problem all dieser Themen: Männer, Cis-männer um genau zu sein. Ich dachte dann an ein Gespräch mit einem Freund zurück, der die politische Meinung von Matriarchat vertrat. 

Und da dachte ich mir: packen wir das Übel an der Wurzel. Warum nicht ein globales 50 jähriges Matriarchat. Männer* sollen sich weiterhin mit ihren Stärken, Wissen und Fähigkeiten einbringen. Wir brauchen natürlich jeden Einzelnen, jeder Bub und Mann ist wertvoll und wunderbar🙏💕

ABER alle Machtpositionen für 50 Jahre an Frauen*. Ganz rational und faktisch muss man ;) festhalten, dass Männerherrschaft seit 1000en Jahren nicht das aller rosigste für diesen Planeten war und kurz davor ist unser aller Lebensgrundlage zu zerstören 

Ohne  Herrschaft (passendes Wort) ist dann auch mehr Zeit für positive männliche Vorbilder, selbstreflexion, Vorsorge Untersuchungen und dazu sich um die Gesundheit zu kümmern. 
Wer weiß, vlt. Ist die Lebenserwartung nach 50 Jahren Matriarchat dann ausgeglichen?

Den ganzen Artikel gibt's auf www.healingwithlukas.com 

#männergesundheit #männlichkeit #matriachat #futureisnonbinary #frauenandiemacht #frauenandiespitze #kritischemännlichkeit #stoppatriarchy #weneedyou #feministutopia
Aus gegebenen Anlass ;) [Das Bild zeigt ein Phot Aus gegebenen Anlass ;) 

[Das Bild zeigt ein Photo eines Bürgersteig. Darauf steht: queer Denken, statt quer denken mit dem trans* Symbol] 

#trans #queerrevolution #queers4climatejustice #queersofinstagram #gegenrechts #zusamenhalten #queerberlin #wissenschaftskommunikation
Some light for battling darkness [Picture shows a Some light for battling darkness

[Picture shows a sunset. The sky is illuminated with purple, pink and yelow light, which is reflected by the water of river Spree] 

Thought of the day:
How beautiful nature is and how fucked up we humans. I thought about death quiet a lot last week. So many political things bother and worry me so deeply these days. Some time ago I took a walk after listening to the news about Polands recent mysogenist laws practically making abortion illegal. I felt so overwhelmed and scared about how right wing fascists can so quickly get into power and endanger peoples lives. 

I wondered how that could happen just a couple of kilometers away from my humble in Berlin. I walked next to the river Spree where I live and all of a sudden, when turning around the corner I saw this sky. It was so magnificent that I just stood there watching the change of color for 20min. It was so beautiful. I wondered: do the fascists and religious fundamentalists, who passed the anti abortion law, feel touched and moved by this sky as well? How do they see this world? What brings them joy? What do they feel when seeing this magnificence? 

In this moment I felt so melancholic and i asked myself: How  can life be so beautiful and humans so fucked up? 

#sunsetlovers #spreeufer #treptowerpark #berlinsunsets #movember #männergesundheitsmonat #introvertqueer #hsp #
#Repost @ecouteepodcast • • • • • • Be #Repost @ecouteepodcast
• • • • • •
Berlin Mitte

Wir können nie wissen, wie unsere Handlungen andere Menschen beeinflussen. Das hat Lukas auf seinem Weg ganz sicher gelernt. Seine ganze Geschichte hört Ihr in der  18. Folge des écoutee podcast! Danke @healingwithlukas für deine Geschichte!

Danke an Hannah für die tolle illustration. Für weitere spannende Geschichten folgt @ecouteepodcast hier auf Insta 

#krebsempowerment #krebsüberlebender #queerempath #queerhochsensibel #gaysofberlin #healingquotes #weisesprüche #testicularcancer #hodenkrebs #movember #männergesundheit #krebsbewusstsein #testicularcancerawareness
Mehr laden… Auf Instagram folgen

beliebte Beiträge

  • Picture shows a path leading up a wineyard. Next to the path is a tree. The sky is blue
    Featured , Ressourcen , Spiritualität Wie meine Krebserkrankung...
  • Das Bild zeigt den Eingang zum Radiokulturhaus in Wien. Davor ist eine Skulptur in der Form eines Ohrs. Das Ohr ist aus bunten Steinchen zusammengesetzt.
    ganzheitliche Medizin , Psyche & Geist , Ressourcen Einer Krankheit Sinn und...
  • Picture shows a path leading up a wineyard. Next to the path is a tree. The sky is blue
    English How having cancer became...
  • Bild zeigt einen Infusionsständer mit Chemotherapieflaschen. Durch ein Fenster scheint die Sonne herein und spiegelt sich in den Schläuchen
    Krebsgeschichte Diagnose Hodenkrebs ̵...
  • Das Bild zeigt bunte Plakate auf denen positive Affirmationen stehen. Wie zum Beispiel: selfcare is activism, das Leben ist wunderbar und sorgt für mich. Attention: here and now
    Psyche & Geist , Ressourcen Positives Denken und Arbe...

Schlagwörter

Achtsamkeit und Meditation Antirassismus Arbeitsleben Brene Brown Buddhismus Chemotherapie Dankbarkeit Dating-Apps Emotionen Empathie mit uns selbst Empowerment Entspannungstechniken Erkenntniss Ernährung Feminismus ganzheitliche Medizin Hochsensibilität Hodenkrebs Jon Kabat-Zinn Krankheitsbewältigung Krebserkrankung Krebsnachsorge Körperwahrnehmung mentale Ressourcen Männlichkeiten Nachsorge positive Psychologie Psyche queer schwarzer Feminismus Selbstfürsorge Selbstheilungskräfte Selbstliebe Sexualität sozial engagierter Buddhismus spiritual bypassing Spiritualität Stress und Entspannung Tattoo Trauma Umgang mit Krebs Unterstützung Verbundenheit Verletzlichkeit Ängste

Gentle reminder

„Breathe, you are alive“

Site Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Impressum /Datenschutz

Website by: builtbythanos.com

 

Copyright © 2023 · Mai Lifestyle Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Diese Webseite verwendet Cookies, um dir das bestmögliche Browsen zu ermöglichen. Wenn du "Accept" anklickst, stimmst du der Verwendung aller cookies zu.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
immer aktiv
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SPEICHERN & AKZEPTIEREN