Managing
Stress
8E
Principles and Strategies
for Health and Well-Being
Unless otherwise noted, all
images were supplied by Brian
Luke Seaward. Credit: ©
Inspiration Unlimited. Used
with permission.
Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D.
Chapter
4
Stress
and
Disease
Image © Creatas/age fotostock
“By comprehending that human beings are energy,
one can begin to comprehend new ways
of viewing health and illness.”
– Richard Gerber, M.D.
Quotation reproduced from Gerber, Richard. Vibrational Medicine, 3rd ed. 2001. Bear & Company.
“We have evolved
to be smart enough
to make ourselves sick.”
– Robert Sapolsky, Author,
Why Zebras
Don’t Get Ulcers
Stress and Disease
According to the American Institute of Stress:
• 43% of all adults suffer adverse health
effects due to stress
Stress and Disease
According to the American Institute of Stress:
• 43% of all adults suffer adverse health
effects due to stress
• 75–90% of all visits to primary care
physicians are for stress-related complaints or
disorders
The
association
between
stress and
disease
is HUGE.
Stress and Disease
• It is estimated that between 75–85% of
all health-related problems are either
precipitated or aggravated by stress.
Stress and Disease
• It is estimated that between 75–85% of
all health-related problems are either
precipitated or aggravated by stress.
• The term “psychoneuroimmunology” was
coined in the early 1980s to link the fields of
psychology, neurology, and immunology to
better understand the relationship between
stress and disease.
Figure 4.8. The association between stress and disease
is very real!
Cartoon © Peter Mueller/The New Yorker Collection/www.cartoonbank.com
Theoretical Models
of
Psychoneuroimmunology
The Borysenko Model
The Borysenko Model
In terms of stress and disease,
there are two aspects to consider:
• Autonomic Dysregulation
• Immune Dysregulation
Table 4.1. Borysenko’s Stress and Disease Dichotomy
1. T-Cytotoxic Cells (T-Cells)
2. T-Helpers
3. T-Suppressors
4. Natural Killer Cells
* Note: Cortisol lingering in the body destroys white blood cells
Table 4.2. Borysenko’s Immune Activity Matrix
According to Borysenko,
when the immune system
is operating normally,
it is said to be
“precisely regulated.”
According to Borysenko,
when the immune system
is operating normally,
it is said to be
“precisely regulated.”
Stress alters the
vulnerability of the
immune system.
The Pert Model
The Pert Model
Neuropeptides:
The link between mind and body?
Neuropeptides regulate everything from mood
changes to the integrity of the immune system.
The Pert Model
Neuropeptides:
The link between mind and body?
Neuropeptides regulate everything from mood
changes to the integrity of the immune system.
Candace Pert discovered that immune cells have
built-in receptor sites for neuropeptides.
Figure 4.3. All known neuropeptides appear to have a
single molecular structure, with specific receptor sites.
The Pert Model
Pert discovered that neuropeptides are not solely
produced in the brain. Immune cells can produce
them as well!
The Pert Model
Pert discovered that neuropeptides are not solely
produced in the brain. Immune cells can produce
them as well!
Neuropeptides are the communicators between
the brain and T-cells.
The Pert Model
Pert discovered that neuropeptides are not solely
produced in the brain. Immune cells can produce
them as well!
Neuropeptides are the communicators between
the brain and T-cells.
Some emotions may suppress the function of
lymphocytes while others may enhance it.
PNI Research Studies
PNI Research Studies
• Academic stress lowers saliva immunoglobulin
(Jermott et al., 1983)
PNI Research Studies
• Academic stress lowers saliva immunoglobulin
(Jermott et al., 1983)
• Academic stress lowers lymphocytes in medical
students (Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 1984)
PNI Research Studies
• Academic stress lowers saliva immunoglobulin
(Jermott et al., 1983)
• Academic stress lowers lymphocytes in medical
students (Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 1984)
• Stress retards the healing process of wounds
(Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 1993)
PNI Research Studies
• Academic stress lowers saliva immunoglobulin
(Jermott et al., 1983)
• Academic stress lowers lymphocytes in medical
students (Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 1984)
• Stress retards the healing process of wounds
(Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 1993)
• Stress (bereavement) lowers lymphocyte
response (Schleifer, 1983)
PNI Research Studies
• Academic stress lowers saliva immunoglobulin
(Jermott et al., 1983)
• Academic stress lowers lymphocytes in medical
students (Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 1984)
• Stress retards the healing process of wounds
(Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 1993)
• Stress (bereavement) lowers lymphocyte
response (Schleifer, 1983)
• Chronic stress accelerates the aging process
(Keicolt-Glaser et al., 2003)
The Lipton Model
The Lipton Model
Epigenetic Theory:
The study of molecular mechanisms
in which environment controls gene activity
of the DNA
What is the cell’s environment?
The Lipton Model
Lipton’s research at Stanford University
revealed that cells have the ability to
promote growth as well as the protection
of their own integrity.
The Lipton Model
Lipton’s research at Stanford University
revealed that cells have the ability to
promote growth as well as the protection
of their own integrity.
They CANNOT do both functions at
once!
The Lipton Model
A biological environment of stress negates time and
energy for cell growth and integrity.
A state of constant stress will ultimately compromise
the integrity and vitality of not only the cell, but the
entire biological system.
Bruce Lipton, Lynn
McTaggert, Fritz-Allen
Popp, and several others
were featured in the
critically acclaimed movie
The Living Matrix, about
the new science of mindbody-spirit healing.
Source: Courtesy of The Living Matrix, LTD and Becker Massey LLC.
The Gerber Model
The Gerber Model
The mind, as conscious and unconscious thoughts,
exists as “subtle energy” that surrounds and
permeates the body.
The Gerber Model
The mind, as conscious and unconscious thoughts,
exist as “subtle energy” that surrounds and permeates
the body.
Stress-related symptoms that appear in the physical
body are the manifestations of “problems” that have
occurred earlier as disturbances at a “higher energy
level.”
Subtle Anatomy
Subtle Anatomy
• The Meridian System
Subtle Anatomy
• The Meridian System
• The Chakra System
Subtle Anatomy
• The Meridian System
• The Chakra System
•The Human Energy Field
The Meridian System
The Chakra System
There are seven primary chakras. Each chakra is
associated with a specific level of consciousness.
The word “chakra” is a
Sanskrit term meaning
spinning wheel
The Chakra System
The Chakra System
Crown Chakra: Spiritual growth
Brow Chakra: Intuition, insights, wisdom
Throat Chakra: Communication, purpose in life
Heart Chakra: Love (ability to express love)
Solar Plexus Chakra: Self-confidence, gut feelings
Navel Chakra: Personal power, sexual power
Root Chakra: Safety and security needs
The crown chakra is called the halo in the
Judeo-Christian culture.
Figure 4.4. The Human Energy Field.
Source: Courtesy of Inner Traditions
A Kirlian photograph displaying the
electromagnetic energy surrounding an aspen leaf.
Source: Courtesy of Lynn Gerber
A Kirlian photograph displaying the
electromagnetic energy surrounding an aspen leaf.
The science of Kirlian photography helped develop the
technology of magnetic resonance imagery.
Source: Courtesy of Lynn Gerber
A Kirlian photograph
displaying the
electromagnetic energy
surrounding the hand
of renowned healer
Olga Worrell.
Source: Courtesy of Lynn Gerber
Each layer of subtle energy around the body vibrates at a
specific oscillation. If one layer is out of tune, like a
guitar string, then the entire energy field is affected.
The science of the subtle energy is based on the
laws of physics.
Entrainment is the mutual phase locking of like
oscillations (vibrations).
Sympathetic resonance is a term that describes
when one object picks up the vibration of another
object.
Healers such as Mietek and Margaret Wirkus can not only
see the human energy field and chakras, they can predict
disease BEFORE it shows up in the body...
with an accuracy greater than an MRI. Here Mietek
demonstrates his technique (bio-energy healing) through
entrainment and sympathetic resonance.
The Pelletier Pre-Model
The Pelletier Pre-Model
Ken Pelletier has been studying the relationship
between stress and disease for decades. He
believes that no model is complete until certain
questions are answered; specifically, the topic
of consciousness…also known as the “Ghost in
the Machine.”
The Ghost in the Machine!
• Multiple Personality Disorder
• Spontaneous Remission
• Hypnosis
• Placebos and Nocebos
• Cell Memory
• Subtle Energy
• Immunoenhancement
Pelletier believes that until Western medical
science expands its perception of what mind
is (beyond the Cartesian concept of
machine), we will not fully comprehend the
stress and disease phenomenon, nor will we
fully comprehend the potential of the
immune system.
Figure 4.12. The balance between the nervous system,
endocrine system, and immune system is quite delicate
when repeatedly affected by chronic stress.
Target Organs and Their Disorders
Nervous System-Related Disorders
Nervous System-Related Disorders
• Bronchial Asthma
• Tension Headaches
• Migraine Headaches
• Temporomandibular Joint
Dysfunction (TMJ)
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Coronary Heart Disease
Immune System-Related Disorders
Immune System-Related Disorders
• The Common Cold
• Influenza
• Allergies
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis,
Crohn’s Disease
• Ulcers
• Cancer
Effective coping
skills and relaxation
techniques for stress
management offer a
means to return to
“homeostasis” for
optimal health.
Stress and Type 2 Diabetes
Stress and Type 2 Diabetes
• Stress increases serum blood sugar levels
• Emotional problems serve as a distraction
to proper self-care behaviors (e.g., poor
monitoring of blood sugar levels, no time for
exercise, poor eating habits, increased alcohol
consumption.
Stress and Type 2 Diabetes
• The American Diabetes Association
recommends effective stress management
therapies (coping and relaxation techniques)
for all people with Type 2 diabetes.