Question:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Note to Moderator of Alt. Suport.Asthma: I posted this on Nov. 27, but never saw it come through on news group postings. Perhaps you never got it or ???? Please let me know what is happening.. Thanks Re: mind and body in asthma To make the facts clear—ASTHMA IS NOT A PSYCHOSOMATIC OR A PSYCHOLOGICAL DISEASE. It has been proven and known for many years that asthma is a physical disease involving As a long time allergic asthmatic and serious student of the subject, I am quite certain that asthma is not primarily a psychosomatic disease. I too, doubt that asthma can be "wished" away. That said, I am saddened to see such an antagonistic response from cruisingmrw to a sensible and interesting posting from epetee. Epetee did not claim that asthma is psychosomatic. In fact there are many studies that show the strong influence of mental or emotional factors on physiological processes. The key to this is that the mind and the body are not separate. They are connected by the nervous system and the immune system. The scientific study of these interrelations is called psycho- neuro-immunology. The flip side of this discipline is the placebo effect, of which we have much scientific data, not just isolated reports. Spontaneous Healing, a fine book by Dr. Andrew Weil explores this. A basic example of the interelation of mind and body in asthma is that stress has very specific physiological effects, sometimes called the general adaptive syndrome. This involves the secretion of hormones from the adrenal glands, especially catecholamines (mainly adrenaline) and glucocorticoids (like cortisol). These two classes of hormones are the conceptual basis for most of the pharmacological attempts to develop drugs to control asthma. (This is because the body’s own adrenal hormones have ability to control, to varying extents, the asthmatic condition. In asthmatics, this system- the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis- and its receptors are not always up to the task.) When stress is chronic, the adrenal glands are liable to become weakened from overuse. (There are many other unhappy effects from these hormones constantly coursing thru our bodies.) If our rest and nutrition is insufficient, the result will be a worsening of asthma, since even in asthmatics, our own adrenal hormones provide some basal level of protection. (see Asthma and Rhinitis, 1995, section by Undem and Myers, pp707-8) Glucocorticoids in the body are derived mainly from cholesterol; and adrenaline and its sisters from the amino acid tyrosine. But they cannot be made by the body, nor will they work effectively without adequate amounts of nutritional co-factors such as zinc, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin B5 and others. Nutritional studies (e.g. NHANES II) show that many Americans are deficient to some extent in these nutrients. Thus the emotional state of stress can be mitigated by simple biochemistry. Taking lots of vitamin pills does not guarantee optimal function of any system but I think a strong multivitamin is good insurance. This is an explanation for the fact that many asthma authorities believe that "there is an emotional factor" in asthma. Most believe that stress is detrimental to asthmatics. Of course the best "cure" for stress is to resolve it, not vitamin pills, but excellent nutrition can be very helpful.. I am not a doctor. Anything I write should not be taken as medical advice. I live a rich and active life with the very rare use of drugs, although I have severe (by IgE skin test) allergies and asthma. John Hepler
Your original message (which, by the way is worded QUITE different from the one you are now posting) certainly was posted and I replied. Several other people also replied and had some interesting comments about your theory. Its rather interesting that you missed them all. It was on the newsgroup for about a week. I can’t imagine how you missed it if you were checking the newsgroup. The posting that you originally replied to was about my response to someone else’s claim that healing emotions can cure asthma. Again, I reiterate that this implies that emotions are the cause of asthma, and the entire posting implied that emotions were the root of asthma. And I stated that I did think it could be dangerous for someone with asthma to try this approach as a cure for asthma, since asthma cannot be cured, but rather controlled. Some of the objections I had to the logic used (which by the way I do not think were sensible approaches)were:1)using neurological signs and symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency to somehow show that this supports the theory that asthma’s cause is psychological and 2) implying that because it involved the immune system it was caused by the emotions. Several other diseases are also immunological diseases. I will ask you the same question I asked you in my original response. AIDS is an immune system disease. Would you say that it is has a psychological cause because it involves the immune system? I’ve copied another recent response I made to someone else about this issue. I will repeat one more time that I believe it is prejudicial (or at the very best ignorant) to continue to blame psychological issues as a cause of asthma in the 1990’s when the research has clearly shown that asthma is a physical disease with a physical cause. That said, her is my posting to someone who stated that sometimes asthma is caused by psychosomatic causes: I differ with you on this, or at least with the way you said it. NO asthma is psychosomatic. Asthma’s cause is physical. However, in some people (a small portion I might add), psychological issues can aggravate, BUT NOT CAUSE asthma. BTW, psychosomatic means a physical symptom that is psychologiclly caused. Again, psychological OR psychosomatic issues DO NOT cause asthma, though they may aggravate asthma symptoms for a select few asthma patients. I think it is very important to make this distinction, as asthmatics have already had to suffer too many years in the past with this false premise and don’t deserve to have to endure this any more now that science has PROVEN that asthma is a physical disease, not a psychological one. I hope we can finally lay this issue to rest, and move on to more productive discussions.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Note to Moderator of Alt. Suport.Asthma: I posted this on Nov. 27, but never saw it come through on news group postings. Perhaps you never got it or ???? Please let me know what is happening.. Thanks Re: mind and body in asthma To make the facts clear—ASTHMA IS NOT A PSYCHOSOMATIC OR A PSYCHOLOGICAL DISEASE. It has been proven and known for many years that asthma is a physical disease involving As a long time allergic asthmatic and serious student of the subject, I am quite certain that asthma is not primarily a psychosomatic disease. I too, doubt that asthma can be "wished" away. That said, I am saddened to see such an antagonistic response from cruisingmrw to a sensible and interesting posting from epetee. Epetee did not claim that asthma is psychosomatic. In fact there are many studies that show the strong influence of mental or emotional factors on physiological processes. The key to this is that the mind and the body are not separate. They are connected by the nervous system and the immune system. The scientific study of these interrelations is called psycho- neuro-immunology. The flip side of this discipline is the placebo effect, of which we have much scientific data, not just isolated reports. Spontaneous Healing, a fine book by Dr. Andrew Weil explores this. A basic example of the interelation of mind and body in asthma is that stress has very specific physiological effects, sometimes called the general adaptive syndrome. This involves the secretion of hormones from the adrenal glands, especially catecholamines (mainly adrenaline) and glucocorticoids (like cortisol). These two classes of hormones are the conceptual basis for most of the pharmacological attempts to develop drugs to control asthma. (This is because the body’s own adrenal hormones have ability to control, to varying extents, the asthmatic condition. In asthmatics, this system- the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis- and its receptors are not always up to the task.) When stress is chronic, the adrenal glands are liable to become weakened from overuse. (There are many other unhappy effects from these hormones constantly coursing thru our bodies.) If our rest and nutrition is insufficient, the result will be a worsening of asthma, since even in asthmatics, our own adrenal hormones provide some basal level of protection. (see Asthma and Rhinitis, 1995, section by Undem and Myers, pp707-8) Glucocorticoids in the body are derived mainly from cholesterol; and adrenaline and its sisters from the amino acid tyrosine. But they cannot be made by the body, nor will they work effectively without adequate amounts of nutritional co-factors such as zinc, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin B5 and others. Nutritional studies (e.g. NHANES II) show that many Americans are deficient to some extent in these nutrients. Thus the emotional state of stress can be mitigated by simple biochemistry. Taking lots of vitamin pills does not guarantee optimal function of any system but I think a strong multivitamin is good insurance. This is an explanation for the fact that many asthma authorities believe that "there is an emotional factor" in asthma. Most believe that stress is detrimental to asthmatics. Of course the best "cure" for stress is to resolve it, not vitamin pills, but excellent nutrition can be very helpful.. I am not a doctor. Anything I write should not be taken as medical advice. I live a rich and active life with the very rare use of drugs, although I have severe (by IgE skin test) allergies and asthma. John Hepler
Hi John, Thanks for the info. I personally have had an improvement in my asthma by getting enough rest, exercise 5 days/week, and having adjustments by a chiropractor once a week. All of this has helped me deal with stress, and therefore I have been much healthier in the last 2 years.
Response:
Note to Moderator of Alt. Suport.Asthma: I posted this on Nov. 27, but never saw it come through on news group postings. Perhaps you never got it or ???? Please let me know what is happening.. Thanks Re: mind and body in asthma To make the facts clear—ASTHMA IS NOT A PSYCHOSOMATIC OR A PSYCHOLOGICAL DISEASE. It has been proven and known for many years that
asthma is a physical disease involving As a long time allergic asthmatic and serious student of the subject, I am quite certain that asthma is not primarily a psychosomatic disease. I too, doubt that asthma can be "wished" away. That said, I am saddened to see such an antagonistic response from cruisingmrw to a sensible and interesting posting from epetee. Epetee did not claim that asthma is psychosomatic. In fact there are many studies that show the strong influence of mental or emotional factors on physiological processes. The key to this is that the mind and the body are not separate. They are connected by the nervous system and the immune system. The scientific study of these interrelations is called psycho- neuro-immunology. The flip side of this discipline is the placebo effect, of which we have much scientific data, not just isolated reports. Spontaneous Healing, a fine book by Dr. Andrew Weil explores this. A basic example of the interelation of mind and body in asthma is that stress has very specific physiological effects, sometimes called the general adaptive syndrome. This involves the secretion of hormones from the adrenal glands, especially catecholamines (mainly adrenaline) and glucocorticoids (like cortisol). These two classes of hormones are the conceptual basis for most of the pharmacological attempts to develop drugs to control asthma. (This is because the body’s own adrenal hormones have ability to control, to varying extents, the asthmatic condition. In asthmatics, this system- the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis- and its receptors are not always up to the task.) When stress is chronic, the adrenal glands are liable to become weakened from overuse. (There are many other unhappy effects from these hormones constantly coursing thru our bodies.) If our rest and nutrition is insufficient, the result will be a worsening of asthma, since even in asthmatics, our own adrenal hormones provide some basal level of protection. (see Asthma and Rhinitis, 1995, section by Undem and Myers, pp707-8) Glucocorticoids in the body are derived mainly from cholesterol; and adrenaline and its sisters from the amino acid tyrosine. But they cannot be made by the body, nor will they work effectively without adequate amounts of nutritional co-factors such as zinc, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin B5 and others. Nutritional studies (e.g. NHANES II) show that many Americans are deficient to some extent in these nutrients. Thus the emotional state of stress can be mitigated by simple biochemistry. Taking lots of vitamin pills does not guarantee optimal function of any system but I think a strong multivitamin is good insurance. This is an explanation for the fact that many asthma authorities believe that "there is an emotional factor" in asthma. Most believe that stress is detrimental to asthmatics. Of course the best "cure" for stress is to resolve it, not vitamin pills, but excellent nutrition can be very helpful.. I am not a doctor. Anything I write should not be taken as medical advice. I live a rich and active life with the very rare use of drugs, although I have severe (by IgE skin test) allergies and asthma. John Hepler
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – To make the facts clear—ASTHMA IS NOT A PSYCHOSOMATIC OR A PSYCHOLOGICAL DISEASE. It has been proven and known for many years that asthma is a physical disease involving As a long time allergic asthmatic and a very serious student of the subject, I am quite certain that asthma is not primarily a psychosomatic disease. I too, doubt that asthma can be "wished" away. That said, I am saddened to see such an antagonistic response from cruisingmrw to a sensible and interesting posting from epetee. Epetee did not claim that asthma is psychosomatic. In fact there are many studies that show the strong influence of mental or emotional factors on physiological processes. The key to this is that the mind and the body are not separate. They are connected by the nervous system and the immune system. The scientific study of these interrelations is called psycho- neuro-immunology. The flip side of this discipline is the placebo effect, of which we have much scientific data, not just isolated reports. Spontaneous Healing, a fine book by Dr. Andrew Weil explores this. A basic example of the interelation of mind and body in asthma is that stress has very specific physiological effects, sometimes called the general adaptive syndrome. This involves the secretion of hormones from the adrenal glands, especially catecholamines (mainly adrenaline) and glucocorticoids (like cortisol). These two classes of hormones are the conceptual basis for most of the pharmacological attempts to develop drugs to control asthma. (This is because the body’s own adrenal hormones have ability to control, to varying extents, the asthmatic condition. In asthmatics, this system- the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis- and its receptors are not always up to the task.) When stress is chronic, the adrenal glands are liable to become weakened from overuse. (There are many other unhappy effects from these hormones constantly coursing thru our bodies.) If our rest and nutrition is insufficient, the result will be a worsening of asthma, since even in asthmatics, our own adrenal hormones provide some basal level of protection. (see Asthma and Rhinitis, 1995, Busse and Holgate, pp707-8) Glucocorticoids in the body are derived mainly from cholesterol; and adrenaline and its sisters from the amino acid tyrosine. But they cannot be made by the body, nor will they work effectively without adequate amounts of nutritional co-factors such as zinc, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin B5 and others. Nutritional studies (e.g. NHANES II) show that many Americans are deficient to some extent in these nutrients. Thus the emotional state of stress can be mitigated by simple biochemistry. Taking lots of vitamin pills does not guarantee optimal function of any system but I think a strong multivitamin is good insurance. This is an explanation for the fact that many asthma authorities believe that "there is an emotional factor" in asthma. Most believe that stress is detrimental to asthmatics. Of course the best "cure" for stress is to resolve it, not vitamin pills. I hope that those critical of this posting will respond in the spirit of illumination rather than attack. I am not a doctor. Anything I write should not be taken as medical advice. I live a rich and active life with the very rare use of drugs, although I have severe (by IgE skin test) allergies and asthma. John Hepler
With the "very rare use" of drugs to control asthma or allergies, I doubt if you currently have severe asthma and allergies. The real discussion was not about vitamins, so I’m not quite sure why you or the other poster are bringing that up. To compare B12 deficiency, which results in neurological signs and symptoms, to asthma and somehow make a correlations that this shows asthma can be psychosomatic is like trying to say football and bowling are the same thing because they both use balls. I repeat, the truth is that asthma is a physical disease, and attempts to display it as psychological or psychosomatic IS prejudical. Emotional and psychological issues after every person’s life. The real issue here is if a person has a psychological or psychosomatic problem,and that person also happens to have asthma, can that affect their ALREADY EXISTING PHSYCIALLY CAUSED ASTHMA. And in some cases, it can. However, ASTHMA is not a psychological or psychosomatic disease. And many (most) people with asthma DO NOT have psychological or psychosomatic problems. Asthmatics have had to live with the false conecept of psychosomatic cause and been stereoyped for years because of this myth until science proved that it is not a psychological or psychosomatic disease. In the statements of the original posting you are referring to, I do not believe they were sensible statements, and in fact, could be dangerous for an asthmatic to attempt these approaches as a CURE. Here’s the main part I am referring to: "Some people may be able to heal by working on emotional issues. Others may heal or reduce symptoms from medicinal approaches or other means. Whatever works, works, and that is all that is important." I repeat, healing emotional isues won"t heal asthma. This implies that emotions are the cause of asthma. The entire message implies that emotions are the ROOT of the issue. This is what I STRONGLY object to, and I repeat, is prejudical. AIDS involves the immune system. Would you imply that is a psychological disease also because it involves the immune system? You are taking giant leaps between body systems and jumping to conclusions that really don’t paint the true picture.
Response:
To make the facts clear—ASTHMA IS NOT A PSYCHOSOMATIC OR A PSYCHOLOGICAL DISEASE. It has been proven and known for many years that
asthma is a physical disease involving As a long time allergic asthmatic and a very serious student of the subject, I am quite certain that asthma is not primarily a psychosomatic disease. I too, doubt that asthma can be "wished" away. That said, I am saddened to see such an antagonistic response from cruisingmrw to a sensible and interesting posting from epetee. Epetee did not claim that asthma is psychosomatic. In fact there are many studies that show the strong influence of mental or emotional factors on physiological processes. The key to this is that the mind and the body are not separate. They are connected by the nervous system and the immune system. The scientific study of these interrelations is called psycho- neuro-immunology. The flip side of this discipline is the placebo effect, of which we have much scientific data, not just isolated reports. Spontaneous Healing, a fine book by Dr. Andrew Weil explores this. A basic example of the interelation of mind and body in asthma is that stress has very specific physiological effects, sometimes called the general adaptive syndrome. This involves the secretion of hormones from the adrenal glands, especially catecholamines (mainly adrenaline) and glucocorticoids (like cortisol). These two classes of hormones are the conceptual basis for most of the pharmacological attempts to develop drugs to control asthma. (This is because the body’s own adrenal hormones have ability to control, to varying extents, the asthmatic condition. In asthmatics, this system- the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis- and its receptors are not always up to the task.) When stress is chronic, the adrenal glands are liable to become weakened from overuse. (There are many other unhappy effects from these hormones constantly coursing thru our bodies.) If our rest and nutrition is insufficient, the result will be a worsening of asthma, since even in asthmatics, our own adrenal hormones provide some basal level of protection. (see Asthma and Rhinitis, 1995, Busse and Holgate, pp707-8) Glucocorticoids in the body are derived mainly from cholesterol; and adrenaline and its sisters from the amino acid tyrosine. But they cannot be made by the body, nor will they work effectively without adequate amounts of nutritional co-factors such as zinc, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin B5 and others. Nutritional studies (e.g. NHANES II) show that many Americans are deficient to some extent in these nutrients. Thus the emotional state of stress can be mitigated by simple biochemistry. Taking lots of vitamin pills does not guarantee optimal function of any system but I think a strong multivitamin is good insurance. This is an explanation for the fact that many asthma authorities believe that "there is an emotional factor" in asthma. Most believe that stress is detrimental to asthmatics. Of course the best "cure" for stress is to resolve it, not vitamin pills. I hope that those critical of this posting will respond in the spirit of illumination rather than attack. I am not a doctor. Anything I write should not be taken as medical advice. I live a rich and active life with the very rare use of drugs, although I have severe (by IgE skin test) allergies and asthma. John Hepler
Response:
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