Cover of the textbook Outcomes Advanced - Student's Book

The key answer of exercise 4

The key to exercise solutions in chapter 10 - Keep it in mind for the textbook Outcomes Advanced - Student's Book with authors Carol Nuttall and Amanda French from National Geographic Learning

Question

Now read the article and take notes on what is said about each of the topics in Exercise 2. Compare your notes with your partner.

Answer

Mindfulness and meditation

  • mindfulness originates in ancient Buddhist practices used to be fairly unknown in the west, but has become more popular
  • widely used now by among others the US military! it’s basically a kind of meditation therapy designed to train people to focus on inner processes happening now

Depression and anxiety

  • evidence suggests mindfulness can help to break cycles of depression and anxiety
  • people suffering depression find moods often accompanied by negative thoughts and these thoughts usually disappear after meds prescribed or episode passes
  • but this has created pattern in the brain and so a mood swing caused by something small like bad weather can trigger off negative thoughts, and start another bout of depression
  • the more this happens, the more it recurs, making it harder to treat with drugs
  • mindfulness encourages people to be more aware of their patterns of thought
  • helps to break the cycle by resetting neural pathways

Life expectancy and well-being in the developed world

  • Western medicine has been good at extending life expectancy
  • in many countries, life expectancy doubled in the 20th century
  • many infectious diseases were eradicated
  • but we live longer in sickness, not health
  • Western medicine less good at encouraging well-being
  • unless you’re in severe pain, Western doctors have little to offer

Patients that doctors refer to as ‘the worried well’

  • often patients suffering low-level complaints or long-term illnesses are dismissed by doctors as the worried well
  • Western doctors often not good at treating such patients at all

Traditional Chinese Medicine

  • more focused on maintaining good health and well- being than most Western models
  • better at relieving minor conditions like eczema, back pain and migraine
  • TCM includes acupuncture, herbal remedies, massage