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
