The key answer of exercise 4

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