Mental and emotional factors have so many influences on physical
health. In homeopathic treatment every aspects of mental-emotional
factors is considered for treating a patient. The mental-spiritual,
emotional-psychic and physical factors (including sex, sleep, food and
five senses) are not in reality separate distinct, but rather there is a
complete interaction between them. Following is the hierarchy of these
three levels (A is most complicated, I or H is least complicated) by
which homeopath assess depth of sickness and treat the patient:
Mental
A. Complete mental confusion
B. Destructive delirium
C. Paranoid ideas
D. Delusions
E. Lethargy
F. Dullness
G. Lack of concentration
H. Forgetfulness
I. Absent mindedness
Emotional
A. Suicidal depression
B. Apathy
C. Sadness
D. Anguish
E. Phobias
F. Anxiety
G. Irritability
H. Dissatisfaction
Physical
A. Brain ailments
B. Heart ailments
C. Endocrine ailments
D. Liver ailments
E. Lung ailments
F. Kidney ailments
G. Bone ailments
H. Muscle ailments
I. Skin ailments
Each description in the three above areas has thousands of particular symptoms and its degree of intensity which a homeopath must consider to prescribe a medicine. The symptoms are triggered by different bio-psycho-social-spiritual factors which homeopaths take seriously into consideration.
Definition of health psychology: The study of social, behavioral, cognitive and emotional factors that influence the maintenance of health, development of illness, course of illness and patient and family’s response to illness.
Definition of Health by Prof. George Vithoulkas: In homeopathy we do believe that the human being is an integrated whole acting all the time through three distinct levels- the mental, the emotional, the physical, the mental being the most important and the physical the least. The person who is really healthy on all three levels of his being physical, emotional and mental has: freedom from pain on physical level with a feeling of well being, freedom from passions on the emotional level with a state of dynamic calmness and freedom from egotism and selfishness on the mental level while the person feels unity with truth of God.
World Health Organization Definition of Health:
From this definition we can see that the definition of health given by Prof. George is more comprehensive.
Different factors (genetics, behavior, medical care) contribute to health status: medical care is just 10%, Behavior or lifestyle contributes to 40% of health status, genetics are 20%, general (viruses, etc) – 30%.
Bio-Psycho-social-spiritual model – multiple factors produce multiple effects regarding our health. Health is affected by biology, behavior, environmental, cognitive and socio-cultural factors. Psychological components of health – behavior, emotions, cognition and personality impact health. Some psychological factors have direct influence on physiological processes, anxiety causes high blood pressure. Our behavior also influences physical health, eating healthily, exercising, etc, stress could cause overeating. Physical health could also influence psychological status, eg: cancer could cause depression which could make the disease worse.
Social variables – social class impacts health greatly. Cultural beliefs, practices, family and social support all affect Health (Hadith – whoever wants increase in age and sustenance should keep relations with family).
Increased levels of social support influence in the following way- Reduced risk of physical illness, faster recovery from illness, reduced risk for mental illness, better adherence to medical regimens, better adjustment to chronic disease, lower mortality rates.
Lack of social support – Increased risk for premature death, poorer health outcome, poorer adjustment to illness, depression and later-life cognitive decline, Major risk of morbidity and mortality.
Spiritual influence – Nuh (AS) told his people that those who turn to Allah will have increased life (Nuh 71:23 – Tafsir Ibn Kathir). Obedience to Allah leads to increase in lifespan and good health. Research shows that religious people have chances of living longer (average of seven years) than non-religious people. Religious people tend to have better social support and better health behavior, this is one factor. Studies show that religious people are 30% less likely to die young than non-religious people. Religiousness helps coping with illness and quality of life, has impact on heath outcome. Religious values, beliefs impact medical life.
Health benefits of religiosity – better immune functioning, less heart disease, better cardiac outcomes, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, lower death rates from cancer, less likely of alcohol and drug abuse, likely to never have smoked, likely to improve health behaviors and maintain changes, better physical health, proper nutrition, greater usage of preventative measures, better compliance to treatment.
Stress and Illness:
Stress – It is the physical and psychological response to overwhelming events, reaction to challenges or threats. It might be caused by lack of resources to meet demands, upset life pattern. Stress is natural part of life, universal, unique experience for each person. The question is- do we need stress? The answer is Yes, we need eustress not distress. Eustress means moderate or normal psychological stress interpreted as being beneficial for the experience while distress means extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain.
Causes of stress:
External factors of stress – events, situations, people or demands (new baby, work, financial problems, lifestyle). Internal factors of stress – thoughts, perceptions, feelings (perfectionism, pessimism, negative self-talk, low self-esteem). Stress may be chronic or acute. Chronic or long-term stress (living in warzone, daily traffic) VS Acute/temporary stress affects health differently – Chronic stress causes more health problems.
a) Continuous ongoing stress keeps the body alert, this releases ACTH (stress hormone) which releases cortisal which suppresses the immune system.
b) So continuous stress causes bigger chance of health problems.
c) It also affects behavior (overeating, smoking) which cause illness.
d) Some diseases that can be causes by stress – eczema, depression, cancer, flu, asthma, heart disease, stomach ulcer, PTSO, eating disorders, migraines, hypertension, sleep deprivation, chronic fatigue and many others.
Stress causing illness, eg: bad life event – perceived as threat – causes person to become depressed, hostile, pessimistic which causes poor nutrition, seclusion and smoking and chases people away, all of which leads to illness. On the other hand, perceiving the bad life event as a challenge causes a person to be easy going and optimistic which stimulated eating well and exercising regularly and being sociable, all of which has positive impact on health.
Cognitive appraisal – do we perceive the situation as a threat (causes stress) or not, perceive that we can’t cope with threat, causes negative stress, believing you can handle the threat causes positive stress.
Physical symptoms of stress – headaches, fatigue, insomnia, nausea, tightness in neck and shoulders,
restlessness, rapid heartbeat, sickness, weight change.
Cognitive symptoms – forgetfulness, poor concentration, negative attitude, excessive worry, confusion,
boredom, lethargy, frustration.
Emotional symptoms – anxiety, the blues, depression, mood swings, bad temper, crying spells, irritability, feeling jumpy, nervous laugh, easily discouraged.
Important contributions of psychology to health: It Has provided techniques useful in changing behavior that affect health and illness, committed to keeping people healthy rather than waiting to only treat them when they become ill, prevention - developing measures for assessing health-related factors and contribute a solid foundation of scientific methods for studying behavior that affects health.
Dr. Benojir integrates all the above issues while treating patients.
Dr. BM Benojir Ahmed
Consultant Homeopath
For Homeopathic Treatment click here
Mental
A. Complete mental confusion
B. Destructive delirium
C. Paranoid ideas
D. Delusions
E. Lethargy
F. Dullness
G. Lack of concentration
H. Forgetfulness
I. Absent mindedness
Emotional
A. Suicidal depression
B. Apathy
C. Sadness
D. Anguish
E. Phobias
F. Anxiety
G. Irritability
H. Dissatisfaction
Physical
A. Brain ailments
B. Heart ailments
C. Endocrine ailments
D. Liver ailments
E. Lung ailments
F. Kidney ailments
G. Bone ailments
H. Muscle ailments
I. Skin ailments
Each description in the three above areas has thousands of particular symptoms and its degree of intensity which a homeopath must consider to prescribe a medicine. The symptoms are triggered by different bio-psycho-social-spiritual factors which homeopaths take seriously into consideration.
Definition of health psychology: The study of social, behavioral, cognitive and emotional factors that influence the maintenance of health, development of illness, course of illness and patient and family’s response to illness.
Definition of Health by Prof. George Vithoulkas: In homeopathy we do believe that the human being is an integrated whole acting all the time through three distinct levels- the mental, the emotional, the physical, the mental being the most important and the physical the least. The person who is really healthy on all three levels of his being physical, emotional and mental has: freedom from pain on physical level with a feeling of well being, freedom from passions on the emotional level with a state of dynamic calmness and freedom from egotism and selfishness on the mental level while the person feels unity with truth of God.
World Health Organization Definition of Health:
From this definition we can see that the definition of health given by Prof. George is more comprehensive.
Different factors (genetics, behavior, medical care) contribute to health status: medical care is just 10%, Behavior or lifestyle contributes to 40% of health status, genetics are 20%, general (viruses, etc) – 30%.
Bio-Psycho-social-spiritual model – multiple factors produce multiple effects regarding our health. Health is affected by biology, behavior, environmental, cognitive and socio-cultural factors. Psychological components of health – behavior, emotions, cognition and personality impact health. Some psychological factors have direct influence on physiological processes, anxiety causes high blood pressure. Our behavior also influences physical health, eating healthily, exercising, etc, stress could cause overeating. Physical health could also influence psychological status, eg: cancer could cause depression which could make the disease worse.
Social variables – social class impacts health greatly. Cultural beliefs, practices, family and social support all affect Health (Hadith – whoever wants increase in age and sustenance should keep relations with family).
Increased levels of social support influence in the following way- Reduced risk of physical illness, faster recovery from illness, reduced risk for mental illness, better adherence to medical regimens, better adjustment to chronic disease, lower mortality rates.
Lack of social support – Increased risk for premature death, poorer health outcome, poorer adjustment to illness, depression and later-life cognitive decline, Major risk of morbidity and mortality.
Spiritual influence – Nuh (AS) told his people that those who turn to Allah will have increased life (Nuh 71:23 – Tafsir Ibn Kathir). Obedience to Allah leads to increase in lifespan and good health. Research shows that religious people have chances of living longer (average of seven years) than non-religious people. Religious people tend to have better social support and better health behavior, this is one factor. Studies show that religious people are 30% less likely to die young than non-religious people. Religiousness helps coping with illness and quality of life, has impact on heath outcome. Religious values, beliefs impact medical life.
Health benefits of religiosity – better immune functioning, less heart disease, better cardiac outcomes, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, lower death rates from cancer, less likely of alcohol and drug abuse, likely to never have smoked, likely to improve health behaviors and maintain changes, better physical health, proper nutrition, greater usage of preventative measures, better compliance to treatment.
Stress and Illness:
Stress – It is the physical and psychological response to overwhelming events, reaction to challenges or threats. It might be caused by lack of resources to meet demands, upset life pattern. Stress is natural part of life, universal, unique experience for each person. The question is- do we need stress? The answer is Yes, we need eustress not distress. Eustress means moderate or normal psychological stress interpreted as being beneficial for the experience while distress means extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain.
Causes of stress:
External factors of stress – events, situations, people or demands (new baby, work, financial problems, lifestyle). Internal factors of stress – thoughts, perceptions, feelings (perfectionism, pessimism, negative self-talk, low self-esteem). Stress may be chronic or acute. Chronic or long-term stress (living in warzone, daily traffic) VS Acute/temporary stress affects health differently – Chronic stress causes more health problems.
a) Continuous ongoing stress keeps the body alert, this releases ACTH (stress hormone) which releases cortisal which suppresses the immune system.
b) So continuous stress causes bigger chance of health problems.
c) It also affects behavior (overeating, smoking) which cause illness.
d) Some diseases that can be causes by stress – eczema, depression, cancer, flu, asthma, heart disease, stomach ulcer, PTSO, eating disorders, migraines, hypertension, sleep deprivation, chronic fatigue and many others.
Stress causing illness, eg: bad life event – perceived as threat – causes person to become depressed, hostile, pessimistic which causes poor nutrition, seclusion and smoking and chases people away, all of which leads to illness. On the other hand, perceiving the bad life event as a challenge causes a person to be easy going and optimistic which stimulated eating well and exercising regularly and being sociable, all of which has positive impact on health.
Cognitive appraisal – do we perceive the situation as a threat (causes stress) or not, perceive that we can’t cope with threat, causes negative stress, believing you can handle the threat causes positive stress.
Physical symptoms of stress – headaches, fatigue, insomnia, nausea, tightness in neck and shoulders,
restlessness, rapid heartbeat, sickness, weight change.
Cognitive symptoms – forgetfulness, poor concentration, negative attitude, excessive worry, confusion,
boredom, lethargy, frustration.
Emotional symptoms – anxiety, the blues, depression, mood swings, bad temper, crying spells, irritability, feeling jumpy, nervous laugh, easily discouraged.
Important contributions of psychology to health: It Has provided techniques useful in changing behavior that affect health and illness, committed to keeping people healthy rather than waiting to only treat them when they become ill, prevention - developing measures for assessing health-related factors and contribute a solid foundation of scientific methods for studying behavior that affects health.
Dr. Benojir integrates all the above issues while treating patients.
Dr. BM Benojir Ahmed
Consultant Homeopath
For Homeopathic Treatment click here
This blog beautifully illustrates the interplay between mental, emotional, and physical well-being, mirroring the holistic principles of homeopathy. For individuals in Wollongong seeking psychology services, embracing this interconnectedness could provide a comprehensive approach to healing. Let's encourage more dialogue around the integration of psychological and holistic health practices for a balanced life.
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