Tag Archive for: psychoneuroimmunology

, , , , , , , , ,

Video: Self-Efficacy, Wellbeing, and Mastery—My Personal Experience

Self-efficacy is the belief that you can succeed in the life challenges presented to you. The greater your self-efficacy, the greater your chances of succeeding in everything you attempt to accomplish. What you believe about yourself makes a…
, , , , , , , , , ,

Video: State of Mind Can Improve State of Health

Norman Cousins had been an editor of the Saturday Evening Post and later went on to help UCLA start what, after his death, became known as the Norman Cousins Institute for Psychoneuroimmunology. This became one of the first centers for serious…
, , , , , , ,

Video: Belief Becomes Biology

Norman Cousins helped create the psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) Program at UCLA. He is most known for his book: Anatomy of An Illness, in which he described his personal experiences overcoming a life-threatening illness by increasing his level…
, , , , , , , , ,

Empowered Patients Make Things Happen

The hundreds of studies I reviewed and explain in my book all point to certain specific behaviors and activities that consistently correlate with wellbeing and better health outcomes. The first is autonomy, which refers to courageously taking…
,

Video: Can the Mind Cure Disease?

One night in 1991, chills, body aches, fever, and pathologic fatigue descended on me like a freight train. It was the peak of the flu season and I knew what I had. Despite the symptoms, the karate tournament I was watching energized me to…
, , , ,

Chronic Illness Q&A with Dr. B.

The purpose of this blog and the entire website is to provide evidence-based information on how to live a vibrant, meaningful life while living with chronic health challenges. I had been posting to this blog three times per week for the…
, , ,

How Your Thinking Affects Your Health Part 3 of 3

Part 3 of 3 Increased emotional distress results in the release of catecholamines (substances allowing us to respond to stressors), which is damaging to the intimal endothelium (inner-most lining) of the coronary arteries. That, in turn, leads…
,

Cancer and Social Support

Social Support and the Immune System Psychoneuroimmunology researchers have consistently found a positive correlation between social support and the immune system. Medical researcher Dr. Janice Kiecolt-Glaser has proven that social support…

Social Support Improves Health

Most behavioral medicine studies involving heart patients focus on the efficacy of lifestyle changes to reduce atherosclerosis and reverse ischemic heart disease. World-renowned cardiologist Dean Ornish’s behavioral medicine program includes…