These studies are among thousands researching the mind-body connection in the causation and treatment of illness. Although there are no conclusive results deducing the exact connection, the majority of results show an increase in overall patient health when undergoing a treatment that accounts for the mental aspect of illness. By accounting for the mind’s influence on the body, health professionals will break society’s dichotomy that they are separate. Through this, it is highly recommended that Western medicine turn towards a holistic approach to healing, treating the person in conjunction with the biomedical techniques of treating the disease.

Scientists have recently pieced together how stress affects the heart. The mind/heart connection involves the release of two kinds of stress hormones into the bloodstream setting off a cascade of changes in the body including increased tendency for blood clotting; a surge in coronary artery pressure; increased blood pressure, glucose levels, and lipid levels; a more rapid heartbeat; and a constriction in the coronary arteries. In short, the demands on the heart all increase. With this understanding it is easy to see how individuals who experience stress on a chronic basis are at greater risk for heart diseases. An eight year study of 3000 people by Friedman and Roseman (1974) found that those with “Type A” behavior were twice as likely as “Type B” to develop coronary heart disease. They described these “Type A” persons as being impatient, competitive and to having a sense of urgency. Researchers have refined this concept and now understand that hostility is the main agitator of heart disease in these people. The hostile personality, however, can be tempered through mind/body medicine. A cognitive-behavioral therapist can teach someone with a short temper to recognize the warning signs of anger and to relax and cognitively restructure the angry response.

Thoughts and feelings via the mind influence the body through two mechanisms: the nervous system and the circulatory system. These systems provide a pathway for communication between the mind and the rest of the body. The brain reaches through the nervous system, allowing it to send nerve impulses into all of the body’s tissues altering their behaviour. The brain can thus affect the behaviour of the immune system, spleen, and lymph nodes. It can influence the behaviour of the heart with its nerves penetrating the heart tissue, affecting things such as heart rate and blood pressure. It can also affect the glands of the endocrine system, bones, mu

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