When I was in naturopathic medical school I learned about mental and emotional stress as risk factors in many disease processes. In the last eight years in practice I have realized that stress is much more prevalent than I ever imagined as a factor in patients' diseases or inability to get well quickly.
The reason stress is such a health concern is because mental and emotional stress releases hormones and other chemicals in the body that impact blood pressure, heart rate, liver function, and alertness along with other bodily functions.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a disease process that confirms that stress can and does have physical effects in the body that can be detrimental to patients over time. This disease has been brought to the public’s attention because of veterans coming back from combat.
Many people may not be aware that cancer patients can also suffer from PTSD after hearing the diagnosis of cancer. A small percentage of patients actually develop full-blown PTSD and many patients will experience some level of depression or at least one or more symptoms of PTSD.
Symptoms of PTSD include flashbacks, uncontrolled thoughts about cancer, severe anxiety, nightmares or feeling emotionally muted towards friends and family members.
Research done at Duke Cancer Institute in Durham, North Carolina has found that 40 percent of the cancer patients that were diagnosed with cancer still had at least one PTSD symptoms10 years after treatment. 1 in 12 patients, about 8 percent had full-blown PTSD. There were over 50 percent of the patients that didn’t have any symptoms 13 years after their diagnosis.
The study was based on 566 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The researchers noted that patients that had a lower income status tended to have more symptoms because they do not have adequate access to health care.
One solution for those patients that had at least one symptom or full-blown PTSD is guided imagery. Guided imagery has been well-researched to help reduce effects of PTSD in cancer patient.
Guided imagery allows patients to have control over their thoughts about their diagnosis. They are able to practice changing their thoughts about this stressful medical situation that has occurred for them in the past and change their thought patterns about it.
As they change their stressful thoughts and reduce the stress related to them they will actually reduce the hormones and chemicals released in their body. This is great naturopathic technique that can be used in conjunction with counseling to reduce stress.
Live Vibrantly,
Dr. Dae
Dr. Dae's website: www.healthydaes.com
Dr. Dae's book: Daelicious! Recipes for Vibrant Living can be purchased @ www.healthydaes.com
Dr. Dae's Bio:
“Dr. Dae" (pronounced Dr. Day) Daemon Jones is a Naturopathic Physician who treats the whole person using safe and effective combinations of traditional and natural methods to produce optimal health and well-being in the lives of her patients.
Sources:
Kolcaba, K., & Fox, C. (1999). The effects of guided imagery on comfort of women with early stage breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy. Oncology Nursing Forum. 26:67-72.
abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9921569
" Many cancer survivors struggle with trauma stress: study| Reuters." Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2011.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/13/us-cancer-idUSTRE79C0GS20111013.
"Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - MayoClinic.com." Mayo Clinic. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2011.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/DS00246.
Reviewed October 13, 2011
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith