Introduction
Mind-body medicine, as a form of complementary or alternative medicine, has its roots in the age-old philosophy where the mind, body, and spirit are viewed as interconnected and unified. The treatment techniques are based on the premise that the mind has control over mental and emotional factors and has an influence on physical health and symptoms. This treatment method explores the link between the mind, body, and spirit and makes use of the interconnection to apply psychological, social, and spiritual methods to cure disease.
Mind-body medicine takes a holistic approach by emphasizing the functional relation of the body, mind, and spirit. It employs a whole range of scientifically proven methods such as relaxation techniques, mediation, biofeedback, and hypnotherapy. Other mind-body intervention practices which have also become popular include guided imagery, cognitive-behavioral therapy, aromatherapy, yoga, somatic experiencing, and metamorphic technique.
Possible causes of the patient’s symptoms, according to the treatment paradigm
Nakazawa (2008) explains that the distinctive symptoms of Hashimoto’s disease are Myxedematous psychosis, paresthesia, tachycardia, bradycardia, and reactive hypoglycemia. Other accompanying symptoms include weight gain, depression, mania, sensitivity to heat and cold, fatigue, panic attacks, high cholesterol, constipation, muscle weakness, cramps, memory loss, infertility, and hair loss. According to mind-body treatment, mental or emotional factors contribute to virtually all of these incidental symptoms and exacerbate the ailment. The causes of the symptoms, according to the treatment paradigm, are psychological factors that aggravate the intensity of pain and which worsen the suffering and disability associated with the symptoms.
How the condition will be treated
Mind-body medicine has been used over the years to treat chronic pain, headaches, depression, anxiety, panic disorders, and in the treatment of coronary artery diseases. Bodeker (2002) shows how the technique has also been applied successfully in coping with the disease and treatment-related symptoms of cancer. Regarding Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, most of the concomitant ailments and complications can be easily treated by administering some of the mainstream mind-body treatment methods.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), for example, can help diffuse feelings of fear, depression, mania, and panic attacks, which are common for patients suffering from Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. CBT involves training in various relaxation approaches, which will go a long way to alleviate fatigue, cramps, and chronic pain.
Alternatively, hypnosis (or hypnotherapy) can be applied to ease the intensity of these symptoms and relieve the patient. Derived from western practice, hypnotherapy, as a complementary treatment therapy, guides patients to an advanced state of relaxation and can thus help them to change their behavior and improve their health.
Meditation is another powerful and effective mind-body therapy that can be administered to the patients to address the problem of memory loss, fatigue, depression, muscle weakness, constipation, and, to some extent, tachycardia as well as bradycardia, which are characteristic of Hashimoto’s disease. Meditation often induces mental calmness and fosters the capacity of metacognitive awareness, which ultimately results in improved tolerance of distress.
Benefits and risks of using this method of treatment
The treatment methods have no side effects, provided that the therapies are conducted by a qualified practitioner. Mind-body techniques are flexible and easily adaptable methods that can be applied together with conventional medicine in the treatment of Hashimoto’s disease. Some methods like CBT and hypnotherapy can as well be administered independently as an alternative medicine to relieve specific symptoms. Again, mind-body therapies are the most cost-effective as compared to conventional allopathic medicine.
Mind-body therapies, however, come along with a whole range of direct and indirect risks. True, most therapeutic practices lack biomedical proof and therefore there is limited information about the effectiveness and risks associated with these treatment procedures. Nevertheless, some forms of mind-body therapy are not devoid of direct health risks. On paper, mediation, prayer, and spiritual therapies might be judged as entirely free of any direct or indirect risk. Yet, in practice, these forms of treatment can be equally harmful especially if they are applied as true alternatives to the conventional allopathic treatment of Hashimoto’s disease.
Further indirect risks of mind-body treatment relate to the reliability or accuracy of the diagnostic procedures. False-positive or false-negative diagnoses of serious medical conditions such as Hashimoto’s disease, which require early detection, can pose a danger to the patient’s health.
There is also documented evidence of how mind-body therapies, as forms of complementary medicine, hinder access to effective treatment procedures. Research in many countries indicates that a worrying proportion of unqualified practitioners misinform patients against allopathic medicine for the treatment of serious medical conditions and subject their clients to undignified therapies.
Similarities and differences between mind-body techniques and allopathic medicine
Though both techniques are based on complete systems of theory and practice, allopathic medicine divides the human body into tissues, organs, and systems, which are treated independently using drugs, surgery, and other high-tech procedures. Mind-body medicine, on the other hand, views the mind, body, and spirit as interconnected and as an integrated whole and applies a holistic approach to providing a remedy.
James (1999) explains that traditional allopathic medicine is treatment-oriented, and more often concentrates on providing a remedy for the effect rather than the cause. It is based on science and relies heavily on technology in diagnosis and in providing quick-fix treatment solutions. Mind-body treatment, on the other hand, emphasizes individualized healthcare and focuses on improving the quality of life.
References
Bodeker, G., (2002). A Public Health Agenda for Traditional, Complementary, and Alternative Medicine, American journal of public health, 13(1),92.
James, A., (1999). Alternative Medicine and the Psychology of Belief, The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine, 26(2), 19.
Nakazawa, D., (2008). The Autoimmune Epidemic, New York clinical Review: Simon & Schuster, 35(3), 32.