To what extent does the mind play a role in the healing process?
The role of the mind in the healing process is thoroughly examined by scholars. Meanwhile, there is a common characteristic in their works, which is the confirmation of the link between stress, which can be eliminated through promoting mindfulness, and severe chronic conditions (Maric et al., 2021; Tang et al., 2017). Their particular attention to the former, which is viewed as the leading risk factor in emerging diseases, determines the extent to which the mind is significant for planning the care for patients. In other words, its action, as per the recent studies, is limited to the health issues, which appear due to the increased levels of stress (Tang et al., 2017). Therefore, specific techniques, such as meditation, guided imagery, or progressive relaxation training, are applicable mostly to these cases. Even though it is clear that healing with the help of the mind can be useful in other situations, the lack of evidence confirming this stance does not allow expanding its usefulness. Subsequently, it is too early to claim the suitability of related practices to any type of problems.
At the same time, the importance of the mind in stress-related states is impossible to underestimate. For example, the recent attempts of researchers to find a method for patients to cope with COVID-specific mental health issues alongside the threat to physical health implying chronic conditions are based on mind-body medicine (Maric et al., 2021). In the study, they emphasize the impact of stress on the health status of the population and conclude on the capability of the suggested approaches to mitigate it (Maric et al., 2021). Similar measures are proposed by scholars who claim that attention control, emotion regulation, and self-awareness can be improved by adopting the mindfulness concept in healthcare (Tang et al., 2017). The similarity in the methods developed by the specialists complemented by these examples leads to the conclusion that the described treatment plans for stress-related conditions will be more advantageous than the previously applied solutions.
Should mind-body techniques be routinely integrated into healthcare processes?
As follows from the data above, mind-body techniques are beneficial for improving the efficiency of healthcare processes. Therefore, they should be integrated into the basic operations of hospitals and, more specifically, into the long-term initiatives intended to affect the population’s health in general positively. This stance is confirmed by the study’s findings, according to which these treatment methods can be positive not only for the wellbeing of patients but also for the personnel in hospitals (van Vliet et al., 2018). In turn, the latter is capable of providing healthcare services of better quality since the “connection on a deeper level with others” correlates with this statement (van Vliet et al., 2018, p. 1). In addition, the previously discussed effects related to stress at the time of COVID and its physical manifestations, in general, add to the necessity to integrate practices connected to mindfulness (Maric et al., 2021; Tang et al., 2017). Thus, this decision will increase the overall efficiency of hospitals’ work regardless of external circumstances.
Meanwhile, healthcare providers should approach these innovative measures with caution and avoid relying on them in cases when their feasibility as applied to specific conditions is not proved by any studies or corresponding experiments. Even in the situations when they are confirmed by findings of scholars, such practices should not be viewed as a substitute to formal treatment. This principle should be explicitly explained to medical specialists and nurses and applied to the discussions with patients. Its significance is conditional upon the fact that people with health issues should develop a proper understanding of the role of mindfulness in the healing process. In turn, the adverse outcome would be their erroneous belief in the sufficiency of meditations and similar techniques for treatment and the avoidance of hospital visits on this basis.
References
Maric, V., Mishra, J., & Ramanathan, D. S. (2021). Using mind-body medicine to reduce the long-term health impacts of COVID-specific chronic stress. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 585952. Web.
Muir, K. J., & Keim-Malpass, J. (2020). The emergency resiliency initiative: A pilot mindfulness intervention program.Journal of Holistic Nursing, 38(2), 205-220. Web.
Ornoy, A., Becker, M., Weinstein-Fudim, L., & Ergaz, Z. (2021). Diabetes during pregnancy: A maternal disease complicating the course of pregnancy with long-term deleterious effects on the offspring: A clinical review.International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(6), 1-36. Web.
Tang, Y. Y., Jiang, C., & Tang, R. (2017). How mind-body practice works – Integration or separation?Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 866. Web.
van Vliet, M., Jong, M. C., & Jong, M. (2018). A mind–body skills course among nursing and medical students: A pathway for an improved perception of self and the surrounding world.Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 5, 1-13. Web.