Gaining insight into how our bodies and minds are connected was integral to my path to recovery. I needed science based information that could explain how these two systems work together to heal. With limited options at saving my life, I was open to learning and wanted to know if the thoughts had the power to rid my body of cancer.
“Molecules of Emotion” by Candace Pert, an expert in psychoneuroimmunology, the study of the effect of the mind on health and resistance to disease, gave me exactly what I needed - a clear explanation at the molecular level on how our body and mind impact each other. This book convinced me that it was worth trying.
As Paul Trachtman from the SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE (1998) states, “the central theme of Pert's book is that the peptides that flood our bodies are, in fact, the molecules of emotion. Emotions, largely ignored within the traditional confines of science and medicine, are actually the key to understanding psychoimmunology's emerging picture of how body and mind affect each other. For example, it's through the emotion-modulating peptides that an embarrassing thought can cause blood vessels to dilate and turn a face beet red. In the same way, the molecules of emotion can mobilize immune cells to destroy an incipient tumor. Techniques like meditation or visualization may also act as forces to set those molecules in action.”
If you are interested in learning more about the link between psychology and how it can affect our immune systems, and ultimately our health and resistance to disease, give this a read!