Currently I’m reading the amazing When The Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress by Gabor Maté. I’d heard him on a podcast with Russell Brand and knew that I had to find out more about the ideas of this Doctor who believes that our bodies hold on to emotion, which in turn can become disease. This is called psychneuroimmunology (PNI) . As a homeopath this is music to my ears, as so many mainstream practitioners who follow the allopathic model see mind and body as being exclusive, whereas Maté and his research is hugely inspiring and eye-opening.
In this book Maté looks at MS patients and cancer patients and takes them back to the point in which their illness started. He identifies clear emotional links and behavioural patterns that are shared amongst patients with these conditions and backs up his research with lots of studies and academic ideas in a hugely readable way. He cites various personal stories that illustrate that emotional stress is the causation for ALS, MS, Cancers, diabetes and heart conditions.
As a practising homeopath, understanding the person is super-important and a huge part of case taking. We treat the person as a whole and the emotional rollercoaster of life is crucial to understanding the way illness manifests in the body. I particularly enjoed reading about his interpretation of melanoma patients as, many of you may know that is how my journey into retraining as a homeopath began. According to Maté, this is a sign of repressed anger and taking on too much. This resonates with me!
I will definitely be reading some more of his works.
#homeopathy
#gabormate
#whenthebodysaysno