CAN WE HEAL OURSELVES? (PART 2 of 3)

Causes

While infectious or communicable diseases are originated by some type of pathogens, or outside natural causes like bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, etc., as explained in part 1; non-infectious or non-communicable diseases are originated by one or more causes. Although Western medicine does not really have a classification for these causes, in Chinese medicine, they are classified as internal, external, and other causes that are neither internal nor external.

For the purpose of this document, I will divide them into well-known and lesser-known causes. Well-known causes are the causes most used to explain and treat disease or disorders by Western mainstream medicine. Lesser-known causes are causes that are less-known, less-used or ignored by Western mainstream medicine, that are more frequently used to explain and treat disease or disorders by complementary and alternative medicine (non-mainstream doctors, alternative medicine, and holistic practitioners); and that are as important as, or more important in many cases than, the well-known causes.

Well-known Causes:

1. Genetics: As science unlocks the secrets of the human genome (the complete set of human genes), they are learning that nearly all diseases have a genetic component. Some diseases are caused by mutations that are inherited from the parents and are present in an individual at birth. Other diseases are caused by acquired mutations in a gene or group of genes that occur during a person's life. Such mutations are not inherited from a parent, but occur either randomly or due to some environmental exposure and/or life’s choices (such as cigarette smoke or sun exposure).

2. The environment: Humans interact with the environment constantly. These interactions affect quality of life, years of healthy life lived, and health disparities. Environmental health depends on preventing or controlling disease, injury, and disability related to the interactions between people and their environment, including outdoor air quality, surface and ground water quality, toxic substances and hazardous wastes, homes and communities (indoor air pollution, inadequate heating and sanitation, electric and fire hazards, structural problems, lead-based paint hazards, etc.), infrastructure and surveillance (preventing hazards, education about hazards, and surveillance systems), and global environmental health (air, water, climate, etc.).

3. Life’s choices: If we add to these causes mentioned above the fact that poor lifestyle choices, such as smoking, overuse of alcohol, poor diet, lack of physical activity, inadequate relief of chronic stress, etc., are key contributors in the development and progression of preventable chronic diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and several types of cancer; and non-chronic diseases or disorders, including back pain, headaches, digestion issues, constipation, etc.

Lesser-known Causes:

4. The brain/mind: As I mentioned in a previous article titled “Worrying Yourself Sick?” published on June 24, 2020, the fact is that our mind is powerful! We all know that, but what we do not know and nobody really knows is how powerful our mind is. The problem is that the mind does not come with a user’s manual and we have never been taught how to control or manage it. As such, although we can think, rationalize, imagine, feel, and so much more, the mind is actually working against us most of the time and we do not even realize it. How is it working against us? By thinking all the time; by its negative perspective about almost everything; by using fear against us; by sometimes not being able to process simple tasks, emotions or experiences, therefore, creating stress, anxiety, resentment, guilt, etc.; by torturing us about the past, the present and even the future; and in many other ways.

5. Past experiences: Every time that we cannot process an experience correctly, that experience becomes a trauma, and with the trauma, we save all the feelings and emotions associated with it. So, when we talk about any type of abuse, stress, depression, hardship, unhappiness, discontent, jealousy, hatred, …, and even fear, we are talking about thoughts, emotions, and experiences that we were not able to handle correctly, that our minds were not able to process. When we are not able to process them fully, then we react in certain form, we create certain feelings, we say certain painful words, and we have certain destructive thoughts and behaviors any time that the trauma is triggered for any reason. In fact, these experiences should be considered in some degree Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders or PTSD.

6. Emotions: Past experiences are really good examples of emotions. With each traumatic experience there is a set of thoughts, feeling and emotions, and behaviors associated with it. The fact is that your cells and your entire body respond to every thought you think, every emotion you have, every word you speak and every action you perform. Repetitive modes of thinking and suppressing negative emotions such as anger, resentment, bitterness, guilt and hatred can and will eventually manifest as disease in the body. Literally, your suppressed emotions become like ticking bombs waiting for the perfect conditions to detonate and manifest as dis-ease. The problem is that, like with our mind, these emotions do not come with a user’s manual and we have never been taught how to control or manage them either.

7. Biology: The sympathetic nervous system directs the body's rapid involuntary response to dangerous or stressful situations (also known “fight-or-flight” system). A flash flood of hormones boosts the body's alertness and heart rate, sending extra blood to the muscles. Breathing quickens, delivering fresh oxygen to the brain, and an infusion of glucose is shot into the bloodstream for a quick energy boost. This response occurs so quickly that people often don't realize it's taken place, according to Harvard Medical School. 

This is ok if we were threatened, but if we continually keep activating the sympathetic nervous system with our thoughts (negative, destructive thoughts); by stressing about almost everything in our lives (past, present and future issues); by being reactive, impulsive, and negative (feelings and emotions); etc.; then instead of allowing our bodies to restore and heal (activating the opposite system, or parasympathetic nervous system, or commonly known as the “rest-and-digest” or “feed-and-breed” system), we are burning our body with a continual flood of damaging hormones and chemicals and are not allowing the body to perform its natural activities of restoring and healing. In fact, the more the sympathetic nervous system gets triggered, the more the body will get used to the high produced by the hormones and chemicals, and the easier it will be triggered. In other words, the body is getting addicted to the high effect of being stressed, angry, and so on, increasing the frequency and intensity in which the behavior and effects occur just to satisfy its dependency. 

8. Energy: What we perceive as our physical material world is really not physical or material at all, in fact, it is far from it. This has been proven time and time again by many scientists around the world, who have made significant contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum theory. Since the early 20th century, the belief that a physical, Newtonian material universe that was at the very heart of scientific knowing was dropped, and the realization that matter is nothing but an illusion replaced it. Scientists have recognized that everything in the Universe is made out of energy. Today, after almost 100 years since the discovery of Quantum Physics (QF), Western biology and medicine have not yet implemented the laws of QF. We, as part of the universe, are pure energy and, through our material body, flows energy. When that energy is not enough or is not flowing correctly due to blocks or obstacles, eventually it will be manifested in the matter, the body, as a dis-ease.

9. Education and beliefs: Ignorance has played a big role in our education and beliefs. Although we have been told, and have believed, that it is normal for us to get sick, it is not true and definitely not normal. These education and beliefs have disabled us from developing and expressing our natural abilities. It is true that people get sick, that some are born with disorders or illnesses, and that some have accidents that leave them with long term health issues and pain. But those are a small percentage compared to the rest of the population. The human body is an almost, if not, perfect machine. It is a micro universe and one of the most complex biochemical labs, processing hundreds of thousands biochemical transactions per second. It is amazing that we have the health that we have once we understand even superficially the complexity of our bodies and minds.

Although some of these “lesser-known causes” are interrelated in real life, I separated them in the list above so it is clear the role of each cause in the creation, prevention and resolution of dis-ease. For instance, when we talk about traumatic past experiences, we are really talking not just about the experience itself but also about the role that plays our brain/mind, our biology, our emotions, and even our energies, all working interrelated to create the traumatic experience. Once again, now that we know the causes of dis-ease, to be able to answer the questions posed on part 1 of this article, we must now look at us and disease in a completely new light. Next week’s article will address all these questions in part 3, the conclusion.

--------------------- 

If you like this article, please subscribe (It's free) and/or share it with others through your social media. Your help spreading these messages is greatly appreciated.

Author: Maurice Correa
Website: pathtoone.com
Blog: p2oblog.blogspot.com