Subjective concepts of chronically ill patients using distant healing

Distant healing procedures consist of benevolent intentions, often taking the form of prayers for a patient. Despite inconclusive evidence regarding distant healing, prayers are a widespread health-related technique. We studied subjective concepts of distant healing in 17 patients suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple chemical sensitivity who were given distant healing during a randomized controlled trial. We applied reconstructive interview analysis when analyzing the results. The overall theme was the tension between mainstream medicine and the immaterial healing procedure. Several components highlighted this tension: (a) patterns of legitimizing the use of distant healing, (b) distant healing and the social setting, (c) integrating distant healing into their belief system, and (d) reconstruction of effects by means of hindsight. The interviews showed that patients felt the need to legitimize having tried distant healing. They had to bear the full ambiguity of biomedicine being in competition with distant healing, though also experiencing distant healing as giving support.

Perceived benefits of sharing health data between people with epilepsy on an online platform

An epilepsy community was developed on PatientsLikeMe.com to share data between patients to improve their outcomes by finding other patients like them. In a 14-day response period, 221 patients with epilepsy (mean age: 40 years, SD: 12, range: 17-72, 66% female) completed a survey about benefits they perceived. Prior to using the site, a third of respondents (30%) did not know anyone else with epilepsy with whom they could talk; of these, 63% now had at least one other patient with whom they could connect. Perceived benefits included: finding another patient experiencing the same symptoms (59%), gaining a better understanding of seizures (58%), and learning more about symptoms or treatments (55%). Number of benefits was associated with number of relationships with other patients, F(4,216)=8.173, P<0.001). Patients with epilepsy reported an array of perceived benefits similar to those reported by populations with other diseases. Controlled sharing of health data may have the potential to improve disease self-management of people with epilepsy.

Autography as auto-therapy: psychic pain and the graphic memoir

Over the last three decades, the graphic novel has developed both in sophistication and cultural importance, now being widely accepted as a unique form of literature (Versaci 2007). Autobiography has proved to be a successful genre within comics (the word is used in the plural to denote both the medium and the philosophy of the graphic form) and within this area a sub-genre, the memoir of the artist's own disease or suffering, sometimes known as the graphic pathology, has arisen (Green and Myers 2010). Storytelling and healing have been linked since ancient times, and the disclosure of ones story forms part of the psychotherapeutic treatment of trauma (Herman 1997). This paper will examine, in both graphic and textual form, whether, among the myriad reasons that one might embark upon the labour intensive work of making a graphic memoir, some artists might be seeking some form of healing or catharsis through their work.

Opting for Christian Science vs. surgical removal: a case report of a giant basal cell carcinoma arising on the back of a 66-year-old man

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer, with giant basal cell carcinoma comprising only 0.5 percent of all basal cell carcinomas. When a basal cell carcinoma is larger than 5 cm, it is designated as a giant basal cell carcinoma. Neglect is often a contributing factor to these lesions, and local recurrence and metastasis is not uncommon. Presented is a case of a 66-year-old man who presented with a chief complaint of increasing shortness of breath and fatigue. The patient was found to have a large 15 cm x 12 cm pedunculated tumor on his back that had been present for 10 years. The patient had forgone medical attention until presenting with a symptomatic anemia due to his belief in Christian Science, which relies on prayer and divine healing for the treatment of illness. Christian Scientists are allowed to see physicians, but they may present with advanced symptoms or disease presentations due to their beliefs. Fortunately, a computed tomography (CT) scan revealed that the tumor was confined to the skin, and biopsy revealed a basal cell carcinoma. Thus, the patient was able to undergo a wide local excision and split thickness skin graft with clear surgical margins.

[A healing atmosphere]

The day hospital of Abbeville is a building located in the town center, where the atmosphere is more important than prescriptions. The case of a patient in his thirties shows the role of this place, at the meeting point of other psychiatric care structures. This organization is permitted by the specific organization of the French psychiatrical sector, with a work orientation aimed towards care and shared by a team.

When hope is all there is left

One particular patient who was facing the fact that she would die from cancer reveals an important lesson for the oncologist about listening and caring. Medical oncologists have a role beyond offering new treatments to patients with incurable disease: the role of supporter, and of witness, supporting a patient, especially in the last stages of illness, when hope is all there is left.

Indigos in Hawai'i: a phenomenological study of the experience of growing up with spiritual intelligence

There is a special group of children around the world who have high intelligence and intuition, healing abilities, and a strong spiritual connection with God, yet these children are often mislabeled as having behavior disorders. Little is known from scientific research about the Indigo phenomenon in America, although many countries, especially among indigenous populations, are familiar with Indigo-like children. The purpose of studying these children when they are adults is to better understand these children when they are older and advance behavior health sciences by increasing awareness of the Indigo phenomenon and learning about their lived experiences. This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of 10 adult Indigos (> or = 18+ years old) on the island of Oahu, Hawai'i (7 females, 3 males; mean age = 52.4 + SD). Through in-depth semi-structured personal interviews, the experiences of these adults were analyzed and interpreted to identify the common experiences faced during childhood, what worked for their assimilation into society, and recommendations for parents, educators, and health professionals on how to work with Indigos. Bioenergy field (aura) photographs of each participant were also taken. Statements related to the phenomenon were placed into themes, coded, and categorized as the investigators reached a consensus of common themes. Seven primary themes and nine secondary themes emerged from the findings. The primary themes were: grandmother/mother had a similar gift; guided by a higher power to heal self and others; felt "different" or misunderstood; did not openly share their unique abilities; having challenges with partner relationships; history of abuse/violence or frequently disciplined; and use of intuition at work and/or school. Secondary themes included: Using Hawaiian and cultural healing methods; everyone has a degree of intuition and the use of intuition to know when to see a doctor or not; various unique abilities from body and multiple careers; mental health institutions, and financial struggle. Self reports on participants' life purpose, their unique abilities, and being misunderstood were also collected. It was concluded that Indigos felt mislabeled or misunderstood throughout their lives in spite of their belief that their life purpose was to help humankind.

Nonlocality, intention, and observer effects in healing studies: laying a foundation for the future

All research domains are based upon epistemological assumptions. Periodic reassessment of these assumptions is crucial because they influence how we interpret experimental outcomes. Perhaps nowhere is this reassessment needed more than in the study of prayer and intention experiments. For if positive results from this field of research are sustained, the reality of nonlocal consciousness must be confronted. This paper explores the current status of healing and intention research, citing a number of major studies and using the "Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP) in Cardiac Bypass Surgery Patients: A Multicenter Randomized Trial of Uncertainty and Certainty of Receiving Intercessory Prayer" as a case study of this line of research. The paper argues that the dose-dependent model typical of drug trials, and adopted for use in the STEP and other studies, is not the optimal model for intention-healing research, and critiques this approach in detail, citing apposite research from which we draw our recommendations and conclusions. The paper suggests that the usual assumptions concerning blindness and randomization that prevail in studies using the pharmacological model must be reappraised. Experimental data suggest that a nonlocal relationship exists among the various individuals participating in a study, one which needs to be understood and taken seriously. We argue that it is important to account for and understand the role of both local and nonlocal observer effects, since both can significantly affect outcome. Research is presented from an array of disciplines to support why the authors feel these issues of linkage, belief, and intention are so important to a successful, accurate, and meaningful study outcome. Finally, the paper offers suggestions for new lines of research and new protocol designs that address these observer-effect issues, particularly the nonlocal aspects. The paper finally suggests that if these effects occur in intention studies, they must necessarily exist in all studies, although in pharmacological studies they are often overshadowed by the power of chemical and biological agents.

Demystifying mindfulness

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an approach to health and wellness that an increasing number of health care providers are practicing and recommending to their patients. This article describes MBSR, its use in health care, and its benefits for patients with conditions such as anxiety, depression, chronic pain syndromes, and insomnia. It also offers advice about how physicians can incorporate elements of MBSR into their daily practices in order to reduce stress in their lives and prevent burnout.

[Physiophilosophical fundamentals and genesis of Tsigun, Indian, and Tibetan Yoga. Paramount empirical efficacy]

This article is devoted to the analysis of physiophilosophical fundamentals and genesis of Tsigun, Indian, and Tibetan Yoga based on the overview of the relevant literature with special reference to the methodology of these physical and mental disciplines and their therapeutic and health-giving efficacy. Based on the combination of physiophilosophical categories and medical knowledge in the framework of the concept of the five primary elements, the authors illustrate the development of the systemic approach by which ancient physicians related man to nature in order to derive the adaptation principle realized through human activities. Traditional and modern aspects of these activities are considered. In the traditional context, the performance of exercises as assigned by Tsigun, Indian, and Tibetan Yoga is considered as the purposeful realization of the energy of conscience for health improvement and development and in the modern context as the realization of a novel form of psychic creative capacity to the same effect based on fruitful brainwork.

[Magician nature and human magician: on a fundamental analogy of alchemy]

This contribution discusses Paracelsism-influenced early-modern alchemy. There are notably two forms of analogy, each hierarchically arranged: a vertically ordered analogy ("as above, thus below") in which Nature is situated as mediator between God and man, and a horizontally ordered analogy ("as without, thus within") in which Nature's magic is regarded as a model for man, particularly expressed in the metaphor of "Vulcan" (smith) and doctor (e.g., Nature as inner healer). In alchemy the conventional "healing power of Nature" is pin-pointed: The doctor (as alchemist, magician) must unravel Nature's secrets and emulate her magic to perfect her work -particularly medicine production. Diagrams and historical depictions illustrate this.

[On the methodological approach to the elucidation of mechanisms underlying therapeutic effectiveness of Cigun, Indian and Tibetan Yoga therapy]

The methodological approach is proposed allowing to objectively characterize neurophysiological mechanisms underlying therapeutic effectiveness of Cigun, Indian and Tibetan Yoga therapy. Execution of exercises stipulated in these programs is interpreted as a consciousness-inspired specific form of human behaviour (activity). Step-by-step analysis of mentally-organized body's functional systems as a neurophysiological basis of realizable behaviour is presented. Operational interpretation of internal mechanisms underlying the system's functioning permits to evaluate the stereotype brain condition actualized by specific requirements and motivations that initiates sensory deprivation to ensure priority realization of internal genetically determined activity of the human body. Mobilization of this internal activity is described as a process of selective formation of many complicated interactions between various structures of the reticular formation, limbic system, subcortical centres, and neocortex maintaining priority functioning of homeostatic mechanisms of self-regulation and inborn human behaviour. These mechanisms are believed to underlie the autoreconstructive potential of human organism by ensuring systemic correction and restoration of its functional resources.