Wild Rose College and Wholistic Clinic

(06/07/1999), Canada - To understand how stress relates to our health we have to take a more holistic or even Gestalt look at how it effects us. When looking at stress, we have to include molecular, neural, body systems, emotional, mental, social and spiritual modalities to get a full enough understanding to be able to treat it.

Have you ever noticed that our educational system is somewhat lacking? In Western society we have good education in the realms of linear thought, as well as getting some form of physical education, but we receive very little emotional education. Most people are left on their own, or in family situations to develop the emotional (non-linear) realm. Unfortunately, this can sometimes be a negative spiral, as it may be the `blind-leading-the-blind`. We often reward left brain achievements over right brain ones. Many people do not have good management skill for non-linear input. If a person is inputting more non-linear data than the average, because they are highly sensitive, without suitable release mechanisms, they build up right brain tensions. People in our society often try to release this tension via recreational drugs, sex, and some forms of entertainment. It seems that the more perfectionism (left brain) a person has, the fewer release mechanisms a person has. This can cause a stagnation of Qi (chee). Input without proper release. Stagnation of Qi can create inflammation, and even tumour systems.

In a society that rewards individuality, personal achievement, and perfectionism, we often find personal isolation: feeling of taking on the environment and the world as a whole, by oneself. This often makes a person seek out `belongership`, joining gangs, clubs, religious groups, cults, etc. This gives a feeling of group work, a sense of belonging. As consumers, and often to show power in a pecking order, we tend to want to accumulate material things. May it be consumption of drugs, food, sexual fetishes, money or other material items. This continual input, without output of course leads to further stagnation of Qi.

In many of the developing countries, where there isn`t the constant drive for achievement, we find happier people and more family oriented. In their larger cities, we often find a kind of hive consciousness, moves as a large group. Usually these societies have strong festival times, where there is a legitimate time to be creative and release emotions on masse. It seems this aids in the release of pent up energy and thus, discharges large amounts of the unconscious background noise. The Super Bowl, other sporting events, and Christmas seems be our excuse for this, but again consumerism is often the keystone these `festivals`.

Our ancestors had to be creative, to survive: making cloths and weaving baskets to carry food were necessities. This transmuting of background emotions to creative output, without perfectionism, seems to be a big key to releasing stagnant Qi built up from internalizing non-linear input. In our modern day we need to incorporate these release mechanisms into our everyday life. Simple creative releases like doodling, singing along with your favourite tunes, dancing, keeping a journal or maybe Tai chi, are all very useful for this. The biggest key to the whole equation is creativity without perfectionism.

People who are very sensitive, pickup all kind of emotional input from their environment. Some of these emotions such as; love, friendship, and the giggles of kids playing, are nutritious to the soul. Other emotions that are picked up might not be necessarily as nutritious and might be summed up as emotional roughage. Just as food roughage cleans the GI tract if eliminated properly, emotion roughage can clean the spirit, if eliminated properly.

This comes down to one of the most basic of natural healing concepts. IN - DO -OUT. You are what you put in, what you do with it and what you do not eliminate. This is true of emotional food, just as much as dietary food. We have to eliminate negative emotions or learn to transmute these base emotion into `golden` emotions, good for our soul.

Let`s say we have a sensitive person. I`ll call her Mary, and she is visiting a friend, Jane. Mary is sitting at the kitchen table, while Jane is finishing up the dishes. They are carrying on a conversation. Jane has to take the garbage out. When she gets outside to the garbage can, she notices that a dog has come along and spread garbage all over the place. Of course Jane is pissed right off. She cleans up the mess, cursing and cussing the whole time. Mary doesn`t know anything about this, as she is still in the house. When Jane gets into the house she goes over to the sink to wash off her hands. She looks over to Mary and asks her, `MARY, COULD YOU PLEASE PUT THE TOAST IN THE TOASTER.` Because Mary is right beside the toaster, of course she puts the toast in the toaster, but what Mary hears is: `MARY PUT THE #*!!^%# TOAST IN THE &^##@!! TOASTER.` You see because Mary is sensitive, she picks up all kind a non-verbal communication along with the verbal communication. She hears the words: Mary, toast and toaster. By far the loudest words she hears, in flashing neon signs is: PISSED OFF, PISSED OFF, PISSED OFF. She might try to analyse this information internally in a linear manner: `Boy is she pissed off. I wonder why she is pissed off? I`m the only one here. She must be pissed off at me. Wait a minute, I didn`t do anything wrong. How could she be pissed off at me? But she sure is pissed off. I must have done something wrong. But I didn`t?

Whenever you input non-linear (emotional) data and try to analyse it in a linear manner (analytical), you create circular arguments, ones that go around and around in your head. There is no answer to these questions, so sooner or later you give up, burying these arguments outside of consciousness, and, I think, often in your muscular or nervous systems.

This non-linear input, that we have no apparent need for, I consider emotional roughage. It is not that dissimilar to bran that comes along with wheat. There is no nutritional value to bran, so in the past many felt we didn`t need to eat it. Now we know that food with roughage is good for us. It can help clean out the digestive tract, help control cholesterol and even influence hormones and several other sundry things. Can this `emotional roughage` be as equally beneficial in affecting our emotional system? I think so. Emotional roughage, if eliminated properly, should be good for our emotional well being.

Is the immune system a tuning fork (a morphic resonance) that reflects the harmonics of the way we perceive our environment? From observing people in clinical practice over the last twenty or so years, I find that people of high sensitivity, without a release mechanism for their sensitivity and who have a strong constitution, often end up with auto-immune issues. It seems a bit strange that the people with the strongest bodies often get the worse diseases. Their own constitution seems to have the strength to trap these emotions in their muscles and viscera.

Some people pick up non-verbal communication much more efficiently than others. In fact, some do it so well that their non-verbal (non-linear) communication, overshadows their verbal (linear) communication. If a person internalizes non-linear data and tries to hide it behind linear thought, they will often create circular arguments. If a person takes in 200 units of communication daily and only releases 75 units, they have a net gain of 125 units. This internalization creates extra energy which often stagnates increasing circular arguments in a person`s head.

Circular arguments can cause a sort of background noise in one psyche that produces a low grade stress. These circular arguments will often cause harmonics in the body that make many of the circular muscles tighten on themselves. This can affect the tubes of the body, resulting with problems of the digestive tract (poor digestion and constipation), respiratory tract (asthma), circulation (high blood pressure), muscle bundles ( fibromyalgia), to mention a few.

Stress centers itself around the endocrine system and the central nervous system. To be more specific, the hypothalamus and limbic centers of the brain, and the pituitary, adrenal, and pancreas glands of the endocrine system. Stress triggers the limbic and hypothalamus to stimulate the pituitary to produce ACTH which, in turn, stimulates the adrenal glands while the sympathetic nervous system stimulates the pancreas and adrenal glands. At this point, the ratio between the hormones triggered further regulates the other hormones as well as influencing protein, fat and glucose metabolism. The final effect is to increase raw materials so the body has lots of instant energy (glucose and fats), while suitable materials are present to build up any tissue that might be damaged as a result of an injury caused by stressful situations.

Today, instead of the ``fight or flight`` situation, our system seems to be under constant, low grade stress. The body`s stress response is continually turned ``on`` with occasional crescendos during extra stress. A little stress isn`t bad for you. In fact, it is a necessary part of life - with the chemical ``high`` bringing pleasure (thus the enjoyment of roller coasters, etc.). It is long term low grade stress that affects the system in an unpleasant way.

The `fight or flight` model is an old model and is only part of our currant understanding. Freezing is just as important. Many animals freeze in the face of danger. This is an important evolutionary feature that is conserved in the evolutionary chain in all higher animals, mammals, including humans. Our muscles freeze, as if we are playing dead, in order for us to figure out what to do next. If we don`t do something next to work with the stress, we can remain in that `frozen` state thus getting muscle problems, possibly even fibromyalgia in the long run.

The whole area of psychoneuroimmunology has been showing that stress decreases the function of our immune system. We know that stress in rats has been shown to decrease their resistance to viruses and parasites. Studies in humans have found high levels of cortisol in correlation with deficiencies in the immune system. The white blood cells, have been shown to have neuroreceptors in their cell membranes, thereby responding to neural and emotional changes in the person.

It seems that different things cause stress in some people. Their stress is often centered in the pituitary (ACTH). These stresses are more by emotional (limbic; non-linear) coloration of their lives - not paper problems, but people and communication problems. When these people get into certain stress-related situations they don`t seem to go as much into overdrive (fight or flight) as others do. They seem to respond more on an emotional level with depression, withdrawing into a closer, group oriented, emotional support situation.

To release this pent up, non specific emotional chatter, we need to transmute it or eliminate it. By moving this energy into random acts of creativity, we can transmute it and eliminate it.

I feel these unconscious energies that cause background noise affect the communication level of the cytokines, thus encouraging immune malfunctions: the breaking down of the hologram. If a person has a strong body, this immune malfunction becomes similar to a coup, trying to over take the body. A person needs to output non-linear background noise and feel more in touch with the whole.

Many studies have now concluded the immune and neuroendocrine systems represent a totally integrated circuit by virtue of sharing a common set of hormones, such as corticotropin, thyrotropin endorphins, and receptor sites. It has been shown that emotions have a profound effect on the immune system, both as sensory `organs` to signal the central nervous system and to aid in regulation of the immune system

Stress, as a factor in our lives, is not well defined. It can be quite varied from person to person. Emotional, mental and physiological stress affects us all differently. These stresses place an additional nutritional demand on the body.

One of the things you can see as a past history of the people with many auto-immune syndromes is that they rather enjoy stress. ``Life would be boring without the highs and lows created by stress``. Another activity which seems to excite this group of people is aerobic exercise. It is often one of the hardest thing to get these patients to stop. There almost seems to be an addiction to it. These activities correspond closely to a recently discovered class of endocrine chemicals called endorphins and enkephalins. These opium-like hormones regulate functions including modulation of stress, pain, moods, sexuality, appetite, addictions, substance abuse, work and sports performance as well as the basic processes of learning.

The endorphins play many roles in the body but are postulated to represent ``conservation and expenditure of bodily resources and energy in anticipation of famine or feast``. It has also been theorized that the runner`s ``second wind`` is the release of endorphins. I have had many patients who say the only time they feel really alive is after they have done exercise, or some other exciting event which drives them to this level. Unfortunately, to keep up these endorphin ``rushes`` the ante has to be increased and increased: running, skiing harder hills, sky diving and the list goes on. It is as if many of these people are addicted to their own self produced brand of opium, ``endorphins``.

Even though aerobics is one of the most common ways to produce these hormones, it is by no means the only way. The mother chemical for endorphins is also the mother chemical for adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). This is the chemical that is produced by the anterior pituitary in response to stress. Beta endorphin has the same secretory release dynamics from the pituitary as ACTH. It is basically released into the blood stream in response to stress (physical, emotional, cognitive and imaginative).

These endorphins are also very sensitive to limbic (emotional) action, being implicated in many emotional and mood disorders. Endorphins also are known to block pain, both physical and emotional, by the release of substance P.

When we encounter stress it has a dual processing mode. One set of signals goes in through the amygdala and creates instant response, while another route goes via the cortex to the hippocampus and can moderate the effect of the amygdala response. The most important feature here is that the response created by the amygdala does not go through working memory, thus has no recorded memory. We often go back and create memories for our response by modifying the hippocampus observations. This means that our emotional memory is very unreliable as a true witness to what really happened in an event.

By looking at a person from a more holistic point of view we can see some of the phenomena suggested in vibration medicine. This show us that life works by a different set of rules than the rest of the universe. It is one of negative entropy. I think part of our problem is that we live too much in our head. It is important to sometimes move part of our mental, emotional and spiritual being into the rest of our body. This shows us that things like meditation, yoga and Tai Chi are also important for our body.

In Eastern philosophy, they include a system of chakras, acupuncture meridians and several non- physical bodies all associated with the healing model. The Chinese have emotions and social applications associated with each major acupuncture meridian grouping. The shamans in South America use many psychological `tools` to help heal the individual, the family and the society they live in.

Supplementation
The supplements we have found useful for this are: Reishi, Kava Kava, Chlorella, Siberian Ginseng, St. John`s Wort and Scullcap. Plus formulas such as Shih Chuan ta pu wang, Liu Wei and Ener-Jazz and Bach Flower (and the likes). Of course counseling, even at the level of encouraging right brain output (creativity without perfectionism) is very important.

REISHI (Ganoderma lucidum, G. applanatum and related species) is by far my favorite botanical in this area. The by-line, ``to protect an academic from their own brain`` is very appropriate here. Reishi is very good for calming down the linear mind, giving a person more of a meditative state. It relaxes the mind without any feeling of sedation. It has been used for nervous problems such as insomnia and paranoid conditions in humans, symptoms often associated with this syndrom.

For respiratory problems it has demonstrated a 60% recovery rate for allergy-related chronic bronchitis. In the same research, improvement was noted in 97.9% of the cases. Chinese studies have shown benefit for 87.5% of bronchial asthmatics with a cure rate of 48%. For sinus problems the cure rate is over 50% with effectiveness being approx. 80%. Reduction of asthma in guinea pigs, and contact dermatitis in mice, has been considered remark-able by Japanese researchers. Reishi was shown to significantly inhibit histamine release and to be effective against Img-E related allergies.

ST. JOHN`S WORT (Hypericum perforatum) is presently the second most prescribed drug in Germany for depression. It out sells drugs such as Prozac. The alkaloid is said to have a tonic effect on the ventricles of the heart, the aorta and arterioles. It is also known to be useful for pulmonary complaints, bladder trouble, suppression of urine, dysentery, worms and nervous depression.

The tranquilizing quality was once attributed to hypericin, but it now appears that it is a group of chemicals that are responsible for its action. Even small amounts have been found effective, by increasing blood flow to stressed tissue. This blood flow has also been shown to be hypotensive, reducing capillary fragility and enhancing uterine tone.

St John`s Wort has been shown to have antibacterial and antiviral activity against tuberculosis, Gram-positive organisms, Micrococcus, Bacillus and influenza A/PR8. Tests at the U.S. National Cancer Institute have shown that the extract has promise against cancer.

KAVA KAVA (Piper methysticum) relaxes the system, and increases ease of communication. It is often said to `Yin` out females and `soften` male energy. The kava pyrones have their main action on the reticular formation of the brain stem, with an endo-anaesthetic effect in the gastric mucosa and the bladder mucosa. The pyrones have local anesthetic action similar to cocaine. These chemicals produce relaxation followed by harmless paralysis, found functionally to stop spasms. It has been shown to inhibit spontaneous motor activity, but not forced muscle activity in normal dose range. Its urinary relaxing effect has been used to calm down bladder infection and to treat gonorrhea. Kava-kava has been used as an antagonist to strychnine poisoning and tetanus.

SCULLCAP (Scutellaria lateriflora) was heavily used by the Eclectics for health issues that seemed very similar to these problems. The calming effect of scullcap has been attributed to scutellarein. The herb has been used for neuralgia, hiccoughs, insomnia and nervous disorders. It has been shown that scullcap is anti-acetylcholine and antihistamine on isolated guinea pig ileum, as well as inhibiting norepinepherine-induced contraction in guinea pig vas deferens. Heart rate has been shown to be reduced. A 70% methanol extract of the whole root of species with flavonoid present has been shown to be antiarthritic and anti-inflammatory. It has been shown to inhibit arachidonates in rat leukocytes. This could have great significance in many inflammatory diseases.

SIBERIAN GINSENG (Eleuthrococcus senticosus) has a strong function on stress, the adrenals and is able to stabilize emotions. The extract of Eleuthrococcus has increased physical performance in both humans and mice. In hens and piglets, increased growth and survival rate was accomplished by the use of Eleutrococcus extract. In rat studies, their increased protein anabolism was demonstrated in organ and muscle tissue. The extract has increased thermostability upon heat exposure in humans.

Increased catecholamine concentrations in the adrenals and brain of rats after oral consumption of the extract suggest an explanation for stress tolerance. Polysaccharides in Eleuthrococcus have been shown to have immunostimulating activity, with increased phagocytosis in vitro and in vivo. One dramatic study demonstrated that children with shigella and Proteus recovered faster when given Eleuthrococcus extract along with antibiotics in contrast to antibiotics by themselves.

Siberian Ginseng extract has been shown to double the survival time of mice during chronic irradiation of up to 7,000 rads. Eleuthrosides B,D, and E were shown to aid recovery after sexual stress. It was also found to strengthen seminal vessels and prostates in mice. In females, the activation rate of steroidal receptors was higher in the uterus (including response to estrogen) when Eleuthrococcus was ingested.

Bio for Terry Willard Cl.H., Ph.D.

For over twenty years, Terry Willard, Cl.H.,Ph.D., has studied the medicinal properties of plants. He is recognized as one of North America`s leading Clinical Herbalists. He appears regularly in the print and electronic media as an exponent of responsible herbal use. He currently serves as the President of the Canadian Association of Herbal Practitioners and is a professional member of the American Herbalist Guild.

Dr. Willard is the author of eight books on the subject of Herbs including the pivotal Wild Rose Herbal Series - a series of three textbooks written to educate herbalists. Two of his books, Reishi: Herb of Spiritual Potency and Medical Wonder and Herbs: Their Clinical Uses, have been particularly popular with the general public. His CD-rom,The Interactive Herbal has gained lots of acclaim for its `Edu-tainment` style. ( Purchase from the Product section.)

An active practitioner and teacher, Terry has a clinic in Calgary, Alberta. He is also director of the Wild Rose College of Natural Healing, which serves both classroom and correspondence students around the world. (For more information see Correspondence Courses).

On Oct. 3. 1998, Terry Willard was the youngest person ever inducted into the Canadian Health Food Association`s Hall of Fame.

Terry lives on an organic Herb Farm on the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains, outside Calgary Alberta, Canada.