Health Begins with the Mind

It is customary after Passover to wish each other a "healthy summer!" So it seems like the right time to talk a bit about health and health habits: how do we cultivate health? Do we have control over our health? Of course, starting from the premise that Hashem gives life to all, and yet, we have the choice to receive His gifts and nurture them, or to reject and spoil them.

We have long known that body and mind cannot be separated. Pasternak, a well-known writer and philosopher, expresses this idea: "Our nervous system is not merely a function - it is part of our physical body and exists within us like our teeth. You cannot damage it repeatedly without consequences."

The mind impacts health both consciously and unconsciously. Someone who loves themselves takes proper nutrition, engages in sufficient activity, sleeps and rests as needed, and meets all their basic needs - they feel accordingly. Conversely, those driven by inner self-destruction do not adhere to health guidelines and neglect themselves, also feel accordingly. Generally, this process is linked to hidden and unconscious internal attitudes. Health relates to self-esteem and self-love in their positive sense. Not arrogance, pride, and superiority, but the internalization of a feeling of love, a positive self-view, and seeing oneself as the pinnacle of creation, with complete power to elevate oneself. Viewing the body given to them by the Creator as serving this purpose, and thus worth preserving.

Therefore, when the basic self-attitude is positive, the brain sends constant positive signals to the body, and the body responds accordingly. The positive program that feeds the brain "appears on the screen," and the body will feel healthy.

We continuously feed the brain with unconscious messages: "This is eating me," "He's breaking my heart," "It hurts me," "Leave me alone." The body responds to these signals and truly feels consumed and even broken. Our defense systems break down, the immune system collapses, and we become susceptible to disease and affliction.

What emerges is that anything that undermines the brain's control over the immune system promotes disease. Chronic stress is the main factor undermining brain control over the immune system. Stress causes adrenaline secretion from the adrenal gland, which suppresses the immune system.

"Modern" life is full of stress, tension, competition, and anxiety, and when exposed continually to such conditions, we are subject to their natural response - the secretion of hormones that weaken resistance to diseases.

Additionally, passive feelings: sadness, failure, and frustration also cause excessive secretion of those hormones that suppress the immune system. As stated in the Ethics of the Fathers: "Envy, desire, and hatred drive a person from the world" - simply put: negative emotions harm health and shorten life. A pessimistic view of life, negative thoughts, and feelings send a signal to the body: "Be sick, be sick."

Conventional medicine is very busy. The use of medications worldwide increases yearly. A patient receives medication for a headache, only to discover on a clear day that they suffer from an ulcer. They receive treatment for this symptom, and their blood pressure rises. They take medication for hypertension but now suffer from anxiety. So he moves from symptom to symptom and from doctor to doctor.

The holistic approach to health, on the other hand, addresses the root cause. What emotions bring about disease? What is the source of anger, despair, and frustration? What thoughts sustain these emotions? This is worth investing in because here lies the true answer - treating the emotions. With proper treatment, b'ezrat Hashem, one can be healthy, happy, and joyful. This is our natural state, and this is the will of the Blessed Creator. Pain is merely a signal.

As believing Jews, we are also aware of the existence of diseases and pains that have no explanation in our human understanding, and we must accept them from the Blessed One with simple faith, but this does not exempt us from taking responsibility, investigating, and examining what can indeed be changed and healed.

These matters are not simple at all, and it is not our intention to imply that there is a solution to every pain overnight. Changing one’s approach and life perceptions and addressing the deepest emotions is a process requiring a lot of time and much, much work. I only intend to point towards a direction and focus on the source of difficulties rather than just what appears on the surface.

We have several tools at our disposal:

A. Treat our emotions – meaning to reach the early experiences imprinted on us and that gave the current interpretation to our present vision. To examine perceptions, memories, and events that created the lens through which we see the world. Maybe we can change the interpretation and start seeing things differently. Our emotions, in essence, tell the body what we expect from it. If we feel inside despair and dissatisfaction, the body will react with fatigue, weariness, and lack of energy.

B. Change the way we speak – It is now proven beyond any doubt that words have power and they create reality. They are absorbed by the "computer," and the "computer" activates the body automatically. The "computer" does not know how to say: "Oh, she doesn’t really mean what she's saying. Oh, she's joking" - it lacks judgment and humor. Therefore, avoid phrases like: "He gives me a black bile," "I can't stand it," "I can't digest it," "I can't swallow it," "She broke my heart." Replace them with positive sentences. The body will react to the change.

C. Use the power of imagination - It is advisable to practice visualization after bringing the body to a state of relaxation. During relaxation, our brain waves are in the alpha wave state, and we are in contact with the right brain. At these moments, we can reprogram the brain. Visualize ourselves healthy, successful, and full of energy. The more we practice this, the more we will begin to act in ways that will physically create the picture stored in our minds. A visual image where we see ourselves at the peak of maximum health will automatically lead to adopting a healthy approach to life. Seeing ourselves as healthy, active, and robust will turn us into such in reality.

You may be skeptical about this. I, too, was, and I didn't believe in the immense power of imagination, but today I no longer am. I witness more and more the ability of the imagination to actualize itself.

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The next stage, which the health-oriented approach recommends, is focusing on several principles:

A. Take positive actions in controlling health and understanding that we have control over our health through proper diet, exercise, and healthy lifestyle habits. This doesn’t mean we have to eat only algae and herbs or exercise until all muscles hurt, certainly not. But, it means cultivating awareness of healthy and quality food that contains all the essential nutrients, tailored to our body and pleasing to our taste. It is definitely possible to get used to food different from what we were accustomed to and even enjoy it.

In addition, physical activity - swimming, walking, whatever suits our personal style will give our body a sense of vitality until we wonder how we didn’t do it before...

Start these habits now, right now, not out of obligation that you're waiting to get rid of, but out of a new approach to your health - you deserve to feel good, and you have the power to achieve it!

B. Reduce the focus on diseases, colds, pain, and fatigue. The less thought is directed towards it, the less the expectation for pain and illness, and the more the expectation decreases, the less the disease will follow. "Think healthy - be healthy."

Someone once said: "I am never too busy to pay attention to what is healthy for me. Instead, I say I'm too busy to get sick. Since I forgot how to catch a cold, flu season passes by without affecting me, and exhaustion is something that belongs to the past."

C. Humor and laughter prevent disease and promote health - simply put. In the book "Anatomy of Health," the patient, who is the author of the book, tells how he used laughter and humor in his healing process: "It worked! I discovered that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter has a pain-relieving effect that gave me at least two hours of sleep without pain..." When we laugh, chemicals are released into the brain, preventing and healing illness. People who believe life is difficult and one shouldn’t laugh, and that there is only hard work - bring real physical harm upon themselves.

D. The healing power of love. By this, I mean loving ourselves from within, loving those close to us, and feeling loved by them - not conditional love, but love without any gain. Patients surrounded by family and a supportive, warm environment recover faster!

E. Above all: Faith and prayer. Today, even medicine and science have reached the conclusion that faith and prayer can heal! This means true faith that Hashem is the source of goodness and abundance. He is the source of life and health, and lack and pain come upon us to draw us closer to Him.

These are the main perspectives of the health-oriented approach. Rather than seeing disease as an inevitable disaster, it is better to see it as a powerful signal telling us to examine what needs checking in our consciousness, acknowledge it, and change it.

Hashem has granted the body the ability to maintain and heal itself. We only need to believe it, love ourselves, believe that we deserve good, and receive His gifts with love.

So may we all truly have a healthy summer.

Haniah Luberbaum is a clinical social worker, therapist, and director of Magen