Dr. Hyun K. Lee
I’ve mentioned in some of my previous articles about the importance of keeping a happy mind. Certainly, the road of life is not free of bumps, but it’s how you take those bumps that can mean the difference between health and disease. What most people fail to realize is that your emotions play a major role in the development of diseases, such as cancer.
Cancer may rear its ugly head due to numerous reasons, but you may not know that an “emotional shock” can also be the cause. A traumatic emotional experience, whether it’s the loss of a loved one, a severe worry, like losing your home, your job, the economy, or any other threat or panic, causes you stress on a physical and emotional level. This then causes very real physical changes in your body.
If you consider your body as a computer, a power surge can easily blow your system out. It is always recommended to plug your computer into a power strip with a surge protector to stop the additional power supply running to the computer in the event of a surge. Your body works in much the same way. An emotional shock, as in electric shock, sparks a change in the body, yet your body does have natural built-in surge protectors that can be your best indication of an underlying problem. Often, we don’t know just how hard an emotional shock has hit us, or how deeply it is affecting your body.
Tiredness, insomnia, and pain are the most common of your body’s “surge protectors.” All three of them act as a slowing-down mechanism of sorts. Most people turn to, what we can term “bypass medicines”, to mask these surge protectors.Pain medicine, sleeping medicine, or caffeine and energy drinks all serve to temporarily eliminate these bothersome symptoms so that we can more easily get on with our day. However, the more you bypass your body’s surge protectors, the higher the risk of burning out your system and getting cancer.
Disease that develops is not random. Your constitution most often determines your weak points. Knowing your ownemotional proclivities also gives you indications of your weak points. If you have a lot of sadness in your life, this damages your lungs. Those with short tempers who carry a lot of anger are prone to liver damage. People who live with much fear are prone to kidney damage, while those who worry a lot or over-think things suffer damage to their stomach.
It is so important to pay attention to your body’s built-in surge protectors. Don’t mask their presence, but rather, find their root before it turns to disease. The solution is not to treat the physical symptoms, but instead to get to the bottom of the emotional conflict, and heal yourself emotionally. Healing the emotional situation puts a halt to the growth and festering of disease so that physical healing can occur.
If you are currently in a place where you know that you have suffered an emotional shock, the very best thing you can do is to be kind to yourself. Get plenty of rest, eat the right foods, exercise, seek out acupuncture, be with friends, take a vacation, do the things that make you happy, and essentially pamper yourself while you work through your emotional problems. Treating yourself kindly in this time serves as a protective and healing mechanism and prevents the shock from turning into disease.
Learning how to live in the moment is also very helpful. Try this simple breathing exercise to help train your mind to concentrate on the here and now: While lying comfortably on your back, place your fingers 2 inches down from your belly button. Close your eyes, and with your mind’s eye, watch the position of your fingers. Watch them rise and fall with each deep inhale and exhale. Train your mind to silence and watch and think only of your breath and the rise and fall of your fingers. Relax and center yourself. Doing this for a little while every day will help to train your mind to live in the present and assist you in working through your past or current emotional situations.
If you listen to your body and these fundamental laws of nature — to live a conscious life, to eat healthy foods, exercise, deal with your emotional hurdles naturally, and strive for balance in your life — it will go a long way toward keeping you out of the doctor’s office and helping you prevent cancer altogether.
Dr. Lee’s office is now located at 175 McMurray Road, Suite G, Buellton. The clinic is held every Wednesday only. Dr. Lee also has offices in Los Angeles, and Atascadero. To make an appointment in the Buellton office, call 805-693-5162.
