Mind-Body Unity

This comprehensive and provocative book fills an unmet need in documenting the current status of the science of mind-body medicine. -- Clair A. Francomano, M.D., National Institute of Aging Our thoughts and feelings have profound effects on basic biological processes as well as long-term physical health. Henry Dreher's artistically written, landmark book, Mind-Body Unity: A New Vision for Mind-Body Science and Medicine, explores how this is possible. Dreher deftly explains how both major and minor diseases are influenced by our social and psychological worlds. This is the best book I have seen on the topic in the last fifty years. -- James W. Pennebaker, The University of Texas at Austin In this masterful overview of mind-body medicine, Henry Dreher weaves together many strands-from scientific, humanistic, and spiritual domains-to provide a rigorous and thoughtful synthesis of mind-body science and medicine's capacity to heal both body and soul. -- Redford B. Williams, M.D., Duke University Henry Dreher is one of our great healing resources. In these clear and comprehensive essays he shows us the science and social context and guides us to the heart and soul of mind-body medicine. -- James S. Gordon, M.D., Director, Center for Mind-Body Medicine and Former Chairman, White House Commission on Complimentary and Alternative Medicine Policy

The author weighs the results of mind-body research and concludes that mind and body are not merely connected, they are unified - our minds are to our health what our eyes are to our sight. Integrating biological and psychosocial research, he describes mind-body approaches to treatment and surgery.Over the past twenty years, an explosion of scientific studies have helped to explain why our state of mind may exert such a strong influence on the state of our health. In Mind-Body Unity science writer Henry Dreher weighs the results of leading-edge mind-body research, and he concludes that mind and body are not merely connected, they are unified. Our minds play a role in health, Dreher argues, the way our eyes play a role in sight. Integrating biological research on mind-body unity with psychosocial research on emotions in human health, Dreher surveys remarkable findings on the role of emotions, coping, and personality in coronary heart disease; on psychosocial factors in cancer progression and survival; and on the social dimensions of human health. He also describes mind-body approaches to the treatment of cancer, women's health conditions, somatization disorder, and in surgery. Finally, Dreher provides a critical overview of the social and political context of this research, from the presentations of leading popularizers such as Bernie Siegel and Deepak Chopra, to the experiences of practitioners and patients, to the resistance of mainstream medicine, to the many exciting possibilities suggested by a deeper understanding of how mind and body are inextricably bound.