Empathy Heals:
Patients whose doctors show concern recover from colds faster
It feels good when someone pays attention to our concerns and our feelings—and it turns out such empathy is good for our health, too. Researchers at the University Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health report in Family Medicine that patients of doctors who expressed such concern had a cold for one day fewer than patients whose physicians focused on just the facts. In randomized controlled trials the colds of patients assigned to empathetic doctors lasted an average of seven days; those with low empathy docs endured an extra day of cold misery. The doctors’ empathy also boosted the patients’ immune systems. There was a direct relation between a physician’s empathy level and his or her patient’s level of IL-8, a chemical that summons immune system cells to fight microbial bad guys.
Related Disorders
Insomnia and depression may arise from common genes
Sleepless nights may be genetically linked to depression, according to new research from the University of Pennsylvania and Virginia Commonwealth University. In a study of twins, researchers found that genetically identical twins who suffered from insomnia were significantly more likely than nonidentical twins to also suffer from depression. The two disorders have been linked before, but the role of genetics has not been clear. The new study indicates that insomnia and depression have overlapping genes, and the next step is to pinpoint those genes through DNA analysis. Possible contenders are the genes related to the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine, which are involved in both the sleep-wake cycle and mood regulation.
Why the #$%! Do We Swear?
Expletives may not only be an expression of agony but also a means to alleviate it
Editor's Note: This story was originally posted on scientificamerican.com, click here for full text of this article.
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3 Comments
Add CommentBoth stories above (empathy heals and genetic depression) are more proof that "mental" issues are, bottom line, "medical." Why is the medical establishment, including health insurance, still in the dark ages in distinguishing "mental" illness as separate from physical? Mental health is NOT "behavioral health" except that the behavior is often a result of the mental health of the patient.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMaybe there is something to the "laying on of hands," in some cases. It also makes me think of traditional healing practices of, for example, the Navajo, in which the practitioner considers the patient's entire situation and give him careful attention.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFreud posited that all "mental illness" was in fact the result of a medical aberration. "Medical" can mean anything from a brain tumor to a vitamin deficiency. We are a species that is designed to be emotionally interdependent - pack animals if you will; like wolves. Too many physicians treat the symptoms and neglect to look for the disease.
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