mind body connection: Emotional effect of having a serious physical illness.

Gennaver, MSN · Nov 8, 2005

I am a nursing student. I have a presentaion on MIND BODY CONNECTION: EMOTIONAL EFFECT OF HAVING A SERIOUS PHYSICAL ILLNESS. PLZZZZZZZZZ help me....

Hi Coolwater,

Spring of 2005 semester I had a health psychology course...learned lots about the mind body connection and psycho neuro immunology, (as it is called, also PNI).

have you checked out the nursing sciences section at your school's library? How about under Psychology, or both. There ought to be lots of stuff on 'Health Psychology". I sure it will have more than you need and you will have to pare it down.

My main presentation for that class was on PNI, (even left the ppt cd with the prof, it went real well so she asked). You will do great. Let us know how it goes. :)

Gen

coolwater · Nov 8, 2005

Yeah I checked in my school's library.I got very good material. But I m not getting how to start my presentation & how to catch audience interest towards my topic.

Gennaver, MSN · Nov 8, 2005

Yeah I checked in my school's library.I got very good material. But I m not getting how to start my presentation & how to catch audience interest towards my topic.

Hi again,

Why not start with a simple introduction and ask the classmates to consider a time they knew they had a 'bug' coming on and how that alone affected their outlook and worse yet, to imagine that being a chronic state.

Chronic illness can cause chronic stress and chronic stress can lower our immunity and even more damaging, chronic stress kill.

How about that? Maybe start out by saying "STRESS KILLS" and having a chronic illness is an insult to the body and mind and having the mind distracted by chronic stress lowers the immunity and resilience...then cite soem stats or examples that you have found.

Will this be a power point presentation, overhead projector with films or just yourself and a blackboard or a poster board? Why not gather up some pics, (for anyone) showing happy people or optimistic people and stating 'stats' about that and then show depressed and ill people and mention that stats on how their illness affects their outlook and how the outlook affects their resilience and how it is interconnected.

Something that is one of my major ereas of interst is how we cannot separate the mind and the body and how they mutually influence each other. I am hoping to create a dissertation topic on PNI, (so I am trying to keep my answer here very simple...don't want to get abstract or technical).

Gen

rogramjet · Nov 8, 2005

Two words....IT SUCKS. Depression is now considered a long-term complication of diabetes along with kidney failure, blindness, amputations, heart attacks, strokes.........There is a lot of emotional baggage that comes with a chronic illness, remember the stages of grieving? denial, anger, bargaining, dispair and acceptance? They all come into play. Denial is a big issue.

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Nov 8, 2005

I always find it interesting that our lung patients almost universally are claustrophobic and have problems with "anxiety" that may well be caused by Alberterol nebulizers. So almost all of them have Xanax ordered. And they won't let me close the door at night, sometimes they can't even tolerate the privacy curtain closed.

coolwater · Nov 12, 2005

I had my presentation. I was good. I got good feedback from my faculty members. Thankz for helping me out. This topic required alot of searching but I enjoyed working on this topic. It was a good experience for me. Once again I thank U all for ur co-operation.

CapeCodMermaid, RN · Nov 12, 2005

Mind/Body connection....I had breast cancer. Had to have chemotherapy. My doctor, who is as bald as a cue ball, told me that I would lose most if not all of my hair. I told him I wouldn't. He said EVERYONE who takes that drug loses their hair. Every night when I was in bed I would visualize tying knots in every hair on my head so they wouldn't fall out....I didn't go bald. In fact I lost less than 1/2 a handful of hair....

PS. I also made a cavity in a tooth going away just by concentrating on filling in the hole with good tooth!! My dentist is the tiniest bit afraid of me now:p

Gennaver, MSN · Nov 12, 2005

Mind/Body connection....I had breast cancer. Had to have chemotherapy. My doctor, who is as bald as a cue ball, told me that I would lose most if not all of my hair. I told him I wouldn't. He said EVERYONE who takes that drug loses their hair. Every night when I was in bed I would visualize tying knots in every hair on my head so they wouldn't fall out....I didn't go bald. In fact I lost less than 1/2 a handful of hair....
PS. I also made a cavity in a tooth going away just by concentrating on filling in the hole with good tooth!! My dentist is the tiniest bit afraid of me now:p

CapeCodMermaid,

Wow! You got it going on!

:)

Gen