Healing and the Mind or Diabetes Burnout

Healing and the Mind

Author: Bill D Moyers

Ancient medical science told us our minds and bodies are one. So did philosophers of old. Now, modern science and new research are helping us to understand these connections. In Healing and the Mind, Bill Moyers talks with physicians, scientists, therapists, and patients - people who are taking a new look at the meaning of sickness and health. In a series of fascinating and provocative interviews, he discusses their search for answers to perplexing questions: How do emotions translate into chemicals in our bodies? How do thoughts and feelings influence health? How can we collaborate with our bodies to encourage healing? Healing and the Mind travels from small private clinics to large public hospitals to examine how advances in mind/body medicine are being applied on a day-to-day level in the hurried and technology-driven world of modern medicine. From neonatal care to geriatrics, from day surgery to the treatment of chronic illness, medical professionals are finding that when they practice the "new medicine," their patients heal faster, leave the hospital sooner, and do better once they get home. Bill Moyers and David Grubin also travel to the People's Republic of China. There they explore the implications of that country's fusion of Western practices with traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture, massage, herbal potions, and the mysterious concept called chi. They take an intimate look at alternate therapy programs, including a Massachusetts medical center that combines Eastern meditation with Western therapy in the treatment of ailments as diverse as hypertension and chronic back pain. And they visit a California retreat where cancer patients help each other discover that healing can occur even when a cure is impossible. With the incisive style that has made Bill Moyers's skills as an interviewer legendary, and the dynamic interplay of text and art that has made his previous books international bestsellers, Healing and the Mind is a landmark work,

Publishers Weekly

In this intriguing companion volume to a PBS TV series, Moyers explores the roles of thoughts and emotions in illness and health through interviews with 16 doctors and scientists. He visits stress-reduction clinics and a cancer patients' support group, and he investigates the new field of psychoneuroimmunology, which emphasizes the importance of patients' attitudes to optimal immune-system functioning. He also travels to China to study acupuncture, therapeutic massage and chi gong , the manipulation of vital energy to ameliorate chronic neurologic and muscular diseases. Among those interviewed are University of California physician Dean Ornish, who has reversed heart disease in patients with treatments combining meditation, stress-reduction exercises, group therapy, walking and vegetarian diet; neurobiologist David Felten, discoverer of nerve fibers that link the nervous system to the immune system; and Thomas Delbanco of Harvard Medical School who seeks ways to transform the doctor-patient relationship so that patients are more actively involved. Color and black-and-white reproductions of art by Kathe Kollwitz, Rene Magritte, Norman Rockwell, Paul Klee and others interact suggestively with the text. (Feb.)

Booknews

This book by Bill Moyers is similar in format to his World of Ideas series. By assembling the transcripts of interviews with leaders in the field of healing, Moyers constructs a broad context to examine the question: How is healing related to the mind? Provocative and insightful. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Table of Contents:

	Introduction
	Editor's Note
I	The Art of Healing
	The Healing Roles of Doctor and Patient	7
	The Healing Environment	25
	Healing and the Community	47
II	Healing from Within
	Self-Regulation and Conditioning	71
	Changing Life Habits	87
	Meditation	115
	Stress Reduction	145
	Therapeutic Support Groups	157
III	The Mind/Body Connection
	The Chemical Communicators	177
	Emotions and the Immune System	195
	The Brain and the Immune System	213
	Conditioned Responses	239
IV	The Mystery of Chi
	Medicine in a Mind/Body Culture	257
	Another Way of Seeing	305
V	Wounded Healers
	Healing	323
	Wholeness	343
	Index	365
	Picture Credits	370

Interesting textbook: New York Times Jewish Cookbook or Party Confidential

Diabetes Burnout: Preventing It, Surviving It, Finding Inner Peace

Author: William H Polonsky

Diabetes Burnout is an interactive book that addresses the emotional issues that contribute to poor glycemic control and provides guidance to overcoming the barriers to good self-care. Worksheets help readers assess their current state of motivation and establish a successful plan of action.

William H. Polonsky, Ph.D., C.D.E., is a clinical psychologist in private practice in San Diego. He has published and lectured widely on diabetes burnout and strategies for securing supportive environments for people with diabetes.