The work of Candace Pert and other scientists has shown us that our experiences aren’t “just in our heads” but are continually being translated from electricity (the thoughts forming our conscious experience of the event) to chemicals (neuropeptides) and cellular change (as patterns and intensities of neuropeptide receptors change in our cell membranes). Our experiences are stored in our cells and impact our physiological functioning.
One wonderful thing about our cells is that they are continuously regenerating. This means that the storage of experience in our cellular make-up is not written in stone, it is not permanent like a book on a shelf but is continually been re-written by our most current perception of the event. If we keep having the same perception of the event then the event and its physiological memory appear to stay the same – actually it doesn’t stay the same it is just re-written in the same way over and over. When we change the perception of the event (the way we think and feel about it) we then re-write the memory (mental and physiological). This is our most powerful mechanism for change.
Finding a new way to think about past experiences changes the way we feel about those events and the physiological impact on our bodies. It also allows us the opportunity to think about future events in new ways so that as events happen we can create an experience for ourselves that supports emotional and physiological comfort. This is the focus of training programs (such as Calm Amid Chaos) at The Option Institute.
Acknowledging Discomfort Transforms our Immune Function
Before we can create a new perspective about a past uncomfortable event we first must allow ourselves to acknowledge the event and our feelings about it.
In a unique study researchers in Ohio asked 50 undergraduate students to spend 20 minutes each day, for 4 consecutive days, writing about events in their lives1. Half the group was asked to write about events that were troubling or traumatic for them. The other half were asked to write about trivial events. Blood samples were taken from each student the day before the writing began, on the last day of the task and 6 weeks afterwards. Blood samples were then analyzed for their strength of response to injected agents. The results were clear.
Those who spent time writing about troubling events showed a stronger immune response (better lymphocyte proliferation) than those who wrote about trivial events.
Those who wrote about traumatic events also visited the health center on average less in the following 6 weeks than they had in the 4 months prior to the writing task. Those who wrote about trivial events actually visited the health center more in the following 6 weeks than they had previously!
Most importantly there were some people who wrote about troubling events who reported that they had expressed information they had never before disclosed to anyone. These people showed the largest beneficial immune responses of the entire group.
These are very important findings. These students were not involved in any therapy they didn’t talk to anyone about the things that were troubling them. They simply acknowledged their feelings of discomfort about these events. This is what caused their immune systems to begin operating more effectively.
It sounds simple but often we don’t acknowledge our feelings of discomfort because we are afraid to feel it, we’re afraid of how others might respond to it or we operate from the belief “out of sight out of mind”. But those unacknowledged feelings are stored in our cells and impact our immune system. Participating in a program at The Option Institute provides a safe and supportive environment in which to acknowledge our own discomforts and so transform our health. Programs such as Radical Authenticity or Inner Strength, give you to tools to go home and continue this new pattern.
Exploring and acknowledging discomfort is most easily done with another person. Talking to a friend can actually help your immune system function better! Students under the pressure of medical school know this only too well. Students in the US were asked to complete questionnaires about how much social support they had from friends and family and how much loneliness they experienced. Blood samples were taken from all the students to assess their immunological response to the hepatitis B vaccination2.
Students who said they had a solid group of friends by whom they felt supported and felt less lonely gave blood samples that showed a significantly more effective immune response to the hepatitis B virus. Knowing you have people around you who care about you protects you from infection and disease.
It is not that the more friends you have the better your immune system will work. But when we feel supported by the people in our lives and know that when we are having a challenging day there is someone we can call who’ll listen and understand. It is this sense of caring and community that helps us each create the belief that we are cared for and will be OK. It’s this, and similar, beliefs that cause our neuopeptides to send signals to our immune system to keep it functioning well and warding off disease.
Having significant relationship in our lives can be a source of happiness and health. Married people tend to show better immune function and overall health than single people3. People under stress, for example those caring for a seriously ill spouse, show better immune function when they have a supportive network of friends and family4.
We know that our relationships can also be a major source of stress too! We’re not taught in school how to navigate personal relationships, how to smoothly resolve disagreement, how to communicate with love when things are not going the way we want or how to fully express and receive love. Usually we are just left to figure these things out by trial and error or by trying to not do what our parents did.
The research is also showing us that the quality of our relationships has an impact on our physical health. Married people who report less satisfaction in their marriage also show measurably decreased immune function than couples reporting satisfaction with their relationships5.
A relationship is satisfying or not satisfying depending on two things 1) our beliefs about ourselves and 2) our beliefs about our partner. These beliefs impact every single interaction we have with our partners. Do you have a clear understanding of which beliefs you hold that cause conflict and dissatisfaction in your relationships and which beliefs you hold that cause joy, love and inspiration in your relationship? Graduates of programs such as Couples Course, Radical Authenticity and Parenting do.
These training programs allow you to re-design your belief systems in a way that will support you having the best experience in your relationships and creating a lifestyle that supports your immune function. In addition, participants in Option Institute program become part of a global community of people interested in exploring beliefs and climbing their own personal summits.
In Power Dialogues you will learn techniques that help others, and yourself, to overcome self-limiting beliefs that fuel discomfort and unhappiness. When we experience anxiety or sadness our bodies respond with depressed immune function. By learning The Option Process Dialogue you will learn to break out of the cycle of anxiety and sadness and help others do the same. You and those you mentor will gain a stronger, more effective immune system and lowered risk of diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Unacknowledged beliefs are a root cause of a suppressed immune response. PowerDialogues will teach you to get to this root cause of feelings of discomfort and you’ll notice the resulting difference in your health.
Those who believe that they are in control of their own lives have, on average, a stronger immune response than those who believe that they are not in control. In Optimal Self-Trust you’ll learn to silence internal questioning and replace it with the nurturing, confident inner voice that resides in us all. You’ll learn that you can choose to believe that you’re in control of your own life and what happens to you. You’ll make decisions with greater confidence and you’ll notice a difference in your health as a result. By liberating your inner voice and listening to its guidance, you will make better choices, have a greater belief in your abilities and experience better overall health.
Unacknowledged feelings lead to more than stress and anxiety. Living inauthentically can lead to all sorts of health problems by affecting our ability to fight off disease. It’s been found that unacknowledged feelings are stored in our cells and impact our immune systems. Radical Authenticity will give you tools to create new perspectives and express yourself openly and honestly. When you no longer feel that you have to hide behind a façade your “outer self” will begin to reflect your “inner self”. Research tells us that this will lead to a stronger immune response and better overall health.
Fear, in its many forms, can keep us from achieving our full potential. Science is teaching us that fear can also have a more broad reaching effect on our health and wellbeing. Many of us have known for a long time that stress and anxiety can lead to a decline in health. When we learn to reduce or eliminate fear from our lives, in the process we also reduce stress and anxiety, which in turn leads to greater health and wellbeing. In Fearless you will learn to understand the rationale behind your fears and can then identify the beliefs that fuel them. Learn to change these beliefs and you will banish the fears and the effects they produce on your health.
Inner Strength is an intensive two-week fitness program for your mind and soul that will help you to develop Herculean capacity for whatever comes your way. When something happens in our life that we don’t want to happen and we perceive as “bad” or “negative” the first thing we try to do is explain it. Depending on our internal explanations we can create more stress and anxiety leading to more health problems or we can create less. When you learn to take care of yourself, no matter what, you will approach life, not as a threat but as a challenge. Less stress and anxiety leads to better overall health.
Knowing what you want and then going for it. That’s one of the main tenets of empowerment. Those with the self-confidence to face life as a challenge and not as a threat tend to face fewer health challenges, on average, than do those who lack these empowering beliefs. Luckily, empowerment is not out of reach. You can feel more in control of your life and your health! In Empower Yourself you will receive practical, hands-on training to develop an unshakable sense of personal power and self-confidence.
Are you an optimist or a pessimist? When events around you seem out of control or even catastrophic do you see it as a disaster or an opportunity? Do you believe that your answers to the above questions are static or can they change if you choose to change them? Finding new ways to think about past, present and future events is one of the most effective ways to lead to increased optimism. A number of studies now show that optimists live longer, healthier lives. In Calm Amid Chaos you will learn to maintain an inner quiet and strength in the face of challenging and seemingly incomprehensible events. With strength comes optimism and with optimism comes better health.
Pennebaker, J. W., Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. & Glaser, R. (1988). Disclosure of traumas and immune function: Health implications for psychotherapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 239-245.
Glaser, R., Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K., Stout, J.C., Tarr, K. L., Speicher, C. E. & Holliday, J. E. (1985). Stress-related impairments in cellular immunity. Psychiatry Research, 16, 233-239.
Robles, T. F. & Kielcolt-Glaser, J. K. (2003) The physiology of marriage: Pathways to health. Physiology & Behavior, 79(3), 409-16.
Baron, R. W., Cutrona, C. E. Hicklin, D., Russell, D. W. & Lubaroff, D. M. (1990). Social support and immune function among spouses of cancer patients. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 344-352.
Kielcolt-Glaser, J. K., Fischer, L. D., Ogrocki, P., Stout, J. C., Speicher, C. E. & Glaser, R. (1987) Marital quality, marital disruption and immune function. Psychosomatic Medicine, 49(1) 13 – 34.
“I am amazed at the wondrous miracles that occur in the serene setting of loving, caring, accepting people applying simple, yet elusive principles that transform lives! As I watch class members from many walks of life free themselves of beliefs that do not serve them and move on to accomplish their goals with true happiness, I too am able to deal wi...”
Julie Hilton, Business Executive/Attorney/Mediator, Florida
The Option Institute International Learning and Training Center is a not-for-profit personal growth organization founded in 1983 by best- selling authors Barry Neil Kaufman and Samahria Lyte Kaufman....
The Option Institute International Learning and Training Center is a not-for-profit personal growth organization founded in 1983 by best- selling authors Barry Neil Kaufman and Samahria Lyte Kaufman....