Stunning new popular sience - book (2003). A young psychatrist writing about todays common diseases - high blood pressure, heart attacks, depressions and their root causes - often stress, social isolation, lack of physical activity. As well, he describes a number of easy non-pharmaceutical methods to cure the diseases and to become more healty and more happy. Most of the methods are easily accessible or can be learned and used individually, and all of them aim to increase the bodies self-healing ability. Even the book is about a highly complex topic, it is rather easy to understand and easy to read. Actually, it turned out being a page turner for me. many case studies
Servan-Schreiber starts with an easy to understand decription about functionality and the cooperation of the cortex (the kognitive, logical, and outer part of the brain) and the limbic system that maintains reflexes, controls all body functions etc. After this important basic knowledge, a method to increase the heart rate variablity to reduce stress and increase the power of the immune system (which is highly effected by stress). The next method aims to resolve traumata with a very simple eye moving technique based on dreams (respectively REM sleep) and its capability to "digest" the experiences of the preceeding day. Further chapters of the book describe scientific findings on the effects of light, accupuncture and Chi, and the importance of food control and physical exercises for healthy (and happy) life. The book ends with studies on emotional communication and social intercation and its impact on health. And an interesting historic episode: with the invention and the triumphal procession of Antibiotics against various deadly diseases in the 1940, pharmaceutical medicine started to gain power over the will of the patient, and doctors became more and more prescribers of pills rather than patient listeners to their clients. From Servan-Schreibers point of view, there are more effective ways to deal with many nowadays diseases...
Even though this review sounds rather odd and dull, I was fascinated by this book. A modern mediciner who is obviously not caged by the Western medicine but provides a great bunch of scientifically proven methods to maintain a prosper life. Without a dozen of pills every day...
German title: "Die neue Medizin der Emotionen"