Feeling blue or anxious? Before you reach for the Zoloft or Xanax consider reaching inside yourself for the answer to what troubles you.

Our bodies are adept at self-healing. This reality is witnessed daily in the broken bones, minor infections, upper respiratory issues, gastroenteritis attacks, minor headaches and other ailments that all seem to resolve on their own. 

We cannot negate the need – and the gift – of medical and surgical interventions that help save lives and gets us through medical crisis, but we too often overlook this truth: Our bodies are the true source of this healing. The ability to heal is an essential life force that runs through us all.

Our intention to heal, along with a positive outlook, has long been recognized as an essential aspect of healing our physical beings. What is less obvious is that we are also capable of healing ourselves emotionally.

This notion finds its origins in the work of Candace Pert and others in the field of psychoneuroimmunology who found that each and every cell of our body contains receptors which enable them to bind to peptides circulating in the body. Pert refers to this process as “molecules of emotion.”

In my own medical practice I’ve seen the the practical truth of this theory while performing thousands of endoscopic procedures at my surgical center in Edison, New Jersey.

Anesthetics are used in order to ensure patient comfort and safety. It is astounding to observe how rapidly anesthetics can induce a state of sedation similar to sleep. Patients feel no discomfort at all and quickly awaken when the intravenous drug is discontinued. 

This could only occur if the anesthetic could interact with receptors in the cells of the brain that are responsible for awareness as well as the awake state.  The binding has to be quick, and rapidly reversible.

This concept holds true with antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication as well.  Any  drug that works on our moods, emotions and state of mind -- such as valium, xanax, klonopin for anxiety or paxil, prozac, Zoloft, Celexa for depression --could have no effect on us if they did not bind to existing receptors in our brains.

If our brains are built with receptor sites that can allow modern medicine to do its job, doesn’t it make sense to consider that on the deepest levels we are also equipped to heal our own mental and emotional imbalances?

Clearly, these receptors exist within us for a reason.  As the products of millions of years of primate and mammalian evolution we inherited them for a reason. A Darwinian advantage over those creatures who did not possess them, perhaps?

They very likely served to allow our ancestors to calm themselves, become less anxious and even less depressed.  Obviously, a calmer state of mind would offer an evolutionary advantage over others who did not possess such self-healing abilities.

I believe we are biologically structured to be able to reduce our own emotional distress and to be happier and more content. We have the power within to become our own emotional healers.     

Dr. Steve’s Prescriptions:

1. Metaphysical Awareness. Nurture faith and belief in the biological capacity to heal our own emotional distress.

2. Physical exercise. Certain internal chemical compounds such as adrenaline are released by emotional stress and exercise can ‘burn’ them off.

3. Meditation. Learn to calm the chaos of the mind and create peace from within. Brain scanning has proved that this alters the ‘molecules of emotion’.

4. Eat right for a clear mind. Become aware of how your body and mind react to certain foods and chemicals.  Carbohydrates, sugars, alcohol, wheat products and fats can create emotional imbalances in some people.

5. Spiritual exploration. Prayer and connection to a higher reality can empower us emotionally.

6. Seek and create a soulful community.  As innately social beings and we calm each other through expressions of love, compassion and support.

7. Try therapy. There is nothing wrong with talking out your troubles to a qualified therapist or analyst.

8. Medication when needed.  The goal is to tap into our innate ability to heal ourselves through natural and complementary methods. Use medications like antibiotics -- something to temporarily assist your body in its own healing.

Copyright, 2007 Steven E. Hodes, M.D.,

Steven E. Hodes, M.D., is a board certified physician with almost 30 years in private practice. His new book, Meta-Physician on Call for Better Health: Metaphysics and Medicine for Mind, Body, and Spirit (Praeger Publishers, 2007) explores the connections between metaphysics, medicine, and healing.  Find our more about this topic and other’s when you join him for “Tuesday’s With Dr. Steve,” his free lecture and dialog series at Quest Book Store in Manhattan designed to revitalize your soul and help you find a healthier way to look at life! Find out more at www.meta-md.com.

Tuesdays With Dr. Steve

Find our more about why we need sadness and happiness to help us thrive in life when you join us for “Tuesday’s With Dr. Steve,” an ongoing lecture series in Manhattan with Steven E. Hodes, M.D., author of Meta-Physician on Call for Better Health: Metaphysics and Medicine for Mind, Body, and Spirit (Praeger Publishers, 2007). November 13, 7:00 to 8:30 PM,  242 East 53rd Street, Or enter through the Quest Book Store. Please RSVP to: GreatHealersPR@aol.com. For more information: www.meta-md.com

Book available at the following link:

Book Link