Guided imagery to speed recovery from surgery by Dr. Gulshan K. Sethi “Whenever I saw (integrative medicine guru) Dr. Andrew Weil in the hall at my hospital, I never paid him any attention because I dismissed his ideas as unscientific. But when my wife developed a serious autoimmune skin problem—it was like she had second-degree burns all over her body—it was Dr. Weil’s prescription of plant and herbal remedies, biofeedback, and hypnosis that cured her. Once I started looking into mind-body medicine, I became intrigued by guided imagery, in which recorded suggestions or a script help you visualize something good, like your immune cells attacking a tumor. Well-done studies show how powerful it can be for patients about to undergo procedures like the heart operations I perform. That’s because imagining yourself recovered has physical effects, including lowering your heart rate and speeding healing. Not all my patients agree to do it, but most take my suggestion seriously—I suspect because it comes from such an unexpected source. I used guided imagery myself recently when my knee was replaced, which I believe contributed to my being able to take a short walk just hours after the operation.” --Gulshan K. Sethi, MD Cardiothoracic surgeon at the Arizona Health Science Center and professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 23:23:50 +0000