| a sane voice ?
from letters to ED - SCMP
Monday, March 31, 2003
Troubled times and virus outbreak weigh heavily
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There are many ways in which a person may live in fear. However, I believe the anxiety in Hong Kong at the moment regarding respiratory infection (and also the Middle East war) is detrimental to our physical and psychological wellbeing. First, to quote a medical term, psychoneuroimmunology: scientists, most notably Candice Pert, have been telling us for some time how our emotions and thoughts are directly linked to our immune system.
Our T cells and others immune cells of the spleen, bone marrow and thymus are completely integrated and responsive to our emotions, mediated by chemical messengers such as serotonin. Such is the complexity of this system that our immune cells also produce these chemical messengers that influence other parts of the body and brain. This means that there is a very straightforward connection between our emotions and physical state.
Secondly, it is the belief of many (and I support the idea) that all of life is consciousness and that in various ways we manifest our own universe. If our universe is filled with fear, anxiety and dread, then we use the whole of our creative ability to imagine the worst possible scenario. This way, we really are making this event more likely to happen to us. As humans we tend to find that whatever we put our conscious energy (effort) into, it will be drawn towards us. The other part of this particularly negative conscious state is that sadly, we won't have any mental energy left to manifest the good things in life!
Novelist Yann Martel, this year's Mann-Booker Prize winner, referred to "fear consciousness" while in Hong Kong last week when he talked about people here being affected by events on the other side of the world - the war. He largely blamed the media for fanning the flames of fear. Nowadays because of the luxury of immediate news, along with the intimacy of TV in our very homes, we tend to actually live through others' pain and suffering in a very real way.
I don't believe that he's advocating ignorance, nor indifference. I do, however, believe that the best way to help people is through compassion with detachment, and also that the only way in which we can, as individuals, really make a difference in this world is through a consciousness of love, which is the antidote to the fear that is infecting us and our health.
Unfortunately, influenza-type viral infections, for example, do occasionally sweep the world, leaving many people bedridden for weeks and yes, occasionally, killing susceptible people. This is a phenomenon with which we have to cope and from which we inevitably recover. Infectious disease is always frightening, especially when it comes upon us so suddenly; however, I feel it's best to have balance in one's reactions. For example, Hong Kong statistics show that with road traffic accidents, 45 people are injured daily, with five dying weekly.
Whether this respiratory infection will or will not become a serious epidemic I don't know, but I suggest that we don't get sucked into drama, but rather get on with our everyday lives, while taking sensible precautions such as avoiding crowded places and paying close attention to personal hygiene, as this virus will be transmitted by respiratory droplets. It would also be beneficial to boost our immune systems with good nutritional support, relaxation and complementary health treatments such as acupuncture and naturopathy.
Dr SUSAN JAMIESON
Central  | 
