As doctors, we spend years of study in understanding the minute mechanisms of body function. The vast body of knowledge makes us think of body mechanisms as independent processes. We tend to believe that the body functions independently of what we call mind. Some people call this the myth of mind-body dichotomy. Doctors think like car mechanics. They consider the human body to be a machine that should be opened up and fixed. The reality is that man is not a machine but a living organism.
How was this unholistic approach created? The answer lies in the study of the history of medicine. Modern medicine grew in the lap of Europe, which was heavily under the influence of Christianity. The church and the Pope were opposed to the idea of scientific inquiry and modern medicine. Church in the medieval times used to believe that sickness was due to sin. A man named Descartes who was a very close friend of the Pope convinced him that there is no need to oppose the growth of medical science. He quoted a verse from the Bible and argued that the soul is for the church and the body is for medical science. This is how one of the greatest myths of modern science, the myth of body-mind dichotomy was created. Thus, scientists to this day believe that Man is made of two separate components: the body and the mind. The business of dealing with the soul was slowly transferred to the psychiatrists. Thus, medicine and psychiatry departments were formed to deal with the body and mind (soul) respectively.
During these times a French microbiologist named Louis Pasteur found that diseases were caused by microorganisms, which gave a strong impetus to the idea that disease was caused onto the body and our mind was just a helpless onlooker. Thus, the idea of Descartes became increasingly popular. Then came the industrial revolution that saw the advent of machines. People observed that machines get sick and started thinking that body is also like the machine that gets sick when it malfunctions. A mechanic opens up and fixes the machine; similarly a doctor treats a human patient. This led to reductionist medicine. Reductionist medicine was also the product of the method of science that believed in analysis and experimentation. Thus, it led to the development of disciplines like molecular biology. Molecular biology is proving to be instrumental in unraveling of the myth of body mind dichotomy.
It has been found that 60% of the outpatients have no structural disease but they still come to see doctors with stress related somatic complaints. Due to the body mind dichotomy, these patients are considered malingerers. The reason being that no structural disease was found. This exposes the mechanic like attitude of modern medicine; the roots of which can be traced to the theory of Descartes. These patients are not adequately treated by modern medicine. Therefore, it is important to realize the damage done by the idea of mind body dichotomy.
Now let us take an example of a hypertensive patient. Hypertension is due to the presence of chronic stress. A patient may come to the outpatient department with stress related somatic complaints. The doctor checks his body parameters and finds nothing wrong. Patient is given vitamins and sent home. After six months during routine examination Doctor finds that he is hypertensive. He immediately takes notice and prescribes medicines. The doctor does not realize that the patient was stressed for a long time and his hypertension is only the tip of the iceberg. Therefore his hypertension becomes under control but he continues to feel miserable. This folly of modern medicine is due to the myth of mind-body dichotomy. The doctor is trained to believe that body and mind are two separate entities and his job is to treat the body. Therefore he notices the hypertension and ignores the stress related somatic symptoms.
Now let us see the hypertensive patients after renouncing the myth of body mind dichotomy. During stress BP is elevated and when the stress is removed the baroreceptors cause the BP to return to normal value. However, when stress is prolonged the baroreceptors upregulate themselves and the BP is chronically elevated. The proper management would have been by recognizing that the patient is stressed before he developed hypertension. He could have been advised yoga or other relaxation techniques. Instead of just medicines, he should also have been advised methods to relieve his stress. There is an urgent need to integrate yoga to modern medicine considering the steep rise in the incidence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Popularization of yoga should have strong backing from modern medicine.
In short, man should be seen as a whole and not as the sum total of organs. Therefore, a patient should be seen in a Holistic perspective taking his emotional condition, environment and physical condition together.
Uploaded on holisticmed.8k.com on 5th of December, 2000
Reviewed on 20th of December, 2000
