Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI), the Power of the Mind!

The Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is the psychological discipline dedicated to the study of the interaction between psychological processes, the immune system, the central nervous system and the endocrine system. It is an interdisciplinary field where psychology, psychiatry, physiology, molecular biology, endocrinology, immunology, rheumatology, neurology and medicine of infectious diseases are involved.

It mainly deals with the physiological functioning of the neuroimmune system, the physical, chemical and physiological disorders and characteristics thereof. The interaction between the mind, the immune system and the nervous system, make up the core of people’s ability to adapt. These systems act together forming a unit. The environment exerts an influence on people, who interpret it, feel or live in a certain way, which produces an effect on them. Psychoneuroimmunology has a holistic vision of the human being, where there are no parts, but a whole interrelated with the environment.

This Medical Model has a Series of Premises That Govern it:

• There is a basic unity among all things. Every phenomenon is interrelated and interdependent.

• The universe is made up of a dynamic network of energy patterns.

• The world is not divided into separate objects and events.

• The observer is immersed in the world he observes and not separated. There is no objectivity.

• The whole is more than its parts.

• The existence of multiple realities allows the existence of multiple valid meanings.

• The subjects do not capture reality passively, but actively intervene, creating mental maps to represent it.

• Knowledge is the product of the elaboration of successive models.

• There is no way to know reality by itself, but we know theories that reach a social consensus.

• Emotion and intuition are valid forms of knowledge, within this constructive process.

How does Psychoneuroimmunology Work?

From all this we can infer that body, spirit and mind, make up an inseparable unity . Therefore, each intervention on a health-disease process will have an impact on the systems of equilibrium, interaction, self-regulation and self-healing of the subject, which makes their knowledge exercise a positive intervention. In this theory, the disease is understood as a lack of harmony, an imbalance, where it is necessary for the subject to become aware of their situation and be responsible for their health, to learn to self-manage and change the habits of life and social relationships that They can facilitate self-healing. Seen in this way, the medical act must arise from a holistic vision that takes into account physical, psychological, environmental, spiritual and social aspects, as self and inseparable. In this discipline, although the therapist is an expert, the greatest expert in patient knowledge is the patient himself and must be respected and taken into account.

“Intuition and intelligence are valid ways to promote health and understand disease”.

Therapy includes food, detoxification, exercise, relaxation, visualization, letting intuitions flow and regulatory treatments. The organism is a functional unit that requires certain physiological conditions to function healthily. On the other hand, the body has a series of self-healing and protection mechanisms that allow it to return to the state of health. The disease processes occur when certain conditions that promote pathological conditions coincide, such as environmental changes that exceed the ability to adapt, deficit or excess nutrients, injuries, chemical alterations, homeostatic alterations, obstructions, etc. The answer to all these elements depends on the cognitive interpretation that the subject gives to the stressful stimulus. This response is individual, but not independent, since it is subject to social and cultural factors. Psychoneuroimmunology response influences: the mood of the subject, genetic factors, quality of life, physical condition, previous illnesses, previous surgical interventions, toxic elements (drugs, environmental, food, etc.), the social, family relationship, the state of satisfaction that the individual has with their work, consumption needs, sex, etc.