The Bigger Picture: What makes you sick? Western doctors believe it's alien invaders to our bodies. But that's more a cultural perspective than the whole truth. It's the same cultural perspective that causes Western governments to be so focused on national defence, seeing foreigners as cancers sucking on our systems.
However, from a different worldview, foreigners might be more like probiotic yoghurt - making a positive contribution to our functioning and development.
Healing is intensely cultural. If I asked you, "What is going on in your life right now that makes you sick?" I doubt that viruses or bacteria would be first in your mind. More likely your thoughts would turn to frustrations in a relationship or a sense of powerlessness at work. Our whole life affects our health. Our bodies and minds work together. It is this point that Western medicine has really struggled with.
Western medicine emerged from a philosophical tradition that separated the mind and body over 400 hundred years ago. At the time, this idea might have seemed hopeful - allowing people to contemplate the potential of the mind while feeling so limited by the body. The division has guided Western approaches to health and healing, however, many centuries later. Looking back, I don't think it can be justified.
There is no doubt our minds impact our body. Even Western medicine has conceded to placebo effect. But that is their limit. They can't measure or make tangible the effects of the mind on a large scale. And so they divorce our bodies and minds, measuring mental health by chemicals and brain patterns; treating it with chemicals, even electricity, alongside but not requiring talking, affection, attention or love.
But our minds and bodies are of the same. Emotions are physical, expressed when we laugh, cry, sweat and shake. As much as neglecting our minds makes us sick, staying locked in our minds also takes its toll.
I have recently noticed how I can engage with a mental task for hours and not notice at all that my body has been still, my heart stagnant, my circulation poor and my posture hindering the inner workings of myself. More so, I've found that my mind does not seem to be working well when I emerge.
On the other hand, I can go for a short sprint - pump the blood through my veins, expand my arteries, bring nourishment and attention to every muscle and organ in me without any clear engagement of my brain - and when I stop, my mind (incredibly) is working well. Refreshed and clear, I am able for every task. Our minds are more physical than we think.
Neglecting either the body or the mind is a recipe for illness - an infinite number of symptoms to put the western doctors to work. Regardless of cause or function, every symptom requires a counter attack. In the process, if a few extra symptoms emerge, which they are comfortable with having created, this is acceptable. A very physical healing tradition, every procedure aims to alter or inspect the body.
But what if these symptoms were useful? Take for example "depression". Western medicine rarely tackles its causes, treating instead a "chemical imbalance". What if your body created that imbalance on purpose, alerting you of social or emotional distress? If we take the correcting chemicals, how can we access the struggle that has taken hold of our health in the first place?
What if a human being had the ability to correct this imbalance with the same power that was used to create it, if the underlying issues were addressed? How could we act that powerful if our trusted physicians were convinced we were physically broken?
Powerlessness affects our functioning. Hopelessness makes us believe there are no solutions except to give up. Without power or perspective, health is an unattainable goal. If we can't believe in our own worth, we can't but kill ourselves slowly.
Western medicine, with all its ability to rescue us from more disasters more often, has let us down by only ever showing us a small picture of ourselves keeping us powerless within it. This tradition has fought bitterly for social dominance, insisting that all others surrender to its power. In the process, it has made us dependent and unable to actively participate in our own healing.
Genuine health cannot be obtained in an oppressive system of status-seeking hierarchies, but only through real human power and contact where self-belief remains intact. Healing the body and mind requires the help others who will nurture our power, not compromise it. It requires us to get close to each other, love each other, and receive love back. With this in place, well-functioning bodies and minds are inevitable. Believe in each other is key, for this is probably our greatest healing resource.
• Shalini Sinha is is an independent producer, counsellor and journalist. She is a consultant on issues of equality. She has lectured on Women's Studies in UCD and co-presents RTÉ's intercultural programme, Mono.