Part 2 of 2 with Dr. Manuela Kogon, Integrative Medicine Internist, Clinical Professor and author of “When Cancer Visits: How to Free Your Mind from the Grip of Distress and Heal Your Jolted Nervous System.” Dr. Kogon specializes in mind-body medicine and non-pharmacological treatment of illness distress and delves more into the topic of stress. In addition to defining stress, she talks about how a cancer diagnosis opens the door to uncertainty and three specific techniques to help manage that stress and uncertainty.

Key highlights:

About our guest:

Manuela Kogon is an integrative medicine internist in private practice and a clinical professor at a large university. Dr. Kogon has devoted her life to patients in distress and has helped them connect to their innate ability to heal. She divides her time between California, Europe and rural Massachusetts and is looking forward to the day when humans rediscover their ability to be emotionally present for their fellow beings. You can learn more about her book “When Cancer Visits: How to Free Your Mind from the Grip of Distress and Heal Your Jolted Nervous System” here.

Key Moments:

2 minutes: On the definition of stress: We have to define it because part of the problem is that stress is a huge umbrella term for a million things. And in the context of cancer, I want people to think of it as activation, and in some ways, a chronic activation. So I can either be activated because I’m stimulated by an outside event, like a diagnosis of cancer. But it also happens from pressure from inside. The physics definition of stress is: a force applied to a surface area. So that's how I think of it for myself - what’s pressing from the outside and what’s pressing from the inside.

32 minutes:  On dealing with uncertainty: The problem with uncertainty is that it’s fueled by fearful thinking. I know for myself and many other people with or without cancer, thinking really gets out of hand. [So you ask] Can I do something about my thinking? Can I do something about my emotions? Can I do something about my behavior? And there, I always want people to see it in the context of ‘Am I doing these things as a representation of uncertainty and feeling out of control?’ Cancer is an out of control experience and no human likes that. We want control. And there are things you can control. You might not be able to control every single cancer cell in your body, but to some degree you can control your emotions, your actions and your thinking. 

42 minutes: On the physical component of stress you can control: People always talk about mind over body, but that’s not a philosophy I follow. For me, it’s really body over mind. The mind is very expressive in its demands and the body is like, no thank you – I can barely go to the bathroom, and I’m supposed to go for a walk? So I flip it. What is the body capable of doing? Something it can always do is breathing. The lungs and the heart and the brain are very closely linked through the vagus nerve. So how I breathe doesn’t just affect my heart, it also affects how I think. 

Visit the Manta Cares website

Disclaimer: This podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user's own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard, or delay in obtaining, medical advice for any medical condition they may have, and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.