Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-227) and index
Emotions and disease : molecules and ancient myths -- Where do emotions come from? -- The dirty soup beyond our skin : how the immune system defends against the outside world -- Putting the mind and body back together again -- It's a two-way street : the immune system talks to the brain and the brain talks back -- When the brain-immune communication breaks down -- Can stress make you sick? -- Connecting to others : relationships and the course of disease -- Can believing make you well? -- How the immune system changes our moods -- Prometheus unbound : what does the future hold?
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"A thrilling scientific detective story, The Balance Within tells how researchers finally uncovered the elusive mind-body connection and what it means for our health. In this book, Dr. Esther Sternberg, whose discoveries were pivotal in helping to solve this mystery, provides firsthand accounts of the breakthrough experiments that revealed the physical mechanisms - the nerves, cells, and hormones - used by the brain and immune system to communicate with each other. She describes just how stress can make us more susceptible to all types of illnesses, and how the immune system can alter our moods. Finally, she explains how our understanding of these connections in scientific terms is helping to answer such crucial questions as "Does stress make you sick?" "Is a positive outlook the key to better health?" and "How do our personal relationships, work, and other aspects of our lives affect our health?""--Jacket