Huffington Post: Ornish on the Underlying Emotional Causes of Disease

Dr. Ornish, Medical Editor of the Huffington Post, dispels some key misperceptions about his work. It’s as much about diet, he explains,  as it is about addressing the underlying emotional causes of disease.

People who feel lonely and depressed are more likely to overeat, drink too much, smoke cigarettes, and abuse themselves.

He writes:

Intimacy is healing. Study after study have shown that people who feel lonely, depressed, and isolated are three to 10 times more likely to get sick and die prematurely than those who have strong experiences and networks of connection and community.

In part, this is because people who feel lonely and depressed are more likely to overeat, drink too much, smoke cigarettes, and abuse themselves. As a patient once told me, “I’ve got 20 friends in this package of cigarettes; they’re always there for me, and no one else is. You want me to give up my 20 friends? What are you going to give me instead?” In part, it’s via mechanisms that are not fully understood, but are real.

Read the article here.