Social Turbulence and the Safety of the Soul: Complementary and Alternative Medicine’s Response to the Mind-Body Problem

Abstract

The ability of the mind and spirit to influence the body’s processes is a major theme in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) literature. Some CAM authors have taken this idea to the extreme, claiming that the mind has complete control over the body. In this article, the origins and functions of the concept of the mind’s preeminence over the body are examined from historical, psychological, and sociological perspectives. Historically, this concept became especially emphasized during times of widespread social upheaval, possibly because dissociation from the body is an effective psychological coping mechanism. Important social functions are also served by the identification with an immaterial self, which may explain this concept’s prominence in CAM. Habitual dissociation from the body, however, is unhealthy. The implications for medicine of a more balanced view of the mind-body relationship are explored. © 2005, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.