Mind/Body Connection: Depression causes Type II Diabetes?

Fresh off the wires, the revelation of a mind-body connection linking two of the most common diseases 21st century men and women face: depression and Type II diabetes. According to study reported by Reuters Health news, people with depression have a higher than normal risk of developing the most common form of diabetes. What's more, the study indicated that the relationship between type 2 diabetes, the form of the disease closely linked to obesity and sedentary lifestyle, may be a bit like a two-way highway. Not only can diabetes lead to depression, as has been well established, but depression can also lead to diabetes.that sheds light on the interplay between the two conditions.

Is stress our big problem?

In a recent article from the Orlando Sentinetal, an experienced neurosurgeon reports that almost 75% of all his patients develop physical problems due to mental stress. Here's more on the surgeon's mind-body observations...

Jennifer L. Boen |The (Fort Wayne, Ind.) News-sentinel

June 17, 2008

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Neurosurgeon Rudy Kachmann understands how the brain works, how billions of nerve cells send signals to the body, coordinating movement, sensation and speech. He has removed tumors from the brain, probed deeply into structures where electrical misfiring occurs and uncovered hidden anomalies that can burst and cause sudden death.

But Kachmann, 71, of Fort Wayne, Ind., says the longer he engages in the art and science of medicine the more he recognizes the connection between emotions and disease. "Being a surgeon for 40 years has taught me that 70 to 75 percent of what people see a physician for is stress-related," he says.

Helping people understand the connection between mind and body has culminated in the Kachmann Mind Body Institute, inside Fort Wayne's Lutheran Hospital. The hospital does not operate the institute but rents the space to Kachmann, who is its medical director.

"I teach mind-body medicine," Kachmann says. "I tell patients I'm their coach."

More here...