BACKGROUND

Stress is a silent killer, spreading in epidemic proportion and it predisposes, precipitates, perpetuates, all physical and mental disorders. Stress produces disharmony of whole man at the bio-energy level, Bio-chemical level, cellular level and at all systems. It is the harmony in functioning of whole man, which manifest as health, which is defined as a state of physical, mental, social, and spiritual well being. Which is the wonderful drug or surgery to provide this state of well being?!! So far there is no scientific forum to provide this state of well being. When health provider did not provide a practical guideline to the population and satisfied them with jargons of health, average people found refuge in alcohol and unscientific spirituality which itself produces stress to them and to the society in general. The second stage from the stage of well-being is stage of illness, where our people present with various physical symptoms like head ache, palpitation etc. but to find no pathology on evaluation. They are often over investigated, over drugged and often labeled malingerers. They represent 30%to 80% of our patients. They consult one doctor to another doctor, one specialist, one system of medicine to another system leading to doctor shopping, loss of revenue to self and government. In fact they are "Idioms of stress".

Finally they break down to conventional diseases. It is here, organ oriented reductionists put their brains together and fight and the whole of the revenue is directed to this pre-terminal care in the name of health care.World health organization has declared health for all by 2000 AD on 1978. The main reason for the failure of WHO declaration of 1974- ‘Health for all by 2000’ is that role of stress in health was ignored and an ostrich attitude was adopted until our people ended up in diseases. There are three ways of approaching our patients. One is to treat symptoms, second to cure diseases and third and ideal method is to correct the disturbed homeostasis or harmony of whole man and maintain the homeostasis and there by promote healing.

It is in the context, Holistic medicine and stress research institute was started for promoting WHO concept of health and Holistic healing. Our primary aim is to promote WHOM concept of health namely a state of physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being. In this circumstances, our institute MANAVIKOM provides methodologies for promoting well being by modulating stress and increase the quality of life, which is an indirect marker of well being. Our institute provides special care to this sub group of patients. According to various studies they amount to 30%to 80% of patients attending general practitioner and medical outpatients clinics.

Present organ oriented approach leads to referral to multiple organ-oriented specialists, e.g. when a patient complaints of head ache referred to neurologist, chest pain to cardiologist, abdominal pain to gastro enterologist etc. They are subjected to multiple investigations, when no organ pathology is detected often they are ill treated as liars or labeled ‘mental’. Some are over diagnosed and treated. Various studies show that these are stress related problems.

STRESS - SYMPTOMS - DISEASES

If we can control stress at the symptom level, breakdown to these major diseases can be prevented. When people are not helped, while they present with multiple physical symptoms-which are idioms of distress, they break down to various physical and mental disorders. Usually in the present settings, these patients are put on drugs, which are given on life long basis. Often the quantity of these drugs may be increased also. Again patients may present with one disease first, and then they break down to other diseases. For example stress can lead to diabetes initially, then even on treatment they may present with hypertension or dyslipaedemia, depression etc. This is because stress produces disharmony, altered homeostasis of whole man initially presenting thorough one organ dysfunction. Since the disharmony of whole man is not corrected gradually they manifest other pathologies. It is in this context Holistic Medicine and Stress Research Institute of India Thiruvananthapuram is promoting various stress management methods including yoga form childhood, to modulate stress and promote WHO concept of four-dimensional well being and provide healing.

Why integration of different system of medicine or complement different therapies ?

There is 'one man', multiple systems of medicine like Allopathy, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, sidha, yoonani etc. Each system has claims of cure for all disease. Each system has separate philosophies, widely differing diagnosis, mutually contradicting aetiology diseases and treatment and experts of each system fight each other.

Each patient visits different system of medicine one after another for relief. But often become 'Scape Goats' between fighting systems. The suffering of these patients are beyond description. It produces loss of money to patients and government. Each system of medicine guarantees complete relief and make people targets of health business. It also produces a lot of morbidity and mortality, which is not recognized. For example when a patient presents with joint pain. Allopathy diagnosis Rheumatic fever, another system 'vatha', another system yet another diagnosis and management.

If correct treatment is not given it will lead to heart valve disease. It often affects younger generation leading to lot of disability and premature death. Is it not the right of people to get correct, diagnosis and documented correct treatment.Again many systems have no effective remedies, but through advertisement they exploit people.

Again a number of Indian healths pro motive remedies are not studied researched and promoted all over the world. Westerners study the same and convert to their ownership (PATENT).

Eg. From Indian Herb 'ADALOTAKA' - Bromhexine
      Rawolwia Serpentina - Reserpin etc.

Indian – ‘PRANA’ – Bioenergy
Indian – ‘MARMA’ – Acupressure etc. (The number is multiple.)

The institute is planning research on different systems and complement different systems of Medicine. Hence instead of fighting each other, the institute provides a forum for healthy interaction between experts of different systems of medicine. What is more important is improving health of our people rather than health business of a particular system. Since diagnosis, treatment, research on supervising modern medicine doctors.

In our health care scenario the fate of these patients are:

1. Doctor Shopping

After repeated investigations these patients are told that you have no disease and since the patients have complaints they are forced to visit various doctors one after another. Thus they go from one doctor to another one specialist to another specialist and often one medical system to another system.

2. Loss of revenue and working days to patients

Since each specialist order for multiple order for multiple investigations, which are often repeated they have to spend a large share of their income for consultations, investigations and drugs. These patients have more number outpatients visits and admission in hospitals. This leads to loss of revenue to patients.

3. Loss of revenue to the government

Various studies have documented that these groups of patients are wasting a large share of revenue allotted to health care. This is by repeated exploitation of hospital services from primary care to tertiary care levels. For eg. a 'chest pain patient' will be repeatedly visiting doctors from primary care to tertiary leading to repeated evaluation. Each time ECG, X-ray test and other costly investigations are repeated. Since suffering of these patients is severe and the frequency of the visits is also high. All these lead to waste of revenue that could have been used for constructive purposes. In this context it is worth nothing the words of Dr. Ingle Finger, in this editorial on 'New England Journal' 85% of all illness fall within the scope of body's own process of repair and healing and only 15% need other active interventions. The primary aim of the institute is to provide alterative therapies, which promote healing.

4. Some times mis-interpreted

The distress of these patients is beyond description, which forces them to get admitted with various diagnosis and getting treated. This is because these symptoms mimic major disease. Hence they are subjected to unnecessary surgical intervention and drugging.

5. To drug addiction

People with 'distress' when not helped scientifically they try substances like alcohol. Since these substances give temporary benefit to them, they go on using them and this leads to drug dependence and related diseases.

6. To suicide

The incidence of suicide is increasing in Kerala. When the continued stress and its related symptoms are not helped scientifically the quality of living comes down, impairment in work and financial loss make them depressed. They feel that they are suffering from some unidentified major diseases. In this back ground some minor conflict act as a last 'straw over camel's back' and they commit suicide.

7. Physical and mental disorders

There are lot of scientific data to prove that continued stress leads to precipitation and perpetuation of conventional disorders like hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases, rheumatoid, arthritis and mental disorders etc. often they initially present as unexplained symptoms. Then they break down to conventional disorders.