Joining the Dots
In this series of articles, we will be thinking as holistically as possible, joining the dots with recent (and not so recent) research, to try to find some of the possibly interrelated causes for Autoimmune Hepatitis. This is highly experimental – but the hope is that this will reveal new ways to treat and control this illness.
Autoimmune Disease is linked by a Genetic Disorder that Also Can Cause Depression, Heart Disease, General Inflammation of the Skin, and Adult Scelrosis.
This article, an interview with Viola Vaccarino – Professor of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, looks at low-grade inflammation, causing the immune system to go into overdrive. The effects are felt throughout the body, including the conditions above. It suggests that anti-inflammatory medications may be helpful for all the above, as well as a reduction in stress (and methods to cope with stress). Natural anti-inflammatory foods and supplements is the subject of an upcoming article.
Reference:
Vaccarino V et al. Major Depression and Coronary Flow Reserve Detected by Positron Emissionj Tomography. Arch Intern Med 2009;169(18): 1668-1676
Author Leo Tolstoy, in The Death of Ivan Ilyich, links unexplained liver illness to misplaced goals and life purpose.
Ivan Illyich ‘has long ago fallen out of love with his wife, his children are a mystery to him and he has no friends other than those who can elevate him in his carreer… a man overwhelmingly concerned with status… He works as a high court judge, enjoying the post chiefly because of the respect it brings him.
The pleasures Ivan Illyich derived from his work were those of pride; the pleasures he derived from society were those of vanity; but it was genuine pleasure that he derived from playing whist.
Then, at the age of forty-five, Ivan develops a pain in his side which gradually extends across his body. His doctors are at a loss to work out what is wrong… he becomes too tired to work, his intestines feel as if they are on fire… soon he will be dead. With only a few weeks to live (he) recognizes that he has wasted his time on earth, that he has led an outwardly respectable, but inwardly barren, existence… everything he did was motivated by the desire to appear important in the eyes of others; his own interests and sensitivities were sacrificed for the sake of impressing people who do not care a jot for him.
What terrifies Ivan is, despite his achievements, wealth, and position (which will soon pass), he cannot count on anyone’s love. What becomes most important is truth, love, and finding the true expression of your being – your own (or God’s) values, rather than what is considered cool, dignified, impressive, or ‘right’.
Reference: Alain de Botton, Status Anxiety, p229.
