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Author Barbara Ehrenreich on "Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America"
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 :In her new book, author Barbara Ehrenreich documents what she says is the destructive power of the positive thinking movement in the United States, from breast cancer to the workplace, to the economy, to politics as a whole. Ehrenreich opens the book by writing about her own experience with breast cancer culture after being diagnosed with the disease in 2000. She says in the prevailing positive thinking culture of America, breast cancer patients are urged to avoid feeling angry and instead find meaning and even uplift in the disease. She writes, "In the most extreme characterization, breast cancer is not a problem at all, not even an annoyance -- it is a ‘gift,’ deserving of the most heartfelt gratitude."
Guest:
Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. She is the author of sixteen previous book, including the bestsellers Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch. She is a frequent contributor to Harper’s and The Nation and has also been a columnist at the New York Times and Time Magazine.
LISTEN ONLINE
For more information:
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/10/13/aut...
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Dear Barbara, I have been a cancer nurse since 1974 and have particiapted in care of breast cancer patients over the past 35 years. I have found that patients themselves are the ones sharing the concept "You must keep a postivie attitude to get through this". In our support groups and in one to one interactions our cancer center promotes the concept of being real in every moment. If you feel angry, you must be angry, identify what make you feel that way, and then deal with it. In order to move forward each emotion must be opened, examined, and resolved. Otherwise one gets stuck in time, pretending to be feeling 'positive' about my situation. Any cancer experience is frightening, overwhelming, challenging, and every person deserves all the help and support that is available. I appreciate your honest comments on Democracy Now and look forward to reading the book.
Anna Quincy
Anna Quincy
Anna, thank you for sharing with us. I also appreciated hearing from Barbara Ehrenreich on Democracy Now!
its has been proven,that even great shaman healers,who can bi locate ,dream travel etc., still cannot completely cure certain things. they say the serpent energy of our world is so messsed up.
I like Barbara's big picture thinking here.
There is a mechanism for a placebo effect. When people are stressed out from challenges at work, not feeling supported by friends, and then worrying about an illness, they will produce the hormone cortisol at higher levels, and cortisol suppresses the immune system. Very vigorous exercise also suppresses the immune system. When they are convinced a treatment will work, they are likely to feel less stressed and their own natural immune system might work better.
I have members in my family who are both christian scientist, and don't follow modern medicine according to Waldorf school/Steiner philosophy ideas. There is a whole series of incidents where this approach did not work well (calling in a practitioner to pray for a broken arm, waiting way too long before detecting stomach cancer). However, for the most part, the christian scientists do recover from most things on their own (until they finally die of something) by praying. The paradox is that if you remain sick under this philosophy - you have yourself to blame. It is your fault that god didn't heal you or you couldn't control your thoughts adequately
There is a mechanism for a placebo effect. When people are stressed out from challenges at work, not feeling supported by friends, and then worrying about an illness, they will produce the hormone cortisol at higher levels, and cortisol suppresses the immune system. Very vigorous exercise also suppresses the immune system. When they are convinced a treatment will work, they are likely to feel less stressed and their own natural immune system might work better.
I have members in my family who are both christian scientist, and don't follow modern medicine according to Waldorf school/Steiner philosophy ideas. There is a whole series of incidents where this approach did not work well (calling in a practitioner to pray for a broken arm, waiting way too long before detecting stomach cancer). However, for the most part, the christian scientists do recover from most things on their own (until they finally die of something) by praying. The paradox is that if you remain sick under this philosophy - you have yourself to blame. It is your fault that god didn't heal you or you couldn't control your thoughts adequately
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