Psychologists have discovered that we can feel any way we want to feel at any time by simply thinking an appropriate thought Should a negative thought intrude on our inner movie screen, we can easily slide it off and replace it with a positive image, such as a beautiful beach or garden scene, before the negative thought can trigger a health-wrecking emotion.

Learning to control our thoughts isn’t nearly as difficult as most of us believe. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and other university medical schools have completely reversed tern of thousands of cases of severe depression by teaching patients to think positively. Called Cognitive Therapy, it is based on the discovery that mat cases of depression are caused not by some complex biological process deep within the body or subconscious mind, but by ten easily recognizable ways in which we distort our thinking by using a negative approach.

It has also been learned that the type of thoughts we get are determined by our beliefs. When we view the world through a filter of negative beliefs we get negative thoughts and feelings. And vice versa. By restructuring oar belief system and replacing negative beliefs based on the conditioned past with new, positive beliefs that are mote appropriate to the present we can guarantee ourselves only positive thoughts and feelings.

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Megadoses of vitamin C undoubtedly have some potential for causing discomfort. Diarrhea is the most common complication. It has been suggested that diarrhea can be avoided by changing to a different variety of vitamin C.

Large doses of Vitamin C have also been observed to inhibit the speed and motility of intestinal muscle movement, causing stomach gas. This discomfort can usually be reduced by cutting down on meat, poultry, fried foods and beans. Gutting down on these same foods may also reduce incidence of heartburn associated with vitamin C. Some observers have reported that, in any case, vitamin C-associated heartburn will disappear spontaneously by the third day. It may also be reduced by taking an alkalizer.

According to Linus Pauling, ascorbic acid will notaffect ulcers nor cause kidney stones. If you are prone to kidney stone formation, however, you could reduce the risk by using sodium ascorbate or by taking ascorbic acid with an alkalizer.

The vitamin C suggested doses should be restricted to full-grown adults of normal body size. For use in children under 100 pounds body weight, dosages should be reduced in proportion to body weight. However, holistic vitamin C therapy is not recommended for children owing to the difficulty of getting them to take the regular dosages.

A final caveat: if you experience adverse side effects due to taking vitamin C for a cold or flu, we strongly recommend that you cease taking further dosages. However, in the relatively small amounts suggested here, it is extremely unlikely that you will experience any discomfort. We also recommend that if you are taking prescription medication or are undergoing medical treatment or supervision of any type of dysfunction, that you consult your physician before using vitamin therapy of any kind, including vitamin A and zinc gluconate tablets.

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If you have read this chapter so far, you will probably have concluded that the best way to shorten the duration of a cold or influenza, and to reduce the severity of its symptoms, is by enhancing one’s immunocompetence.

This conclusion is perfectly correct. In case of a bacterial infection, a physician’s antibiotics can replace a weak immune system. But so Ear, medical science can do nothing for a viral infection other than to soothe the discomfort of the symptoms. The fact is that at this stage in scientific progress, we ourselves can do more to boost our immunocompetence than can any doctor or his drugs.

In recent years, a flood of new information has emerged from the leading edge of scientific research that links the immune system and our emotions to physical health. For instance, the new science of psychoneuroimmunology is actively exploring the relationships among the mind, body and immune system. Although no large-scale study has definitely established a mind-immunity link, the results of fifty or more small-scale studies all point, without a single exception, in the same direction. What they are essentially saying is that we can consciously choose to have a strong and powerful immune system by believing, thinking and behaving positively.

Confirming this conclusion are several carefully-controlled studies which have clearly demonstrated that depression and similar negative emotional states suppress the immune system. One study, for example, showed that moderately stressed or depressed women have 40 percent fewer virus-fighting killer T cells and 20 percent fewer helper T cells than normal.

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Suppose you have just come down with a cold. Your nose is stuffed-up and runny. You have a bad case of sniffles and you’re sneezing all over. There’s an ominous, scratchy feeling in the back of your throat, your nose feels tight, and the skin around your nostrils is already raw and burned. Your eyes are watery and you feel like blowing your stack instead of your nose.

Now that a cold virus has hit you with its double whammy, what can you do right away to start feeling better and to begin the recovery?

So here are ten steps you can take that will launch you off on the right track immediately. You may not want to try them all. But taken together, they do offer a Whole Person approach to getting well again. To treat a cold intelligently, you must know everything about the cold process and the safe and correct way in which to apply each form of cold therapy.

Otherwise, your “cold” might actually go unrecognized as influenza or another type of upper respiratory tract infection. It’s vital to be able to recognize exactly which dysfunction you may be suffering from and to know when to seek medical help if needed.

So here they are: ten easy ways you can take to start fighting your cold and to start feeling better.

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Every negative feeling is preceded by a negative thought that arises from holding one or more negative beliefs. Likewise, every positive feeling is preceded by a positive thought that arises from holding one or more positive beliefs.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that if we drop our negative beliefs and replace them with positive beliefs, we are not only going to have a shot at feeling good all the time, but also that we can become virtually free of headaches and minimize our risk of getting almost any other disease or dysfunction. By changing our beliefs, we change the way we perceive potentially stressful life events.

For example, Smith and Jones are both laid off from their production-line jobs in an outdated plant. Smith fears that he will be unable to find another job. The thought of losing his home, furniture and car, and of being unable to support his family, makes him increasingly anxious and depressed. As Smith continues to perceive the situation in a fearful way, his anxiety increases and he begins to experience frequent tension headaches.

Jones, by contrast, perceives his job loss as a fortunate release from a boring occupation and as a wonderful opportunity to train for a new career in computers. Rather than getting headaches, Jones feels totally confident and capable, an upbeat mindset boosted by secretion of endorphins resulting from his positive feelings.

Although fictional, this illustration is repeated in real life millions of times each day. Both Smith and Jones perceived the same potentially stressful life event. But while Smith perceived unemployment in a negative way that created stress and headaches, Jones perceived his job loss as an opportunity for advancement—a positive viewpoint that left him completely free of both stress and headaches.

When we program the biocomputer that we call the brain with negative beliefs, we get out negative feelings and headaches. When we program it with positive beliefs, we get out positive feelings and freedom from headaches.

If that sounds oversimplified, it’s because we are dealing only with cause and effect. The actual bodymind mechanisms involved in the computer analogy are extremely complex. Yet in behavioral medicine, it isn’t essential to know how the mind or body works—results are what count. And the results we want are the results Jones got.

The big question is: How could Smith change his beliefs so that he too could perceive unemployment in the same stress-free way as Jones?

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