BACKGROUND: The new frontier of research in all areas that deal with health and wellness (medicine, psychotherapy, personal care in general) sees the increase of projects in which the individual is center-placed, as a whole, in a holistic view. The mind and the body are inseparable, as in a circularity and recursivity unique for each individual (Spurio, M.G., 2015). The results of the most innovative research would seem to suggest, therefore, that a state of psychological distress or depression, is often related to physiological problems, from physical discomfort in general up to illnesses such as cancer.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The research project "B & M (Body and Mind), Take care of depression, face up to cancer" moves from these assumptions. The project started in 2015 and continued in 2016, with the aim to focus the attention on the problem of depression related to physical disease states, in particular oncological disorders. In the first version of the project, (January - June 2015), according to the type of treated disease, specific body stimulation such as shiatsu has been associated with psychological techniques, guided fantasies and regressive hypnosis techniques. These mental techniques have been used in order to focus the thought on specific inner images appropriate to the situation of the treated patient and to generate consequently connected positive emotions. In this way it was possible to achieve a synergistic activation and stimulation attached to the body and mind, resulting in regularization of sleep patterns, lowering the hormonal imbalances and heightening the immune system, with the specific objective of increasing the level of excellence of perceived well-being. On the basis of the above results, which were definitely promising, further investigation with more specific applications has started: a research has been conducted on 50 patients with oncological diseases associated with depressive disorder. In this second phase of the research (January-June 2016) 50 patients have been selected with oncological diagnoses associated with depressive mood disorders.

RESULTS: The results of the second version of the project have been very interesting, in particular with regard to the level of general well-being, which have shown an improvement of approximately 67%. We have registered also an improvement of the mood state, even though the patients were already under medical treatment and with a depressive state already in place.

PMID: 28953796

The magic of caressing the mind by touching the body. Take care of depression, face up to cancer. A new frontier of psycho-oncology.