hardyh wrote:Hello Friends,
I happen to believe that our bodies were made sooo perfectly, that most of our tissues and organs renew themselves over time, and that most of our dis-ease has psychosomatic origins. If that is so, what's the emotional / spiritual origin of Sleep Apnea, and what attitudes / beliefs do we need to change in order to heal Sleep Apnea in ways other than the "traditional" CPAP instruments, surgery or jaw adjustment gismos?
Anyone have any idea?
Thank you so much for your insights.
Hardyh
Hardyh, I hope you are still reading. I will try to give your question an answer.
First, I actually do believe there is a strong spiritual / psychological element to how healthy we are. Before everyone jumps up and down, think about it. As we do things that increase our stress levels we also injure ourselves.
However, I soundly reject the notion that all our ailments are linked to what we do and think. As one poster noted, go look in a neo-natal unit.
And let's face it, bad things do happen to good people - all the time. People do not "deserve" what happens to them. That's the whole point of Job.
The Jews developed (as have most cultures), the concept that if you are good, good things will happen to you. If you are bad, then bad things will happen to you. There is certainly some validity to that. But it is not constant. Murder is often unsolved. The parts of the Bible that contain that sort of thinking is known as "wisdom" literature.
Job was the effort of other Jewish leaders to say "Balderdash!". Bad stuff happens to good people all the time. It does not mean that they deserve what happens to them. Sometimes it just happens.
Also, if our bodies were so perfect, we would not die, would we? But we all do. And that's the key here. Our bodies tend to fail over time. They fail in different ways. As another poster noted, Obstructive Sleep Apnea tends to run in families. It has more to do with hereditary issues than with how you think and act.
But again, I noted, I *do* think there is some connection between how we think and act and our overall health. So, what sort of things can you do to help this?
You might want to be certain you are sleeping on a bed and pillow that helps keep your airway open. So, if the two tend to cause you to flex your neck (up or down) you will find that it will tend to constrict the flow of air while you sleep.
Certainly increased weight will tend to also constrict the flow of air while you sleep. If you are overweight, this is a great reason to decrease your weight. But be warned, it may not make the sleep apnea go away. It may not have any impact.
And sometimes, it is wise to use technology to help us help ourselves. Is a CPAP device unnatural? Sure.
How about a computer? A refrigerator? A grocery store? Your car? Your TV? Your Radio? Your iPod? Oops! All of those are unnatural. But we use those to make our lives better.
What about crutches? What about antibiotics? What about surgery to remove an inflamed appendix? What about using the Heimlich Maneuver? What about providing CPR? Dang! There we go again. We do unnatural things ALL THE TIME!
There is nothing wrong with using "unnatural" technologies or techniques to help us help ourselves. In fact, that is one of the things that tends to make us very human. We don't just accept the situation. We change the world about us to improve the outcome.
CPAP is just one more tool to help us improve the outcome. And trust me, the outcome can be very grim without it. The stress to your body from failing to sleep well can lead to heart attacks, stroke, uncontrollable high blood pressure. All of those can lead to death.
As I noted, sleep apnea runs in my family. My grandfather died fairly young (in his early 60s) due to unmanaged sleep apnea. They did not have a name for it then, but I'm certain he had it. Death is very natural, but something I will try to avoid. Thus, I hope to avoid his fate. I hope to prolong my own life rather than accept the "natural" course of events.
I hope this helps you (and others) think through this issue.