“Love Heals”: Why Does Dr. Mario Alonso Puig Affirm It So Forcefully?

Mario Alonso Puig is a specialist in general surgery and digestive system but hides a multidisciplinary spirit that has allowed him to dedicate himself at the same time to medicine and to the study of the interactions between psychic processes and their impact on health and emotions.

That same concern has led him to write and give conferences and courses on communication, creativity and stress management. “Love heals”. This is the message that Mario Alonso Puig transmits in a talk collected in an inspirational video that has gone viral because of the importance of what it transmits.

Alonso Puig affirms in this talk that love definitely has the power to heal people and that lack of love has the ability to make people sick. To what extent can toxic emotions affect health? Can a person who feels loved better survive illness? According to Alonso Puig, even in the case of having a heart attack, feeling accompanied and loved can be definitive.

To understand the extent to which receiving love from another person is healing, Dr. Mario Alonso Puig names Hans Selye, a leading physiologist who studied the effects of stress on health.

Alonso Puig tells that this physiologist explained during a radio interview that to free ourselves from stress we should win the love of our neighbor, a surprising response that was not at all wrong, since today we know that cytokine, the love hormone, exerts a stress-suppressing power on the organism. This helps us, according to Puig, to understand that love heals not only from a mental point of view, but also from a physical point of view.

Interview with Mario Alonso Puig: “Positive emotions protect our immune system”

This message that invites us to reflect on the impact of love and emotions on the brain and the state of health is the one that Mario Alonso Puig already describes in his book El Cociente gallas (Espasa), which proposes us to be brave and change our lives .

–To know each other it is important to be aware of our emotions. Are there brain structures with a relevant role in what we feel?
-Yes. For example, the hippocampi. They are located on both sides of the cerebral hemispheres and have several missions: to control fear, build trust and intervene in learning processes. A healthy and effective hippocampus means that we are much less afraid, that we learn more quickly and that we have more enthusiasm.

–And can we stimulate them?
–The hippocampus is also susceptible to physical exercise, visualizations and is sensitive to emotional states. Physical exercise produces the release of a substance called BDnF, which promotes growth. People who frequently use their visual memory also have their hippocampi strengthened.

–And what hurts them?
–Hundreds of emotional states, such as anger, frustration or resentment, reduce the hippocampus and are associated with the elevation of a hormone called cortisol and an excitatory neurotransmitter, glutamate. The combination of glutamate and cortisol produces an intense influx of calcium into the neuron and damages it.

When these negative emotions persist steadily they produce a reduction in the hippocampi.

– Are there other brain structures to highlight on an emotional level?
-Of course. Reil’s insula is what I call “the island where intuition dwells” because it receives information from the viscera and in turn sends them orders and information. It is about hunches, or gut intuitions that come from the depths of our being. Those who have a well-functioning insula can feel what is happening inside them, understand it and manage everything better.

“And the nucleus accumbens?”
–It is of great importance in terms of motivation to carry out those things that are valuable to us. When we want to see someone for whom we feel affection, an activation of the nucleus accumbens occurs that produces that sensation, for which we know that we are going to have a pleasant experience. People with this circuit in perfect condition find sustained motivation to achieve their goals. Without that pleasant anticipation it is difficult to embark on new projects or enjoy an entrepreneurial spirit.

–How do the various brain waves influence consciousness and emotions?
–The electrical activity of the brain responds to various wave rhythms that influence emotions: beta, related to being alert; alpha, which is identified with states of serenity and tranquility in which there is greater activity of the parasympathetic nervous system that favors physical and mental recovery; the zeta beat, which is a more hypnotic beat; and the delta, present in deep sleep. There is another new rhythm, discovered later: the gamma, faster than the beta and associated with an extraordinary alertness but with deep calm.

–And where does the inspiration come from to improve ourselves?
– Curiously there is an area of ​​the brain, in the region of the temporal lobe, in which something interesting occurs just before a person has a moment of inspiration or makes an unexpected discovery. And in neurons located at this level, gamma wave activity occurs. This gamma rhythm is something exceptional that has also been recorded among Buddhist monks when they are in a state of deep meditation.

“And can we activate it?”
– That state combines an extraordinary serenity and a great lucidity. For this reason, it is not uncommon to have brilliant ideas when we are taking a walk or in the shower. It is worth being relaxed, because when you least expect it, ideas or revelations will emerge to move forward.

–Do negative emotions also influence our health?
–A positive state of mind is not only associated with serenity and inner peace but also promotes health and prolongs life. When a person is anchored in resentment, anger or anguish, the type of hormones that he releases into his blood are completely different from those when he is calm and cheerful.

It should not surprise us that emotional states have an immediate translation on physical state.

– Has it been possible to prove it?
–Yes, studies have proven that positive emotions help to activate the immune system and also produce, among other benefits, an increase in the blood of growth hormone, prolactin and oxytocin, important for the maintenance of tissues, the stimulation of the action of white blood cells that defend us against infections and the protection of the cardiovascular system.

-Positive thoughts are very powerful …
-But there is still more. Several studies have also shown that a single negative thought held for a minute is capable of putting our immune system in a delicate situation for a few hours. And distress, that permanent feeling of restlessness can also cause changes in hormonal and brain function.

– Are we positive or negative by nature?
–Scientific discoveries place negative emotions in the right prefrontal region, with feelings such as anger, mistrust, anxiety or fear. On the left, the positives predominate: confidence, joy … People born with much more intense activity in the anterior area of ​​the left cerebral hemisphere tend to see the glass as half full. While people who have a more intense activity in the right region have a tendency to see the glass as half empty.

“And can we change it?”
–In practice, if we tend to worry or discourage on a day-to-day basis, we will have to look for things that add and do not subtract.

Change your mind to change your life

– Precisely in his book he invites us on a journey whose destiny is to change our mind and our life. Is it a dangerous journey, like that of the American colonists in their conquest of the West, or is it a quiet cruise where everything is predictable and calm?
-It is a brave journey into our interior, to explore a new territory, that of our true potential, and it is a journey more similar to that of the settlers, full of challenges and challenges, with the difference that we do not have to eliminate no Indian on the road but quite the opposite. We must understand why these Indians oppose us, know how to understand this new world and discover what is necessary for a fuller life.

– In this adventure, what attitude should be adopted?
– When someone embarks on an adventure trip, they have to be aware that setbacks are going to arise. If, faced with the first obstacle – a mighty river, for example – the settlers had backed down, they would never have reached their destination. This trip will be full of dark nights, inhospitable deserts and deep precipices. And only our determination will allow us to reach the destination and, more importantly, to grow and mature along the way.

– What are the most common obstacles when trying to grow humanly?
– Most of the dangers and impediments do not come precisely from the outside, but from ourselves. They often have to do with fear of the unknown and our demands for perfection. A fragment of the Journey to Ithaca, by Konstantin Cavafis, contains a clarifying truth on this subject: “When you are on your way to Ithaca, you want it to be a path full of adventure, of knowledge. And do not fear the Cyclops and Poseidon. You will never find them if you keep your thinking high. ” And it is that sometimes the dangers reside and are created in the imagination.

–What should we take in our travel suitcase and what should we forget?
– We will have to put aside those preconceptions that we have of ourselves, those prejudices that pigeonhole us and that do not allow us to advance. And we will need a good dose of humility, to recognize that we will need to learn new things. We will also need a positive attitude to discover, and courage and audacity to dare to penetrate little-known terrain. But above all we must fill the suitcase of trust. Trust that life will lead us to a successful conclusion, towards a destination where we will be aware of our true nature.

– You affirm that this journey has three stages. Which are?
– The first is to know and understand each other. The second, to overcome. And the third, to transcend to discover oneself. Three stages that will reveal us how to change the mind to transform our life. While the journey lasts, we must change profound aspects in order to explore the territory of our true potential.

– “Know yourself”, the famous Greek aphorism, does not seem to have lost its validity … –
Yes. And to understand each other we have to know how we work. Finding out why things happen is important if we want to change them. Many of the answers to our doubts are found in the brain. The brain is linked to the body by nearly 45,000 kilometers of nerves, making it difficult to explain its full impact in a few words. What is clear is that the hundred billion neurons directly affect each of the cells. The discoveries of neuroscience show that it is interesting to understand where emotions are managed and feelings are mobilized in order to have greater self-government.

– The fact that new neurons are formed in the brain, can it help us?
–Now we know that the process of neurogenesis (formation of neurons from stem cells) can occur throughout life and that it is a tool to increase capacities. If it occurs at any age, it means that we will be able to better adapt to changes. Although neurogenesis is not immediate, by enhancing it we can develop it. For example, physical exercise, meditation, and learning new things help it.

Get out of the comfort zone

-Sometimes we do not continue because we do not receive the necessary support. Dream stealers often appear …
-Yes, that’s right. As everyone knows there are thieves who rob banks. But there are other thieves who are just as dangerous. They are dream stealers, people who are experts in telling us everything that we will never achieve, in frequently reminding us that we are useless for work, or in cutting off the wings of the dreams we have.

– Instead, it is always said that to achieve our goals we must leave our comfort zone … –
Yes, indeed, we have to leave that space where we are comfortable and comfortable, and embrace the uncertainty of life. Our comfort zone looks like a flowerpot and we are the little tree inside. Like any plant, there will come a day that in order for its roots to continue growing, to continue to gain size and to unfold its potential, it will have to be changed pot and moved to a larger space.

– Is that the moment to be brave, of what you call “the now me”?
-Yes, you have to dare to surpass yourself, to break the pot and grow. Once out of the comfort zone, at first, we will feel vulnerable, exposed to suffering and perhaps the need to quickly return to where we do not feel helpless.

–And fear appears…
–As the philosopher Ralph W. Emerson stated: “I don’t know of any opponent who has defeated more human beings than fear.” Yes, when we dare to change and when we leave that comfort zone, our burrow, fear is experienced. This awkward situation intensifies when the imagination kicks in.

– How to fight against that?
–Fundamentally, with some strategy to avoid that the imagination intensifies the fear. We must be able to face it in the present, without projecting it to our future life. In this way fear will be limited only to the here and now. It can also be countered with a positive attitude, having faith in yourself, seeing problems as they are and not worse than they are. Or practicing abdominal breathing, which has been shown to have the ability to produce changes in the brain and promote the secretion of serotonin or endorphins, which improve the tuning of brain rhythms.

–The third stage of the journey would be to transcend, but what does it really mean?
– To transcend means to go beyond ourselves. It is not moving outwards but inwards, towards the interior of oneself. It is simply discovering yourself. If you discover what you are in your essence, it will not affect you so much if it goes better or worse. The important thing is that you will be aware that your value is unquestionable and that your essence is perfect, full and complete.

– Is it time to take a new course?
– It is the stage in which you can discover and understand what fills your life with meaning. And for this we must be fully aware that we live in a material world, but also a spiritual one, and that the latter can be part of our reality, adding value to life, especially in bad times. I think it is interesting to discover that spiritual dimension, since it can help us to see things from a different perspective. And through it we can reach happiness, that goal that we all yearn for.

Because the key question at the end of this long and fruitful journey is not whether you can be happy, but whether you are willing to be.