http://keithwommack.com Nationally Syndicated Columnist on Health, Thought and Spirituality Thu, 23 May 2013 19:43:32 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://keithwommack.com/2013/05/20/health-alerts-that-make-you-sick/ http://keithwommack.com/2013/05/20/health-alerts-that-make-you-sick/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 13:18:06 +0000 Keith Wommack http://keithwommack.com/?p=5145 Have you ever listened to an advertisement listing the possible side-effects of a drug and then felt queasy? Reading about those effects can make you feel ill, as well. Dr. Lissa Rankin’s recently published New York Times bestseller, Mind over Medicine, in part, examines this disturbing phenomenon. Reading Rankin’s thought provoking book reminded me of Fiona Macrae’s 2009 Health post The health alerts that make you ill: Negative thoughts ‘can induce sickness’. Macrae wrote for the Daily Mail: A series of studies from around the world has shown that if you believe something could make you ill, it might well do just that. Simply reading the side-effects on a bottle of tablets raises your risk of experiencing them. And, taken to its extreme, patients who believe they will not survive surgery, are more likely to die on the operating table.]]> http://keithwommack.com/2013/05/20/health-alerts-that-make-you-sick/feed/ 1 http://keithwommack.com/2013/04/24/6-simple-things-help-fill-an-empty-heart/ http://keithwommack.com/2013/04/24/6-simple-things-help-fill-an-empty-heart/#comments Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:43:46 +0000 Keith Wommack http://keithwommack.com/?p=5133 1) Stop being critical. Criticism closes your eyes to the good that has always been yours. Critical states of thought lead to critical mistakes, as well as cause critical states of the body. 2) Stop keeping score. It is not what others do but how much divine goodness you express that will ultimately satisfy you. 3) Stop trying to prove you are right. Instead of telling others you are right and they are wrong, live what is right and your life will begin to sparkle.]]> http://keithwommack.com/2013/04/24/6-simple-things-help-fill-an-empty-heart/feed/ 2 http://keithwommack.com/2013/04/04/did-your-prayers-go-out-to-louisvilles-kevin-ware/ http://keithwommack.com/2013/04/04/did-your-prayers-go-out-to-louisvilles-kevin-ware/#comments Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:53:44 +0000 Keith Wommack http://keithwommack.com/?p=5124 The jubilation from Louisville’s victory over Duke’s basketball team was overshadowed by Kevin Ware’s on-court injury on Easter Sunday. Ware a 6-foot-2-sophomore guard broke his leg in two places. It was a disturbing picture. Players and fans immediately started praying. Across social media, people spontaneously began sending Ware messages of support. Professional athletes joined the chorus. Michael Jordan tweeted, "Prayers go out to Kevin Ware. No athlete wants that to happen to anybody." Robert Griffin III tweeted, “Prayers up for Kevin Ware, his teammates, & family.” When accidents and tragedies happen, the use of the word “prayer” multiplies. This begs the question, “Does prayer help or is it just a kind word we utilize in times of suffering?”]]> http://keithwommack.com/2013/04/04/did-your-prayers-go-out-to-louisvilles-kevin-ware/feed/ 1 http://keithwommack.com/2013/03/25/guilt-harming-your-health/ http://keithwommack.com/2013/03/25/guilt-harming-your-health/#comments Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:19:28 +0000 Keith Wommack http://keithwommack.com/?p=5110 Know anyone who doesn’t feel bad about something they’ve said or done? Guilt tortures the best of us. Unfortunately, the discomfort is not limited to mental agony alone. Intense regret can bring physical torment, as well. Sometimes, the pain is self-inflicted. Studies show that people occasionally attempt to free themselves from guilt through pain. And they are not always aware that they’re harming themselves. Since the human mind is where guilt begins, to get at the source of the problem, the medicine must be mental. In other words, in order to heal a body affected by guilt, a mind must change.]]> http://keithwommack.com/2013/03/25/guilt-harming-your-health/feed/ 4 http://keithwommack.com/2013/03/04/more-to-medicine-than-medicine/ http://keithwommack.com/2013/03/04/more-to-medicine-than-medicine/#comments Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:24:30 +0000 Keith Wommack http://keithwommack.com/?p=5082 Today, some health care providers are realizing there is more to medicine than, well, medicine. For example, there is Mehmet Oz, best known as Dr. Oz. Oprah crowned him America’s doctor in 2004. He is a heart surgeon and the host of the weekday hit TV program, “The Dr. Oz Show.” Oz entered medical school believing that traditional medicine had all the answers and he just needed to discover them. But the limits to this approach began to dawn on him while in medical school and as he began to talk with patients. Michael Specter in a recent The New Yorker exposé on Dr. Oz, quotes Oz as stating, “Ultimately, if we want to fix American medicine we will need skeptical and smart patients to dominate. They will need to ask the hard questions, because much of medicine is just plain old logic. So I am out there trying to persuade people to be those patients. And that often means telling them what the establishment doesn’t want them to hear: that their answers are not the only answers, and their medicine is not the only medicine.” Oz is bringing a much broader perspective on health to his viewers.]]> http://keithwommack.com/2013/03/04/more-to-medicine-than-medicine/feed/ 5 http://keithwommack.com/2013/02/19/tips-for-a-wise-health-consumer/ http://keithwommack.com/2013/02/19/tips-for-a-wise-health-consumer/#comments Tue, 19 Feb 2013 14:55:21 +0000 Keith Wommack http://keithwommack.com/?p=5066 If you’re a wise consumer, you shop around to find what you need. Today, there’s a product for every taste and helpful advice for just about every inquiry. When it comes to health care, being an intelligent consumer requires even greater diligent examination. Since February is National Wise Health Consumer Month, you may have noticed various published tips to guide you. Most of these recommendations focus entirely on the utilization of conventional medicine. But, if you have ever been curious about spiritual options for healing and health, below are a few word-to-the-wise ideas for those contemplating the use of spiritual/thought-based care.]]> http://keithwommack.com/2013/02/19/tips-for-a-wise-health-consumer/feed/ 2 http://keithwommack.com/2013/02/04/reducing-stress-the-military-way/ http://keithwommack.com/2013/02/04/reducing-stress-the-military-way/#comments Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:30:37 +0000 Keith Wommack http://keithwommack.com/?p=5057 Marine Lance Corporal Carlos Lozano drops from a helicopter during a simulated raid, confronts mock Afghan villagers, and is rocked by loud explosions. Then, obeying orders, he sits silently and stares at his boots. The Marine isn’t happy about stopping to meditate. But it just might be for his and the entire Marine Corps’ good. Jeffery Bearor, the executive deputy of the Marine Corps training and education command in Quantico, Virginia, told the AP, "This is not tied to any religious practice. This is about mental preparation to better handle stress." Marines are taught to quiet the mind in order to reach an inner calm. Many are finding the mind to be the door to improved mental and physical health. Those utilizing mindfulness, meditation, or prayer-moments, to control and calm thought, claim these methods reduce stress and increase productivity.]]> http://keithwommack.com/2013/02/04/reducing-stress-the-military-way/feed/ 2 http://keithwommack.com/2013/01/28/the-elephant-in-the-room-about-your-health/ http://keithwommack.com/2013/01/28/the-elephant-in-the-room-about-your-health/#comments Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:04:08 +0000 Keith Wommack http://keithwommack.com/?p=5044 They can’t ignore it. It’s there. Doctors, patients, and pharmaceutical companies can’t escape it. You can’t either. What is it? The placebo effect. The placebo effect is the health response patients experience when they believe they’re receiving a drug or surgery but are actually being given dummy drugs or simulated treatments. Dr. Lissa Rankin writes, “The placebo effect is real, it works about 18-80% of the time, and it’s not just in your head – it actually dilates bronchi, heals ulcers, makes warts disappear, drops your blood pressure, and even makes bald men who think they’re getting Rogaine grow hair!” Yet, there’s more.]]> http://keithwommack.com/2013/01/28/the-elephant-in-the-room-about-your-health/feed/ 3 http://keithwommack.com/2013/01/15/family-meals-nourish-body-mind-and-soul/ http://keithwommack.com/2013/01/15/family-meals-nourish-body-mind-and-soul/#comments Tue, 15 Jan 2013 14:59:32 +0000 Keith Wommack http://keithwommack.com/?p=5031 Stephen looked puzzled. What he saw didn’t make sense. Our neighbors’ ten-year-old son was peering at us through the glass of our backyard French door. Slowly, he opened the door, stepped in, and continued to stare. Finally, he asked, “What are ya’ll doing?” It wasn’t as though he couldn’t tell we were eating dinner. He’d walked in while we were at the table many times. And, usually, we’d grab another plate and fork and Stephen would take his place next to our own ten and 8 year-old sons, Jarrod and Jordan. However, this time it was different. What confused Stephen were the flickering candles. Still befuddled, he asked, “Somebody’s birthday?” Joanne, already setting a place at the table for Stephen, said, “No, sometimes it’s fun to make a normal meal special by having candlelight.”]]> http://keithwommack.com/2013/01/15/family-meals-nourish-body-mind-and-soul/feed/ 1 http://keithwommack.com/2013/01/07/keep-your-family-safe-improve-mental-health/ http://keithwommack.com/2013/01/07/keep-your-family-safe-improve-mental-health/#comments Mon, 07 Jan 2013 14:35:32 +0000 Keith Wommack http://keithwommack.com/?p=5021 Last Thursday, children from the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, began attending classes at a repurposed school in the neighboring town of Monroe. Heart-wrenching tragedies stir our desire to aid in the healing process and to prevent further harmful acts from taking place. As the gun control debate continues, another factor is being discussed as a possible connection between this latest and other recent violent acts. This link is mental illness.]]> http://keithwommack.com/2013/01/07/keep-your-family-safe-improve-mental-health/feed/ 5 http://keithwommack.com/2012/12/31/31-orange-jumpsuits-new-beginnings/ http://keithwommack.com/2012/12/31/31-orange-jumpsuits-new-beginnings/#comments Mon, 31 Dec 2012 14:03:38 +0000 Keith Wommack http://keithwommack.com/?p=5014 A guard brought me to the classroom where I’d be speaking. I asked, “How many will be here?” He said, “Thirty-one.” I thought, “Wow, you have trouble talking to your own two kids.” At the front of the empty classroom I paused to get my bearings. My prayer went something like this, “Well, here I am. Thank you for leading me, animating me. Show me how I express your wisdom. Keep reminding me that each one that comes into this room belongs to you. Please, put your words in my mouth.” Then the procession began. Thirty-one of them, hands behind their backs, slowly made their way to rows of chairs. Thirty-one orange jumpsuits. Four young women. Twenty-seven young men. All in their teens, except two boys, age ten. Thirty-one. Not one smile. Not one hello. Their body language screamed, “Disdain.” I was introduced: “This is Mr. Wommack. He’s here to talk with you. Listen up. If you make a noise, disrupt, slump in your seats, or are in any way are out of order you will lose all privileges the rest of the day.”]]> http://keithwommack.com/2012/12/31/31-orange-jumpsuits-new-beginnings/feed/ 4 http://keithwommack.com/2012/12/24/praying-away-the-christmas-cookies/ http://keithwommack.com/2012/12/24/praying-away-the-christmas-cookies/#comments Mon, 24 Dec 2012 14:05:21 +0000 Keith Wommack http://keithwommack.com/?p=5007 (CNN) – With Christmas cookies, fruitcake and eggnog tempting us at every corner, it is hard not to gain weight during the holiday season. Yet it is not just holiday foods that are enticing. Oversized and disproportionate – that about sums it up when the average American is 20 pounds overweight. The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently said, “Obesity, and with it diabetes, are the only major health problems that are getting worse in this country, and they are getting worse rapidly.” Personally, I have been fortunate never to have had much of a problem with my weight. I was an active, slender, Texas kid. Our family didn’t have a television until Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, so my brothers and I spent countless hours playing outside. I always ran like a jack rabbit, especially after jumping the fence at our neighborhood riding stable. ]]> http://keithwommack.com/2012/12/24/praying-away-the-christmas-cookies/feed/ 0