Diverse Forms of Drug-Free Therapy and Psychological Intervention for Hypertension: A Natural Recovery Path Integrating Mind and Body

Drug-free therapy is a safe therapy that respects nature.

The origin of drug-free therapy lies in utilizing natural resources and human initiative to prevent and treat diseases. Whether it's Western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, ethnic minority medicine, or regional medicine, all originate from natural therapies. In fact, the Western world began to value and utilize natural therapies more than a century ago, and the ancestors of the Chinese had already systematically studied and applied them as early as the Yellow Emperor era. The concept of "harmony between man and nature" is the most accurate description of nature. The Chinese are the most complete and thorough practitioners of natural therapy. Drug-free therapy fully utilizes natural factors and leverages internal mechanisms to mobilize and stimulate the body's life potential, restoring and improving the body's own immunity and regulatory functions, achieving natural recovery and longevity.

Main Forms of Drug-Free Therapy

Drug-free therapy integrates all the characteristics of drug-free therapies from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign, encompassing diagnosis, health maintenance, and medical treatment, including physical therapy, food therapy, exercise therapy, and psychotherapy. Physical therapy includes: electrotherapy, magnetotherapy, phototherapy, ultrasound therapy, hydrotherapy, conductive heat therapy, cryotherapy, and electro-biofeedback therapy, as well as cupping, acupuncture, moxibustion, spinal manipulation, qigong, massage, and scraping. Food therapy, also known as dietary therapy, utilizes food to influence various bodily functions to achieve health or prevent and treat diseases. Its function is to use food to affect various bodily functions. Exercise therapy involves manual or instrumental exercise training to restore or improve functional impairments in patients. It is an important means of rehabilitation. Currently, most exercise therapies are proactive, involving patients actively completing various exercise training exercises under the guidance and supervision of a therapist. Psychotherapy, also called psychotherapy, uses psychological methods, through verbal or non-verbal factors, to train, educate, and treat patients to reduce or eliminate physical symptoms, improve their mental and psychological state, and help them adapt to their family, social, and work environments. This includes: psychological counseling, supportive psychotherapy, insight therapy or reasoning therapy, belief therapy, relaxation therapy, systematic desensitization therapy, behavioral therapy, group therapy, etc. Drug-free therapy is a systematic treatment method, supplementing modern and traditional medicine. While conventional medical methods cannot effectively treat some diseases, it can treat them in unique ways, often with surprising results. This phenomenon is driving people to change their perspectives, break free from traditional concepts, move beyond the misconceptions of modern medicine, and establish a completely new medical system—this is a historical inevitability. Chapter 3 Drug-Free Therapy for Hypertension, Hyperlipidemia, and Hyperglycemia and Common Chronic Diseases Section 1 Drug-Free Therapy for Hypertension

Psychological Therapy for Hypertension

Psychological therapy is one of the effective methods for treating hypertension. If a person is depressed and irritable all day because they have a chronic disease, or even an incurable one, this often accelerates the development of the disease and is detrimental to treatment. Some hypertensive patients have unstable psychological emotions, causing significant fluctuations in blood pressure after control, bringing many difficulties to treatment. Therefore, hypertensive patients should pay attention to psychological therapy.

1. Maintain a positive and optimistic mood: A positive and optimistic mood is crucial for physical health. It brings vitality and hope, and gives one the courage to overcome difficulties. Conversely, a negative and depressed mood is extremely harmful to health. Prolonged depression or sudden, intense mental stimulation can both be fatal. As the *Huangdi Neijing* states, "Internal injury to the spirit will inevitably lead to the decline of the body." When people develop chronic illnesses, their personality often changes, turning a previously cheerful personality into a depressed one. During this period, patients often focus more on life and death and family matters, resulting in narrow interests, bland emotions, stubbornness, depression, and pessimism. Prolonged periods of this can disrupt the body's internal environment, cause physiological imbalances, and weaken the immune system, thus exacerbating existing conditions and leading to new illnesses. A positive and optimistic mood, on the other hand, keeps one cheerful, peaceful, and focused on the positive aspects of everything, without being overly concerned with personal gains and losses, and taking a long-term perspective. When happy, appetite increases and digestive function improves, which is beneficial for food digestion and absorption, enhances immunity, and improves existing physical condition. Hypertensive patients should maintain an optimistic and open-minded temperament and establish a correct outlook on life. They should strengthen their ideological cultivation, face things with a broad perspective, and not let their illness cause them endless worry. Therefore, hypertensive patients should frequently practice this kind of psychological suggestion to keep their emotions in a pleasant state, freeing themselves from the torment of the disease and not being overwhelmed by it, thereby accelerating physical recovery. They can then embrace a new life with a healthy body and a positive attitude.

2. Learn to overcome negative psychological influences: When patients are diagnosed with hypertension, they often experience heavy psychological pressure. The various pains caused by the disease and the inconvenience of treatment all affect their mental state. If the patient is seriously ill, losing the ability to work, study, and take care of themselves, coupled with the financial burden on the family and the various troubles caused to the family, this will further alter the patient's psychological state. At this time, patients should do the following:

① First, determine their life goals and a positive outlook on life and the world, and strive to achieve them;

② Cultivate their artistic appreciation ability, improve their cultivation in this area, frequently listen to relaxing and pleasant music, and participate in some sports activities;

③ Cultivate a tolerant attitude, avoid getting angry over trivial matters, and learn to control anger;

④ Fully explore their potential and the body's disease resistance, and actively cooperate with the doctor in treatment.

Those around the patient should do the following:

① Provide psychological support to the patient, helping them to rediscover their own value, build confidence, and overcome the disease;

② Try to understand the patient's feelings and stabilize their emotions through friendly conversation and contact;

③ Create conditions for the patient, encourage them to actively fight the disease, and urge them to engage in appropriate physical exercise.

3. A relaxed mindset is needed to treat hypertension: In about half of the cases of hypertension, no physiological cause for elevated blood pressure can be found; this type of hypertension is called primary hypertension. The causes of primary hypertension are complex, but psychological factors play a very important role in the development of the disease. Blood circulates under dynamic pressure. Psychological stress caused by environmental stress can significantly raise blood pressure, which then tends to decrease once the mind returns to calm. Many studies show that family environmental stress, especially during childhood, has a significant impact on the development of primary hypertension. Common factors such as early parental death, parental divorce or discord, overly strict or inconsistent parenting, and disharmonious mother-child or father-child relationships can cause individuals to experience tension, conflict, and anxiety from a young age, keeping children in a state of agitation and unease, leading to a sustained rapid heart rate and elevated blood pressure. Furthermore, many facts indicate that people with low social status and high economic pressure are more prone to this type of disease. Therefore, hypertensive patients should maintain a good mood and treat their condition in a relaxed atmosphere.