Love and Survival: 8 Pathways to Intimacy and Health

Dr. Ornish is best known for his research which showed that diet and lifestyle changes could lead to a reversal in the progression of heart disease. In this book he extends his work to highlight the critical importance of social factors (relationships, community, friendship, support groups, lines of communication, love) in both avoiding and recovering from life-threatening illness. He cites a large volume of scientific studies to support his claims and divulges personal information about his own journey through life.His eight pathways to intimacy and health are:1) Words Matter. What we say and how we say it can have a powerful effect on bringing us closer to or farther from another person.2) Group Support. A support group helps heal isolation, alienation, and loneliness. Physical healing often follows.3) Confession, Forgiveness, and Redemption. The group support process of self-disclosure is healing.4) Compassion, Altruism, and Service. When you help others, you also help yourself.5) Psychotherapy. Psychotherapy can be a very helpful complement to spiritual practices.6) Touching. Lack of human contact can lead to profound isolation and illness - even death.7) Commitment. Commitment creates safety and makes intimacy possible.8) Meditation. Paying attention and focusing your awareness increase your power, your joy, and sense of peace and wellbeing.

One of the biggest chapters in this book summarizes the studies showing how closeness to other people is good for your health. Ornish runs a clinic for people who have had a heart attack. And his clinic was the first to show that heart disease can actually be reversed. Doctors used to believe, up until very recently, that you can't reverse heart disease. You may be able to slow it down a little, but once your arteries were clogged, it was gospel that you couldn't unclog them. Ornish showed that you can. They use diet and exercise and...teaching people how to become closer to the people they love. And that increased closeness is a big part of the patient's improvement in health.These men (usually) have a heart attack and their doctor tells them they don't have long to live. They're scared, of course. They come to Ornish's clinic and he tells them they need to learn to be close to people or they're going to die! For the first time in their lives, these men become interested in relationships!I read Love and Survival right after reading the book, Brain Sex, where I discovered that men aren't naturally as interested in relationships as women. Even two- or three-day old babies show this difference. A female baby will look much longer at a human face than at an object. A baby boy is equally interested in objects and people. Extend that interest out over a lifetime and you have women whose lives are relationship-centered and men who don't have time for relationships because they're busy with other things. Then I read in Ornish's book what it takes for men to finally become interested in getting closer to people: The threat of death! So they get interested, and they improve their relationships, and they learn how to become close to people. Some time later they come back to Ornish and report that they are happier than they've ever been. Of course. We all know being close to people is the most important thing in the world and it's the one thing that can't be peeled away. When people are dying, on the battlefield or deathbed or in some survival situation, and they know they are going to die, the one thing people say is, "Tell my wife I love her." Or husband. Kids. The people who are close to you are what really matter. And getting close to them.This book struck me like a revelation. I have been interested in how to get along with people and how to get people to like me and how to persuade people to my point of view, but I had never realized the value of really being close to people. I knew relationships were important but I had missed the point! This book has totally changed the way I've been interacting with people, and you know what? I've never been happier! Seriously.Ornish gives you some good ideas about HOW to get closer to people. He gives you some practical steps to take. I'm the author of the book, Self-Help Stuff That Works, and I'll tell you something: Ornish's book contains quite a bit of stuff that works to bring you closer to the people you love.

This is absolutely the best book on Intimacy that I have read. Although it was written several years ago....it is still pertinent to love and health relationship that we must have to not only survive, but to thrive.

This is one of the keys books that have changed my outlook. A few others that fit in this category include Power vs. Force, A New Earth, Diet For a New America and the E&P attraction.We all need to start paying more attention to the power of love. It is not just a hippie dippy, new agey thing.

This book is a goldmine of knowledge. I was surprised at how much information was packed into one book. I found in very informative and would recommend it to others who are wanting to know how to increase their survival odds by having loving, intimate relationships.

Great book for someone like myself who is just starting retirement. Show that your mental state is just as important as your physical well being.

Good read

Helpful book!

You must be the thinking type of person to enjoy this. Otherwise you might find it too clinical.