Glossary: Integrative Medicine and Nutrition

Also called water therapy, hydrotherapy is the application or use of water (cold, hot, steam, or ice) to relieve pain and discomfort, facilitate breath and relieve asthma, and promote physical well-being.

Application of oxygen to the treatment of trauma. This is the inhalation of 100% oxygen inside a hyperbaric chamber, pressurized to greater than 1 atmosphere (atm). HBOT causes both mechanical and physiological effects by inducing a state of increased pressure and hyperoxia. Originally designed as a treatment for decompression illness experienced by divers and for healing burns and wounds in hospitals, innovative “off-label” uses include cardiovascular health, autism, stroke, and cognitive decline, and TBI.

An exceptional ability to remember seen in some mental illnesses.

Over-breathing often in response to anxiety.

The therapeutic induction of trance states resembling sleep and the use of suggestion.

A major part of the neuroendocrine system that regulates reactions to stress and other metabolic function. It involves the interactions of the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the adrenal glands.

Hyster is Greek for womb. In ancient Greece, the suffocating uterus was deemed the cause of hysteria. The cluster of symptoms now diagnosed as posttraumatic stress has a long history of other names, the most enduring of which was hysteria.

The ida (yin) refers to lunar energies and corresponds to the left nostril and the right hemisphere. It is also associated with the parasympathetic nervous system. Pingala (yang) refers to solar energies and corresponds to the right nostril and the left hemisphere, as well as the sympathetic nervous system.

The transmission of victimization, traumatic exposures, and traumatic meaning-making systems from one generation to another.

The capacity to access and process sensory information from the body.

 A match of the style of therapeutic intervention to the style of the problem.

Used to treat epilepsy in children by inducing ketosis, the ketogenic diet is high in fat and moderate protein, and low in carbohydrates. Consists of 50-80% of calories derived from high quality fats, and 20-50% carbohydrates and protein.

The she-serpent who sleeps at the base of the spine in the sacrum (sacred bone) and is awakened by the practice of yoga, bringing awareness and integration to the individual. Its closest analogue in western depth psychology is the unconscious.

An empty space or a missing part; a gap.

The act of laying hands on a person’s body for healing or a spiritual blessing, seen in various traditions around the world.