Do You Suffer From Chronic Pain or Illness? Dr. Norman Shealy Offers Groundbreaking Treatment Options to Eliminate Suffering
A pioneer in developing safe and effective treatments such as Biogenics, he founded the Shealy Institute, the first comprehensive pain and stress management facility in the United States, in 1971.
BOYT: Why did you pursue the route of alternative therapies and medicines versus scientific aspects that include prescription medicine as a form of healing?
Norm Shealy: As a neurosurgeon, I was introduced to and began to see a lot of patients who had tried and failed everything that conventional medicines had to offer. I began to look at how we can manage pain that is not responding to initial conservative therapy or even surgery. Fortunately, I was learning about auto training and biofeedback. I was already trying acupuncture. I began to go forward with it. I found out that I could heal these people who had failed conventional medicines for more than 20+ years; they went to more than 50 doctors without the use of surgery or drugs.
BOYT: By the time these patients got to you, were they on pain medications?
Norm Shealy: Initially, about 95% of my patients were cases of failure of back surgery. My experience with dealing with thousands of people is that if the first surgery doesn’t work, the second one is less likely to work. This pattern will continue as the number of surgeries grows. Once you have dealt with those problems, you begin to see all the other failures, including migraines. I began exploring what is effective.
BOYT: Have you ever come to a conclusion that conventional medicine is more effective on certain health problems?
Norm Shealy: In my opinion, the drugs that are used most for health problems include narcotics and tranquilizers. A very small percentage of people may get by long term on narcotics. But for everyone who is able to function moderately well, despite narcotics or tranquilizers, there are probably 99% who are made worse by them. If you have a health problem but are able to function, narcotics are a horrible alternative. They screw up your body and mind. I have the same belief for tranquilizers, unless you’re in a bad, bad situation. Almost the same goes for anti-depressants. The best anti-depressant drug is said to relieve 42% of people of their depression. There is a 25% complication. That means only 17% of people may do reasonably well with anti-depressant drugs. There is a place for drugs. In general, drugs are used for acute situations and occasionally for chronic situations, like heart failure. I don't think drugs are likely to help with chronic illnesses.
BOYT: If one were to get off medicine, would it be possible for their brain to get back to normal?
Norm Shealy: Absolutely! I believe the worse case I've ever seen was a man who was taking 60 milligrams of morphine every 1 and 3/4 hour. He said his pain was 8 out of 10 severe. Over about 3 weeks with no narcotics, his pain decreased by 50%. These drugs mess up a person's ability to think straight.
BOYT: In terms of chronic pain, has there been a large increase in the number of people with chronic pains in the last 50 years? If so, what is this attributed to?
Norm Shealy: I think it's attributed to the increase of diabetes. It's the decrease in exercise. We have become a nation of coach potatoes. Only 10% of people get the bare minimum of required exercise. Exercise to me is like breathing. If you don't do it, you get in trouble. Only 10% of people get 30 minutes of some kind of exercise 5 days a week. That in itself is barely adequate in life. Being inactive prevents you from making beta endorphine, the natural narcotics for the bodies.
BOYT: Did you find a correlation between psychological and emotional trauma, and how it relates to physical pain that someone is experiencing?
Norm Shealy: After you actively failed one surgery, your mind will be altered with tranquilizers and narcotics. How is it possible not to be depressed and anxious, no matter how good you were to start with? People can be predisposed to being more anxious and more depressed. The failure in itself is a partially the perpetuator of a problem. When drugs are taken more than a month, a high percentage of people are made worse by them. I believe that the two most important things in health for all of us are physical activity and adequate, proper nutrition. If we can fulfill these two things, everything else will take care of itself.
BOYT: What part does genetics play when it comes to pain?
Norm Shealy: A patient of mine was not diagnosed with diabetes because her former doctor did not perform the correct test. She has diabetic neuropathy, a severely painful type of diabetes. About 80% can be remarkably helped without the use of drugs. It can be helped with a simple, safe technique of electrically stimulation, a circuit of the ring of fire.
I've been using electrically stimulations on the surface of the body to control pain. When properly used, it is better than all the drugs in the world. Fifteen years ago, I began to look at circuits because to me, the body is one big electrical gadget. We are electrical beings. I've discovered acupuncture points that I stimulated with human DNA frequency, which is at a billionth of a watt (1000 times below any risk levels). For 80% of the time, we can bring a diabetic neuropathy to a level of no pain, improving the sensations, and reducing medications just by stimulating this particular circuit in the body. We have found that this is also useful for migraines, depression, and rheumatoid arthritis. It's a powerful alternative to drugs, infinitely safer and less expensive.
BOYT: Is this the same as shock therapy for depression?
Norm Shealy: The primary treatment for depression is the transcranial stimulation with very low currents. This will bring 50% of people out of depression within two weeks. If we add to that the anxiety component (because all depressed people are anxious) with flashing lights at 1 to 7th cycle per second, we find that 75% of people get out of depression safely within two weeks.
BOYT: Is this a one-time treatment or an on-going treatment?
Norm Shealy: It requires daily treatment for at least three months. Then two or three times a week. It's about 18 minutes.
BOYT: What type of diet do you advocate for people?
Norm Shealy: Real food—45% of all food is junk from a fast food restaurant and 60% of the food in a grocery store is junk. It's junk if it has monosodium glutamate and more. A healthier fast food includes fruits and nuts. It's a faster and inexpensive alternative.
BOYT: What are your thoughts about different meats?
Norm Shealy: I love meats! I think a vegan diet is unhealthy. A lacto-ovo vegetarian diet is fine. Fish, in general, is wonderful. My diet of meat consists of grass-fed beef, chicken, turkey, salmon and occasionally other fish. It also includes a lot of fruits, vegetables and nuts. I also don't eat between meals.
BOYT: What are your thoughts about cleansing to cure diseases?
Norm Shealy: If you have eaten a lot of junk, if you are overweight, if you have a lot of illnesses, I think you need to detoxify. The two best ways to detoxify are saunas or soaking in bath water filled with magnesium chloride and a cup of castor oil. This enhances your ability to sweat. Secondly, vitamin C is highly recommended.
BOYT: What are your thoughts about bioidentical hormones and other supplements?
Norm Shealy: Unless you live away from the city and grow all of your foods organically, you need supplements because our society is toxic. Beyond that, everyone needs a multivitamin supplement, about 20 milligrams of B complex supplements, omega 3 acids, and vitamin D3. We can cut down 80 to 90% on colds and flus just by taking vitamin D3. Children should be on vitamin D3 at least once a month.
BOYT: What have you found to be the typical lifestyle of those who live a long life?
Norm Shealy: Movement is one. Any kind of movement will help. Standing in place and waving your arms for 3 minutes about 10 times a day will be useful. Secondly, being happy. Happiness is an inside job. You can't make me happy and you can't make me unhappy. I am responsible for my own happiness. Third shows that people who are conscientious live longest and happiest. People pay attention. They tend to be organized, prepared and like to feel good.
BOYT: What are the effects on meditation?
Norm Shealy: Interestingly, meditation is one of the self-regulation approaches to life and there is no question that people who do deep relaxations and other spiritual practices do better. They're healthier, happier, and have fewer illnesses.
BOYT: When someone watches televisions, what happens to the brain?
Norm Shealy: A lot happens. The subliminal seduction is that when you're not paying attention, your brain gets sucked in. Even if you haven't seen or heard the subliminal message, if it gets into your subconscious, you are affected by it. Anything more than one hour a day of watching television is harmful to your well-being, mentally, physically and spiritually.
BOYT: Why do we feel like we need to watch television to cope with our stress?
Norm Shealy: People would get a lot more out of reading a good book, or listening to great music, or exercising. Walking, moving, or yoga will help us cope with our stress. Just sitting will not.
BOYT: What is one piece of advice that you would offer to people to remain present throughout the day?
Norm Shealy: You need to create a simple healing phrase. "I am healthy, active, comfortable." It has to feel right for you. You need to make that your mantra. I work with patients to come up with a maximum of six words as a healing phrase. I see a remarkable improvement in depression. Subliminal messages are powerful.
About Norman Shealy
Norman Shealy is one of the world's leading experts in pain management. He was among the first physicians ever to specialize in the resolution of chronic pain. A pioneer in developing safe and effective treatments such as Biogenics, he founded, in 1971, the first comprehensive pain and stress management facility in the country, The Shealy Institute, respected world-wide for its innovative and successful rehabilitation approaches. Over the years, Dr. Shealy's intensive pain and stress management research has resulted in numerous pioneering treatments. His published works total over 275. His seminars and workshops are given worldwide, and attended by physicians and lay persons alike. He has acted as consultant to leaders in every specialty, including the personal physicians of President's Kennedy and Eisenhower. Click here to learn more about Norman Shealy.
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