It’s been a long-held philosophy of alternative wellness practitioners that “disease is synonymous with “dis-ease”—that there’s an emotional connection to physical illness. Now that Western medicine is publically acknowledging this connection, more people are turning to alternative treatments to prevent emotional issues from becoming physical ones, says Laurie Mallis, MD, owner of Searchlight Medical in Hopewell Junction.

“It’s no mystery to anyone involved in alternative types of treatment that the majority of any ailment, if not all, is directly related to emotional issues,” she says. “The basis of this is that any emotion—that is, stress, anxiety, depression, anger or fear—if not resolved, will eventually manifest as a physical illness. These negative emotions cause physiological changes in the body that lead to a decrease in the immune system, an increase in inflammation and elevated levels of pain.”

Recently published studies have shown that certain negative emotions cause an increase in pain and inflammation and can even increase the risk for certain types of cancer and chronic diseases. Mallis says a variety of energy treatments can be used as stand-alone or complementary therapies to help people deal with these dynamics—although they’re not a “quick fix.”

“Energy treatments require an individual to be willing to go on a very personal journey,” she explains. “It is a process whereby emotional and physical issues are dealt with based on the desire to get well. It is not unlike peeling away layers of an onion: the first layers are very easy to get to, while the deeper ones require a bit of work.”

SearchLight Medical offers a variety of alternative treatments and services, including medical acupuncture, Ondamed Biofeedback Therapy, AcuGraph Qi Analysis, reflexology and Reiki.

SearchLight Medical is located at 2424 Rte. 52, Hopewell Junction. For more info, call 845.592.4310 or visit SearchLightMedical.com.