Gerson Recovery Protocol

Psychology and the recovery

Act One: Starting out: a time of excitement and exploration, unfamiliarity, drastic changes in lifestyle, diet and daily routine. There is much to learn all the time. It is a great advantage to start the therapy at a Gerson clinic. But, sooner or later, there follows the expulsion from that Garden of Eden where everything is done for the patient, and reality must be faced at home. For the patient who starts at home, chaos sets in - temporarily from Day One.

At first, the sheer tasks of the day seem impossible: preparing juices, food, enema coffee, washing up endlessly, securing deliveries, checking on the helper, cleaning up after the helper, and above all, remaining sane. At this stage, practical help is essential around the clock, to stop the patient from giving up at once.
Act One is so busy and active that there is little space and time for psychological matters.

Act Two: The main part. (possibly the longest second act on Earth) The daily routine has been established and is rolling along. Even with helpers, it demands time, effort and perseverance. The monotony and boredom begin to tell on the patient who feels restricted, under virtual house arrest. In theory it is possible to go out after dinner, in practice it does not happen often.

Then there is the problem of flare-ups or healing reactions which can be vile yet have to be welcomed, since they signal that the body is responding to the therapy. By way of psychological support, the reasons and symptoms of flare-ups must be explained in advance, so that the patient does not panic (while feeling terrible). "This, too, will pass" is the best comfort we can offer.

An opposite problem, admittedly much rarer, is when there are no flare-ups for awhile, and the patient immediately concludes that the therapy is not working and there is no hope left. I remember my own despondency all those years ago when, except for one almighty flare-up, I did not have any for months. It really worried me. Then I had twenty-six in a row, which gave me something else to worry about.

Physical detoxification inevitably brings about psychological detoxification, too. Toxins passing through the central nervous system evoke strange reactions and out-of-character behavior: violent mood swings, snappiness, anger, instability, unfair accusations and aggression. The patient's normally civilized behavior gives way to drives and emotions that have been denied and repressed for a long time, perhaps since childhood. The adult "censor" within is pushed aside by a raging infant, at least for awhile, and then takes over again, amidst profuse apologies.

This, too, has to be prepared for, and not taken personally. It is part of the process. In whatever capacity we work with the patient, we remain calm, caring, unchanged, waiting for the inner upheaval to pass.

However, we need to be more active if depression sets in. This, too, can be the result of the detoxification process, or of some small adverse symptom which is immediately seen as ominous. A bad result in the latest blood test or an apparent change in a a palpable tumor can plunge the patient into black despair. This has to be dispelled fast by pointing out that there are many ups and downs and fluctuations within the healing process. Single symptoms are not signals of doom.

Dr. Gerson stated that more human beings die of panic than cancer. The body involves but one part of the illness.

Depression can also set in when the patient gets terminally fed up and wants to quit the therapy, although improvements are noticeable. It is best not to contradict the patient's grumbles but, on the contrary, agree that the process is demanding, monotonous, restricting and boring. Point out the good results so far; ask tactless questions such as, "Would you rather have chemotherapy?" or "All right, you give up - and then what?" and wait for the answer. Remember: this, too, will pass.

Taking life day by day, one day at a time, is a good way to handle the apparent endlessness of the therapy, without losing sight of the ultimate aim. In fact, interim goal-setting - what would the patient want to achieve in one week, one month and three months - helps even further break up the monotony. The aims should be realistic and modest, and warmly acknowledged when they are achieved. Those that did not work out can be rephrased or postponed but not written off as failures.

Food can be a major issue during the main part of the therapy. Many people take to Gerson food at once and enjoy. Others do not. When resistance wells up and turns mealtimes into adult equivalents of nursed tantrums, we are up against the deep emotional investment many people have in certain types of food, however unhealthy. Their attachment is probably to the food mother gave them in childhood when food equaled love, even if it was low-grade junk. At a fraught time, such people may feel that what they eat is their last area of free choice. Although on a mental level, they accept the rightness of the Gerson diet, on a deeper, non-rational level, they reject it, sometimes literally.

This is where wise counseling is needed. The patient must be reminded that the food on offer is medicine, that the diet is not forever, and that accepting it now is a sound investment in the future. I have found it helpful to make a solemn contract with the patient who undertook to stick to the diet meticulously for a fortnight. As a rule, quick improvement followed, and extending the contract proved to be easy.

The need to observe the rules cannot be overstated. Small lapses and occasional exceptions, often asked for by patients, are out of the question, for what exactly is small, and how often does an occasional exception occur? Once the rules are broken, the safe boundaries of the therapy are damaged, and the consequences can be serious. However, as caregivers or therapists, we must enforce the rules with tact and affection, otherwise we may end up in the role of the over-strict parents, with "Thou shalt not" written all over us.

During the long main part of the therapy, the patient's boredom can be relieved by providing relevant reading material and tapes, setting up networking with other Gerson Persons, and encouraging a fresh hobby or study that can be fitted in between juices, enemas and meals. Friends' behavior can be crucial. Can they bear the patient's illness and face their own fears, or do they fade out of the picture? And how are the family members coping? Are they bearing the burden of the therapy without making the patient feel guilty?

Act Three: Winding down. The intensive therapy is over. Now is the time to taper it off more and more, cutting down gradually on juices, enemas, and medication, and preparing to re-enter the world. This can be a very tricky phase. The same patients who used to ask, "Is there life after Gerson?" now are reluctant to let go of the routine. It has become a way of life that has served them superbly. They feel and look well, and they are symptom-free with good test results and no complaints - but, they do not want to come off the therapy.

At this point, it has become their safety device and symbolic life-and-health insurance, with the implied fear that stopping the therapy may bring on a relapse. This fear must not be dismissed lightly. It requires a careful, patient "weaning process" to ensure that the tube of the enema bucket does not turn into a substitute umbilical cord. Continuing with the therapy beyond the required period is not a good idea. Sticking with the dietary principles set out by Dr. Gerson is, on the other hand, very necessary for the rest of one's life in order to safeguard one's bravely rebuilt health.

There are others, of course, who have to be restrained from rushing back into their erstwhile disastrous eating habits at the end of Act Three. As a rule, the attempt is doomed: their detoxified, cleared, optimally nourished systems tend to shrink away from so-called normal food, heavy with fat and painfully salty. If their understanding does not object to junk food, their taste buds will.

In my experience, after recovery there is no way back into the pre-disease state. The experience of the holistic Gerson Therapy changes you, not only in your lifestyle and eating habits, but also in your value system, priorities and general outlook. You have been reborn without the need to die first, and you may easily and naturally decide to help others, by way of repaying a debt to life. According to Norman Cousins in Anatomy of an Illness p. 86:

"Increasingly, in the medical press, articles are being published about the high cost of the negative emotions. Cancer, in particular, has been connected to intensive states of grief, anger, or fear. It makes little sense to suppose that emotions exact only penalties and confer no benefits. At any rate, long before my own serious illness, I became convinced that creativity, the will to live, hope, faith, and love had biochemical significance and contribute strongly to healing and well-being. The positive emotions are life-giving experiences."

Emphasizing positive emotions is by no means easy. Effort must be placed into coping with the negative emotions. The French Nobel physicist Marie Curie states, "Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less." Understanding of the disease process and its cause should be the first step. Identifying the underlying cause will enable the patient to comprehend the purpose of the Gerson program.

A basic understanding of the Gerson program brings confidence and a willingness to become involved in such a rigid, comprehensive program. The critically ill will find it difficult to concentrate on this learning stage and the family or accompanying person must assist with this function. The simple act of understanding and accepting the Gerson Therapy takes away some of the fear. It shows there is hope of reversing the disease process.

Words, though, will not take away all of the fear. Results are really what counts. Early improvement in the diseased state will do more than anything else to resurrect hope. Many arriving patients have lost the will to eat and drink. The Gerson program helps the patient over this period, giving them simple foods and juices that the body is able to easily digest. There is a restoration of circulation. Body function picks up. The nervous system function improves. The patients begins to eat, drink, and sleep much better. Almost immediately, the patient begins to feel strengthened. Their interest in life is stimulated. For the first time since the patient heard his diagnosis and prognosis, he realizes that there can be a future.

A drastic change of lifestyle, the inevitable ups and downs and healing crises of the process mean a severe test for even the most committed patient. It is our job to lighten that burden with steady support, empathy, and well-focused counseling.

Tasks:
• Creating a safe space through total listening and non-judgmental attention.
• Building a healing partnership with the patient, turning him/her into an active ally, able to share responsibility for the therapeutic process.
• Dispelling the superstitious fear attached to cancer. Re-programming the patient's consciousness, helping to reframe harmful concepts; identifying self-defeating patterns.
• Exploring the patient's belief system and family dynamics. If the latter is negative or hostile to the therapy, reverse it.
• Dealing with resentment and unfinished business.
• Coping with the drastic mood swings and sometimes antisocial behavior that can accompany the detoxification process.

Tools:
• First and foremost, the physician/therapist's own personality and calm, positive, reliable presence.
• Teaching relaxation techniques.
• Using simple meditations.
• Creative visualization linked to self-healing.
• Teaching affirmations.

Methods:
The cognitive approach is important. Patients are more willing to cooperate if they understand why they are asked to follow certain rules. Educating and developing the imaginative power of the right brain is equally valuable, as it complements and balances the purely mental approach. Besides, we are only beginning to know the therapeutic value of imaging work.

Gerson Protocol: psychology of recovery