I'm Christa Tippett, today stress and the balance within.

My guest, Dr. Esther Sternberg, works at the molecular level of the mind body connection.

She describes how the language of genes, neurotransmitters and hormones is helping science to use

knowledge that human beings have always possessed intuitively.

The notion that stress can make you sick, that believing can make you well, all of these

things, the ancient Greeks knew that the ancient Asians, the Chinese, Japanese tradition,

this is known for thousands of years.

And if we've known this for so long, how did we forget, why did we forget, and have

we found our way back?

This is speaking of faith, stay with us.

This public radio podcast is supported by the Fetzer Institute as part of its campaign

for love and forgiveness, online at loveandforgive.org.

I'm Christa Tippett.

The American experience of stress has launched a multi-billion dollar self-help industry.

My guest today, Dr. Esther Sternberg, is wary of that, but she says until very recently

that modern science did not have the tools or the inclination to take emotional stress

seriously.

This hour, she shares what science is learning at the molecular level of the mind body

connection.

Why does stress make us sick, while rest and music, belief and friendship help us to heal?

From American public media, this is speaking of faith, public radio's conversation about

religion, meaning, ethics, and ideas.

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