Newsworthies

Image Gallery

Selected doin's of well-known MOTHER-types from around the world.

NORMAN COUSINS

In 1984 Norman Cousins, editor of the Saturday Review, became ill. His body ached, he began to have trouble moving his limbs, and gravel-like deposits appeared under his skin. Cousins sought out medical opinion, but-aside from a general diagnosis of a collagen disorder no specific explanation or course of treatment could be found . . . his sickness was "incurable".

Cousins was not willing to accept a passive victim's role, however. With the aid of his physician, the journalist put together a personal course of treatment that involved massive doses of vitamin C . . . and equally large injections of laughter. Cousins found that watching a Marx brothers' movie so relaxed him and so effectively anesthetized his pain-that he was able to sleep without the aid of drugs.

The editor eventually cured himself of his ailment . . . though it's impossible to tell whether the remission of his symptoms was brought about by a placebo effect or by the vitamin and laughter therapy (or a combination of the two). What is important is that Cousins' attitude that of a combatant armed with positive emotions and a strong will to live-played a major role in his recovery. You can read the inspiring story in Anatomy of an Illness (W.W. Norton, 1979, $9.95). It's a book that has important implications for every aspect of the wholistic movement in medicine! -PH.

STEVEN D.JELLINEK

Occasionally supporters of integrated pest management like the late Dr. Robert van den Bosch (subject of the Plowboy Interview in MOTHER NO. 58) must feel like the prophets of old . . . voices crying in the wilderness.

But there's some good news for folks interested in treading softly on the earth, and it comes-surprisingly enough from Washington, D.C.! Under the supervision of Assistant Administrator Steven D. Jellinek, the Environmental Protection Agency has recently approved a number of wholistic insect controls. "These 'bio-rational' methods," says Jellinek, "including insect viruses, bacteria, and artificial hormones, are environmentally desirable because they curb specific pests without killing beneficial insects or harming people and wildlife."