Health issues can start at the beginning of stress or other situations going on in a person’s life.

On Nov. 12, the IU Southeast chapter of the nationally known organization Psi Chi invited Jordana Van, holistic healer, to discuss how to help with some of these health issues. Van said they can become aware through their emotional patterns and self-judgements.

She said that weight gain, the flu, headaches and sinus infections are created by the thoughts people are thinking and gave recommendations of how people are able to prevent them.

Van said some people have body dysmorphic disorder, a psychological disorder that deals with a person’s perception of their appearance. She said people who have BDD obsess over their defects and do not clearly see what they look like. Van said a person may be a normal weight but view themselves as weighing much more.

To heal this, Van said she asks them what they think they should look like followed by why they should look that way. She said she uses talk therapy and looks for flares such as voice changes or flushed skin.

And then there’s the flu.

Van said the flu is mainly caused from stressors. She said the flu forces you to give yourself time off and to rest.

When you start to feel tired and vulnerable you need to take a break and look at where you are stressed out,” Van said.

Van said that sinus infections are mainly caused by anger.

“If the infection starts in your throat, then it is caused by anger. If it starts in the forehead then you are having trouble resolving a situation,” Van said.

Jen Beamer, psychology senior, said she learned that the location of a sinus infection could tell the sick person about problems they might be facing.

Van said to heal the sinus infection the person needs to ask themselves what situation or person is making them upset and then try to correct it.

Van said that headaches, more specifically migraines, occur when a person constantly thinks they cannot be what they want or do what they want to do. She said a person will ultimately feel stuck. She said when someone feels it coming on, they should ask themselves what they need to do.

“I did not know that simply asking yourself what you needed to do could heal your headaches. The connection with your physical state and emotions I found interesting,” Hillary Geswein, psychology senior, said.

Not everyone who attended the discussion was convinced what Van said was true. Beamer said still had her doubts but found what Van said entertaining.

“I thought the discussion was interesting. My mom is interested in this topic, but I tend to be a bit skeptical,” Beamer said.

Geswein said she was not sure what to expect but she was pleasantly surprised with what she heard. She thought her approach was unique and found the discussion to be interesting.

Van concluded her discussion by saying, “How we perceive something ultimately determines whether we will get sick.”

To learn more about holistic healing, visit http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/what-is-holistic-medicine