Pass the Placebos Please
Placebos are "fake medicines" that actually work because our minds believe that they are real. Tricky, huh? The power of the mind can be a miraculous healing machine.
Nobody wants to hear that a natural treatment they have been using as an effective pain reliever is actually "fake" and that they were gullible to have believed that it was making them better. If someone were to tell me "It is your mind that is making you feel better stupid, not that wacky treatment!" my response to that person would be something like "Okay, whatever. But since I feel better, I don't see the harm." Obviously, that person is not happy I'm feeling better, OR, he has a rigid personality who has a strong need for proof. For me personally, I just want to feel better. I'm not struggling with a need to know everything. Although, I would likely be willing to stop using a treatment that is making me feel better if it were proven to me that it was my mind alone making me feel better and not the treatment. I would bless the "therapy-crutch" that lead me to the understanding that my mind was the actual healer and let it go.
If it were true that my healing was the result of believing wouldn't that make my "mental thinking" the placebo then? I mean, could it be scientifically proven that the mind can heal the body's ailments? Hey, we may be delving into the realm of miracles here. And, we know that science eyes miracles as occurences that require dissecting.
I probably love placebos more than any other kind of medicine. Why??? Because, if something truly is a placebo then the mind has proven itself to be powerful. Empowerment - now that is something to feel good about!
Marilynn Marchione is becoming infamous for her anti-alternative medicine bias!
Yes, I do believe in the placebo affect in western, eastern, and alternative medicines. A western doctor can cut it out or give a pill for whatever ails you. If you do not believe it will help, it doesn’t. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is the mind that controls the body. What we say, do, and even think effects how our body reacts. After all, if you are told you are stupid enough times, do you not believe it? We do have the power to heal ourselves and to control our lives. We lack the confidence to do so.