Placebo is Latin for “I shall please,” and is the term used when an inert substance, like a sugar pill, makes a person feel better simply because they believe it will make them better.  Nocebo means “I shall harm,” and is used when symptoms worsen after receiving an inert treatment.  

There are numerous studies proving the nocebo effect.  The International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS) did a study in 2009.  They took 140 women who either requested an analgesia just prior to giving birth or were about to have a cesarian section, and divided them into two equal groups.  The first (nocebo) group was told, “You are going to feel a big sting and burn in your back now, like a big bee sting; this is the worst part of the procedure.” The second (placebo) group was told, “We are going to inject the local anesthetic that will numb the area where we are going to do the epidural/spinal anesthesia and you will be comfortable during the procedure.”  According to the IARS, “The nocebo group reported a significantly higher score [of pain] after injection of the local analgesic compared with the placebo group.”

The National Institute of Health reported on a study where runners were given an inert pill (cornstarch and gelatin).  Some were told it would help their running speed (placebo), others were told it would hinder their speed (nocebo).  The nocebo group ran slower than the baseline, “suggesting that negative belief exerted a negative effect on performance.”

Another study, reported by Science Daily, had 147 people watch a documentary.  One group was shown a report about health hazards associated with cell phone and WiFi signals, the other group watched a report on internet security. They were then told that they were being exposed to WiFi signals when, in actuality, they were not. “54% of the subjects reported experiencing agitation and anxiety, loss of concentration or tingling in their fingers, arms, legs, and feet. Two participants left the study prematurely because their symptoms were so severe that they no longer wanted to be exposed to the assumed radiation.”

Studies like these, demonstrate that words, both positive and negative, can affect people on a very deep level.  Even when a person is feeling strong and empowered, like a runner, they can be affected.  When someone is feeling vulnerable, as is the case when preparing to receive results from a medical test, or going in for a treatment, they are even more apt to be affected by statements, believing the people who they feel have authority.

My suggestion is to imagine an invisible filter around you when you are about to learn important health test results. It’s also a good idea while watching the news.  This is not the same as disregarding what you hear.  Listen to the words, take time to understand them fully, and take them as information.  Let the imaginary filter keep any negativity, out.  In other words, claim your power.  Know that you have control over how words affect you.  Create your own reality by consciously deciding how you move through your health situations.  

Health professionals, which include everyone from doctors to energy workers, dentists to counselors, have more power than they may realize.  Not only do they have skill and knowledge to help heal people, but their choice of using positive or negative words affect their patients, as well.  In the same breath, I’ll state that we all have more power than we may realize.  We are all capable of choosing how words affect us.

The lesson here is two-fold; 1) Health professionals need to choose their words wisely when they convey health information to their patients/clients.  2) Patients/clients need to filter out negativity from the facts, and mentally transform it into positivity.   

Next time you start feeling ill, instead of thinking to yourself, “Oh, no, I’m getting sick,”  think about how healthy you are.  Honor your immune system for being strong and capable of providing pure health.  Whatever you do, don’t allow anyone to use a nocebo effect on you.  Not even yourself! 

The Cure Is...” is the title of my favorite documentary. Watching it made me feel empowered, which put me in a good mood. This inspired me to draw on the energy of my good mood, to think more positively, which made me feel grateful and deep down happy.

This documentary featuring Bob Proctor from the movie, “The Secret,” Dr. Bernie Siegal, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Bruce Lipton, Dr. Sue Morter and Gregg Braden, discusses the role that our belief system plays on our health. It focuses on the power of the mind, and emphasizes the importance of choosing healthy thoughts.

They compare the human body to a car, and the mind to the driver of the car. They propose that instead of reading our body’s warning signs, which are much like warning lights in a car, we mask and ignore them until a problem becomes so large that it can’t be ignored any longer. They admit that there are times when cars wind up in a junk yard because of mechanical failure, but they drive a point home (a little pun there) that the majority of the time, cars are junked because of driver error. We’re not choosing our thoughts carefully enough.

The Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy says, “Ninety percent of disease is caused or complicated by stress. Some of the leading conditions that cause the greatest health burden in this country — heart disease, stroke, cancer, and severe depression — are linked to stress, and to a large extent are preventable.”

So how, exactly, are these things preventable if they’re caused by stress? Most of the time we can’t change the things in the world that stress us out, so what we have to do is change the way we look at our stressors. In other words, we have to change our thoughts.

According to the movie, “The nervous system reads the environment and sends signals to our cells. Between the environment and our cells, is perception. It’s not the environment that controls our cells. It’s our perception of the environment that has control of our cells.”

Changing our perception, our thoughts about what’s happening around us, is a key to preventing heart disease, stroke, cancer and severe depression.

If thoughts of stress bring on and exacerbates disease, does that mean that beautiful, positive and loving thoughts can make us healthy? As the movie suggests, “Consider the possibility of infinite possibilities.” What if we truly had the power to keep and make ourselves well? Would you be willing to work at being calm while in a difficult situation? Could you find it in your heart to forgive someone who has done you wrong? Could you set aside fear and anger, to allow thoughts of pure health and happiness? These things are not easy. In fact, they can be a big challenge, but they are possible.

If you’re interested in how optimism, love, forgiveness, positive affirmations, the law of attraction, and your conscious and unconscious mind directly affect your health, see this movie. It’s an hour and 15 minutes long.

I will be showing this inspirational documentary, free of charge, as a community service, at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, July 27, at the Valley Alternative Healing Center, 719 Roskilde Road, Solvang. A complimentary and complementary restorative yoga class, including meditation about health will follow, for anyone who would like to stay for it.

Remember, when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at, change.