In a previous post, I told the story of Mr. Wright, whose belief in the efficacy of the medicine he was receiving cured his tumors, and subsequently brought them back. When he believed the treatment was working, Mr. Wright’s tumors melted like snowballs; a dying patient misunderstood 13 doctors and thought he was well. Here are other situations where people believed they would be helped. Let’s have some fun discovering the power of mind!
For decades, the gold standard of medical research has been the double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. You give one group of patients a medicine you want to test and another group a dummy pill that has no active ingredients. Neither patients nor doctors know who’s getting which. Placebo trials are used to tell researchers whether a tested drug has any healing effect beyond that which occurs a certain percentage of time when people take an inert pill. In 2003 a major debate erupted when a group of doctors discussed the immoral and unethical aspects of utilizing placebo. Their reasoning was that regular and beneficial medicine was being withheld from a patient. The co-authors of the article addressing this topic and stating this debate were Kenneth Rothman, Ph.D. from Boston Univ. School of Public Health, and Karen Michels, Harvard School of Public Health. Both stated that to give a patient a placebo that has a ‘known efficacy of zero’, was highly unethical. Other doctors jumped into the debate stating that placebos are ‘just a nuisance variable.’ Let’s see the power of mind and belief and look at a few of the results that came from the placebo groups. All these can be located throughout medical literature.
“In the 1950s angina pectoris, recurrent pain in the chest and left arm due to decreased blood flow to the heart, was commonly treated with surgery. Rather than doing the customary surgery of tying off the mammary artery…some resourceful doctors (obviously not in the US) cut patients open and then simply sewed them back up again without doing anything. The patients who received a sham surgery reported as much relief as the patients who had the full surgery.” A group of diabetics was given a placebo and told it was a new type of insulin. They had no insulin related reactions throughout the study.
“In nine double-blind studies comparing placebos to aspirin, placebos proved to be 54% as effective as the actual analgesic.” Compared to a stronger painkiller such as morphine, “in six double-blind studies placebos were found to be 56% as effective as morphine in relieving pain.”
“In a study of a tranquilizer called, mephenesin, researchers found that 10-20 percent of the test subjects experienced negative side effects – including nausea, itchy rash, and heart palpitations – regardless of whether they were given the actual drug or a placebo.”
In the book, The Psychology of Mind-Body Healing, the author stated, “in other words the effectiveness of placebo compared to standard doses of different analgesic drugs under double-blind circumstances is relative constant for all studies…55-60%.”
“In 1980 there were over 1,000 articles dealing with placebos. Placebos had a high rate of activity in the areas of cough, mood swings, diabetes, anxiety, asthma, sarcoma, dermatitis, headaches, rheumatoid arthritis, radiation sickness, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s.” "A group of patients were told they were given LSD when in fact they were give the placebo. They had all the physiological effects noted with LSD” “During a study of headache, 120 out of 199 patients receiving the placebo obtained relief.”
“In a test of the drug Clofibrate versus placebo for cholesterol level and cardiovascular mortality, the placebo outperformed the drug.” “Placebo effectiveness is in proportion to what the doctor and patient think they are using. Two placebo pills are better than one and an injection always seems to be more effective than a pill. Placebo capsules are more effective than tablets. When placebos are administered, the yellow and orange are great for mood manipulators, the dark red as a sedative; white as pain killers and lavender as hallucinogens.” These and even more startling results can be found in the medical literature. In every medical study the placebo group showed positive results. The placebo is such a nuisance to medicine! It is a guide to our greater abilities. Yes, it is all in the mind. How we use our mind is our choice. To inspire and empower.
“In the 1950s angina pectoris, recurrent pain in the chest and left arm due to decreased blood flow to the heart, was commonly treated with surgery. Rather than doing the customary surgery of tying off the mammary artery…some resourceful doctors (obviously not in the US) cut patients open and then simply sewed them back up again without doing anything. The patients who received a sham surgery reported as much relief as the patients who had the full surgery.” A group of diabetics was given a placebo and told it was a new type of insulin. They had no insulin related reactions throughout the study.
“In nine double-blind studies comparing placebos to aspirin, placebos proved to be 54% as effective as the actual analgesic.” Compared to a stronger painkiller such as morphine, “in six double-blind studies placebos were found to be 56% as effective as morphine in relieving pain.”
“In a study of a tranquilizer called, mephenesin, researchers found that 10-20 percent of the test subjects experienced negative side effects – including nausea, itchy rash, and heart palpitations – regardless of whether they were given the actual drug or a placebo.”
In the book, The Psychology of Mind-Body Healing, the author stated, “in other words the effectiveness of placebo compared to standard doses of different analgesic drugs under double-blind circumstances is relative constant for all studies…55-60%.”
“In 1980 there were over 1,000 articles dealing with placebos. Placebos had a high rate of activity in the areas of cough, mood swings, diabetes, anxiety, asthma, sarcoma, dermatitis, headaches, rheumatoid arthritis, radiation sickness, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s.” "A group of patients were told they were given LSD when in fact they were give the placebo. They had all the physiological effects noted with LSD” “During a study of headache, 120 out of 199 patients receiving the placebo obtained relief.”
“In a test of the drug Clofibrate versus placebo for cholesterol level and cardiovascular mortality, the placebo outperformed the drug.” “Placebo effectiveness is in proportion to what the doctor and patient think they are using. Two placebo pills are better than one and an injection always seems to be more effective than a pill. Placebo capsules are more effective than tablets. When placebos are administered, the yellow and orange are great for mood manipulators, the dark red as a sedative; white as pain killers and lavender as hallucinogens.” These and even more startling results can be found in the medical literature. In every medical study the placebo group showed positive results. The placebo is such a nuisance to medicine! It is a guide to our greater abilities. Yes, it is all in the mind. How we use our mind is our choice. To inspire and empower.
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