Positive Thinking = Good Medicine

We’ve been inundated with "the power of positive thinking" messages that they have become very hard to pay attention to. We have all hoped and wish and felt sure about something — only to have a very negative outcome happen. But positive thinking can help visibly in one area of your life, anyway — your health. Author Robert Moss reports that "at least 30% of medical treatments work because we believe they will". (Parade, 3/9/08). Positive thinking can be good medicine in conjunction with (and not in place of) your doctor’s recommended treatments.

Duke University Study

The most recent study about positive thinking as good medicine was releases by Duke University last week. It looked at 2,800 people with heart disease, which is a grim prognosis even for the most optimistic of us. It was found that optimists with heart disease lived longer than pessimists with the same condition.

This could be due to stress levels. Optimists have learned how to manage their stress by not worrying incessantly, having a sense of humor and interacting with others. The Duke University study also reports that optimistic patients with heart disease also prayed, counted their blessings and "hoped for the best". They also noted that optimists were more likely to follow doctor’s orders, as well, which certainly must be a contributing factor to their success rate. Why bother with medicines, diet and exercise if you feel you are doomed anyway?

Is It A Placebo Effect?

The placebo effect is a powerful, although usually temporary natural ability of the body to make you feel better. The placebo effect is so strong that all new drug tests have to include placebos in their clinical studies, to discount the effect being the source of improvement and not the new drug. If you are told a new pill or treatment will make you feel better, most of the time you will feel better just because you have been assured of the results.

Yet heart disease does not respond to placebos. Sure, the patient might feel better, but tests will show the heart is still in trouble. Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld, author of Dr. Rosenfeld’s Guide to Alternative Medicine, chronicles the tale of a patient taking a new drug for angina (a serious heart problem). During the test, he was given alternating doses of placebo with the real drug, so even Dr. Rosenfeld couldn’t tell which was the placebo and which was the real drug. Only the pharmaceutical company knew for sure. With the placebo, the fellow felt great. However, tests proved he still had angina. But the fellow was running around as if he were a kid. They had to take him out of the test, because if he continued ignoring his angina, he could die.

However, this placebo effect did not happen to the heart disease patients with positive thinking. They seemed to get better and not just think they were getting better.

So, if you have a chronic illness or worry about contracting a chronic illness, try to think about something else. It will help you mentally and physically.

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