The Nocebo Effect

If positive beliefs correspond with the placebo effect, conversely negative beliefs have the ability to trigger a nocebo (Latin translation –I will harm) effect. The nocebo effect is a term to describe an ill effect caused by a suggestion or belief that something is harmful. In 2003, the Discovery Channel aired a program called ‘Placebo, Mind over Medicine’. One segment featured Dr. Clifton Meador, a physician who had been haunted by the nocebo effect for twenty nine years. Dr. Meador informed his patient who suffered from esophageal cancer that the prognosis was grim, as this disease had a 100% mortality rate. Upon the patient’s demise shortly after the diagnosis, an autopsy revealed that there was actually very little cancer in his body, and definitely not enough to cause death. He died with cancer, but not from cancer. Dr. Meador began to question if he had not given the patient that terminal prognosis, would he still be alive? Was it the implication of inevitable death the basis for his demise, since clearly the cancer was not the causation?  Our biology adapts to our beliefs and that is the source to understanding the powerful influence of our mind and creation. We can choose to live in fear or in love. One allows our cells to be more susceptible to disease, and the other to wellbeing. The proverbial glass half full or half empty theory is not just an aphorism; it is the recipe to a healthy productive life. 

Thoughts are translated into chemistry, chemistry is translated into biology. Be gentle with yourself, and your body will thank you with good health.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1qd_yfMbjU
 Read an excerpt from the best selling book  I co-wrote about the nocebo effect called "The Wellness Code"~
   http://www.newdirectioncoaching.com