Think
Yourself Unhealthy - by Sep Meyer
We know
all about the Placebo Effect, a phenomenon that has been
identified, explored and documented for a
considerable time. The basic premise is that
a patient's positive expectations about an intervention
will result in a positive effect on the outcome.
There
seems little doubt, no matter how much of a sceptic one
is, that our minds and our mental processes, can exert a
considerable influence over our bodily responses.
Thus, with placebos, the effect of prescribing a drug or
a technique, that is described as having certain
curative properties, will result in a varying proportion
of cases and to a varying degree, in effecting a cure
(albeit temporary) in the medical condition being
treated.
What
has not been recognised until fairly recent times is
that the Placebo Effect has a reverse side. The
belief that something will be harmful to us, if taken
seriously on board, will equally tend to produce the
damaging condition that we fear. This has been
termed the Nocebo Effect and is here examined by Sep
Meyer.