To Your Health
The Power of Belief

by Paulette Avery, R.N., M.S.N.

Most likely you are familiar with the term "the placebo effect." The term refers to the power of a person s belief to cause physical benefits from something considered to have no healing power, such as a sugar pill. Most people think of the placebo effect in a negative manner. For example, in my early years in nursing I worked on the orthopedic unit of a hospital. Many of the patients I cared for suffered from chronic pain, and dispensing pain medication was a major part of my duties on that unit. Occasionally, a doctor would order saline injections in place of narcotics. When this placebo medication was effective, the staff usually took this to mean that the patient s pain was not legitimate.

I am glad to say that I now have a very different view on the subject. The human mind is amazingly powerful. To a large extent, what we believe becomes our reality. So if we believe a treatment will work, even if the treatment has little intrinsic ability to do so, we are likely to gain some benefit from it. But the opposite is also true. Even the most effective medical treatments may have little benefit for a person who has no faith in the treatment s ability to help him regain health. It can even mean that something intrinsically harmless can cause damage to someone who believes it is harmful. This phenomenon is called the "nocebo effect."

So how do we make use of our beliefs to increase our ability to heal and enjoy wellness? There are many ways, including a book some of you may remember I recommended a few years ago titled, Your Body Believes Every Word You Say. More recently, I ve read a book by Dr. Herbert Benson called, Timeless Healing: The Power and Biology of Belief. In it he reports the results of his many years of research on the subject. Because of the negative connotation now attached to the placebo effect, Dr. Benson suggests using the term "remembered wellness" in its place.

I hope you will read the book because I can only touch on the content. Here are some practical applications from it.

1. Choose a caregiver you like and in whom you have confidence. For me, this means someone I can talk to comfortably who really listens to me. I want a doctor or caregiver with strong credentials in their field, who believes in what he or she is doing and in my ability to contribute to my own health.

2. Spend time each day in focused relaxation or meditation. Ten to 20 minutes a day devoted to quieting your mind will also allow your body to quiet and to make use of its natural ability to heal.

3. Begin to identify negative thinking in your life, and then change those thoughts in a positive direction. Pay attention to the constant chatter in your mind, and you will probably discover how much negative thinking goes on in your head without your conscious attention to it.

4. Use visualizations and affirmations. If you are upset about something, try repeating one of these phrases: I can handle it. I am peaceful. I am becoming healthy and strong. Let it be.

If prayer is part of your life, use it to bring peace of mind. Or focus on a relaxing and peaceful scene in your mind, such as a favorite vacation spot. Your mind s focus on that remembered place can bring back the same feelings you had when you were there.

According to Dr. Benson, using remembered wellness in concert with the help of a caring doctor or healer can affect or cure up to 90 percent of medical complaints. Now is the time for you to tap into your own power of belief.

Paulette Avery is a registered nurse and a freelance writer specializing in health issues.