The Placebo Effect: The Power of the Mind to Heal

 

The Power of the Mind to Heal

For quite some time, it has been understood that the mind and the body are inextricably connected. One area of study in which this truth has become apparent is in the area of psychosomatics. Psychosomatics is the area of human study in which it can be observed, measured and reported that certain negative mental conditions, such as anxiety, stress or cognitive dissonance, can contribute to the development of physical illnesses. There is a great deal of truth embedded in the statement, “he/she is worried sick.”

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When it comes to psychosomatic symptoms that are produced by such mental disturbances, such as stress and anxiety, psychosomatic illness can be easily explained from a physiological perspective. This is because the presence of stress or anxiety will produce what is known as the stress hormone — cortisol — which in large amounts for prolonged periods, can be extremely harmful.

Defining Stress

Stress, in an acute sense, is inevitable, and cortisol is designed to help humans effectively deal with acute stress. Cortisol is the result of a balanced chemical and physiological response to stress. This response is facilitated through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. While this article is not primarily focused on psychosomatics and illnesses related to certain mental conditions, it is about the power of the mind to autogenously produce healing. By laying the scientific foundation for how the mind can create illness, it will make it easier to develop, at least, a limited perspicacity of how the mind can also produce healing.

In biology, stress refers to the reaction when a physical organism fails to appropriately respond to a threat (Randall, 2011). Some stress can be beneficial, such as providing the impetus to meet deadlines in order to accomplish personal and professional goals; however, when stress reaches chronic levels, and deleterious consequences are subsequent, leading to a number of physiological conditions that include a compromised immune system, uncontrolled weight gain and developmental impairment. The negative impact on the body can be overwhelming and cyclical.

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The stress response is largely governed by the glucocorticoids — the primary molecules involved in the stress response. The level of glucocorticoids is determined by how well the stress is managed on a psychological and emotional level, meaning that stress can be ephemeral and beneficial, or it can become chronic and intensely harmful, causing a number of negative physiological implications, such as depression, Suffocation and even paralysis — making effective stress management a priority.

Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone that has been synthesized from cholesterol by enzymes of the cytochrome P450 family in the zona fasciculata — the middle area of the adrenal cortex. Being regulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis), cortisol is the primary hormone responsible for stress response. Under normal conditions, cortisol works to restore homeostasis following a stressful event, and the effects associated with the presence of cortisol are experienced throughout the entire body, impacting several homeostatic mechanisms.

The Positive Side of a Negative Equation

The law of polarity — one of the seven universal laws — declares that everything exists as a diametric dichotomy — having its pair of direct opposites; therefore, if negative mental conditions can produce negative physiological responses, we can reason, with certainty, that a positive mental condition will result in positive physiological responses. The placebo-effect is a term that is used in the scientific arena to explain the phenomenon in which patients who are given a placebo actually improve at a rate equal to or better than the patient who was actually given active medication. From a scientific perspective, a placebo is defined as an inert substance that has no effect on the body, such as sugar pills (Mercola, 2016), or an inactive substance such as saline solution or distilled water (Staff, 2016).

Currently, there is a circulating documentary entitled, “The Power of the Placebo,” which shows how placebos work to harness the power of healing without the use of medications — in many cases — achieving far better results than the individuals who have taken active medications for the same condition, under the same environmental influences.

The Healing Power of the Mind

While it may be triggered by the taking of the placebo, this healing phenomenon is actually the result of the suggestive power of the mind, which reflects the principles associated with the first immutable law of the seven universal laws — the Law of Mentalism. A growing body of researchers holds to the idea that the effectiveness of many of the medications on the market is a direct result of the placebo-effect, and nothing more, meaning that it is not the medications that are responsible for improving the existing condition of the patient, but the mental suggestion that healing is inevitable.

What is interesting is the fact that drug companies are finding it increasingly difficult to get pain-reducing drugs through clinical trials, due to the fact that people’s responses to placebos are getting increasingly stronger, making it more difficult to prove that the drug actually works.

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An example in which the placebo effect was apparent was during an experiment that involved bicyclists. All participants were informed that they would be given either a standard performance enhancing supplement containing caffeine, or a new supplement, expected to improve performance to a greater degree that the standard caffeine pill.

However, there was a twist to this experiment. Both pills offered to these cyclists were placebos, containing only corn flour. The races were asked to participate in two races in one day. The first race was to set the baseline for their performance, and the second was to test their performance after taking the placebo. Interestingly, even though none of the racers were given a performance enhancing supplement, and they were noticeably tired after the first race, half of them improved on their initial times.

The placebo effect even caused one cyclist to break his personal best speed record. There have now been hundreds of these types of studies conducted on athletes, and the results reported during this particular experiment are typical.

When it comes to athletic performance, the placebo will increase performance about three percent, which may not seem like much, until it is placed in proper context. In athletics, a three percent improvement in performance can be the difference in taking the Olympic Gold Metal and failing to place in the top 10.

Another way that the placebo effect can be observed is in fake surgery. There is a growing wealth of empirical data that suggest that fake surgeries produce equal or better benefits when the results are placed juxtaposed to the results from real surgery, in which the problem is actually addressed. These types of results, again, suggest that it is likely that the positive results from the real surgery could actually be attributed to the placebo effect, and not the surgery itself.

How the Placebo Effect Works

We now possess enough empirical data to know that the placebo effect works, but it may not be as clear how this process takes place. Researchers writing in The Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology (Benedetti, Carlino, & Pollo, 2011) noted the following observations, as it pertains the physiological responses to the placebo.

1. First, it should be noted that the placebo effect is basically a psychosocial context effect, and therefore, the data indicated that different social stimuli, such as rituals and words of the therapeutic act, may change the circuitry and chemistry of the patient’s brain.
2. Second, the mechanisms that are ultimately activated by the placebo are the same mechanisms activated by drugs — suggesting a cognitive-affective interference with drug action.
3. Third, if prefrontal functioning is impaired, placebo responses are significantly reduced or completely lacking, as occurs in the type of dementia associated with Alzheimer’s, so therefore lucid cognitive function is necessary to experience the placebo effect.

Through the use of brain imaging technology, scientist have been able to determine that even when a placebo is used in place of active medication, the brain still responds according to the patient’s expectations, which means that it is not even the placebo as much as it is the belief by the patient that healing will take place. In essence, what we have learned is that the mind is a powerful healer. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace, Ph.D.

Bibliography

Benedetti, F., Carlino, E., & Pollo, A. (2011). How Placebos Change the Patients Brain. The Journal of Neuropscyhopmarmacology, 339-354.

Mercola, J. (2016, March 12). Healing with the Power of Placebo. Mercola.com: Take Control of Your Health.

Randall, M. (2011). The Physiology of Stress: Cortisol and the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis. Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science.

Staff, E. (2016, March 12). Definition of Placebo Effect. Medicine.net.