Let the Placebo Principles Work for You

Every doctor has seen the patient come to the hospital in pain. Then the nurse administers the pain shot. But, BEFORE the medicine has a chance to act, the patient says the pain is gone. How did this happen?

When you read the package insert of the expensive medicine the doctor prescribed, you are amazed to find that 35% of the patients got relief with a placebo! You wonder, wouldn’t the placebo be cheaper?

In one trial of an arthritis medication, the swelling went down, the patient’s mobility increased, the appetite returned, and they slept better—on the placebo.

Why does this happen? Is it because the anxiety is reduced?

Humor makes you well.

Norman Cousins, a famous writer, was dying in UCLA medical center. His friends brought in comedies and he watched them all-day and laughed. He got well. That is because the comedies relaxed him, stopped the anxiety reinforcement, and raised his immunity. You can do this too!

It is a fact that the brain can release pain blockers, and chemicals for swelling. It can direct blood to certain areas and warm or cool injured areas. The brain can understand directions, and recall what a drug is supposed to do.

Brain remembers what the medicine does.

Jim was in pain. He was given morphine every four hours for his pain. This slowed his pulse and smoothed his breathing. On the fourth injection he was given placebo, and his heart slowed, his breathing smoothed, and the pain went away. His brain remembered what the shot was doing.

This is why, when the doctor gives the same pill in a white coating instead of the usual red, the patient says the pill didn’t work. The brain expected the red pill and didn’t have white pill memory.

Now that we understand that relaxation helps every kind of healing, and what power there is in the brain and in visualization, let’s apply it to your daily treatments and medications. Applied to any medical problem, these principles of medication enhancement will improve your health and well-being.

Medication Enhancement.

Checklist to amplify you medication’s effect:
A. Understand a much as possible haw the pill works, what it does. If it is a channel blocker-how does that help the heart?
B. What does the pill do? Lower insulin? Reduce inflammation? Visualize this process.
C. How is it taken? What schedule? By keeping a correct schedule, you act to take charge of your therapy.
D. Visualize the medicine actually working. Use all your senses.
E. What other factors can enhance the drug action? Plenty of water, bed rest, extra vitamins, good sleep, and relaxation.
F. Visualize a good result with the medication. Picture the handsome, brave knights of the antibiotic slashing the evil bacteria.
G. Recall the air of confidence of the doctor when she prescribes the medicine.
H. The more relaxed you are, the less anxiety, the more effective is your own body’s immunity and healing powers.
I. Enhance the recall of the drug effect. When you took the first teaspoon, it had an orange taste and it made you feel better. Now the teaspoon of medicine has an orange taste, and this too will make you feel better.
J. Use medication memory. Recall the good effect of the medication- pain reduction- so that the next pill does the same action. This can amplify the drug effect and allow you to reduce the actual dose.
K. Smiling and joy are the best immune therapies. Try to smile. Get in the habit of telling jokes.

This doctor gets better results.

The doctor who seems to get better results than others; he probably relaxes his patients, gives them a feeling of confidence, gives a good explanation of what the treatment/ or drug will do, and gives the patient insight as to what to expect from the drug. With that insight, the patient takes charge of his illness; he visualizes the medicine working; he visualizes the healing. This is not simply imagination. He is utilizing the brain to aid his healing. By being relaxed, his total immune system works better too.

Works for Chronic Sinusitis

In Chronic Sinusitis, an infection that keeps returning, doctors place the patient on Hydro Pulse Nasal/ Sinus irrigation. The gentle pulsation, the good feeling of flushing away thick mucus and pus, the pleasant memory of easy breathing after the flush- are implanted in memory. Every day the patient repeats the irrigation. The pleasant pulse sensation relaxes her, which aids natural healing. This relaxes the body too, and sends a message to the brain that this irrigation cured her before and it will do the same now. This is the focus of my specialty group, Tower Ear, Nose and Throat, and there is evidence of considerable benefit from this approach. Although the Hydro Pulse irrigation does restore good nasal cilia function and washes away bacteria effectively, the enhancement factors add to the therapeutic value of this treatment. Best of all, by avoiding repeated infections, we can avoid the need for surgery too!

These principles, from Stressed? Anxiety? Your Cure is in the Mirrror have worked for my patients and I am confident they will work for you. Smile! Visualize yourself healthy! Be well!