Who is Doing the Healing and Sabotaging?
Since studies have shown the brain can heal the body and it is our brain and our body, why don’t we just heal ourselves? Just as in Wright’s case, even when a treatment is producing positive results, your brain nullifies these results if you discover the treatment is a placebo. This is called “the placebo paradox.” Our brain has miraculous healing powers, but it can deftly sabotage.
Placebo Paradox
Wright was seemingly cured of a stage four cancer because of his expectation, belief, and faith in the efficacy of the drug Krebiozen. When he heard the drug was ineffective, the cancer returned. When Dr. West convinced him he would be injected with a twice-as-potent, fresh batch of Krebiozen, once again he was miraculously cured.
Alas, when he read in the newspaper of the American Medical Society (AMS) final declaration that Krebiozen was worthless, his condition deteriorated rapidly and he died. The placebo worked miracles until Wright discovered it was a placebo response and not the efficacy of the drug.
Two books by former Harvard psychologist Herbert Benson, “The Relaxation Response,” and “ Relaxation Revolution,” deal with getting around the placebo paradox. First you learn about the proven benefits and technique of the relaxation response. Then you perform the technique. You act and experience the therapeutic effect. The belief, faith, and expectation set up by understanding the proven benefits is reinforced and the effective therapy becomes even more potent. It is the opposite of a vicious circle; a healing circle.
Not that the Relaxation Response itself is a placebo, but belief, faith, and expectation give the treatment boosted power. This works with other effective self therapies, like Ki Breathing Meditation, Open-Focus, Attention-Training Therapy (ATT), and Metacognitive Therapy (MCT). You start the process by learning about and understanding the therapies. Then you put them into action, reinforcing the learning and the belief, expectation, and faith. The treatment effect gets stronger and stronger and so does your belief, expectancy and faith.
Ki breathing Meditation, Open-Focus Training, ATT, and Metacognitive Therapy are some of the effective attention therapies that helped turn my life around. From absolute rock bottom to a place I never believed I could be.
At this late stage of life I want to pass it on.
Self-help books that help:
Total Self-Renewal through Attention Therapies and Open Focus
The Open-Focus Brain: Harnessing the Power of Attention to Heal Mind and Body
