 Nocebo - Negative Thoughts Can Harm
The Nocebo Effect is simply the opposite of a Placebo, meaning your thoughts have the ability to harm instead of heal. Here is another true story to think about as you go about your day. In 1974 a man by the name of Sam Londe was diagnosed, by his doctor, as having cancer of the esophagus. He was told that this kind of cancer is a particularly vicious form of cancer and was at the time considered to be 100% fatal. So both his doctor and Sam knew that he would die fairly quickly. And in a few weeks, Sam died. End of story - right? Read on. An autopsy found that Sam did not have cancer. They did find a couple of small spots on his liver and one in the lung, but not the Cancer of the Esophagus they thought he had. And there was no way these small spots of cancer would have killed him. So he died with cancer but not from cancer. So what did he die of? Sam thought he would die from cancer. Everyone around him thought he had cancer and would die. His doctor - ‘the specialist’ - ‘the expert in the white coat’ - had made it very clear he had an extreme form of cancer and would not survive. Sam was surrounded by negative beliefs - especially the belief that he was powerless. And yet…..he did not have cancer. He died from the collective belief that he was going to die of cancer. He died from thoughts. Most people don’t realize that our positive and negative beliefs impact our health on a cellular level. (see Epigenetics, or Dr Bruce Lipton’s book, The Biology of Belief) And beliefs do not just affect our health, but also our relationships, our careers, and even our general happiness. Your Beliefs are filters that affect how you see yourself and the world. More importantly, at a cellular level, what you believe is communicated and transmitted throughout your body - physically! But you already knew this - didn’t you? Fight or Flight Think about a time when you felt really down and depressed. What physical effect did that have on you at the time? Were you vibrant and dynamic? Or were you lethargic, slow, tense, or “uptight”? Or remember a time when you believed you heard a prowler in the house. You were afraid, right? When you perceive a threat or danger, your body will automatically kick in a survival mechanism called the fight or flight response. Now realize these are biological, chemical, and physical reactions that your body will go through - all in response to a perceived threat….or a thought. Adrenaline is released into the bloodstream, your heart starts beating faster, you breathe harder - providing more oxygen to the muscles, blood is diverted away from your digestion, excretion, and reproductive tracts (no time for hanky panky when you’re running for your life!), your pupils dilate, your hair stands on end, your sweat glands increase secretion while your saliva dries up. Don’t ever think that your thoughts, or your beliefs do not have an effect on your physical body. They do. And they have the power to harm, as in the examples above. But don’t forget, they also have the power to heal. It all depends on your thoughts. Lessons To Take Away As you go through your day today, be aware - - - what you think about and focus on has an effect at a deep cellular level. Thoughts can harm. Not only yourself, but others. It may seem quite impossible to monitor ALL your thoughts - but try to ignore the negative ones Or, when you can’t ignore it, try to flip it around to a positive side. Remember - every cloud has a silver lining. You just have to look for it. Once you see the positive side, focus on that. Let the negative thoughts roll off your back. When you encounter problems and resistance, commit yourself to resolution of these problems and focus on positive action you can take to start to resolve them. Then do something about it! Take action!
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An Affirmation is Simply a Statement of Belief