Don’t Poo-Poo the Placebo
In my earlier post entitled “Hypnosis: True or False”, I mentioned that I might do a post on the subject of the placebo effect. Well, here it is! It’s a fascinating subject that is well worth exploring further. Hope you learn something from it.
When people hear the word placebo, they generally think of it as something fake, or of no value. But there’s nothing fake about the positive, documented results the placebo effect can produce. We humans like to think we’re too intelligent to “fall” for a placebo. Our egos simply cannot accept the idea of a phony medication doing anyone any good. In other words, we don’t like the idea of being “tricked” into healing, but it happens every day. And the bottom line is that the body knows how to heal itself!
Medical doctors are very familiar with placebos, and they use them… probably more than we realize. The fact is, well over 1/3 of all manufactured drugs are no better than a sugar pill. So, what’s really doing the healing? The answer is… the wisdom of the human body! Our body knows exactly how to heal itself – IF we just get our egotistical, doubting minds out of the way. The following is a true story of a man who had a miraculous healing by way of a placebo. It also tells what happened when he began to doubt his reason for healing.
A true story
In 1950, Dr. Bruno Klopfer had a patient referred to as Mr. Wright. Mr. Wright was hospitalized and expected to die from cancer within days. Having heard of a new wonder drug called Krebiozen, Wright asked to be included in the hospital’s test of the new drug. Initially he was rejected because doctors thought that he was too far gone to benefit from anything. But Wright was convinced that Krebiozen would save his life, so he persisted and was ultimately accepted into the study.
Dr. Klopfer gave Wright an injection of Krebiozen – but didn’t expect to see any positive results. Wright was bedridden in feeble condition, gasping for air. The next day, he was on his feet, walking up and down the halls, telling the story of his miraculous recovery to everyone! What’s interesting is that none of the other patients in the study experienced any benefits from the drug whatsoever. Mr. Wright was the only one who had positive results. The tumor masses in his body had melted away by 50% in just 3 days. It’s important to note here that Wright only receive one single injection of Krebiozen. No other medications were used. Wright left the hospital shortly thereafter almost entirely symptom free, and even took a flight in his own airplane with no significant discomfort at all.
belief changes the outcome
After 2 full months of good health, Mr. Wright saw reports on the news that Krebiozen wasn’t as effective as doctors had hoped. This news caused Wright to relapse right back into the disease and his tumors quickly returned. Back at the hospital, doctors convinced Wright that they would give him a new “double strength” dose of the drug. In reality, they injected him with pure water! In no time at all, Wright was healthy and tumor free once again. Two months later the AMA released their findings on the effectiveness of Krebiozen. Their conclusion: “Nationwide tests shows Krebiozen to be a worthless drug in treatment of cancer.” After hearing this, Wright died within a few days! So, it’s not the power of the pill that heals, it’s the power of one’s belief.
case study
Another interesting study was conducted in 2002 by the Veteran’s Administration and Baylor College in Houston, TX. The study was to determine the effects of “placebo” arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee. Results of the study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in July of the same year.
There were 180 people who participated in the study. They were broken down into 3 groups. All members participating in the study were informed that some would receive actual surgery and some wouldn’t. Members of group 1 were given standard knee surgery where surgeons remove the damaged tissues. Members of group 2 were treated with an arthroscopic lavage that flushes out damaged cartilage. With group 3, participants underwent simulated arthroscopic surgery. There were incisions made in the skin only, but no surgery was performed on the damaged tissues in the knee. Sounds and videos of an actual surgery were played during this procedure to make the experience as “real” as possible.
After 2 years of follow-up examinations, ALL members of the study experienced similar results in pain reduction and functionality. What was most surprising was that the placebo group had even better outcomes than the other 2 groups!
the mind can heal the body
These true stories clearly demonstrate the awesome power of the body’s ability to heal itself… once you get the mind out of the way. This is essentially the way hypnosis works in certain cases. It bypasses the “critical factor” in the conscious mind and goes directly to the powerful sub-conscious mind. The sub-conscious mind and the body are in constant communication, and they know how to heal whatever needs to be healed.
The main reason why we have to bypass the conscious mind is because it thinks it’s in control. In reality, it has control over very little. The conscious mind is where the ego is – it thinks it knows everything about everything and is never wrong! Yes, it’s egotistical and highly resistant to changing. But it’s not all bad, and it plays an important role in our daily lives. There are many things it does very well.
just a tool
That being said, I think it’s also important to point out that not all of what we can do with hypnosis involves the placebo effect; in fact, very few procedures are dependent upon it. It’s just one small tool in our hypno-toolbox… just like the sugar pill is only one option for medical doctors. The vast majority of the work I do, has to do with making changes to my client’s beliefs and perspectives. Most of my clients have problems because they’re living with an outdated, obsolete belief somewhere.
Like most everything else, many of a person’s present-day problems are rooted in a belief they picked up earlier in life, possibly even in childhood. They don’t remember when or where they got it… but it’s there nonetheless. And perspectives (points of view) regarding their problem – or the cause of it – can be just as troublesome. These are what require the most attention in the majority of my sessions.
the bottom line
The bottom line to all of this is that we humans are amazing and complex creatures. In some ways brilliant, while at the same time quite primitive. It’s a good thing that our bodies know how to heal themselves, otherwise we would have gone extinct long ago! The body is an amazing bio-mechanical machine, complete with a built-in monitoring system that can detect the slightest malfunction, and correct it. And it does so without the conscious mind even knowing about it.
The sub-conscious mind never misses anything… ever! It works hand-in-hand, night-and-day with the wisdom of the body, to keep us alive and well. Moreover, the placebo effect is just a tool that is occasionally used to access and affect the sub-conscious mind directly. It’s the power of belief that makes the placebo effect possible. Beliefs are more powerful than anything you can get at the drug store – and a lot cheaper! If someone really believes that something will work, odds are it will. There’s nothing phony about their healing.