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Be your own healer  Modern medicine has never given much credence to the idea that the body can heal itself. After all, there's no real scientific proof, right? Historically, we've had only two treatment choices: mainstream, pop-a-pill medicine or New Age alternative therapies. Rarely have the two worlds met until now. Thanks to an influx of new research, today's medicine is starting to embrace the idea that your body can cure its own ills. Here are four helpful tips:
Send get-well cards to your brain
The trick to setting the holistic healing process in motion is identifying "healing messages" that you absorb consciously or subconsciously, These can be a word, thought, smell or cultural expectation [that you believe makes you feel better]. Suppose, for instance, you believe that chicken soup has the power to rid illness or you have faith in the healing power of prayer.
Experts believe that the placebo response is real and powerful, not hypothetical gibberish. In fact, a recent study in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that patients with major depression who received placebos experienced positive changes in brain function that were similar to those caused by anti-depressant medication.
Open your mind to recovery
It's hard not to think of certain medical remedies as a threat. The minute a doctor prescribes a drug, you may find yourself feeling more sick and vulnerable than you previously did. (Something to consider: In a recent Italian study, two groups were given the same dosage of pain medication, but the first group knew they were getting meds, while the second group didn't. The results: The unaware group experienced only half as much pain relief as the first group.)
Putting a positive spin on your medical regimens is tough but essential. Your natural healing pathways are 'blocked' by feelings of anger or lack of forgiveness, and the get-better message cannot get through. Another hindrance? Fear of being healed. [The thought of being well] might rob the patient of the attention they crave from others, or it might make them face serious changes that they've been avoiding.
To clear the way for the self-healing response, you must rid yourself of ambivalent or negative emotions about your treatment. Try creating a pretreatment ritual that includes meditation or positive self-talk, such as "I know this initially harms, but soon it will heal." Or get the giggles. Research shows that laughter bolsters immunity. According to a Loma Linda University study, 30 minutes after 20 medical students laughed through a funny video, their levels of disease-fighting white blood cells increased by 25 percent.
Surround yourself with compassion
Research indicates that the single most powerful predictor of a successful placebo response is having a physician who listens. Your doctor should give you a sense that people around you are caring and concerned. He should also give you a sense that you can do something [about your illness] and actually take some control over what's happening to you.
In addition, we all need social support from people other than our physicians. When we get sick, often our first reaction is to shut ourselves off from others, but this isolation is harmful. In fact, people lacking in close relationships have a two- to threefold increase of death or serious illness, according to Brody. Be sure to talk about what you're going through with those who can help you remain positive. If you cannot find that in your circle of friends, consider a support group.
Forget "all or nothing"
"We can't just 'think away' illness, But we shouldn't delude ourselves that because illness is real, we can't do anything about it. Even if we can't make the illness go away completely, we can still affect our day-to-day functioning - and that can make all the difference. A growing body of research proves that optimistic people are happier and healthier.
Managing to believe good things will happen to you, even as life throws you inevitable curveballs, is a powerful healing mechanism. One of the things the placebo response is trying to teach us is that you can have more control over what ails you, but your control is going to be limited, That's life. The more we learn that lesson, the better placebo responders we will become.
If you can appreciate the small victories in your battle against illness rather than dwelling on the things that aren't going so well, it stands to reason you'll feel better. Want to heal yourself? Look at the glass as half full.
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