Positive Thoughts Work as Well as Drugs

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Dr. Mercola

February 14 2004

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Positive Thoughts Work as Well as Drugs

Evidence has been found that suggests a patient’s beliefs and hopes may affect their outcome of prognosis.

One study found that optimism could lower the risk of heart disease in older men, whereas pessimism can increase the disease. Strong evidence has proven that patients with heart disease who feel hopeless about their condition do worse because they lost faith in themselves.

But whether a person’s attitude can be changed is still an unanswered questioned, a psychologist studying this said. He believes that schools should incorporate a method to teach children about optimism so that no child has to face an illness with a negative attitude. The earlier you teach a person how to handle certain situations, the better they can handle that situation later in life.

However, studies show when it comes to cancer patients, the idea that always being optimistic is important in cancer prognosis has been discredited. In addition, current studies don’t support any link between stress and cancer, and some researchers say there is no evidence that supports the notion that a person’s attitude can help cure cancer.

Time Magazine UK January 27, 2004

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

As I have said countless times in the past, drugs are not the solution for the vast majority of ailments that are facing Americans. They are instead simply Band-Aids that cover up the underlying cause of the illness.

And as the article above says, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that a patient’s beliefs and hopes affect their prognosis. I find that this is often the case and here at The Optimal Wellness Center we use a method called the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to help patients affirm their beliefs and overcome any emotional challenges that may be hindering their healing. Emotional health is absolutely essential to your physical health and healing.

EFT is a form of psychological acupressure, based on the same energy meridians used in traditional acupuncture to treat physical and emotional ailments for over 5,000 years, but without the invasiveness of needles. Instead, simple tapping with the fingertips is used to input kinetic energy onto specific meridians on the head and chest while you think about your specific problem--whether it is a traumatic event, an addiction, disease, pain, etc.--and voice positive affirmations.

This combination of tapping the energy meridians and voicing positive affirmation works to clear the "short-circuit"--the emotional block--from your body's bioenergy system, thus restoring your mind and body's balance, which is essential for optimal health and the healing of physical disease.

For more information on this subject, you can check out my free EFT manual for some guidelines on how to perform EFT. Beyond that you can try my EFT Series on DVD or VHS, which provides in-depth instruction on EFT.

Related Articles:

Self-Healing: Brief Psychotherapy and Other Approaches

Visual Evidence of the Power of Prayer, Gratitude and Appreciation

Your Belief Becomes Your Reality

Men With Early Onset Heart Disease May be Genetically Predisposed to Stress

Protect Yourself From Heart Disease With Simple Lifestyle Changes

Women With ‘Type A’ Personalities Have Higher Heart Disease Risk

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