"Without treatment XYZ, you have only 3 months left..."

This is a standard statement from oncologists. But is there really no other way? Doesn't this give a patient a shot of fear, which weakens him even more?

What a doctor says is often a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In her 30s, U.S. journalist Lynne McTaggart sought medical treatment for spinal problems and a candida infection. She was confronted with statements such as 'you are a candidate for hip surgery', or 'this is going to be a long and painful road' or: 'you have scoliosis, unfortunately this is incurable'. All assumptions that in retrospect turned out to be wrong, but caused her to fall into a deep hole.

On another occasion, she heard physiotherapeutic staff say, "Let's see if she's still lame after this exercise." She thus felt in her own body the destructive effect of such statements and judgments by people "who ought to know".

Doctors make the same mistake as many parents who instill in their children: "You can't sing"' or: "You are untalented in mechanical tasks." or: "You will probably never become a dancer." Such statements can be formative and have a significant negative influence on the course of a disease.

This is illustrated by the following experiment:

At the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, pain sensitivity was tested in 22 volunteers. During the test, they were placed in a magnetic resonance tomograph so that their brain waves could be measured continuously. They were also given an infusion of saline solution. The subjects were then given an unpleasant heat stimulus and asked to indicate its intensity on a scale of 1 to 100. On average, the value was given as 66.

They were then given a strong opiate painkiller without being informed. Now the pain sensation was reported on average with strength 55.

If the subjects were told that they would now be given a highly effective drug, without changing the active ingredient or the dose, the value of the indicated pain sensation dropped to 39. The knowledge of the type of drug alone had thus more than doubled the effect. Particularly interesting about this experiment were the simultaneous recordings of brain waves.

Thus, it could be shown that the perception of the test participants was not a subjective sensation, but that a lower pain stimulus actually occurred in the corresponding brain regions. In other words, the expectation alone had physically influenced the sensation.

This trial also contained a third scenario: In this scenario, the subjects were told that the administration of the drug would now be discontinued and that they would have to be prepared for more pain. In fact, the drug continued to be administered intravenously. Again, the expectation was responsible for the sensation. For now the pain level rose almost back to the original value measured without drug administration, namely to 64.

The negative expectation had completely nullified the effect of the drug.

This highly regarded study thus demonstrated the so-called nocebo effect, which also always occurs when the physician robs the patient of hope through ill-considered statements.

You can view the study here: https://is.gd/0lcfX0

Lynne McTaggart, however, did not allow herself to be further irritated by what she heard and sought out doctors and therapists who approached her problems with a positive and uplifting attitude, and was able to successfully treat her ailments in a relatively short time.

So she experienced on her own body both what counterproductive statements can do to a person and the opposite.

Quite a journalist, she now became interested in the physical effects of thoughts in general.
In the process, she encountered the healing power of concerted group intention.

In this article you can learn more about Lynne McTaggart's work and her "Power of 8" method learn