thinking yourself sick... or well?

[FUNKMAN]

are there any proven studies on a persons ability to 'think' themselves sick with negative thoughts or to 'think' themselves well such as making the effort to use 'positive' thoughts ...

i'm sure in each of our lives we've met people that are often thinking negatively towards their life experiences and others that have a constant 'bright' outlook on their experiences. I know this can affect your mental state but can it specifically cause physical problems or added physical strength(for lack of a better term)

sometimes if i'm not feeling all that physically great I would start thinking about possibly having cancer and it's starting to take hold but then i make a point to not think that way because i feel that if i don't have it that i can cause myself to have it by thinking about it. Sometimes you hear about people who 'through positive attitude' put their cancer into remission or live more years with Aids. Is it the positive attitude or 'regardless of attitude' it's ONLY the physical aspect that determines the outcome?

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sig by Funkman

[sr71blackbird]

I absolutely believe that we have the ability to make ourselves sick. I know from personal experience that when I am under stress, I can literally make myself sick or hurt my back. Did you ever hear of stage fright, or butterflys in your stomach, when have to give a report or a presentation? Its the body, under control of your subconscious mind, trying to "get you out of it". Read a book by Dr John Sarno and youll see all the examples he gives of how this happens. Its very pervasive and effects all strata of society. It doesnt indicate any weakness of any kind, simply its part of our "fight or flight" reflex.

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[reeshy]

Funk,
Give "Holistic Medicine" or " holistic nursing" a search on good. old Google!! You may be surprised at the results that you will get!!
I have a friend that is a nurse practitioner specializing in holistic nursing. She has helped me out immensely with my few ailments where traditional physicians batted zero with me!!! Give it a look!!

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[FUNKMAN]

Sr and MBT,

thanks for the feedback. have to say i'm a big 'skeptic' regarding psyche stuff. i don't feel i could ever get hypnotized and i don't believe in psychiatrists, psychologists, or counselors for myself. i consider myself a little silly when i think about the 'cancer' i wrote about in the opening post.

could you talk more about specific benefits you received?

i'm not much of a reader and maybe that's because life is TOO busy. between raising kids who are active in several sports, band, and normal kid stuff, working, pushing to form a band, learning new songs, and playing out, helping relatives, giving my wife attention, housecleaning, home and car repair, and yardwork, reading takes a backseat...

man is that 'crying the blues' or what... I enjoy all of it but it's a bit much...

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[keithy_19]

I don't know of any studies but I think it's true.

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[shamus mcfitzy]

i certainly can make myself physically sick just because i'm stressed out. Anytime that I changed schools I would vomit and actually get ill, like medically. I know that I've made myself mentally ill through dealing with stress incorrectly, but I guess that would be an obvious thing.

I go to a shrink, but don't believe that he actually is "healing" me. The only good shrinks do as far as i'm concerned is allow a person to show their feelings in a more acceptable environment.

[Hoojibs]

For example, it's like those tests when they have 5 people who are sick and give 3 of them the actual medicine and they give 2 of them the placebo. Sometimes the people with the placebo actually get better because they believe it works.

Edit: I also remember reading something along the lines that our body produces and releases biochemicals if we have negative emotions or stress and these biochemicals are sent throughout our body and we start to get sick.
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This message was edited by Hoojibs on 2-24-04 @ 9:31 PM

[keithy_19]

I have a neighbors whose wife was diagnosed with cancer. They were an older couple, and she was given 3 months to live. The husband was the only one to get that news, and he decided not to tell her. He actually said that the cancer was in remission. Instead of 3 months, she lived 3 years and died of old age.

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