Sunday, April 06, 2014

I believe, therefore it's true


During the last few days I've given a lot of thought about the powerful effect of our minds. I mean, it is a known fact that if we believe something to be true, it is true to us. The placebo effect is surprisingly strong  with different kinds of medication, and I just read somewhere that the same effect has been found in for instance knee operations!

Our daughter was infected with stomach flu on Friday, and since it's very contagious, the rest of the family has been afraid of catching the same virus. We've been washing our hands and using hand sanitizing lotion fiercely, but still we've been dreading for the unpleasant virus to strike at any moment. I've noticed the placebo effect in myself: since I am aware that this virus is difficult to avoid, I've felt nauseous all weekend even though I've actually been healthy. It must be my mind that is playing tricks with me, and since I believe that I'm just about to start throwing up, I feel exactly like that. Thank goodness it seems that our daughter is on the mend, which will probably mean that also I'll get rid of this icky feeling!