Believing (faith or hypnosis) that impacts on the healing of warts performed by neurophysiological mediators (original) (raw)
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British journal of cancer, 2005
Alternative treatments such as spiritual healing and prayer are increasingly popular, especially among patients with life-threatening diseases such as cancer. According to theories of spiritual healing, this intervention is thought to influence living cells and organisms independently of the recipient's conscious awareness of the healer's intention. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that spiritual healing will reduce proliferation and viability of two cancer cell lines in vitro. Three controlled experiments were conducted with three different healers and randomised allocation of cells to five different doses of healing or control. Researchers conducting the assays and statistical analyses were blinded to the experimental conditions. Main outcome measures were MTT viability, 3H-thymidine incorporation and counts of an adherent human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7), and a nonadherent mouse B-lymphoid cell line (HB-94). Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) revealed no s...
Hypnosis and cancer: host defences, quality of life and survival
Contemporary Hypnosis, 1998
In recent years it has become increasingly clear that the diagnosis and treatment of cancer are stressful experiences. Not surprisingly, therefore, high levels of psychiatric morbidity and psychological distress have been reported (Derogatis et al., 1983). There is now evidence, however, from prospective, randomized, controlled trials, that psychological interventions can enhance the quality of life of patients with cancer (see Meyer and Mark, 1995 for a meta-analysis). In addition, psychological interventions, including hypnosis, can modulate the immune response in a way that might be relevant to the progression of malignant disease (Walker and Eremin, 1995). Copyright © 1998 British Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis
Sofia Philosophical Review, 2016
http://sphr-bg.org/16/78/296.html ----- The following article attempts to investigate the conceptual issues at the center of epistemological and methodological frameworks aimed at understanding the placebo effect, with a special focus on medical perspectives on mind-body connection and an emphasis on mental health. Implementing cutting-edge scientific discoveries with a solid philosophical investigation is fundamental in order to avoid possible therapeutic and epidemiological errors and provide a solid theoretical background to those areas of scientific investigation still open to clinical trials, diagnosis and statistical analysis. In particular, the focus on the connections, as well as the differences, between terms such as perception and consciousness fosters the combination of data collected through neurobio-logical experimentation, especially in neuroimaging, and the philosophical debate on the applicability of such terms in the context of the human healing process. Thus, new perspectives on the reality and reason, in causal terms, of certain healing mechanisms are discussed beyond the current bio-psycho-social standpoint. In defining clinical expectations in terms of positive outcomes of a therapy, intervention or procedure, we have to take into account those realms of investigation, which are inevitably connected, if not a founding basis, of being a patient and more generally a human being.
Three faith based factors in healing: a need to relook in Modern Medicine.
SBV J Basic Clin Appl Health Sciences, 2024
In the era of rational and evidence‑based medicine, three belief or faith‑based healing factors, namely placebo effect, Hawthorne factor, and spiritual beliefs, have been sidelined from mainstream medical practice. However, in the past four decades, these faith‑based forces of healing are being studied using modern scientific tools to unravel how they promote positive healing responses and how these endogenous healing factors could be incorporated into scientific medical practice. Keywords: Faith, Hawthorne effect, healing, placebo, spirituality
Modeling the role of spirituality within psychoneuroimmunology through breast cancer research
2011
There has recently been much interest in the relationship between science and religion, and how they combine to give us a 'binocular' perspective on things. One important phenomenon which has been neglected in recent work is the concept of spiritual healing. This edited collection explores a variety of approaches to spiritual healing from different religious points of view, identifying both what it is and how it works. The authors also explore the biological and psychological processes, open to scientific enquiry, through which healing may be mediated. As such, this book indicates the central proposition that religious and scientific perspectives answer different questions about healing, and there is not necessarily any conflict between them.
Healing with advanced hypnotherapy: A science of spirituality
This paper explores consciousness in relation to the new concept of spirituality suggested as a science within modern psychiatry. It will also suggest that modern physics can be used to explain altered states of consciousness during hypnosis. By using an advanced form of hypnosis with Life Between Lives (LBL) therapy introduced by Dr. Michael Newton Ph.D. in the USA 1, 2, 3 , it is possible to achieve healing through higher-dimensional full integration of the human soul and brain.
Neuropsychophysiological evidence is r e- viewed testing a three-stage, top down working model of the traditional hypnotic relaxation induction involv- ing: 1) a thalamocortical attentional network engaging a left frontolimbic focussed attention control system un- derpinning sensory fixation and concentration on the induction; 2) instatement of frontolimbic inhibitory sys- tems through suggestions of tiredness at fix ation and relaxation whereby anterior executive functions are sus- pended and directed by the induction; 3) engagement of right-sided temporoposterior functions through passive imagery and dreaming. A sel ectivity of a ction in high susceptibles was a hallmark of the studies. Increased Stroop interference coincided with maintenance of e r- ror detection and abolition of error evaluation poten- tials, interpreted as dissociation of cognitive and affec- tive executive systems of the anterior cingulate. Verbal, category and design fluency tasks were dissociated with hypnos...
Oncology
Many patients with cancer often seek some means of connecting their mental activity with the unwelcome events occurring in their bodies, via techniques such as imagery and hypnosis. Hypnosis has been shown to be an effective method for controlling cancer pain. The techniques most often employed involve physical relaxation coupled with imagery that provides a substitute focus of attention for the painful sensation. Other related imagery techniques, such as guided imagery, involve attention to internally generated mental images without the formal use of hypnosis. The most well-known of these techniques involves the use of "positive mental images" of a strong army of white blood cells killing cancer cells. Despite claims to the contrary, no reliable evidence has shown that this technique affects disease progression or survival. Studies evaluating more broadly defined forms psychosocial support have come to conflicting conclusions about whether or not these interventions affect survival of cancer patients. However, 10-year follow-up of a randomized trial involving 86 women with cancer showed that a year of weekly "supportive/expressive" group therapy significantly increased survival duration and time from recurrence to death. This intervention encourages patients to express and deal with strong emotions and also focuses on clarifying doctor-patient communication. Numerous other studies suggest that suppression of negative affect, excessive conformity, severe stress, and lack of social support predict a poorer medical outcome from cancer. Thus, further investigation into the interaction between body and mind in coping with cancer is warranted. [ONCOLOGY 11(8):1179-1195, 1997]
Contemporary Hypnosis, 2006
Despite conclusive evidence for the efficacy of clinical hypnosis in the management of many cancer related symptoms and particularly acute and chronic pain, hypnosis is currently under-utilized in these applications. This paper gives a brief overview of the contemporary uses of hypnosis in paediatric and adult oncology and shows how hypnosis can be integrated into a total therapeutic process based on the needs and goals of the patient and the health care team treating them. The first section describes studies that have evaluated hypnosis in adult oncology. The second half consists of a review of the hypnosis literature in paediatric oncology. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research, and implications for clinical practice, which at the moment lags behind.