Cure summary

Most people don’t bother to read about the side effects of the prescriptions they take and, in the end, that might not be such a bad thing.

The truth is that the negative expectations this information breeds can actually result in bodily symptoms. In this way, believing in side effects is a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy; this is known as the nocebo effect, using the Latin word for “I will harm.”

For most people, the placebo effect isn’t anything new. But it might come as a surprise that certain physical features of a drug can also boost its efficacy.

In other words, pharmaceutical companies can benefit from making big pills with a large, recognizable stamp on them. Both size and this type of stamping have been proven to produce a placebo effect that enhances the effects of the medicine.

Do you ever wonder how much money pharmaceutical companies spend developing new painkillers? Well, the short answer is a lot.

Even so, there’s already a well-developed treatment that has proven to be highly effective – and it doesn’t cost a fortune. It’s called human care.

The morning after a night of partying with your friends, you might think your body is less than happy with you. But, as it turns out, friends keep your cells healthy.

Chromosomes in the human body are capped by telomeres, which prevent these genetic structures from fraying. Each time a cell divides, the telomeres get a little shorter. In this way, much like the rings of a tree tell its age, telomeres reflect the age of cells.

It’s never a bad idea to seek out help from your friends when you’re stressed out. After all, stress can be catastrophically harmful and, in extreme situations, even deadly.

Consider a 1994 earthquake in Los Angeles. After the tremor, a cardiologist named Robert Kloner noticed that, on the day of the event, 125 people had died of stress-induced heart attacks, about 50 more than on an average day. Similar outcomes were found when researchers looked at the aftermath of earthquakes in Athens, Greece and Kobe, Japan, as well as missile attacks in Israel.

Religion is a central aspect of everyday life for billions of people around the world. But did you know that people who return from religious gatherings or pilgrimages often report witnessing or experiencing miracles, like supernatural acts of healing?

Well, whether or not such healing miracles truly occur, there is strong evidence to suggest that being religious is good for your health. Plenty of studies have linked a belief in God to favorable health outcomes, such as lower rates of heart disease, high blood pressure and cancer, as well as better outcomes in cases of HIV infection.

When most people hear the word “hypnosis,” they think of a gimmicky magic show in which a host puts people into a trance-like state and makes them do ridiculous things. Despite this perception, however, hypnosis plays a serious role in scientific research.

For psychologists, hypnotic states are ones of increased focus that also result in reduced peripheral awareness and greater susceptibility. When hypnotized, people remain aware of their environment; as a result, when asked to walk around a room, they’ll avoid objects, while those who have been asked to fake being hypnotized will often walk into chairs or furniture.

In the world of modern digital technology, keeping your attention focused is harder than ever before. That being said, technological innovation – and the distraction it offers – can also help people overcome painful or traumatic events.

Consider virtual reality, which can help take patients’ minds off their pain. In an experiment at the Medical Center of the University of Washington, researchers had participants play a game called Snow World, in which they moved around freely in an arctic environment using virtual reality gear.

You might think that virtual reality is a cold, or inhuman application of technology. But the truth is, modern approaches to medicine would be practically impossible without technological advances.

Some modern technologies can even help people regain control over their bodies, and one such technology is called biofeedback. This term refers to any technological device that enables patients to monitor their bodily functions in real time.