Re: Belief and the Brain

I'm finding this discussion very interesting indeed.

I think the problem with the placebo effect is that it is based on belief in
an untruth. A sugar-coated inert pill is NOT supposed to have any direct
chemical effect on you. But in a double-blinded clinical trial, you have a
half-truth, you know that there is a 50% chance you'll be getting a real
drug. That half-belief/half-truth can help to make chemical changes happen
and trigger powerful self-healing mechanisms in the body.

However, with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, I think in a way the same idea
(positive thoughts and attitude assisting in healing) is exploited in a more
honest way. The premise behind it is that negative thoughts, beliefs and
attitudes cause changes in mood, stress levels, etc that may in turn give
rise to physical symptoms, chemical imbalances etc. If the negative beliefs
can be challenged and replaced with positive ones, then healing can occur,
and better coping strategies found in the case of depressives. A simple
example is if your boss snaps at you. You could follow a negative thought
pattern and say "My boss is angry with me because I'm a useless individual
and I'll never do any good". Or you could argue "Maybe it's nothing to do
with me, maybe my boss is just having a bad day".

There are some concerns I have here. It's about replacing negative beliefs
with positive ones (I'm useless vs my boss is having a bad day). But that
isn't the same as saying you're replacing falsehood with truth. Maybe you
ARE a useless individual who needs to pull their socks up.

Nonetheless, I believe you see this kind of principle operating in the
Bible. In Psalm 143, for example, David first pours out his misery "My
spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed", but then
remembers what God has done in the past "I remember the days of long ago; I
meditate on all Your works, and consider what your hands have done. I
stretch out my hands to you..." The negative gets replaced with the
memories of God, and hope for the future (let the morning bring me word of
your unfailing love).

So in conclusion, maybe it's like this. Perhaps there is scientific
evidence (the success and widespread use of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy,
and the power of the placebo effect), that belief can cause healing (and
negative belief can cause damage). The problem is getting patients to
accept CBT as the treatment - "oh, you're saying it's all in my mind. How
dare you be so patronising, etc". I like to imagine what the lame man by
the pool in John 5 might have said if in that frame of mind. "What do you
mean? Pick up my mat and walk??? I've been sitting here for THIRTY-EIGHT
YEARS!!! Don't you think I'd have gotten up if I could? Oh. I get it,
you're saying it's all in my mind, that I'm just imagining it. Well you
know what you can do with your fancy ideas". In contrast, the Bible records
that the man immediately got up and walked. I'm not saying that this wasn't
a supernatural miracle, but just the placebo effect, but it doesn't take
away the main point that the man must have heard Jesus, heard the authority
he had, and BELIEVED he could get up and walk.

Regards,
Iain

On 1/13/06, Bill Hamilton <williamehamiltonjr@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> *Mervin Bitikofer <mrb22667@kansas.net>* wrote:
>
> Can "positive thinking" or "placebo effect" still be a benefit to somebody
> who is trying to evaluate it in an objective context? That is… can I
> 'choose to believe' something as opposed to 'really believing' it and still
> enjoy the positive consequences of the believer? This may completely
> derail the direction you might have intended, Dr. Syme, and I apologize if
> it does – perhaps I should make my own subject thread. But the research
> you discuss below seems to me to touch on a rumbling undercurrent of modern
> thought.
> <!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->
> Many may wish not to tread here – b ut I'll raise a question that is
> openly voiced by critical non-Christians, and may lurk more deeply in the
> minds of some believers. Is the 'placebo effect' a hostile explanation
> that discredits the testimony of Christian experience, undermining the
> convictions of would-be followers?
>
> Bill Hamilton:
> When I was a new Christian I had trouble with the concept of insanity.
> Modern medicine seems to view it (or at least some of it) as due to chemical
> imbalances, while Scripture seems to point the finger at demon possession.
> I finally concluded that perhaps that's how demons work: by causing chemical
> imbalances. Could not a similar explanation be applied here? That when we
> pray for someone to be healed and the individual is healed, it may be due to
> the placebo effect -- operating under the sovereignty of God . That is, in
> some instances God specifically ordains the chemical activity normally
> associated with the placebo effect. In instances where there is no prayer
> and an individual is helped by a placebo, perhaps this is an example of
> common grace.
>
>
>
> Bill Hamilton
> William E. Hamilton, Jr., Ph.D.
> 586.986.1474 (work) 248.652.4148 (home) 248.303.8651 (mobile)
> "...If God is for us, who is against us?" Rom 8:31
>
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After the game, the King and the pawn go back in the same box.
- Italian Proverb
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