Your body is designed to heal itself, and one of the biggest actions you can take to heal isn’t running to a doctor and grabbing a pill. Instead, change your mindset so that you fully believe, know, and trust that you can heal.
Adopting a sickness mentality can work against your body’s natural healing power. Balance, belief, and hope are your greatest weapons.
Your Mind is Powerful
Your beliefs and thoughts determine which electrochemical signals that your brain sends out to the rest of your body. These signals instruct your body to respond in certain ways.
For example, if you think, “I’m in danger!”, the amygdala section of your brain immediately responds. It releases a host of electrochemical signals that flood your entire body, causing your heart to beat faster, your pupils to dilate, your blood vessels to constrict, and your adrenal glands to release the stress hormone, cortisol. One simple thought creates a chain of real, physical changes.
That same pathway works when it comes to healing, as well.
Scientists and healers have understood the immense power of the mind to heal for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. When a new drug is developed and undergoes testing, the researchers have to account for the placebo effect. The act of simply believing that the drug will be effective accounts for healing in a significant portion of the people taking the drug, even if they are getting a fake drug with no active ingredient!
How Many People Heal by Thought Alone?
Typically, pharmaceutical researchers interpret the cases of people who heal using thought alone as “outliers”, or distractions that skew their drug trial results. They are annoyances that must be ignored and excluded. Only in the past few decades have scientists started researching these “outliers” to try to figure out how the brain causes the body to heal.
The number of people who take an inert drug and recover through belief alone varies from study to study, but the numbers are still astounding. Anywhere from 15% to 72% of people will report their condition has improved or disappeared when given a fake medication or surgery.
How Can You Use Your Beliefs to Heal?
Now that you realize the powerful effects that thoughts and beliefs have on your body’s ability to heal itself, how can you harness that power? Start with these steps:
- Use visualization
The brain does not distinguish between thoughts and reality. Researchers at Harvard University had people imagine that they were practicing a song on the piano every day for several weeks. At the end of the study, brain MRI scans showed that those who “practiced” the song strengthened their fingers. Thinking alone creates measurable, physical changes!
Athletes use visualization all the time to improve their performance, and studies show it is very effective. You can use your mind the same way to heal. Sit and relax. Close your eyes. Imagine what it is like now that you are completely healed. See how it feels in every area of your body. Repeat often.
It’s important to act from the place in your mind where it has already happened. Wishful thinking isn’t the same thing as believing wholeheartedly that you are already healed.
Read Case Studies
When you see someone else do something, you often think “I can do that, too!”. Learn about the stories of people who have already healed themselves using knowledge and belief. This can help you remove any barriers you may have about whether or not it’s possible.
I recommend these books which are full of case studies and scientific studies showcasing the mind’s ability to heal the body:
