Letters to the Editor
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As long as science proves it...
I'm OK with it. If for example science proved The Secret phenom in terms of neuroscience ("The positive thoughts you deliberately entertain about the store clerk subtly change your attitude--and behavior--toward the clerk, which distract the clerk from her mother's Alzheimer's, which makes her feel good, which makes her smile and act friendly toward you...." or whatever) then it makes sense. But mostly I think it's just Blame the Victim. Like babies born in Darfur somehow caused and therefore deserve their own suffering or something. Or praying for cancer victims--ugh. So the ones who die didn't want it bad enough? Didn't have enough faith? Didn't have a network of pray-ers big enough?
I like Joe and Teresa Graedon's THE PEOPLE'S PHARMACY (syndicated column in the newspaper) b/c it seems to embrace both traditional and alternative therapies, as long as there's evidence (even if anecdotal) that they work. Mostly you find that practitioners of either eschew the other.
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Surprise, Surprise, Surprise
This was a shallow interview and the responses were even more shallow. The issue was hardly engaged. The language of Western science has so little to say on the subject. It's as if the entire Eastern tradition never existed, which for thousands of years relied upon what we call "positive thinking." Scientism in the West has disregarded the spiritual beliefs people once had to deal with illness and its effects.
My wife recently suffered from a deadly form of cancer that took her life in ten months. She had long practiced homeothopy, which is basically a "materialist" religion where matter and the mind meet. It is a highly developed system of what is basically "positive" thinking since there is no actually medicinal effect from the remedies and a genuine homeopath practicioner makes that clear.
We pursued all the best Western style medical treatment possible. I fear her over-reliance on homeopathy led to waiting to be diagnosed late. (Beware, it is a common trap that the so-called "enlightened" fall into.)
She also engaged in many healing rituals with Tibetans and other healers. Did they work? Who knows? The point is that she felt better afterwords and if someone you love is terminally ill you fight for every postitive thought and action you can find. We want to have a sense of control over our lives, even if we also "know" it isn't ultimately possible.
Call it the "placebo" effect, call it anything you want. Calling a doctor god, however, as so many do is asking for trouble. It gives away the sense that our lives are our own. The society abets the notion. The real question boils down to what we are doing at any time, whether sick or not, to maintain a positive attitude. i.e. live an active, well balanced life in tune with ones personal needs and requirements.
My wife needed faith. Pills and tranquilizers didn't work. She didn't like the loss of control. It's what worked for humanity for thousands upon thousands of years. Our discovery was that the arrogance and entitlement because of our "science" has grave limitations. The need for faith is still present, necessary, and urgent. Surprise, surprise, surprise.
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If you give up, you die.
It's not that thinking happy thoughts can heal you. It's that giving up will kill you.
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Metaphysical Healing
The article did not mention the idea metaphysical healing, such as Christian Science, among other philosophies. Metaphysical healing is not equivalent to positive or magical thinking. The article was ridiculously short of information and analysis in this compelling subject area. The writer doesn't show an open mind concerning what is possible. While the efficacy of Western medicine has been proved, alternative philosophies, including Eastern religions, often include concepts of being that are far more advanced than merely relying on optimism or hopefulness in the face of illness. They may include, for example, an understanding that humans are spiritual beings and not physical beings at all. This fascinating subject deserves more than the quick write-off that it got in this article.
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Positive thinking kept me healthy for 26 years
Until I came down with an autoimmune disorder. After that, positive thinking has not, so far, cured me.
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subjectivity
One thing that seems to me left out of this discussion is the issue of subjectivity in disorders that involve chronic pain. Pain can only be measured subjectively, and if you feel that your pain is less severe, then by definition it is less severe. It may not be possible to change the physical causes of pain, but it is possible (sometimes) to find ways to keep it from dominating your life and your thoughts, to find ways to make it bother you less. In this case, feeling that you have control over the problem can result in a subjective improvement, even if the physical situation hasn't changed.
Another important issue is motivation to keep up with medical treatments, especially when you're talking about chronic diseases. If you are optimistic and have the support of your family and community, then you're more likely to check your blood sugar regularly, or take your inhaled corticosteroids daily, or stick to your eating plan, or whatever other measures you have to take to control the disease. I'm skeptical of direct mental control of disease, but emotional/social control of behavior can have an indirect effect by making the person adhere better to treatment.
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@Ben Sen
I'm trying to understand your antagonism toward science: Are you putting homeopathy in the "science" category? Because I wouldn't. Nor would I call it materialist, since ironically there is no material there when it comes to homeopathic remedies.
I get that your wife needed something more than doctors and pills and medicine, but for some, that is precisely what makes them feel in control. We are all different. I think that if I were diagnosed with a grave illness, I would want all the medical information I could get. I would be one of those reading the obscure studies, looking for a cure that the professionals didn't know about. I'm not suggesting it would translate into anything actually useful, just that I think it would make me feel better, in the way your wife needed something more spiritual to make her feel better.
Who knows, I guess. I find myself becoming more and more attached to science as I grow older, but I suppose in the face of immanent mortality, I might search deeper too. It's easy to intellectualize when it isn't happening to you.
I'm so sorry about your wife.