Placebo Regular, Placebo Alternative
The fight by regular against alternative medicines frequently focuses on placebo as a parsimonious explanation of the happening ― rightfully so, but it should go in every direction. Few things about placebo We’re talking about ‘true placebo’ here, which is different from a ‘regression to the mean’ or natural evolution of illness, and which is Read the full article…
Can Lisa Unify Psychotherapy?
Bold question. Please don’t take it too seriously (for the time being). Lisa might help in unifying the domain of psycho-therapy through bringing a detached perspective in combination with an in-depth view upon mental change based on insights from neurocognitive science. Even so, this is only the beginning and the end. What comes between is Read the full article…
Are Physicians Interested in Healthcare?
Sure, they are! Well, up to a certain point. I’m sorry if I hurt any of my colleagues. He shouldn’t be hurt, but take action. The psyche I have encountered many times and am encountering again at present that the psyche – as in ‘psychogenic’ – is a bridge too far for many medical colleagues. Read the full article…
Chronic Pain – Read&Do
This is the foreword to my book ‘Chronic Pain Relief’ that you can find on Amazon (see menu). Economically costly On top of the human suffering, and despite modern painkilling medications and procedures, chronic pain is hugely costly to patients and society. The individual cost is unfathomable. Estimated economic costs are in the many billions Read the full article…
Why Conscious A.I. is Near
Without pinning a date, it’s dangerous that many researchers/developers are making progress in many aspects of A.I. without deep insight into consciousness. Scary? ‘Near’ in the title is meant relative. The issue is the following. The ways are such, and the competition is such that I don’t see any other option than that we are Read the full article…
Is Psycho-Somatics Medicine?
Psycho-Somatics is the realm of body-mind-unity in health and healing. The medical take is part of it, not the other way around. About the psyche in health and healing This is about much more than conscious awareness of mind-matters. For instance, one cannot consciously decide for a placebo effect to happen. Also, one cannot readily Read the full article…
Stress Kills
Stress probably kills more people per year than there were casualties during any year of WWII. Yet, to those who should see this, it seems too uncomfortable to do so. Or they prefer not to listen – or not to talk about it. Meanwhile, may you be one of those who will die a stress-death? Read the full article…
Three Dangers of Freemasonry
Depth needs effort. Lots of effort ― even more so if one thinks to make enough effort already. There are many forms of pseudo-depth, especially when shrouded in secrecy, Looking for a combination of depth and rationality, a few years ago, I ventured into the world of freemasonry. A lot of information about it is Read the full article…
Proof of the Mind-Body Connection?
If, as we can see in this category, the mind has significantly more influence over the body than assumed until now, then why has scientific research shown relatively little of this to date? There may be several explanations for this: There is a fairly substantial body of proof, but it is not well known within Read the full article…
Psychological impact on infections
In a prospective study with a hundred subjects, it was concluded that stressful events in life four times more frequently preceded than followed throat infections that had or had not been caused by streptococci [Meyer et al., 1962]. A large number of control-variables (under which sex, family size, history of allergies) showed no correlation with Read the full article…
Psycho-gastro-enterology
The broad role of stress in the brain-gut axis is widely acknowledged. This has implications for multiple prevalent health conditions characterized by chronic gastrointestinal symptoms. These include functional gastrointestinal disorders such as functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome, as well as inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis [Labanski et al., 2020]. Read the full article…
Multiple Sclerosis
Since the first description of MS in 1877, psychological stress has been suggested as a trigger for exacerbations [Charcot, 1877]. Until recently, the clinical evidence for a causal relationship was weak. A systematic meta-analysis from 2004 of 14 prospective studies found a significant relationship between the occurrence of stressful life events and a higher risk Read the full article…
The mind and chronic inflammation
Recent research has revealed that certain social, environmental and lifestyle factors, including psychological stress, can promote systemic chronic inflammation that can, in turn, lead to diseases that represent the leading causes of disability and mortality worldwide, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, cancer, chronic kidney disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and neurodegenerative and autoimmune disorders Read the full article…
Placebo-effect of surgery
Surgery is expected to have a strong placebo effect. Patients are often terrified and cannot help but trust the surgeon’s competence and proper care. This accounts for their state of strong dependence [Jerome, 1991]. Operations are dramatic performances often preceeded by thorough preparation. The expectations of immediate improvement are high-pitched. Double-blind studies with surgery can Read the full article…
Psychological impact on asthma
Asthma is among the most prevalent chronic diseases; in children, it now leads the chronic disease statistics. In the United States, it affects an estimated 10.6 million (14.5%) children [U.S. Department of Health, 2014]. There are an estimated 300 million asthmatics worldwide [Masoli et al., 2004]. Stress and infections have long been independently associated with Read the full article…
Psychological factors in heart diseases
Perhaps nowhere has the mind-body connection been more studied than in cardiovascular disease. Large prospective epidemiologic studies and smaller basic science studies show consistently that feelings of fear [Kubzansky et al., 1997], depression [Frasure et al., 1995], anger [Kawachi et al., 1996], and hostility [Barefoot et al., 1983] are associated with a heightened incidence of Read the full article…
Psychological factors in infertility
It is estimated that 1 in 8 couples (or 12% of married women) have trouble getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy [Fast Facts About Infertility, 2017]. Although the results have been mixed, reviews of the literature have generally concluded that psychosocial factors such as depressive symptoms, anxiety, distress and specific coping strategies are linked to Read the full article…