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Surgeons and shamans: the placebo value of ritual
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, University of California-Irvine, UCI Medical Center, 101 The City Drive, Orange, CA 92868, USA. sgreen@uci.edu
Surgeons have conducted placebo-controlled double-blind investigations to determine the value of surgical procedures by comparing the results of real operations with sham operations. The sham operation served as a placebo control, permitting analysis of the alleged benefit of the real operation by eliminating the effect caused by the rest of the surgical experience. A modern operation starts with a series of events resembling ritualistic practices used by shamans. Shamans are traditional healers in cultures that believe communication with the gods and spirits influences health and well being. Shamanistic healing measures include: journeying to a healing place, fasting, wearing ritual garb, ingesting psychotrophic substances, anointment with purifying liquid, an encounter with a masked healer, and inhaling stupefactive vapors. These steps are followed by a central ritual activity that may include extracorporeal, surface, and penetrative components. Postoperative ritual activities reinforce the suggestive value of the healing. These experiences increase a patient's suggestibility, thereby enhancing the likelihood of a favorable outcome. Any research on the effectiveness of surgical procedures, especially those designed to relieve pain, must consider the strongly suggestive effect of the elaborate perioperative ritual.
When your mind and body are relaxing, they are repairing. The largest part of our nervous system, which runs without your conscious awareness, has two modes. When you are in a deep state of relaxation, you are experiencing what is known as a parasympathetic response. This means that your digestion system and other major life-sustaining organs are fully functioning and your immune system is working at its best. The opposite state is called a sympathetic response. Typically those systems and organs that were operating at their best in the parasympathetic mode are now taking a subordinate role...
Flying to your destination in a commercial aircraft is the safest and one of most popular modes of transportation. The amount of regulations and the level of control exceed that of any other method of getting to your destination. Yet, too many people cannot enjoy flying due to a learned and admittedly illogical fear.
Our brain allows us to anticipate. Often this superior function of the human brain provides us a valuable service. Without it many of the typical functions of everyday life would not be possible. However, since most of our brain and body is meant to react and does not...
For several years I worked as a Certified Financial Planner for a major New York City-based corporation. When I worked with individuals, couples, and families, I was impressed by the fact that they most definitely had goals and desires. But despite their financial resources, many of them couldn’t seem to achieve the financial discipline to reach their objectives. Even when I laid out a clear plan for them, they had a difficulty following the plan.
If a person’s ability to meet their obligations is suddenly upset by medical or employment issues, the best plans may not work. Let’s...
