Archives for March, 2016
Belief Becomes Biology
Norman Cousins helped create the psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) Program at UCLA. He is most known for his book: Anatomy of An Illness, in which he described his personal experiences overcoming a life-threatening illness by increasing his level of happiness. “Belief Becomes Biology” is one of...
What You Believe Dramatically Affects Your Health
In a study from Japan, a harmless leaf was rubbed on the forearms of a group of teenage boys who were known to be allergic to an Asian version of poison ivy. The boys were told it was poison ivy. They all broke out...
Mental Attitude and Disease
Dr. William Osler, MD is considered the father of modern medicine. When Johns Hopkins Medical Center was opened in the 1880s, he started the first residency program. Prior to that, physicians’ training ended with the four years of medical school. Dr. Osler taught his...
Placebos Catalyze Endogenous Drugs
Many of the published case studies in refereed journals describe experiments on medical students. In this one, half the students of a pharmacology class in a medical school were given placebos that appeared in every way to be stimulants and the other half of...
Self-Limiting Beliefs Limit Happiness
One of my mentors, Dr. Jeanne Achterberg once said: “No thought, no emotion, is without biochemical, electrochemical activity; and the activity leaves no cell untouched.” There is an ancient expression that is often said to someone who worries a lot: You’re gonna make yourself...
You Don’t Have to Believe Everything You Think
A belief is healthy if it catalyzes positive emotion. Negative, self-defeating or self-deprecating beliefs are unhealthy because they catalyze emotional distress and bodily stress, which is very bad for our health and wellbeing. Although negative thinking is unhealthy, positive thinking can be extremely difficult...
Empowered Patients Make Things Happen
The hundreds of studies I reviewed and explain in my book all point to certain specific behaviors and activities that consistently correlate with wellbeing and better health outcomes. The first is autonomy, which refers to courageously taking action to make things happen. Empowered patients...
Imagination Cures Flu
In 1991 I had a life-changing experience when I was able to cure myself of influenza in a two-hour period by imagining I was the karate fighter I was watching on the televised tournament. I have never been able to replicate that experience. The...
Getting Properly Diagnosed
This series is about my story of getting diagnosed with chronic medical conditions for which there are no cures. Upon realizing that medicine is still a long way from being able to cure most chronic conditions, I began searching for evidence to support the...
Introduction to Dr. Larry Berkelhammer’s Work
This is a brief introduction to my work with patients and my own health that lead to my book, IN YOUR OWN HANDS, and the course I currently teach through College of Marin. This is part one of a series of videos I'll be...
