Illnesses Caused by the Mind
Many of us are aware that stress is related to several disorders such as gastrointestinal problems, headaches and heart disease. This is a widely accepted example of the relationship between the mind and the proper or improper functioning of the body. Another basic example is getting flushed when embarrassed or sweating when we are nervous. It is clear that these harmless temporary effects are caused by the mind.
The “nocebo effect” refers to the mind’s ability to cause more harmful physical disorders. Dr. Bernie Siegel cites a finding in his book Love Medicine and Miracles concerning patients in an experimental control group for a new chemotherapy drug. It is commonly known that hair loss is a side effect of chemotherapy. This group was only given harmless saline, but thought they may have been given chemotherapy. 30 percent of this group lost their hair. Yes, the mind can cause extreme physical changes in the body.
