the ultimate authority over treating these diseases. Many doctors actually believe that most of what they
practice is based on pure science.
However, it would be erroneous to generalize these findings. Some very successful methods in
modern medicine are unmatched by any other form of treatment. They concern mainly acute health
conditions caused by accidents, including burns, fractures, heart attacks, certain life-threatening
infections, as well as matters of hygiene. The high success rate of medical treatment in these areas is a
truly remarkable and exemplary achievement.
For the other 90 percent of diseases, which the WHO recognizes as untreatable by regular medical
approaches, modern research techniques have so far failed to produce any breakthrough results. These
illnesses comprise the typical chronic ailments, including heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, cancer, etc.
Chronic disease is the combined effect of one or several causal factors that are rarely, if ever, considered
or recognized in the treatment programs of conventional medicine. With regard to a chronic illness, and
contrary to an accidental injury, for example, it is simply not enough to attempt to fix its symptoms.
Conducting reliable studies on chronic diseases is therefore virtually impossible, unless of course, crucial
factors such as diet, lifestyle, state of mind, emotions, existence of conflict and the like were incorporated
in the testing procedures.
It seems that none of the researchers even consider the fact that the healing mechanism, which is
triggered by a patient’s strong belief in a drug, takes place not only in the placebo control group but also
in the main experimental group. It is not very scientific to declare that a new medical drug produces a
higher rate of improvement than a placebo when the placebo effect—the patient's trust in the drug—is at
work in both groups. The very fact that the placebo effect has to be included as an essential part of every
study shows that the subjective state of the patients in both groups remains the major determining factor
in the outcome of the experiment. If the placebo group has a success rate of 35 percent and the drug group
has a success rate of 40 percent, it is obvious that at least 35 percent of the drug group's success is
attributable to the placebo effect and the drug itself causes only 5 percent improvement. Its true success
rate of perhaps 1-3 percent (after eliminating other factors of influence such as mental and emotional
states) does not justify giving the drug to millions of unsuspecting patients. Yet it is nevertheless
advertised and sold as an effective treatment of disease. Obviously, medical research cannot be considered
objective or scientific.
Why Some Heal And Others Don’t
There is no simple or magical method to make a patient believe in the treatment he receives. The
success of the placebo response depends mainly on the patient’s psychological condition and whether he
has a good reason to believe in his doctor. The following points describe three major categories of
personality, which may determine your success in overcoming a serious or life-threatening illness:
- You feel depressed about everything in your life. You blame others and circumstances for your
suffering. You are not happy when others are satisfied and joyful because this increases your feeling that
something is missing in your own life. Seeing people being happy makes you feel worse. You lack
enthusiasm and self esteem, and your outlook on life is rather dismal. You get angry even without a
specific reason. Many times you feel you don't like yourself or even put yourself down in front of others.
You frequently say things like, “Whatever I try doesn’t work for me,” or “I knew from the beginning that
the medicine wouldn’t help me.” You were unhappy and disappointed during much of your life, and you
try not to remember your past. You give up easily and justify your failure by saying, “It’s too difficult,” or
“Nobody cares about me anyway.” You feel you are a victim of some kind, and you behave like one. You
look for sympathy for your plight, but become angry when you don’t receive it. You feel life does not