Mind Over Matter

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I frequently suffer from acid reflux, but I can often stop it by drinking a ton of water and just trying to force a burp…excuse me…pardon me.

Sometimes, though, it’s too late and the discomfort and general illness overcomes me. I find myself lying down with my eyes closed, moaning and groaning, waiting for it to subside.

A few moments ago was one of those times. I downed some water to try and calm the reflux, which often works, but this time it wasn’t. The acid was in my throat, my ears, and it was driving me crazy. I had to lie down and close my eyes, but nothing changed. It didn’t get worse, but it didn’t get better either. How long was I going to suffer this time?

So, I took a deep breath, relaxed and imagined that I could force the acid back down to my stomach and calm it. I kept doing that, taking deep breaths, and before I knew it, I was actually feeling better. I was pleasantly surprised and began thinking about the placebo effect, and how people will sometimes believe they are getting better because of a medication they’ve been given, when they’ve been taking something as useless as a mere sugar pill. It’s mind over matter – the psychology of believing something will make you better, when your mind is what’s doing it.

I then started to think about the power of negative emotions on my well-being, as I have tremendous experience in this department. If anxiety can manifest things such as throat swelling, tongue swelling, dizzy spells, numbness of the face and extremities, and other unpleasant symptoms, couldn’t positive emotions have the opposite effect on the body?

It was then that I remembered EFT – Emotional Freedom Technique that I read about a few years back when my health was even worse than it is now. Perhaps this is what they were talking about.

Thoughts?

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• Pain, Piety & The Placebo Effect (psychologytoday.com)