Lissa Rankin And The Theory Of Self-healing

It’s not a new topic. We have long heard about self-healing, or the human body’s ability to heal itself. Now, Dr. Lissa Rankin has published a book called ‘ The Mind Cure: Scientific Evidence of the Triumph of Mind Over Medicine’ , in which she uses this approach.

What physician Lissa Rankin does is bring up the eternal enigma of placebo medicines. It is clear that, for science, a person’s suggestion acts as a self-healing mechanism. The little that has been studied is how to operate this mechanism.

How does the body manage to heal itself? This is the central question of the investigations Lissa Rankin has carried out. His book talks about six essential steps for the body to voluntarily heal itself. It also points out the main measures to build a “preventive” mind in terms of physical health.

An emblematic background

In 1957 a case was documented that became paradigmatic in relation to the famous placebos. Dr. Philip West was treating a patient whose last name was Wright. He had lymphosarcoma, which is a form of cancer. The disease was very advanced and had already metastasized to various areas of her body. The man was in a terminal state.

However, Mr Wright had heard of an experimental drug called Krebiozen. He kept urging his doctor to apply it. Wright was not fit to enter the experiment, but his insistence was so great, almost pleading, that the doctor agreed, knowing he had only a few days to live.

West applied Krebiozen on Friday. On Monday the patient was alive and had no symptoms of pain or other discomfort. When examined, their tumors were reduced by 50%. The most shocking thing is that some time later a study came out declaring the drug to be useless. The patient fell ill again. The doctor then deceived him. I told him there was a new version of this medicine, much more effective. He applied distilled water and the patient improved again.

Despite all the evidence, the American Medical Association declined to give the facts more credibility. It revealed that West had deceived his patient. When he found out, he fell ill again and never recovered. There are numerous similar cases. These were the ones Lissa Rankin took up for her study.

Lissa Rankin and self-healing

What Lissa Rankin did was begin to document the large number of cases where the placebo effect had taken effect. Such cases encompassed several serious illnesses: cancer, hypothyroidism, diabetes, ulcers and even baldness and HIV.

She also found several experiments where, for example, patients were told they were receiving chemotherapy. In fact, they were getting a placebo. Even so, people lost their hair and vomited nonstop after receiving the substance. All of this led Lissa Rankin to postulate beyond any doubt that the mind is capable of healing the body.

In particular, she showed that if the conditions are created for the patient to think he will be all right, he will be all right. The body receives this mandate, this instruction from the brain, and acts accordingly. On the other hand, if you think you are sick, you will be sick.

The means to heal yourself

Dr. Lissa Rankin refers to several ways that help the body be more efficient in this self-healing process. However, she basically insists on two elements that she considers definitive in this task.

The first element is preventive medicine. This includes all healthy practices ​​incorporated into daily life. In addition to their concrete effect on the body, these lifestyles make people feel healthy. In these conditions, they are not very receptive to the disease.

The second aspect has to do with stress. According to Dr. Lissa Rankin, stress, in all its forms, has excessively detrimental effects on the mind and body. Stress negatively activates what the doctor calls the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. It’s the way the body reacts to a threat. But the body cannot distinguish whether it is a relationship problem or an earthquake, and experiences them the same way.

Although Lissa Rankin’s studies have not been formally endorsed, most doctors agree with her and claim that the effectiveness of the so-called placebo effect is a fact. It would be good for everyone if new studies and research were carried out in this area.