It seems to me that they do – broadly speaking. Paying more for a simple painkiller, for example, seems to make it work better. A study of differently packaged aspirin tablets, for example, found that those that were branded to look more expensive worked much better than those that looked plain and generic. In other […]
positive thinking
How a child with Chickenpox stopped itching
As you know, I’m a big fan of visualisation. As I’ve explained before, in many ways the brain doesn’t distinguish real from imaginary. As we imagine something, to the brain, what we imagine is actually happening. In previous blogs I’ve shared scientific evidence of how people have altered physical strength through visualisation, how visualisation can help […]
The art of self-correction
Several years ago, I spent time as an athletics coach, coaching young people in the long jump and triple jump. It was one of these things that just kind of happened. I had no previous coaching experience, and certainly wasn’t a technical expert in the logistics of jumping, but the existing coach was moving on […]
A matter of perspective
I’ve always thought of myself as having a positive attitude. Not all the time, of course. I think we all have our good and bad days, the latter making positive thinking quite a bit harder, those days when if someone says ‘Think positive’, well, I’ll leave it to your imagination. But in many instances, whether […]
It’s funny how things work out sometimes
Have you ever wondered if things happen for a reason? A very unusual thing happened in my life a few years ago. I still chuckle to myself when I think about it today. 🙂 Between 2001 and the end of 2002, I had been director of a charity (Spirit Aid Foundation) that a few friends […]
Don’t judge a book by its cover
OK, this isn’t a blog about books or their covers, but have you ever made a judgment about someone’s behaviour then later realised you were completely wrong? While I was waiting in line at a coffee shop earlier, a woman drove alongside the queue in a mobility scooter. There was only a narrow space between […]
5 Reasons Why You Should Visualize
We’ve all heard of visualization. Many people visualize daily, either to improve their health or their life situation. Some people try it from time to time. My personal experience of visualization is that it is highly powerful for a few different reasons. And it’s good to know why! Maybe that’s just my science training, where […]
Drugs Work Better if You Know You’re Getting Them
Imagine the scenario: There’s 2 patients. One is connected to a morphine drip while he’s reading a book and the other is being given a morphine injection by the doctor. They’re both given morphine at the exact same time. One is aware of it but the other isn’t. You’d think they’d both need the same […]
Why it’s best to write your goals down
I personally find that writing things helps me focus better than having stuff in my head. The same can be said of writing your goals down. Some people have theirs in the head but research shows that we’re more likely to achieve them if we put pen to paper. Research at the Dominican University of […]
The Amazing Power of the Placebo
(Repost) Nearly everyone has experienced a placebo effect! The fact that you take a medicine tells me that on some level you must believe in it or expect it to work, or you believe in the doctor who prescribed it, or even in the improvement you’ve heard about in other people. This belief, or expectation, […]