I made my husband ill with a few words – nobody is immune to the power of the nocebo effect | Helen Pilcher
My prank demonstrated how our minds can adversely affect our health, and scientists are increasingly showing that negative thoughts can produce very real symptomsFor his last birthday, I gave my...
By Helen Pilcher · The Guardian Opinion
My prank demonstrated how our minds can adversely affect our health, and scientists are increasingly showing that negative thoughts can produce very real symptoms For his last birthday, I gave my husband a monthly beer box subscription. While he saw it as a generous and delicious present, it spawned a mischievous idea on my part. One evening, as I watched him drain the last bottle, I opened my email. “We’ve just had a message from the beer people,” I said. “They’re issuing a recall on the last batch.” “What’s the problem?” he answered. “Some sort of contamination issue,” I replied. My husband’s face fell. “Are you OK? You look a bit peaky,” I said. Helen Pilcher is a science writer and the author of This Book May Cause Side Effects Continue reading...