A Placebo Does No Harm But What About A Nocebo?

Since childhood I have dislocated my kneecaps multiple times, each time resulting in an immobility cast for six weeks then physical therapy. When I was 14 an Orthopedic surgeon told me “I’d likely end up with arthritis in my knees later in life.” Do you know what that is called in Hypnotherapy? It’s called a nocebo.

When an authority figure tells us something and we believe them, it becomes part of our subconscious programming. A placebo of course is a sugar pill used in clinical trials that does no harm. A nocebo however, coming from a person of knowledge and authority, causes harm albeit it in this case unintentional. The harm occurs because in those moments we take in the information as truth and our bodies deliver exactly what we expect.

So, fast forward a few decades and a fall in 2018, another Orthopedic surgeon told me I had the beginnings of arthritis in my right knee where the cartilage had worn down and some bone-on-bone scraping was occurring. He also delivered a nocebo by adding “I’d likely require a knee replacement down the road.”

I walked out of that appointment feeling like I had to do something. I really liked both of my Orthopedic surgeons. Oh, and the first surgeon, when I was 14, his name was Dr. Messiah. You just can’t make that up! Who isn’t going to believe the friendly Messiah that was so kind and caring? I knew from my recent x-ray that I had taken every word of the likelihood of arthritis in but, I refused to accept the inevitability of a knee replacement “down the road.” I told myself no! They only know what the textbooks tell them. They mean well, but no, I am an adult now, in charge of my own mind and I am not in agreement with this prophecy.

While in school studying Clinical Hypnotherapy, I used my knee as an example when running accelerated healing protocols with a colleague, and I still use that custom programming today. Without exaggeration, approximately 15 times a day I used to take a step onto my right leg and my knee would crunch. It was a sharp warning pain. I’d immediately have to stop, and bend my knee and “pump” my leg back and forth a few times, and then carry on.

Now, I can honestly say, I can’t remember the last time that it happened. I’ve been working with my custom therapeutic suggestions and I noticed within a few weeks that it was happening much less. After a few more weeks, even less and now…it barely crosses my radar.

At some point, I’m thinking in the fall, I will go get my knee x-rayed to see the cartilage growth and verify my clinical hypnotherapy work. Right now, I already know that it’s working, as I have pretty much forgotten what it is like to be stopped mid-stride 15 times a day by jarring bone on bone pain.

I have started back with my TRX suspension training that I love! I am able to do squats again without any pain and am incorporating some Pilates workouts in now as well. I smile every time I stand or flex without that jarring pain.

Hypnotherapy works, it simply does. It is science-backed and client-centered. If you take responsibility for yourself, sincerely want to change and do the work, you yield results.

The innate intelligence within you knows you intimately. It created every cell of your being and it knows exactly how to heal you. Your body’s “issues” are your subconscious mind speaking to you. To access the superconscious problem-solving intelligence within you requires us to step out of our conscious analyzing mind and relax what is called the “Critical Factor” or inner chatter box.  The Critical Factor is the gatekeeper between the conscious and subconscious mind and it relaxes while in the hypnotic state, giving us access to the subconscious and superconscious minds. Meanwhile, our bodies shift into parasympathetic drive, where all healing occurs.

In essence, we access our subconscious mind and amend the negative nocebo into the new positive therapeutic suggestions, while our bodies rebalance into homeostasis and respond to the suggestions.

What we believe psychologically, we become physically.

So, what is it that you wish to change now?

Are you ready to learn what your subconscious is trying to tell you through your body?

Then let’s get started….

You deserve to be healthy and happy.

Blessings,
Meg