You’ve probably heard of the placebo effect. It is what often happens to people who
think that they’re getting medicine that will make them better or make their pain go away
when they’re really getting nothing more than a sugar pill. Scientists have long since
attributed this effect to the ability of our mind to deceive us.
However, what scientists have found is actually quite different. They have found that
when a person receives a placebo, the body actually produces chemicals that simulate
the same healing as the medicine would have if the person had received the medicine.
What does this mean? When we convince ourselves that we’re going to get better, that
things are going to get better, our bodies respond and actually make us better. Think of
the implications for yourself when you’re ill. Maybe that’s why people that are always
professing their good health are always healthy.
There’s even more good news for optimists too. Scientists have found that optimists live
longer. Optimists have a 55 percent lower risk of death from all causes and 23 percent
lower risk of death from heart failure.
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