Do We Die Prematurely Because of Our Beliefs?

Baby boomers are changing patterns of aging by refusing to slow down as they get older, but there are times when we all become aware of our own mortality. I don’t know anyone who is totally immune to cultural conditioning when it comes to milestone birthdays such as 40 or 50.

Perhaps our ability to live beyond 80, 100 or even 120 is restricted by society’s attitudes to age backed up by scientific and historical data telling us that death is inevitable. It’s the opposite of the placebo.

We are all familiar with the extraordinary power of the placebo which is purely based on belief. It is more amazing than any drug because it can have positive effects on the symptoms of every disease. Yet very little is known about its twin, the nocebo effect which is at least as powerful and can be deadly.

The nocebo is not just present in extreme cases of Voodoo. We might be immune to those anyway as long as we don’t share the beliefs of the Witch Doctor.

It’s also present in our society and it’s much harder to stand outside its influence when we’re unaware of our underlying assumptions or we think our beliefs are true.

This week’s New Scientist tells the story of a man who died on schedule because his doctor said he was dying of liver cancer and only had a few months to live. After he died the autopsy showed the doctor had got it wrong. The man died because beliefs were presented as facts.

The nocebo is also responsible when doctors tell patients about possible side-effects of drugs and the rates of those effects to go up.

Likewise people who believe they have a high risk of developing a disease are more likely to get it than those with the same risk factors who don’t share the belief. This is worth being aware of if you get your DNA tested. Could you completely dismiss a report that showed a high tendency towards one or more hereditary disease?

I suspect we all have unexamined beliefs that are limiting our enjoyment of life and ultimately reduce our life expectancy. And we are influenced by others far more than we would like to admit. But that’s enough negativity. If we are going to breakthrough the pervading ideas about mortality we need to cultivate the life-affirming qualities of the placebo effect, share our optimism and generate new possibilities.